Hornets squeeze 26-20 win over Wyalusing.

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The Wellsboro Green Hornets (4-5) stayed focused and extended their late season winning streak to three games as they downed the Wyalusing Rams (5-4) 26-20 in the rain Friday night, October 27.

Wellsboro used a pair of scores late in both halves to escape with the home win.

"They never gave up and they were able to execute at key times," Wellsboro head coach Chris Morral said of his team.

He also commented that the Hornets seem to be improving every week. On Friday, they were especially potent on defense, as they held Wyalusing to 153 yards. Meanwhile, the offense recorded 207 total yards.

"It has been a nice run," Morral said of the season so far.

The rain and wet field certainly did not help the offenses on Friday. Wellsboro players fumbled the ball four times, but only lost one. The Wellsboro defense meanwhile came up with two key fumble recoveries and four interceptions.

Neither team was able to get anything started early, as Wellsboro and Wyalusing traded punts after stalled drives.

Near the end of the first quarter, the Rams drove deep into Wellsboro territory. Jake Monks came down with Wellsboro's first interception of the night. Unfortunately, Johnson fumbled the ball back to the Rams on the ensuing drive. Five plays later, Tyler Crawford punched it in from two yards out on a fourth down play. The extra point gave the Rams a 7-0 lead going into the second quarter.

Wyalusing managed to hold the Wellsboro offense and force a punt on the ensuing drive, but the wet conditions did not do the Rams any favors. Their returner lost the handle on the football, and Chet Johnson recovered the fumble to set up Wellsboro inside the five-yard line.

Senior Jesse Tom, who had 120 yards on five carries, finished the short drive on a four-yard touchdown run. The extra point was no good and the Hornets trailed 7-6.

The rest of the quarter was a defensive struggle, as neither team could muster a scoring drive. On one series, Ryan Grinde intercepted a pass from Wellsboro quarterback Tim Shaw. The quarterback went back out on the field to his defensive back position and came down with an interception of his own on the next play.

The Hornets, however, managed to take the lead before halftime.

For Wyalusing, it was deja vu all over again as their returner fumbled another Wellsboro punt. This time, Jake Monks was on the scene to take the ball into the end zone as time expired in the first half. The conversion attempt failed and Wellsboro found themselves leading 12-7 at the end of the half.

Wellsboro got the ball to start the second half and drove 65 yards on 12 plays. Monks sealed the deal on a 25 yard touchdown run. Shaw found Tom for the two-point conversion and Wellsboro extended its lead to 20-7.

The Rams followed that up with their own nine-play scoring drive. Craig Ciprich finished off the drive with a two yard scoring run. The extra point pulled Wyalusing to within six points.

Wellsboro was unable to put a drive together on their next possesion and followed that up with their own special teams miscue. Jim Chadwick took the punt 65 yards the other way for the touchdown. The missed extra point attempt tied the game at 20-20.

The Rams looked ready to score and steal the win late in the game, but Johnson came down with an interception and took it to the Ram 30-yard line and set up the Hornets with another short field.

Three rushes by Tom and one by Monks put the ball at the Ram nine-yard line. From there, Shaw ran the ball in on a quarterback keeper to warp up the scoring with 22 seconds left. The conversion was no good, but it did not matter.

The Rams had one last chance after a short kickoff by Wellsboro, but Shaw came down with another interception to save the win for the Hornets.

Wellsboro will close out their regular season when they host a tough North Penn (8-1) team for the Morton Jones Memorial Trophy. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 pm.

In JV action, the Hornets tied Wyalusing 12-12. They finished with a record of 6-2-1.