Wellsboro Hornets Drop Second Game of Season

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The Wellsboro Green Hornets beat the Troy Trojans in every offensive category last Friday night but still came up on the short end, losing their second consecutive game of the season by a 21-12 margin at Troy.

To deal with a hip pointer injury to halfback Shane Mascho, senior quarterback Jarred Regina moved to one of the two halfback spots in Wellsboro's Wing-T offense. Jake Banik, a junior, replaced Regina as the Green Hornet signal caller.

"You just can't find your identity as a team when you are forced to constantly plug holes because of injuries," said Wellsboro Head Coach Keith Dils. "Jarred is a good athlete and can play wherever we put him. By moving him to halfback it also gives Jake a chance to work on his quarterbacking. He has stepped up as a junior. He has a strong arm and is not afraid to throw the ball."

Troy made a statement in their first drive of the game by moving the football 65 yards in four minutes to score their opening touchdown. Trojan quarterback Kyle Smith was five for five through the air in that first series for 44 yards.

Wellsboro's first drive, three plays and out, set the tempo for them for the rest of the half. Fortunately, their defense saved them from falling too far behind, stiffening throughout the rest of the opening two periods to hold Troy scoreless.

That defensive effort included a four down goal line stand at the Wellsboro five-yard line to prevent Troy from scoring their second offensive touchdown of the night. Troy's second quarter score did not come at the expense of Wellsboro's defense, rather their offense. 

Near the beginning of the second quarter deep in his own territory, Banik threw a pass to his left looking for wideout Pete Coolidge. The pass was thrown behind Coolidge, picked off and run back 11 yards for Troy's second touchdown.

Troy won the battle of the first half by outgaining Wellsboro 91 yards to 69. The momentum shifted, however, on Wellsboro's first drive of the third period. It appeared as if the Troy defense was happy enough to move Wellsboro toward the Green Hornet end zone, until Regina ripped off a 59 yard gallop. That run set up a nine yard Regina scamper for Wellsboro's first touchdown of the night.

The score came just 2:30 into the third quarter.

"I'm proud of this team. We didn't fold up and we stormed back," Dils said. "It's unfortunate that we had the breakdowns that we did. If they hadn't scored on that interception, it could easily have been a tied ballgame."

The Wellsboro defense, led by lineman Joe Andrews and middle linebacker Brad Wilson, forced Troy to another three-and-out series after the Wellsboro touchdown.

It looked as if Wellsboro was in position to threaten again as they drove to mid-field from their own 29-yard line. Unfortunately for the visitors, Troy picked off another Banik pass to end the threat and shut down the drive.

The Trojans took advantage of the short field and scored on a slant pattern pitch and catch touchdown pass from Smith to Josh Gordon. The play was good for 79 yards after Troy was penalized twice.

The extra point was good to put the Trojans ahead 21-6. Wellsboro's next score came with just minutes to play in the fourth. Banik drove the Green Hornets from their own 13-yard line to a touchdown by connecting on seven of eight passes for 77 yards. He also scrambled for 12 yards on that series.

The touchdown pass came from nine yards out to Coolidge who was waiting in the left corner of the end zone. The two-point conversion was no good to make the score 21-12.

Wellsboro could not recover the onside kick and Troy went on to pick up their second win of the season.

Regina led both teams in rushing with 79 yards on 11 carries. Ike Rivers added another 55 yards on 10 carries before he left the game in the second quarter with a bruised sternum. Wellsboro tallied 141 yards on the ground compared to Troy's 120.

Banik was 11-21 passing for a total of 109 yards. He threw one touchdown pass and two interceptions. Smith was six of nine passing for 126 yards in all. The Green Hornets outdistanced Troy in total yards by a 282 to 246 margin.

Wellsboro will need all the offensive weapons they can muster when they travel to Jersey Shore this Friday to take on the Bulldogs and their hard nosed defense.

"Jersey Shore's strength is oh the defensive side of the ball. They deliver blows and run around hitting people. Mark Spotts, their middle linebacker and fullback is a one man wrecking crew. He shut us down last year," Dils said. "We are going to have to keep getting better each game and be a determined football team to get some wins."

Rivers will probably return to his fullback spot this week. Mascho will in all likelihood not be able to play.