COAL TOWNSHIP - Pat DiRienzo has either been on the sideline or the pressbox for most, if not all, of the 18 straight losses Shamokin Area has suffered at the hands of Mount Carmel. When the teams play for the Coal Bucket tonight, DiRienzo will be the Indians' head coach for the first time, and he's hoping maybe that will bring a change of luck to the Indians.
But he's not dwelling on it. With his team at 5-4 and already assured a District 4 AAA playoff spot, he's more concerned about the Indians earning their first winning season since 2005.
"That's one of our goals, and to reach that goal, we have to beat Mount Carmel," DiRienzo said. "That's how we're approaching it. If we win the Coal Bucket, that would be a double bonus. But we're trying to go about this as another game and preparing for playoffs. It's the same approach we've taken all year."
Still, DiRienzo knows this isn't just any other game, and finding just the right approach, after 18 straight losses, is difficult.
"Sometimes, with all that goes on surrounding the game, it's tough to get the kids' focus," he said. "There is all the outside talk, they're friends with kids on the other team, and all sorts of stuff."
Focus was something the Indians got back in their 33-28 win over Mifflinburg last week, after a 55-15 loss to Montoursville the week before.
"The kids were overconfident against Montoursville," DiRienzo said. "We beat Shikellamy the week before and Shikellamy had beaten Montoursville. We didn't have a good week of practice. We didn't block well or tackle well.
"Last week during practice, we kind of went back to basics. Instead of hitting each other, we did a lot of sled work and bag work, and worked on form a little. It paid off."
DiRienzo thinks the Indians and Red Tornadoes match up fairly well this season.
"They're a good, quality program. They're 6-3. They've won their share of games," he said. "We've won the games we were supposed to win and they've won the games they were supposed to win. We both got beat by the same teams, by a lot of points."
With Mount Carmel having a high-powered offense which has produced just under 30 points per game, but a defense which is giving up slightly more, DiRienzo would like nothing better than for his team to keep the football away from the Red Tornadoes' offense.
"Absolutely, we have to do what we do, which is ball control," he said. "They have some great backs in (Kyle) Karycki and (Blake) Panko and some shifty receivers. (Dominic) Farronato is a good quarterback, They have some weapons. We have to be prepared for anything, too. They'll probably throw in some trick plays."