Carlisle outscores Chambersburg 49-35 in 100th meeting
CHAMBERSBURG >> In the 100th meeting between Carlisle and Chambersburg, the teams appeared to be trying to hit the century mark in points scored.
They weren't that far away.
The Thundering Herd got a dazzling display of offense from a trio of performers, which was enough to offset a pair of Trojan running backs who went over 100 yards, and capture a 49-35 Mid Penn Commonwealth Division football victory at Trojan Stadium on Friday night.
Nate Barnes toasted Chambersburg for four touchdowns. He scored on receptions of 14, 3 and 28 yards from quarterback Eric Harris (17 of 31, 232 yards) and intercepted two passes on defense, returning one 56 yards for a touchdown.
DeShawn Millington was equally dangerous. He ran three times and picked up 98 yards, and returned a kickoff 70 yards for a score to crush the Trojans' hopes of a comeback midway through the third quarter.
"That really took the wind out of our sails," Chambersburg interim coach Scott Mitchell said. "We had just had a seven-minute drive to get within a score (27-21), and they return the kickoff."
Herd coach Josh Oswalt said, "DeShawn had a great night, and so did Nate. It seemed like whenever we needed a big play, one of them made it for us."
For the Trojans (1-7, 1-4 MPC), Carter Edmondson carried 22 times for 126 yards, including a trio of touchdowns on 1-yard runs, and Darius Johnson had 16 carries for 104 yards. Warren Lee added 72 yards and Brandon Miller had 21 for a team total of 328 yards on 58 carries.
Edmondson said, "I had a feeling we could run the ball tonight. The linemen did their jobs and we could go get some yards. It's fun playing in a (high-scoring) game like this, but there's a pressure to score every time you have the ball."
Mitchell said, "We played well at times, and made some good plays. But then we'd make a mistake – a penalty, or a turnover or a missed assignment – and Carlisle took advantage of them."
Chambersburg forced one Herd punt all game, in the first quarter, but Austin Kopp fumbled on the return and Carlisle (4-4, 2-3 MPC) recovered. But Kopp made up for it by picking off a Harris pass near his own goal line. Unfortunately, Barnes made his first interception and set up his own TD catch to make it 13-7.
The Trojans held the lead one time in the game and it came after Kopp's second pick, which he returned to the Herd 25.
"With their offense, I was just trying to stay with my man, and keep my eyes in the backfield," Kopp said. "We were all just trying to do our own jobs."
Edmondson's second score and Nazeer Taylor's kick gave Chambersburg a 14-13 lead with 5:22 left in the first half.
But before the half ended, the Herd scored on Barnes' third TD and a 6-yard run by Rojen Procopio.
The Trojans offered some hope with a smart 11-play drive to open the third quarter, with Lee carrying six straight times for 39 yards, but Millington's kickoff return put a halt to any momentum gained. And Carlisle scored the next two TDs to put the game away.
In the final quarter, Chambersburg scored twice, on Edmondson's final short run, and again when he got to the goal line, fumbled and teammate Cruz Rodriguez recovered the ball.
Oswalt said, "Chambersburg did everything they needed to do to slow us down – they owned the time of possession. They are a scary team ... and they're young."
"I'm proud of the kids," Mitchell said. "They kept battling and scored a couple touchdowns late. We've been better at running the ball lately and we were able to do that tonight."
The Trojans hit season highs in points and yards (416).
Carlisle 49, Chambersburg 35
Carlisle720814—49Chambersburg77714—35
First Quarter
Car — Nate Barnes 14 pass from Eric Harris (Rojen Porcopio kick), 9:15
Ch — Carter Edmondson 1 run (Nazeer Taylor kick), 3:03
Second Quarter
Car — N.Barnes 3 pass from Harris (run failed), 11:52
Ch — Edmondson 1 run (Taylor kick), 5:22
Car — N.Barnes 28 pass from Harris (pass failed), 4:43
Car — Porcopio 6 run (Gavyn Barnes pass from Harris), 0:48
Third Quarter
Ch — Warren Lee 7 run (Taylor kick), 5:50
Car — DeShawn Millington 70 kickoff return (Zion Patterson pass from Millington), 5:39
Fourth Quarter
Car — Tyler Greene 4 run (Patterson run), 11:56
Car — N.Barnes 56 interception return (kick failed), 10:39
Ch — Edmondson 1 run (Tayloro kick), 6:09
Ch — Cruz Rodriguez recovered fumble in end zone (Taylor kick), 0:37
CarChbgFirst downs1621Rushes-yards20-16758-328Passing17-31-38-20-2Passing yards23288Total yards399416Punts1-43.04-30.5Fumbles-lost0-02-1Penalties-yards7-7512-77
Individual statistics
Rushing — Car, Millington 3-98, Greene 11-55, Porcopio 3-21, G.Barnes 1-1, N.Barnes 2-(-8). Chbg, Edmondson 22-126, Darius Johnson 16-104, Lee 12-72, Brandon Miller 5-21, Hunter Leedy 1-4, Kaden Hoover 2-1.
Passing — Car, Harris 17-31-232-3. Chbg, Hoover 7-15-72-1, H.Leedy 1-5-16-1.
Receiving — Car, N.Barnes 7-101, Millington 6-68, Patterson 1-33, John Christopher 2-29, G.Barnes 1-1. Chbg, Sean Vessah 3-29, Griffin Leedy 1-16, Josh Honorat 1-11, Spencer Seaman 1-11, Sam Blevins 1-7.
Interceptions — Car, N.Barnes 2. Chbg, Austin Kopp 2, Caleb Thompson.