Panthers Top Hornets 43-22.

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The Wellsboro Green Hornets had one of their best offensive games of the year when they battled North Penn for the Morton Jones Memorial Trophy Friday night, November 3.

Under the leadership of freshman Will Osgood, the Hornets racked up 241 yards rushing and 91 yards passing, pacing the Hornets to a substantial comeback effort in the second quarter.

But the Panthers hard running offense, 448 yards on 56 carries, took its toll on the strong Wellsboro defense as they battered their way for the 43-22 win and retained the trophy for a third consecutive year.

"Wellsboro had a very good defense, but our offense has been good all year long," North Penn skipper Tom Dickinson said. "Jeff (Cleveland) just all of a sudden got a lot of steam. We thought we could move the ball on them."

Cleveland was coming off a 193 yard game the week before to break 1,000 yards rushing and showed no signs of slowing in his final game of the season. The North Penn senior led the Panther offense again with 208 yards rushing on 22 carries and 4 touchdowns.

On the first series of the night for North Penn, behind the power of three running backs, the Panthers hammered the ball the length of the field. Cleveland capped off the initial drive with an eight yard plunge into the end zone after slipping by Wellsboro defender Jared Hurlbert with 8:56 remaining in the first quarter. Scott Wheeler's extra point kick was wide left and North Penn took a 6-0 lead.

Wellsboro answered back by driving the length of the field, but a holding a holding call followed by three incomplete passes dashed the Hornets scoring hopes. North Penn took over possession at their own 21-yard line and drove the length of the field again.

Cleveland, Tim Roupp, and Ward Reckart pounded the ball downfield for the Panthers. Cleveland once again capped a successful series when he took the handoff from three yards out and dozed his way in for his second score of the night with 9:38 remaining in the half.

Tim Roupp pulled in a Robbie Brant pass for the two point conversion to give the Panthers a 14-0 lead.

"The offense did what they needed to do," Dickinson said. "They blocked their butts off and helped the running backs, they just ran possessed."

A Wellsboro fumble on their first play from scrimmage was recovered by North Penn.

Two plays later, the Panthers scored again when Scott Wheeler pulled in a 30 yard Brant toss for the touchdown. Wheeler missed his second extra point attempt and the Panthers were up 20-0 with 9:20 remaining in the first half.

Brant finished the night completing three of his seven passes for 43 yards and one touchdown. The freshman ran the play action pass well for the Panthers.

"You've got the give Robbie (Brant) credit," Dickinson said. "He went both ways and the offense clicked."

Wellsboro was unable to formulate a successful offensive drive on their next possession which was hampered by a holding penalty on third-and-long.

After the Wellsboro punt, North Penn took over at their own 45-yard line and pushed the ball 10 yards before Cleveland took the hand-off and broke through the line on third and inches.

The North Penn senior then ran over at least four Wellsboro defenders as he powered his way in for the 26-0 lead with 6:30 remaining in the half. Wheeler's extra point kick placement was wide left.

Defense has been Wellsboro’s only bright spot over the previous two games, but behind Osgood, the Green Hornets found new life on offense. The freshman signal caller worked the option well for a steady progress downfield. Most impressive, in his first varsity start, was the confidence the freshman displayed by completing 6-of-16 passes and two touchdown tosses.

Although Osgood's passing prowess gave the Hornets a spark for scoring, it was the option that set up the first score for the Green Hornets after starting at their own 33-yard line.

After moving the ball successfully with the running game, Osgood tossed a 14 yard pass that was pulled in on the fingertips of Derek Harsch for their first score of the night. Dave Russell was denied the two-point conversion run and North Penn held onto a 28-6 lead with 3:37 remaining.

"The option hurt us a little and they completed two passes," Dickinson said. "We couldn't get pressure on them because they were blocking nine guys."

The Green Hornets defense stepped up and held the Panthers on their next series and forced the punt. The Wellsboro defense got a hand on the punt and took over at the Panthers' 40-yard line with 0:37 remaining in the first half.

Two plays later, Osgood found Hurlbert open and tossed a 23 yard touchdown pass. Kevin Schultz followed by plowing in for the two-point conversion to cut the Panthers' lead in half.

It was a defensive battle in the third quarter but Wellsboro eventually formulated a successful offensive drive. The Green Hornets overcame two 15 yard penalties as they steadily moved the ball downfield behind Harsch and Russell.

"Russell and Harsch are good running backs," Dickinson said. "We needed to control them and that last couple of minutes before the half we had a little let down that let Wellsboro back in the game."

Russell capped off the drive with a 37 yard scamper into the end zone. Jason Johnston added the two-point conversion when he took the ball and squirted into the corner of the end zone to pull the Hornets within six points of the lead, 28-22, with 3:54 remaining in the third frame.

North Penn answered back with another strong offensive drive, fueled by Roupp, Reckart, and Cleveland, who highlighted the series with a 23 yard touchdown run with nine seconds reaming in the frame. Roupp added the two-point conversion run to pull the Panthers away with a 34-22 lead.

Cleveland had his ups and downs over the next two series of the game, breaking up and Osgood pass on fourth-and-short, but coughing up the ball on the Panthers' second play of their following series.

"In the second half we came and shut them down pretty good other than the one run by Russell," Dickinson said. "But our offense was the key. We controlled the ball the whole game."

Wellsboro came back three plays later for the score when Osgood tossed a 20 yard pass to Russell. But the glory of the score was negated when Russell was called for pass interference on third-and-16, which forced the Hornets to punt.

Penalties were a big factor for the Hornets who committed seven penalties for seven yards. North Penn was penalized five times for 25 yards.

North Penn took advantage and punched the ball in for their final score of the night when Roupp raced in from 30 yards out for the touchdown. Wheeler added the extra point boot to put the Panthers up 43-22 with 6:14 remaining.

"We finished the season 5-5 in this new league and that's not bad at all," Dickinson said. "We wanted to come in and be respectable and I think we did."