COAL TOWNSHIP - There was much more at stake in Mount Carmel's game with Shamokin on Wednesday than The Coal Shovel.
Still, it's always nice to keep any and all trophies away from your rival.
With a district playoff berth within its grasp, Mount Carmel took care of business against the Indians to the tune of a 7-3 victory at Kemp Memorial Stadium, qualifying for the playoffs and keeping the sought-after trophy for another year.
The playoff-clinching ninth win, something head coach Rich Miller would have bet would have come sooner, came with just two games remaining on the Tornadoes' regular-season slate.
"We had a lot of games moved around, but I didn't think it would go this late (into the season)," Miller said. "I was always pretty confident we'd get in."
Things haven't been as easy for Mount Carmel as in the past because of a combination of uncontrollable events, namely injuries and the weather.
"We only had our starting lineup together for three games all year because of injuries," Miller said.
The starters available on Wednesday needed to get their legs back after a hard-fought 1-0 loss to Loyalsock on Tuesday. When their legs came back, however, they really came back.
Jen Bolick put Mount Carmel on the board with an unassisted goal at the 16 minute mark, touching off a Red Tornado scoring bonanza.
Ali Varano scored three times before the end of the first half and Bolick punched one more in as the Red Tornadoes led 5-0 at the half.
"It looked like they were sluggish," Miller said. "I think Loyalsock took a lot out of them, and it took them a little while to get going."
Shamokin's Brandi Segura and Liz Kapushinski scored within three minutes of each other in the second half to make the score 5-2, but Mount Carmel put its starters back in to quell any further Indians' rally.
Ranotta Ahrensfield and Amanda Kuzo both scored in the second half for Mount Carmel, and Segura added her second goal with just 53 second left in the game.
Shamokin dropped to 3-13 overall on the season, its hopes of the playoffs long dashed.
"It's been disappointing," Shamokin head coach Kurt Jones said. "There have been a lot of things that have affected our play that we can't control in terms of games being pushed together.
"We've played nine games in 13 days and the injury bug has bitten us. We're out of gas, and it's tough right now."
The Tornadoes (9-7) have Jersey Shore and Mifflinburg remaining on the schedule, games they'll want to win to try and avoid an early-round date with Loyalsock or Warrior Run. With so many games yet to be played around the district, it's tough to get a gauge on where teams will be seeded.
"We have two more games, and I don't think anyone will really know who they're playing until Sunday," Miller said.
"We want to win them because I think it'll help us. Two wins will hopefully get us away from the top teams."
Game Summary
Mount Carmel 5 2 - 7
Shamokin 0 3 - 3
MC - J. Bolick (unassisted) 16:01
MC - Varano (unassisted) 24:34
MC - J. Bolick (Getty) 29:29
MC - Varano (Ahrensfield) 30:10
MC - Varano (Ahrensfield) 39:17
S - Segura (Zalar) 47:06
S - Kapushinski (Segura) 50:02
MC - Ahrensfield (unassisted) 63:49
MC - Kuzo (Matos) 68:01
S - Segura (unassisted) 79:07
Shots: Mount Carmel 25, Shamokin 9. Corner kicks: Mount Carmel 1, Shamokin 0. Saves: Mount Carmel (Van Doren) 4, Shamokin (Broscious and Martin) 11.