A Rivalry Forged in Coal Country:North Schuylkill and Mount Carmel Through the Years
Story by Adam Bernodin III
Adam is a historian of the North Schuylkill football team and creator of the Spartan Football history website. He will be inducted into the Football Hall of Fame on Friday, Sept. 18, during the Spartans’ game against Mount Carmel.
In the heart of anthracite coal country, where normal business routinely pauses on game day and stadium sidelines overflow with local miners, few traditions cut deeper than the historic gridiron rivalry between the Mount Carmel Red Tornadoes and the Ashland Black Diamonds—known today as the North Schuylkill Spartans. Across 85 storied meetings spanning more than a century, Mount Carmel holds a 61–23–1 overall series lead (including a 31–18 post-consolidation advantage over North Schuylkill), though the ledger barely captures the relentless drama on the field.
Ashland vs. Mount Carmel: The Early Years (1909–1965)
The series opened in 1909 with a 56–0 Mount Carmel blowout behind an 80-yard kickoff return touchdown by Longsdorf, inaugurating a 15-year shutout streak until Ashland broke through in 1924.
Yet the lore of the early era belongs to the historic 1933 clash, when Ashland beat Mount Carmel for the first time in school history. Before over 5,000 fanatical spectators at Mount Carmel’s brand-new Silver Bowl, Coach Al “Doggie” Julian led Ashland to a shocking 13–0 shutout victory, holding Mount Carmel without a single first down until the final four minutes. The triumph was so deeply cherished that when a spectator offered $100 cash on the spot for the game ball, Captain Herbert Scheuren and team officials flatly refused so it could be enshrined as a memento of the program’s greatest victory.
Today, that iconic 1933 ball is publicly displayed inside a dedicated trophy case alongside vintage Ashland High School championship trophies, historic team photos, and athletic artifacts at the Ashland Borough Hall / Anthracite Museum, on loan from the North Schuylkill School District.
Ashland built further momentum under Coach Stan Hino, who guided the Black Diamonds to three straight victories over Mount Carmel through 1950. The streak was anchored by a derailment of undefeated Mount Carmel in 1948 before a packed crowd of over 8,000 fans, where a Bill Dando touchdown run and two fourth-quarter end-zone interceptions secured a 13–8 win. The victory allowed Ashland to claim the Eastern Conference Southern Division crown and advance to the Eastern Conference Championship Game—which effectively served as the state title game back in its time. Hino’s squad extended their run with a 7–0 shutout in 1949 and an 18–7 victory in 1950, highlighted by lineman-turned-back Tom Laughlin sprinting 52 yards for a touchdown on his very first career carry.
Following a 6–6 draw in 1956, Mount Carmel hired Head Coach Joe “Jazz” Diminick in 1962 to reassert Red Tornado control. In 1963, Mount Carmel Area was formed via a jointure with neighboring Kulpmont High School, closing out the Black Diamonds era in 1965 with a 63–12 rout where Mount Carmel Area set a single-game school record by throwing six touchdown passes, led by quarterback Joe Buczynski’s four scoring strikes. Mount Carmel won the series 30–5–1.
North Schuylkill vs. Mount Carmel (1966–1988)
When Ashland, Frackville, and Ringtown consolidated into North Schuylkill in 1966, the new Spartans retained Ashland’s traditional slot on Mount Carmel’s schedule, even though Frackville had not previously played the Red Tornadoes. The hostility only intensified. Legendary Coach Joseph “Jazz” Diminick guided Mount Carmel Area through a staggering 16 consecutive post-consolidation victories (1966–1981).
Early highlights featured Gary Diminick’s electrifying 34-point half during a 56–7 blowout in 1969, Carson Long’s historic 54-yard field goal for the Spartans at Memorial Field in Ashland during a 21–3 Mount Carmel Area victory in 1972—a boot that stood as a Pennsylvania state record for years in the very game where Coach Diminick earned his 100th career coaching win—and Bob “Zig-Zag” Zavarick’s dominant six-touchdown performance in a 46–19 triumph in 1976.
