Nosovitch survives scare, Vikes look scary in rout

FROM THE MORNING CALL

MOUNT CARMEL

— Brendan Nosovitch was hit down below the knee as he got rid of it.

The pass went to Jalen Snyder-Scipio and the result of the play was — what else? — a touchdown covering 54 yards.

It was Nosovitch's fourth of the night and the 104th of his incredible Central Catholic football career, but never has a Vikings touchdown meant so little.

That's because while the Nosovitch-Scipio connection made it 41-0, all eyes were on Nosovitch as he stayed on the ground and Central's training staff gathered around him.


It was just five minutes, but it probably seemed more like 50 went by before Nosovitch got to his feet and walked slowly off the field.

Central fans could finally breathe again.

"It's not as bad as it looked or as bad as I thought it was going to be when it first happened," Nosovitch said on the field after his team finished off a 56-14 PIAA 3A quarterfinal win over Shamokin on Friday night at Mount Carmel's historic Silver Bowl.

"It was scary for a second, but it's fine now. He [the Shamokin defender] went right for my leg and kept twisted at it. It's my right ankle and I was hurt there a little bit throughout the season. After I got up and walked around a little bit, I knew I was going to be fine."

It was the only scare, the only glitch on a night that played out more like a Central scrimmage.

Wisely, CCHS coach Harold Fairclough didn't allow Nosovitch to take another snap the rest of the night, even though there was still 8:57 left in the first half. Soon he got the rest of his starters off the field as well.

There was no point.

For the second straight year in this round of the state tournament, Central completely outclassed an opponent that probably would have not won three games in the Lehigh Valley Conference.

Last year it was Clearfield from District 9 that CCHS pummeled 55-20 in the same round. The only difference was that that game was played 10 minutes away in Shamokin.

Clearfield was 11-1 and heavily favored to play CCHS again before being upset by a 6-7 Shamokin team last week. It was almost as if Clearfield saw what was coming again and wanted no part of it.

CCHS scored on its third play from scrimmage and had four touchdowns within in its first 11 plays.

The only thing to worry about on a night like this is getting someone hurt and that's why everybody who cares about Vikings football had their hearts in their throats when the greatest quarterback in school history went down and didn't get up.

I asked Fairclough if it was a scary moment, and he said: "It was a cheap moment, and that's all I will say about that."

Later he said that injury is always a major concern in a game that's an obvious mismatch, but said: "I have never seen it magnified to this level. It's a shame. We started to take guys out one by one because we knew it would get uglier. It was chippy. They were chirping and taking shots at us all night. Our kids did a great job. I was proud of the way our kids handled it."

Fairclough said he couldn't wait to get his team on the bus and out of town.

Shamokin coach Dan Foor was highly complimentary of the CCHS players and coaching staff and said he tried his best to keep his kids under control.

"When one of our kids got called for something we pulled him aside and we told him that 'if you want to continue to play, don't do anything stupid'," Foor said. "I guess it got a little chippy. But I don't think anything major happened. In a game like this, you have to work a little harder to keep emotions in check."

Shamokin was frustrated. No wonder.

This was supposed to be a proud moment for the Indians who didn't give up on a season that began 2-6 and 3-7. It was remarkable for Shamokin to still be playing into December.

The same could be said of the Vikings, but the truth is that the whole key to this CCHS run was just qualifying for districts. Once in the 3A field, the defending champs were expected to roll for four weeks into the state semis, and they have with the exception of that surprising shootout against Valley View.

But now the matchup that a lot of people — especially Archbishop Wood fans — have been waiting for since last December is finally here: Wood vs. CCHS with a ticket to Hershey on the line.

http://www.mcall.com/sports/varsity/mc-cchs-column-1202-20111202,0,7011153.column