Sayre edges Hornets, 14-6.

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It's not too often that a football team sets a goal, achieves it and still gets edged out of a win. But it happens. Just ask Wellsboro skipper Mike Pietropola.

Confident in his defense after a season opening win over Athens, Pietropola knew if the Green Hornets could hold Sayre to 14 points, they could possibly win.

"We felt that if we held Sayre to 14 we would win," Pietropola said. "We knew Sayre was better than Athens and would be ready to play. We were prepared but we didn't get it done."

The Hornets held the Redskins to their exact expectations, but unfortunately the Green Hornets offense failed to generate a scoring drive and Sayre (2-2) held on for the 14-6 edging.

Wellsboro had threatened to score on their second possession of the game, but after the Green Hornets battled their way to the Sayre 20-yard line and fumbled, the recovery by Sayre ended the series.

"You can't have turnovers in the game of football," Pietropola said.

The Redskins didn't get their offensive wheels rolling until four minutes into the second quarter. A pass that was almost picked off by Wellsboro Hornet Derek Harsch slipped through his grasp only to find it's way into a Sayre receiver's hand.

Jason Cahill capped of the drive with a 11 yard jaunt into the end zone. The Wellsboro defense denied Sayre a two-point conversion and trailed 6-0 with 8:27 remaining.

Cahill ended the night with 64 yards while Trevor Twigg carried most of the yard gaining burden on his shoulders and gained 138 of Sayre's 209 yards rushing. Although the Sayre running back gobbled up a lot of ground, the Wellsboro defense held the Redskins offense on fourth down more that once.

"Defense played a great physical game," Pietropola said. "There were some big plays on defense and that's key to wins."

Sayre's key was the use of a stingy defense that limited Wellsboro's top rushers, Dave Russell and Harsch, to only 77 yards combined.

Sayre scored again with seven minutes remaining in the third quarter when Twigg plowed in for one yard out for the score. Sayre completed a pass for the two-point conversion to take a 14-0 lead.

Sayre frustrated Wellsboro's offense with the use of four different defensive formations and held Wellsboro to only 70 yards rushing.

"They did a nice job by running four different defensive formations," Pietropola said. "That was confusing to read when the players get to bumping around out there."

"I think against Athens we relied on our running. We knew they were going to key in on our run," Pietropola said. "We needed to adapt and I thought we would have."

In their attempt to adapt, the Green Hornets went to the air but came away with a less than memorable showing. Wellsboro utilized two quarterbacks on the night to try and offset the lack of progress on the ground. But the Green Hornet pass attack only accounted for 18 yards of total offense.

Luke Straniere and Tyler DeLeonardis split time at the quarterback position. DeLeonardis had the most success in the air by going 1-of-8 passing.

Brad Jones pulled down the only pass reception for the Green Hornets for an 18 yard gain. Pietropola will, be looking for the young quarterbacks to pick up their level of play as they build their confidence.

"We need to get DeLeonardis some confidence," Pietropola said. "He's young, it's his first year in the spot and he needs some big games to boost his confidence."

Wellsboro utilized defensive speed to narrow Sayre's lead to 14-6. Russell, who was the leading rusher for Wellsboro with 60 yards rushing, was the only player to score for the Green Hornets.

But the Wellsboro back found his scoring opportunity on defense. Russell picked off a Sayre pass and rocked down field 55 yards for the score with under three minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Wellsboro went for a two-point conversion but failed to punch the ball over the goal line. For the remainder of the night, it was a defensive game.

Wellsboro had possession with only a few minutes remaining in the game and worked toward mid field in an effort for one last score but the Sayre defense stepped up and held on for the win.

"At this point we're 1-1 and most important thing is for kids to bounce back, come back and play hard," Pietropola said. "I don't want to see them hang their heads because Sayre is a good team."

Wellsboro travels to Jersey Shore to take on the Bulldogs this Friday. The kickoff time has been moved up to 7:00 p.m.