This period birthed the infamous “Mount Carmel Mystique”—a psychological edge defined by Mount Carmel Area’s clutch special-teams execution and late-game heartbreak for North Schuylkill. In 1974, North Schuylkill led 27–19 with under two minutes remaining before a 7-yard shanked punt gave Mount Carmel Area short-field position for a quick touchdown, followed by a defensive stop and another score for a 30–27 Mount Carmel Area comeback win.
In 1977, trailing 14–10 with under two minutes left, Spartan quarterback Terry Rakowsky connected with Terry Bridal for a 60-yard gain down to the 3-yard line, only for Mount Carmel Area’s defense to hold firm on a thrilling goal-line stand. Then, in 1980, North Schuylkill captured a late 7–6 lead via an Eli Pleschack touchdown and Bob Beaver extra point, only for Bobby Joe Nigelo to race the ensuing kickoff straight up the middle with under a minute left for a 14–7 Mount Carmel Area shocker.
North Schuylkill finally broke the streak when Head Coach Barry Hackenberg ended the Red Tornadoes’ 16-game run in 1982 with a landmark 28–27 Spartan upset, rallying from two touchdowns down via a late 39-yard touchdown pass from John Jordan to Ron Hartz. Today, that historic 1982 game ball is proudly displayed in the North Schuylkill trophy case in the lower lobby of the high school.
Later in the decade, Head Coach Robert Moyer made history in 1986 and 1987 as the only Spartan coach to defeat “Jazz” Diminick twice (13–9 in 1986 and a 31–0 shutout in 1987). Mount Carmel Area countered in 1988 with a dramatic fourth-quarter 29–21 upset over top-ranked, undefeated North Schuylkill behind Dave Wesoloskie’s three touchdowns.
Mount Carmel’s Run and North Schuylkill’s Response (1990s–2013)
Mount Carmel Area reestablished series dominance heading into the 1990s and 2000s, amassing a 26–3 record over North Schuylkill through the mid-1990s. Under Head Coach Dave “Whitey” Williams, Mount Carmel Area extended the “mystique” by handing an undefeated Spartan squad a 42–0 blowout at the Silver Bowl—the only loss North Schuylkill suffered all season as Mount Carmel Area went on to win the PIAA Class AA State Championship.
Defined by its famed “Red Death Defense,” Mount Carmel Area earned its 600th program win in 1991, maintained a nine-game winning streak from 2000 to 2008, and capped a perfect 10–0 regular season in 2008 with a 28–21 victory. North Schuylkill countered with Bob Chesney’s 1999 upset (29–12), a 10–0 season of their own in 2009, and a three-year win streak from 2009 to 2011 coached by Rick Geist (27–7 in 2009, a 34–0 shutout in 2010, and 21–13 in 2011)—a feat unmatched by an Ashland-rooted program since Stan Hino (1948–1950).
The rivalry produced an 808-yard shootout in 2012 where Mount Carmel Area won 44–41 while setting a single-game school record with 315 passing yards, even as North Schuylkill’s 41 points set a then-record for the most points scored against Mount Carmel Area in a single game, followed by a 19–13 Mount Carmel Area victory in 2013.
North Schuylkill’s Recent Success (2014–2025)
In recent years, the tide has turned dramatically toward Spartan dominance under Head Coach Wally Hall, who compiled a 10–2 record against the Red Tornadoes from 2013 to 2025—making him the only coach in program history to defeat Mount Carmel Area 10 times.
During this era, North Schuylkill won 10 of 12 meetings and mounted their longest winning streak in series history from 2014 to 2021, taking seven straight victories: 53–21 in 2014, 41–0 behind Major Jordan in 2015, 28–14 in 2016, 33–22 in 2017, 21–20 in 2018, 29–17 in 2019, and 33–14 in 2021—interrupted only by an unprecedented 2020 pandemic cancellation that marked the sole hiatus in series history.
Mount Carmel Area briefly snapped the skid in 2022 with a 25–17 victory behind Cole Spears and Luke Blessing, but North Schuylkill immediately responded with three consecutive wins: 34–27 in 2023, 37–30 in 2024, and a 62–20 rout in 2025 powered by Luke Miller’s 242-yard, four-touchdown performance—re-breaking the record for the most points scored against Mount Carmel Area in a single game. What began as a raw coal-town feud over a century ago endures as an unyielding, high-stakes battleground of regional pride.