Hornet comeback topples Cowanesque Valley, 36-14.

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The Wellsboro Hornet football team spotted the Cowanesque Valley Indians a 14-0 lead early in the game, but rallied to defeat the hosts 36-14 on Saturday afternoon. The victory raises Wellsboro's slate to 1-3 on the year.

Cowanesque Valley scored on a 70 yard drive on their first possession of the game. Quarterback Kevin Brown ran the last 25 yards to paydirt. The conversion by kicker Mark James was good and the Indians led 7-0. Later in the period, a Hornet drive was stalled by a Brown interception.

The Indians again drove deep into Wellsboro territory in the second quarter, but the Hornet defense stiffened. CV lined up on the Hornet 23-yard line for a field goal attempt, but the snap went over the head of Brown, the holder. Brown scrambled back for the ball and hit Alan House in the end zone for another six-pointer. James again added the kick as Cowanesque increased their lead to 14-0.

On the ensuing kick, Jack Maynard returned the ball to the Indian 48-yard line, giving the Hornets good field position. Quarterback Todd Coolidge capped a short five play, 48 yard drive with a 19 yard touchdown run. Jack Maynard ran two yards off-tackle for the two-point conversion as Wellsboro cut the gap to 14-8.

The pivotal point in the contest came as the Hornets kicked off following their score. The CV return man fumbled the ball and Wellsboro's Carl Buss recovered on the Indians' 15-yard line. Several plays later, Coolidge scored on a one yard quarterback sneak. Maynard again ran a successful two-point conversion to put the Hornets on top for good, 16-14.

Just before intermission, Cowanesque Valley began to move the ball again, but a Maynard interception killed the drive and the half ended with Wellsboro in the lead.

Wellsboro dominated the second half. On the opening possession, the Hornets marched 68 yards in only 4 plays. Ken Gfroerer sparked the drive with a 62 yard jaunt to the Indian one-yard line. From there Maynard went the final yard for the score. The conversion try failed, but Wellsboro increased its margin to eight, 22-14.

Later in the third period, a clipping penalty stalled yet another Wellsboro scoring opportunity. Gfroerer ran nine yards around left end for an apparent score, but the penalty pushed the Hornets back to the 24-yard line. On fourth down Coolidge found Buss on a pass play which came up inches shy of a touchdown. The Hornets again held CV's offense and forced them to punt.

Gfroerer returned the kick 33 yards to the Indian 18-yard line. Two plays later, Gfroerer scored on a six yard run. Maynard was once again successful and the Hornets lead increased to 30-14 as the third quarter ended.

The Wellsboro defense created two more Indian turnovers in the final stanzas but were not able to convert them into scores. Coolidge intercepted a pass and Nick Lylo recovered a fumble.

The Hornets' final score came with three minutes left in the game, on a 44 yard pass play from Coolidge to Maynard. CV's final scoring drive ended when defensive end Rusty Heatwole sacked Brown.

Coolidge had another fine afternoon, passing for over 100 yards for the fourth time this season. He also scored twice. Gfroerer ran for over 100 yards and scored once. Maynard scored two touchdowns, converted three two-point conversions and caught two passes for 68 yards.

The entire offensive line played well, enabling the Hornets to amass over 200 yards rushing. In addition, the defense stiffened in the second half, allowing the Indians to cross midfield only once.

Wellsboro's next game is set for this Saturday, October 10 at 2:00 p.m. at home against Towanda. The contest will highlight the Hornets' Homecoming Weekend.

The Wellsboro JV team dropped to 1-3 after losing to Athens last Thursday, 22-0. Tomorrow night (Thursday) they play at Towanda at 4:00 p.m.