When Sports Were Played: Carmichaels had head start on victory
Today’s “When Sports Were Played” installment is more about what happened before a game than anything that transpired on the field. On Sept. 30, 2016, every player on the Carmichaels football team shaved his head in a show of support for a student in the school district who was battling a rare disease and worried about his hair loss.
CARMICHAELS – Maybe the only people busier than the Carmichaels football team this week were the team barbers.
In this case, it was a few hairstylists from the community salons.
Each player on the team got a buzz cut at a Friday afternoon pep rally to show their support for 10-year-old Braedyn Wasko, who is battling Ewing’s sarcoma, the same disease that afflicted Canon-McMillan’s Luke Blanock.
“(Braedyn) loves football and he said that his biggest fear was losing his hair,” said Carmichaels quarterback Jonathan Christopher. “So we decided if he was going to lose his hair, we were going to be with him. So we all thought it was the greatest idea, and we were all in it from the start.”
All 41 players on the team got the buzz cut at a school pep rally, then went out and buzzed Mapletown, 35-0, in a Class A Tri-County South Conference game.
The win keeps the Mikes atop the conference with a 4-0 record.
They are 4-1 overall. Mapletown falls to 3-3, 2-2 in the conference.
Christopher had a strong game, passing for 89 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Joey Minor gained 133 yards on 12 carries and scored a touchdown.
Head coach Ryan Krull couldn’t participate in the haircuts because he already shaves his head.
“The eyebrows are gone,” said Krull. “There was nothing there to begin with on top.
“It was a special event and we were proud to be a part of it. The young man who is battling this, his outlook he has battling this thing has taught us all something. The guys understand we’re doing something for a greater cause. It gives me chills.”
The Mikes defense bottled up Mapletown tailback Dylan Rush. The junior came into the game needing 274 yards to reach 4,000 in his career but managed 98 yards on 25 carries. He was looking to become the fifth rusher in Greene County history to reach that mark. The others are Rodney Wilson of West Greene, who had 6,304 yards; Derek Bochna of Mapletown, who rushed for 4,793; Rocky Doman of Carmichaels, who gained 4,145 yard; and Lanfer Simpson of Waynesburg, who rambled for 4,010.
Simpson was at game with GreeneSports.net, which had a streaming broadcast of the game.
Carmichaels put this game out of reach early, scoring 27 points in the first quarter.
Brennen Pelzer capped a six-play drive with a three-yard run on the Mikes’ first drive. Chad Ruse made it 14-0 on a nine-yard run on the second series, and Garrett Ponick caught a 61-yard pass from Christopher to make it 20-0. Minor’s 19-yard run made it 27 by the end of the first quarter.
Carmichaels made it a Mercy Rule game when Christopher found Dylan Wilson from 19 yards out with 1:23 left in the half. Cody Brown caught the two-point conversion pass.
“They are huge up front. They’re not just huge; they come off the ball as hard as anyone I’ve seen in a long time,” said Mapletown head coach George Messich. “I have a lot of respect for that football team. It was such a mismatch size-wise and I knew we were going to have a hard time stopping them. Their size and power showed off against us.”