Tornado-Force Win
Butler blows past
Shaler, 47-0, in historic rout
September 30, 2017 High School Football
Butler's
Luke Michalek (5) and Logan Dubyak (33) celebrate a second-quarter touchdown
against Shaler Friday night. The Golden Tornado earned their first shutout
victory since 2008 with a 47-0 drubbing of Shaler.
STEVEN DALTON/ SPECIAL TO THE EAGLE
BUTLER TWP — Shaler was hoping history would
repeat itself Friday night at Art Bernardi Stadium.
Butler made some history instead.
Luke Michalek ended the first three Golden
Tornado possessions with touchdown runs, Butler's defense posted the program's
first shutout since 2008 and the Tornado cruised to a 47-0 Northern Seven
football victory.
“It was nice to be able to go out there and
dominate,” Butler coach Rob Densmore said. “That hasn't happened here in a
while.”
Not like this.
Butler's shutout was its first since an 18-0
win over Canon-McMillan in 2008.
The 47 points were the most the Tornado have
scored in a game since a 47-29 win over Seneca Valley in 2005.
The 40-plus point margin of victory was the
program's first since a 49-8 win over New Castle in 1992.
The 47-point margin of victory was the first
since a 47-0 shutout of Har-Brack in 1964.
“We knew they were going to run the football
and that No. 5 (Michalek) was a fast runner and an outstanding athlete,” Shaler
coach Jim Ryan said.
“We had defenses designed to stop him. We
just didn't execute.”
Shaler's last game at Butler was in 2015,
when the Titans ended a 34-game losing streak. Shaler has now lost 20 in a row
as its hopes of ending another skid here faded quickly.
Michalek had 12 carries for 143 yards and
touchdown runs of 26, 12 and 74 yards. He only had two carries for four yards
in the second half.
His brother, John Michalek, had 18 carries
for 95 yards and a touchdown. Trent Valent had three carries for 90 yards on
Butler's final possession — a 99-yard drive that ended with a 5-yard Chris
Mertz TD run.
Brandon Fleeger scored on a 25-yard run for
the Tornado in the fourth quarter. Butler's other score was produced by the
defense as Jacob Tilko returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown.
“Our defensive ends were bringing it
tonight,” Densmore said. “Darrin Skidmore and Colton Frost just go non-stop.
Their motors never quit.
“They were making plays time after time
after time.”
Skidmore was in on numerous tackles for loss
and Frost had four quarterback sacks to go with a fumble recovery.
Shaler (0-6, 0-4) did not get inside the
Butler 40 until late in the final quarter. Brian Colarusso hauled in a 33-yard
pass from sophomore quarterback Darin Mizgorski to set up a scoring chance.
But on second-and-6 from the Butler 8-yard
line, Mizgorski was intercepted by Mertz to thwart the opportunity.
Senior Shaler quarterback Hunter Zukowski
did not suit up for Friday's game because of a knee injury.
“They've got some injuries and I know what
that's like,” Densmore said. “We don't have a whole lot of depth, either.”
The Titans were limited to 129 yards of
offense, only 46 on the ground. Butler (2-3, 1-3) attempted only one pass all
night and rushed for 379 yards on the evening.
“They are a couple of clicks ahead of us in
development right now and it showed,” Ryan said. “They controlled the line of
scrimmage and controlled the game.
“We have a long way to go in turning this
around. We know that. We just have to stay the course just like Butler does.”
The Tornado travel to Central Catholic next
Friday.
“I consider them (Vikings) to be on a par
with North Allegheny,” Densmore said. “If we execute another four or five plays
against NA, we're right in that game.
“Our kids just have to have the confidence.
They have to believe they can do this.”
Shaler 0 0 0 0 — 0
Butler 14 20 0 13 — 47
First Quarter
B — Luke Michalek 26 run (Emery Douthett
kick), 8:20
B — Michalek 12 run (Douthett kick), 2:14
Second Quarter
B — Michalek 74 run (Douthett kick), 7:36
B — Jacob Tilko 35 interception return
(Douthett kick), 2:42
B — John Michalek 2 run (kick failed), :20
Fourth Quarter
B — Brandon Fleeger 24 run (kick failed),
10:39
B — Chris Mertz 5 run (Douthett kick), 2:12
Individual Statistics
Rushing: Shaler, Joey Kremer 16-49, Jake
Bredl 7-0, Darin Mizgorski 5-(-18), Brian Colarusso 2-11, Noah Woods 1-4.
Butler, Luke Muichalek 12-143, Logan Dubyak 1-2, Jacob Tilko 1-4, John Michalek
18-95, Chris Mertz 2-7, Dan Kline 1-3, Brandon Fleeger 3-35, Trent Valent 3-90.
Passing: Shaler, Darin Mizgorski 7-16-83-2.
Butler, Luke Michalek 0-1-0-0.
Receiving: Shaler, Brian Colarusso 2-42,
Adam Wenger 3-22, Joey Kremer 1-11, Matt Bendel 1-8.