(The Ed Romance Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame will hold its annual induction ceremonies today. Each day this week, biographies of inductees and honorees were published.)
SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT
1994 PIAA AA STATE CHAMPIONSHIP FOOTBALL TEAM
Expectations entering the 1994 football season at Mount Carmel were obviously high. The Tornadoes, under second year head coach Whitey Williams, were returning 20 lettermen, no less than 12 starters at 17 positions, record-breaking quarterback-receiver combo Mike Higgins and Joel Gonzalo, and an attitude and mindset to succeed. They had lost the 1993 District 11 AAA championship game to Allentown Central Catholic and were going to compete at the AA level for the first time.
They began their season with three consecutive wins against Tamaqua, Panther Valley and Marian Catholic by a combined scored of 132-14.
The Tornadoes then got by traditional rival Shamokin by a score of 21-18 for their first win over the Indians in five seasons.
The Tornadoes then lost a slugfest to Montoursville, 13-12, that led to a meeting organized by the seniors that continued to be known as "Pride Night" - where the players vowed to not lose another game.
Mount Carmel followed it up with a 34-7 win over Hanover Area to set up the meeting with rival North Schuylkill.
The Spartans entered the game undefeated at 6-0 and had only given up 33 points all season.
The Tornadoes scored 29 points by halftime on the way to a 42-0 rout. The Tornado defense held North Schuylkill to minus 54 total yards.
The Tornadoes then dismantled Shikellamy, 24-7, and barely beat Blue Mountain, 14-10, The win over the Eagles was highlighted by a 70-yard touchdown pass from Higgins to Brett Veach late in the game.
A six-turnover, 11-penalty win over Towanda set up the district championship game with Catasauqua.
The Rough Riders had only allowed 64 point during their 10-0 season and were playing at home, but the defense again paved the way, holding Catasauqua to 78 total yards, including minus seven rushing, as the Tornadoes prevailed 19-0.
The Tornadoes then won their first-ever state playoff game with a 41-22 win over the District 1 champion Lansdale Catholic.
That set up a game with Dallas, the defending AA state champions which were also riding a 24 game winning streak.
The Mountaineers had only given up 29 points all season, but ended up giving up 21 in the first half as Higgins and Gonzalo connected for a 38-yard TD on the opening series. Then came a 15-yard touchdown pass from Mike Higgins to Eric Higgins off a fake field goal with one second on the clock in the half.
The next week, Cocalico jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the state semifinal at North Schuylkill. But after that, the defense shut down a pair of 1,000 yard rushers and the Tornadoes' offense scored 35 points on 20 plays.
Thousands of fans, including 20 bus loads of followers, went to Altoona with the Red Tornadoes
Altoona was the destination for 1,000's of fans, including 20 bus loads of loyal followers, and the Tornadoes for their first-ever PIAA state championship game with Forrest Hills.
Mike Higgins scored on a seven-yard run in the second overtime to finally give Mount Carmel a 20-14 win.
The Tornadoes totaled 286 yards on offense, while the secondary set a state championship record with five interceptions.
The defense only allowed 616 rushing in their first 12 games, besting the 784 given up by the 1970 championship team. Their 24 interceptions were the third best in school history. Offensively, the 117 completions ranked as the best ever and the 449 points scored was second only to the 1969 team.