Muncy clips Wellsboro with fourth quarter rally.

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Wellsboro looked as if they were on pace to break their three game losing streak when the contest against Muncy ebbed into the fourth quarter Friday night, October 12.

The Hornets built and then clung to a one point lead, 27-26, after Wellsboro quarterback Will Osgood punched the ball into the end zone with just under two minutes remaining in the third quarter. Wellsboro then held Muncy and forced the punt. But the success the Wellsboro defense had on it's first defensive series of the final frame would be it's last.

Wellsboro's offense had controlled the ball and the clock for the majority of the non-league contest, but Muncy made the most of their time of possession in the fourth quarter. The Indians only needed nine minutes to score three consecutive touchdowns and dash Wellsboro's hopes of a comeback as the 46-27 win slipped through their hands.

What eventually cost the Hornets the game was a combination of a play on special teams in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter and the height advantage the Muncy receivers had over the Wellsboro secondary. Wellsboro held Muncy on their first series of the final frame and forced the punt. The punt hit the 25-yard line and took a Muncy roll, going out of bounds at the four yard line. The precision of the punt was luck according to Russ Manney, who said nine times out of 10 it's not going to happen.

"They got a great bounce and the ball rolled out of bounds inside the five," Manney said. "Derek Harsch did the right thing, he got away from it. If he catches it and fumbles, it could have been worse. They (Muncy) just got a lucky bounce and put us against the wall. They sent everybody and we couldn't move."

Wellsboro was unable to drive their way out of Indian territory due to a Muncy defense that stopped Wellsboro in their tracks. After the Wellsboro punt, Muncy took possession on their own 37-yard line. Two plays later, Mike Conner connected with Jared Maurer for the first of a trio of scores in the fourth quarter.

During the remaining minutes of the final frame, Muncy scored two more times to build their lead. First, Maurer followed his pass reception for a touchdown with a eight-yard scamper midway through the frame to build Muncy's lead to 40-27. Conner ended the night with a 59 yard touchdown lob that was pulled in by Craig Knight just under the two minute mark.

Despite Muncy's success with the pass, Wellsboro all but crushed the Muncy ground attack. The Hornets stung a Muncy ground game that limped out only 76 yards rushing. "I thought pound for pound we out-muscled them," Manney said.

The Wellsboro defensive line may have shut down the Muncy running game but the multifaceted Indians had another means of moving the ball. Mike Conner's arm proved to be the strongest asset of Muncy's offensive arsenal and picked away at the Wellsboro defense. During the night's passing barrage, Conner completed 13 of 21 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns.

"They had better athletes and receivers and they were more mature than our secondary," Manney said." It was mismatched because they had taller kids and our secondary had a little bit of a problem. Muncy's quarterback (Connor) played a good game and put the ball right on the money."

"A couple of their receivers were 6-4 and 6-5," Manney said. "Our defense, with shorter guys, did a good job and never game up. We were just less experienced."

Wellsboro struck first after a strong drive that took them to the Muncy 11-yard line. Matt Priset then took the handoff and punched his way into the end zone to put the Hornets on the board. The extra point kick failed and Wellsboro held a 6-0 lead midway through the first quarter. Their lead was short lived as Muncy struck back quickly on the kickoff return when Jon Rishel fielded the kick and darted through Wellshoro defenders on an 81 yard touchdown scamper to knot the score.

Early in the second quarter the Hornets struck again. This time the drove down field to the Muncy 10-yard line. Harsch took the handoff and dozed across the goal line for the score.

Will Osgood fired a pass to Priset on the two-point conversion to give Wellsboro a 14-6 lead 30 seconds into the second frame. Wellsboro's running backs Derek Harsch, Brad Smith, and Matt Priset owned the field when they took the hand-off. The Green Hornets dominated the running game by pounding out 279 yards rushing with the efforts of the backfield quartet.

Harsch had eclipsed the 1,000 yard rushing mark two games earlier but earned another record with his night's performance. Harsch broke the Wellsboro high school rushing record by building his season total to 1,406 with three games remaining. The previous record was set by Russ Manney's son in 1995 when the Hornets went 9-1 on the season when Manney the younger rushed for a season total of 1,350 yards.

"To be honest, I didn't realize until the game is over that Harsch had broken the record," Manney said. "It's not one of those things you think about going into the game."

Despite the record setting night for Harsch, Manney, as well as Harsch, is more concerned about keeping the team concept in mind and winning games.

"My concern is winning football games," Manney said. "We have a back over 1,000 but we have a losing record. Offense puts people in the stands but it's the defense that wins games... our future here will be focusing on defense."

Wellsboro showcased their versatility when they went to the air for their second score of the second quarter. Nate Compton pulled in a 38 yard Osgood touchdown pass. Pat Coolidge added the extra point and Wellsboro held a 21-6 lead. Osgood ended the night with six completions on 13 attempts for 102 yards and one touchdown.

Midway through the second frame, Muncy rallied and narrowed Wellsboro's lead to 21-12 when Conner fired a 32 yard touchdown pass to Nate Messner. The two point conversion pass fell incomplete. Brock Nearhoof added a nine yard touchdown run to pull Muncy within one point of Wellsboro, 21-20, at the half.

Wellsboro's season now comes down to three final Northern Tier League games against Wyalusing, Troy and North Penn. Wellsboro (3-4) travels to Wyalusing Friday night for the first of their final three NTL games.

"Wyalusing will be the best, team we've played all year. In the 13 years I've coached, they've beat us six times," Manney said. "They have a strong, balanced team and we'll have to control on offense and stop their triple threat in the backfield."

"All I'm trying to do now is win some football games, we're not trying to win the league," Manney said. "Winning football games is the whole goal."