Hornets rally too little too late.

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The undefeated Muncy Indians had built a nearly insurmountable 33-0 lead early in the third quarter, but the Wellsboro Green Hornets, led by the powerful arm of signal caller Will Osgood, valiantly tried to make a comeback.

Muncy had replaced the starters, who dominated the game over the first three quarters of play, with the second team and Wellsboro took advantage and pulled within 15 points of the lead after scoring three fourth quarter touchdowns.

Muncy restated their dominance of the game by returning their first string to the game along with running back John Rishel who capped the win with a 54 yard touchdown run with 35 seconds remaining in the contest for the eventual 39-34 non-league win.

Coming into the game, Wellsboro knew they would have to shut down the versatile offense of the Indians.

Muncy entered the game undefeated and boasted one of the best running backs, John Rishel, 183 yards on 16 carries, and passing quarterbacks in District 4 , Trevor Egli, who was 10-of-19 for 181 yards passing.

"I think we were in a bind going athlete to athlete. We couldn't get enough pressure on their quarterback," Wellsboro coach Russ Manney said.

Wellsboro's biggest defensive task was stopping Muncy on third and long or fourth and long. The Indians kept the Green Hornets off balance by throwing in a fake punt.

Manney admitted the Hornet defense is continually trying to improve their stand in these situations. "We're trying to find the right chemistry to stop those things," Manney said. "I think our offense shot itself in the foot in the first quarter with fumbles."

Muncy wasted little time setting the tempo of the game. Egli led the Indians downfield with three consecutive passes. Rishel capped the drive and put Muncy on the board with a 53 yard touchdown run just under three minutes into the game.

On the ensuing series Egli led the Indians into the end zone again when he completed a eight yard touchdown toss to Craig Night. Muncy failed on the extra point attempt but held a 13-0 lead.

"It was 13-0 before we knew what happened. We could have scored twice in the second quarter but didn't," Manney said.

The Indians continued to dominate the game and had built a 19-0 lead with 4:23 remaining in the first quarter when Rishel punched the ball into the end zone from five yards out. Egli kept the ball and plunged in for the two-point conversion.

The Wellsboro offense fared better in the first half but were unable to find their way into the end zone.

"On our second quarter drive someone slipped at times. We just made a bad pass on two of our scoring drives," Manney said. "We had a first-and-goal on one foot line but were called for a holding penalty. Then it was first-and-20 on 35-yard line. Those types of things hampered us all night."

The Hornet defense held their ground until the 3:56 mark of the second quarter when Egli connected with Nate Messner for a 29 yard touchdown completion. Muncy added the extra point kick to build a 26-0 halftime lead.

Muncy opened the third quarter with another scoring drive to build their lead to 33- 0 when Egli fired a 16 yard touchdown pass to Todd Clementoni.

After the score, Muncy began substituting and Wellsboro began their comeback.

Osgood got Wellsboro on the board when he jaunted into the end zone from 11 yards out with 8:30 remaining in the final frame.

Matt Priset added the two point conversion. Two minutes later Priset returned to the end zone after a 67 yard scamper to pay dirt. He added his second two-point conversion to narrow Muncy's lead to 33-16.

"In the second half they started substituting. We scored twice in the fourth quarter and they put the first team back in and we scored once more," Manney said.

"We dropped a couple of passes but came back. We should have started out more enthusiastic - we have to be ready to play football," Manney added.

Wellsboro's final score of the game was a Osgood to Jeremy Walrath 14 yard touchdown completion with 1:28 remaining in the contest. Priset added his third two-point conversion and Wellsboro faced a 33-24 deficit. Muncy came back with their final score behind the first team efforts for the eventual 39-24 win.

The highlight on the night was Will Osgood's 261 yards passing. He was 17-of-34 and doled out the responsibility equally to the Wellsboro receiving core. Pat Coolidge led all receivers with three grabs for 62 yards. Seth Rockwell pulled in three passes as well for a total of 50 yards.

Jeremy Walrath and Matt Priset each caught three passes for 44 yards each. Brandon Keck's three receptions for 29 yards and Nate Compton's one catch for 15 yards helped the Wellsboro offense battle back in the fourth quarter.

"Osgood mixed it up pretty good," Manney said.

Wellsboro is looking for revenge when they host Canton this Friday, September 27. An official call last year gave Canton the win even though they dropped the ball in the end zone.

"I hope the players think about that. It's been in the back of my mind," Manney said. "We will stay with fundamentals and a basic defense."

"We have to play tough defense and not give up the big play."

"The players have to be mentally prepared all week, think and stop those plays," Manney added.