2023 PRZPA July Two-A-Days, Mount Carmel Preview
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The Mount Carmel Red Tornadoes are coming off a tremendous 12-1 season last fall including going 7-0 in the Heartland conference. A dominating offense averaged 42.6 points per game which was paired with a stifling defense that only allowed 15.6…
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Continue ReadingThe Mount Carmel Red Tornadoes are coming off a tremendous 12-1 season last fall including going 7-0 in the Heartland conference. A dominating offense averaged 42.6 points per game which was paired with a stifling defense that only allowed 15.6 points per game. They were unbeatable throughout the entire regular season but would end up seeing their season come to an end in the playoffs against the Southern Columbia Tigers.
There’s no shame, however, losing to Southern Colubmia, as the Tigers would go onto win their sixth consecutive state championship.
After their 12-1 season, the Red Tornadoes are looking prime for another strong season in 2023 under head coach John Darrah.
Spears is a great talent and was a Mr. Do It All for Mt. Carmel last year.
He did a great job at quaterback last fall, compelting 70.3% of his passes for 14 touchdowns and over 1,200 yards. Has a nice touch on his passes with great anticipiation and ball placement. Shows the abilities to make passes to all levels.
Spears is also a good athlete with strong vision as a ball carrier. Once he sees a lane open in front of him, he has a nice burst to his game that allows him to epxlode in and out of the hole.
Has suffered an ACL tear in the past but it doesn’t appear to be of any major concern going forward.
A smaller running back, Diaz is listed at about 5-foot-9 / 5-foot-10 and around 150-160 pounds. That being said, that size doesn’t hurst his game at all. He has good vision and does a tremendous job of bouncing to the open holes. He’s elusive and shows the ability to change direction without losing much, if any speed in the process. He’s also quite “slippery”, he’s not easy to bring down often breaking tackels as he looks to run through would be tacklers. Averaged 9.9 yards per run last season, finishing with just over 900 yards and 13 touchdowns on the season.
Here’s what Vic Castillo Vic Castillo RB PA had to say about Diaz earlier this offeason.
“10.95 100M dash, 22.3 200M dash, we know speed is Xavier Diaz Xavier Diaz 5’9″ | 145 lbs | ATH Mount Carmel | 2024 State PA ‘s game. That being said, colleges have been relatively slow to offer the young man out of Mount Carmel. There is a real chance that Diaz sees track opportunities before anything, the kid is a real star on the lanes. We ranked Diaz inside the top 200 for a reason, he can move on the field too. Running well at camps could bolster his stock quickly. Unsure if he’s camping since track meets might take priority.”
Schultz is actually both a great linebacker and tight end / wide receiver for Mount Carmel who has the ability to play either postiion at the next level. Like my colleague Vic Castillo Vic Castillo RB PA , I believe Schultz is better suited to play linebacker at the next level. Very good athlete who shows plus awareness on both sides of the ball. Natural at both tight end and linebacker.
The 2025 offensive lineman has immense size at 6-foot-5 and 305-pounds. Unfortunately, there is not a ton of tape out there on Shimko making it harder to evaluate him. That being said, teh size is undeniable and of what tape there is of the 2025 prospect, Shimko moves very well for a player his size, has a quality technical foundation to his game and shows the footwork and agility needed to be a high end offensive tackle.
The first of two Balichik standouts, Chase plays strong safety and wide receiver for the Red Tornadoes.
Chase is a strong athlete overall and is impressive at strong safety. He shows teha biltiy to read a quarterbacks eyes while also keeping up with recivers in his area and does a good job of jumping routes and coming down with an interception. Sound tackler who wraps up ball carriers quickly and limits the yards after catch. Chase will be one of the leaders of the Mt. Carmel defense this season.
Matthew Balichik Matthew Balichik LB Mount Carmel | 2025 State PA
Matthew Balichik Matthew Balichik LB Mount Carmel | 2025 State PA
Matt Balichik does a little bit of everythinf for Mount Carmel with quartreback, strong safety, and cornerback listed as his positions. He also has played linebacker for the Red Tornadoes as well.
Good athlete overall who was quite good as the Red Tornadoes quarterback but also showed his athelticsm quite a bit as well. he’s a smart runner with good vision and plays much bigger than his 6-foot-0, 180-pound frame. Has a bit of shftineess to his game as well. Defensively, he shows a great football IQ being able to read and react to plays rapidly.
Logan Herb
Logan Herb
There’s not a ton of tape out there on Herb from last season which makes him toughter eo evalate. That being said, Herb has tremendous size at 6-foot-3 and 265-pounds and appears to have decent athleticism to go along with it. He’s a prospect athat is just scratching the surface of his potential.
Finally, we have Maddox Reed. The 2024 linebacker led the Red Tornadoes in tackles last year with 123 total tackles, nearly four more than his closeset teammate. He also had ten tackles for a loss over the course of the season.
He is a bit undersized for a linebacker and and has quality athleticism with a 4.85 forty-yard dash. Strong read and reaction skills with a good first quick step when getting towards the ball, smart player who takes quick rotues and is always ready to attack the inside hip of the ballcarrier.
Teancious in his pursuit, he is rarely denied when trying to get to a ballcarrier. May not be the most imrpessive player physically but is fundamentally sound and a high football IQ prospect.