Following a pre-game tribute honoring their fallen teammate, the Carbon County Savages semi-pro football team defeated the Hazelton Area Mustangs, 58-28, Saturday afternoon at Recreational Park in Jim Thorpe.

Team owners, Chris Styer and Kevin Kline, addressed the crowd before four Carbon County players unveiled a framed jersey with the No. 23 - previously worn by former Lehighton resident Kyle Hagenbuch, who was shot and killed in York on July 31.

During the ceremony, both teams locked arms and paused for a moment of silence.

“Kyle is what we look for in a Savage player,” said Styer. “He was a hard-hitting and dedicated football player.

“He showed toughness on the field and compassion for others off the field. Kyle was a brother to every player on this team. We lost a great piece to our team, but No. 23 will be forever recognized.”

Members of Hagenbuch’s family were presented with the jersey that has now been officially retired by the team. Savages head coach Mike Gonzalez then asked everyone in attendance to pray for peace and help to stop the hatred that has recently brought violence to the streets of America.

The Savages, a first-year franchise in the Great Eastern Football Association League, won their second game of the season by dominating the Mustangs in the first half.

The Odom brothers, quarterback Dennis and wide receiver Isahiah of Lehighton, paced the scoring attack with a strong passing game that led to a 30-0 lead at the intermission.

Isahiah caught four passes for over 60 yards and two touchdowns and was named Savage Player of the Week. Carbon County’s tight end, Steve Eckert, also finished a scoring drive with a diving end zone reception.

Gonzalez said his team came prepared to execute their game plan.

“We had scouted the Mustangs and we set up combination pass routes to put pressure on their secondary and on defense,” said Gonzalez. “We executed some blitzes against their smaller O line.”

The second half saw the Mustangs score all of their 28 points, as quarterback Dave Durange threw for three touchdowns.

“We used the second half to get some playing time for some of our guys who haven’t played as much,” said Styer. “We were pretty impressed, especially with our pass rush off the edges.”

The Carbon County Savages are now 2-3 in the Valley Conference of the GEFA. Their two remaining regular season games are against the Monroe County Diamondbacks on Sept. 5 and the Dickson City Shock on Sept. 12. Both are away games with starting times of 1 p.m.

Hazleton Area 0 0 14 14 - 28

Carbon County 10 20 14 14 - 58