MOUNT CARMEL - Mount Carmel had every reason to leave the field in high spirits Friday, albeit with one big cloud hanging over its head.
That cloud was not the one which brought a lightning storm which halted play for 45 minutes, but an injury to Lucas Klingerman's shoulder that leaves his availability in the coming weeks as muddy as the Silver Bowl field.
Now for the good: The Red Tornadoes' offense mixed run and pass effectively on the way to 405 total yards, while the defense held Hughesville to just 25 yards on the way to a 41-13 Heartland Conference Division II win for Mount Carmel.
But then there's the bad news, something the Red Tornadoes have been dealing with all season.
Klingerman left the game in the first quarter on the Red Tornadoes' eighth offensive play after he landed on his right shoulder following a six-yard run. He finished with 16 yards.
"I'm worried about Luke Klingerman. We just can't seem to shake this thing," Mount Carmel head coach Carmen DeFrancesco said about the rash of injuries that have hit his team this year. "I'm concerned about him. We're going to see what his issue is, but that's been the story of our season. It's his
shoulder, but we hope it's nothing serious."
Against Hughesville, the Red Tornadoes survived without their leading rusher, and it was an overall team effort.
Apart from one play, the offense was careful with the ball and used methodical drives to score four first-half touchdowns.
The Red Tornadoes scored first, capping a 11-play drive with a two-yard run by Corey Langton. Langton replaced Klingerman and finished the game with 68 yards on 11 carries.
The Mount Carmel defense also shined all game. It held Hughesville's offense to just 16 plays in the first half and didn't allow either of the Spartans' touchdowns.
On Mount Carmel's next drive following Langton's touchdown, Hughesville's Ethan Duff stepped in front of a Wasilewski pass and went 50 yards for the interception return for a score.
DeFrancesco took all the blame away from his quarterback on that play.
"That was my fault," DeFrancesco said. "We ran a bootleg pass all week out of a certain formation and I called it out of a formation we haven't run in three weeks and I confused the kids. Washy was all apologetic and I told him that one was on me."
Hughesville's only other touchdown came in the second half on an 85-yard kickoff return by Kris Newman.
The interception was also the only stop Hughesville put together against the Red Tornadoes in the first half.
Mount Carmel converted three times on fourth down and got scores from Eric Joraskie (10 yards through the air for the first of his career), a 10-yard run by Bobby Beierschmitt and a five-yard run by Danny Lesko.
"We said to the guys in the locker room that we could make this game as easy as they want or as hard as they want, and they came out and did what was expected of them," DeFrancesco said. "We said to them that these are the types of games that on paper you should win, so let's go out and do the job and enjoy ourselves.
"We expected our defense to play well, and they've got to. If we want to make a run in the playoffs, we have to play defense."