Palmerton’s Machalik first in league to hit season milestone
Matt Machalik continues to pile up impressive offensive numbers.
The Palmerton sophomore ran for 217 yards and four touchdowns to help his team win its seventh consecutive game — 45-24 over Minersville.
Machalik now has a District 11-leading 26 rushing touchdowns and 1,245 rushing yards, which leads all Morning Call area players in the Colonial LeagueSchuylkill League cooperative. He also is the first area CL-SL quarterback to have at least 1,000 rushing and passing yards (1,016).
His 1,696 career rushing yards and 31 touchdowns has him shooting up the list on Palmerton’s career charts (2,685 and 46, respectively) with at least two more games this season plus two more years.
Machalik is one of several Colonial League players making a name for himself:
Pen Argyl sophomore Damian Tyminski’s 772 receiving yards this season is a school record. The sophomore has done that on 42 catches, eight of which have gone for touchdowns. He undoubtedly will be chasing the program marks for career catches (67), receiving yards (1,452) and receiving TDs (12) the next two seasons.
Pen Argyl junior Gian Greggo’s 18 tackles in Saturday’s game against Notre Dame-GP gives him a school-record 118 this year — which also is tops among all area CL-SL defensive players.
Northern Lehigh’s Dylan Smoyer continues to zero in on several school records. His 1,473 passing yards this season is third on the list behind Don Rubright (1,581 in 1969) and Gary Van Norman (1,755 in 1968). His 2,449 career passing yards is 112 shy of the record and his 30 TD passes is tied for first all time with at least two games left.
Northern Lehigh’s Trevor Amorim continues to add to his school record for career receiving yards (1,635), and is closing in on the single-season mark of 856 set by Duke Lilly in 1968. He has 807. His 83 career catches and 18 career TD catches are closing in on the marks of 89 and 21, respectively.
Wilson’s Cayden Stem threw his 60th career touchdown in Saturday’s win over Blue Mountain. It was one of four he had that day. He also reached 300 career completions and is closing in on 5,000 career passing yards (4,867).
Saucon Valley’s Damian Garcia is 83 rushing yards shy of 2,000 for his career. ... Palisades’ Kyle McGrath is five receiving yards shy of 1,000 for his career . ... Northwestern’s Justin Holmes reached 1,000 passing yards this season (1,092) and needs 27 rushing yards to reach 1,000 in 2021. He now has 2,561 career passing yards and 31 TD passes.
Colonial League-Schuylkill League Week 9 stat heroes
(From teams in The Morning Call coverage area)
Eric Striba, Bangor: Ran for 134 yards and completed five of 10 passes for 57 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to Pottsville.
Miles Melendez, Catasauqua: Made 10 tackles, including two for loss, in a win over Schuylkill Haven.
Elijah Soler, Catasauqua: Ran for 105 yards and a touchdown, caught a 49-yard pass and made eight tackles against Schuylkill Haven.
Wyatt Younes, Catasauqua: Caught a 74-yard touchdown pass, made three tackles and intercepted two passes against Schuylkill Haven.
Derryl Fisher, Jim Thorpe: Caught six passes for 135 yards and a touchdown plus intercepted two passes, returning one for a TD, in a win over Palisades. Brayden Lutz, Lehighton: Caught six passes for 112 yards in a loss to Southern Lehigh.
Brady O’Donnell, Lehighton: Completed 13 of 23 passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns against Southern Lehigh.
Matt Martin, Marian Catholic: Rushed for 190 yards and two touchdowns to help the Colts win their second game in a row. Also had a team-high 11 tackles.
Jesse Rodino, Marian Catholic: Made 10 tackles, including two for loss, against Panther Valley.
Trevor Amorim, Northern Lehigh:
Caught six passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Salisbury. Also made six tackles.
Dylan Smoyer, Northern Lehigh:
Completed nine of 13 passes for 209 yards and three touchdowns against Salisbury.
Dalton Clymer, Northwestern: Rushed for 71 yards and two touchdowns and made three tackles, including one for loss, in a win at Saucon Valley.
Justin Holmes, Northwestern: Completed 10 of 13 passes for 187 yards and two TDs against Saucon Valley. Also rushed for a TD.
Alex Cruz, Notre Dame-GP: Caught nine passes for 88 yards in a win over Pen Argyl. Also made two tackles and forced a fumble.
Danny Darno, Notre Dame-GP: Completed 32 of 42 passes for 288 yards and three TDs against Pen Argyl.
Kai Stiansen, Palisades: Made 10 tackles, one for loss, rushed for 57 yards and caught four passes for 30 yards in a loss to Jim Thorpe.
Dominic Dengler, Palmerton: Made a career-high 12 tackles in a Senior Night win over Minersville.
Lucas Heydt, Palmerton: Had a 24-yard touchdown run, caught a two-point conversion catch, made eight tackles and had a 69-yard kickoff return against Minersville.
Matt Machalik, Palmerton: Ran for 217 yards and three touchdowns, threw a pair of two-point conversions and caught another one against Minersville. He also threw for 78 yards, made nine tackles and intercepted his fifth pass of the season. Cole Dorshimer, Pen Argyl: Completed 17 of 30 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to Notre Dame-GP. Also made three tackles.
Gian Greggo, Pen Argyl: League’s leading tackler added 18 more against Notre Dame-GP. His 118 breaks Tanner Barr’s program mark (111) set in 2016.
Damian Tyminski, Pen Argyl: Caught seven passes for 140 yards and one TD against Notre Dame-GP. His 772 receiving yards this season breaks Tyler Germano’s school record set in 2000.
Nick Beck, Salisbury: Ran 25 times for 220 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Northern Lehigh. Also made four tackles. Ben Krauss, Salisbury: Made nine tackles and forced a fumble against Northern Lehigh.
Cael Markle, Saucon Valley: Made a team-high 10 tackles, including a sack, in a loss to Northwestern.
Blaze Curry, Southern Lehigh: Rushed for 109 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Lehighton.
Tyler Houser, Southern Lehigh: Caught a TD pass, returned an interception for a score and made 3.5 tackles against Lehighton. James Wisecarver, Southern Lehigh: Ran for 160 yards and three touchdowns on just seven carries against Lehighton. He also threw a TD pass.
Warren Stewart, Tamaqua: Rushed for 86 yards and made three tackles in a loss to North Schuylkill.
Zack Gillen, Wilson: Caught 10 passes for 137 yards and three for touchdowns to help the Warriors snap a three-game losing streak with a home win over Blue Mountain. Damian Simpson, Wilson: Ran for 84 yards and two TDs against Blue Mountain. Cayden Stem, Wilson: Completed
15 of 22 passes for 242 yards and four touchdowns against Blue Mountain. Also made 10 tackles.