Second half surge helps Wellsboro win.

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The Wellsboro Green Hornets football team entered the NTL football contest at Canton Saturday, September 27 well aware of the potential threat the well-coached young team had.

Wellsboro was coming off two tough non-league losses to very potent football teams. Canton, who is comprised mostly of underclassmen, wasted little time proving they were a threat. On the first play from scrimmage the Warrior's Jason Husted raced for a 69 yard touchdown.

By the end of the second half, Wellsboro had an even better comprehension of Canton's potential when they found themselves trailing, 14-7. According to Wellsboro Head Coach Chris Morral, Wellsboro's focus was not where it needed to be.

"On defense in the first half we lacked intensity, enthusiasm, and attitude," Morral said. "You have to give credit to Canton. They came out ready to play. In the first half they wanted to win more than we wanted to."

Wellsboro's lone score of the first half came with 1:52 remaining in the first quarter.

Brandon Keck's speed and agility paid off for the Green Hornets when he cruised into the end zone from 12 yards out. Pat Coolidge added the extra point to give Wellsboro a slim lead.

In the waning minutes of the second quarter, Canton senior Brandon Fitzwater went to the air to regain the lead for the Warriors. Fitzwater connected with Luke Geis for a 32 yard touchdown pass. The duo teamed again on the two point conversion and regained the lead for Canton, 14-7.

Morral has been concerned with Wellsboro's lack of intensity over the past two games.

"The guys came out and started flat," Morral said. "We got caught in a stunt and Canton scored on the first play from scrimmage. The guys on the team are expecting others to make plays instead of relying on themselves. At the half I talked about each individual doing their job," he added.

The second half, Wellsboro players stepped up and started taking care of their individual responsibilities and steadily took control of the game. Wellsboro went on to outscore Canton 29-6 in the second half.

Wellsboro opened the second half exactly the way they didn't want to, with a fumble. But the Hornet defensive calvary came to the rescue and held Canton on a three-and-out.

Following the critical defensive stand Wellsboro got the ball back, but were held deep in their own territory and faced fourth-and-one from their own 28-yard line. That is when the Wellsboro special teams made one of their largest contributions to the game.

On the punt snap, Keck took the snap and raced 24 yards for a Wellsboro first down, giving the Hornets a much needed boost.

"From that point on our guys never looked back and continued to roll as a team," Morral said.

Wellsboro's offense surged into Warrior territory with a potent drive that was capped by a 32 yard touchdown pass from Will Osgood to Chase Kriner with 7:25 remaining in the third frame, but still trailed by one point, 14-13, due to the missed extra point attempt.

"Will (Osgood) made very good decisions in the second half," Morral said.

One of those good decisions was a quarterback keeper with under two minutes remaining in the third frame. Starting at the Canton 48-yard line, Osgood opened the drive with a 26 yard run.

After pushing to the Canton 14-yard line, Osgood capped the drive with a touchdown scamper to up Wellsboro's lead to 21-14 after Osgood added the two-point conversion.

Osgood ended the game with 59 yards rushing. He also added 100 yards to Wellsboro's offense by completing 5-of-8 passes. Wellsboro ended the game with 335 yards on total offense. On the ground Wellsboro gobbled up 235 yards which was paced by leading rusher Keck, 92 yards on 14 carries.

Canton out gained Wellsboro by only three yards with 238 yards rushing. Jason Husted led the charge with 139 yards on 16 carries.

Osgood's number one target, Kriner, connected again on a 23 yard scoring pass with 8:49 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The duo had back-to-back connections when they followed on the two point conversion to increase the lead to 29-14. Kriner ended the game pulling in three receptions for 58 yards and two touchdowns.

Wellsboro added their final score of the afternoon with 8:49 remaining in the game. Jeremy Walrath took the handoff and capped the drive with a 10 yard scamper into the end zone. Coolidge split the uprights on the extra point attempt which built Wellsboro lead to 36-14.

Canton, facing Wellsboro's second team defense, scored their final touchdown of the afternoon with 41 seconds remaining in the game on a Brad Watkins 15 yard pass to John Morrison. Canton's extra point attempt failed.

Wellsboro (3-2, 3-0 league) goes on the road this Friday, October 3 to face Montgomery. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m.