Lamphere, Baker help Towanda scorch Hornets.

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Towanda - Lightning struck early Friday night and it wasn't just in the form of weather as Towanda quarterback Jake Lamphere and his go-to-guy R.J. Baker hooked up early and often as the two combined for 176 yards and four touchdowns through the air in the first half to carry the Black Knights to a 50-13 blazing of the Wellsboro Green Hornets.

Lamphere had toasted the Hornet secondary for 196 yards on the night when Coach Craig Dawsey called off the dogs early in the second half with his boys on their way to a 5-0 record leading 50-7.

Wellsboro received the opening kick at its own 21-yard line and the Towanda defense came out firing as the Knights shut down Hornet running back Pat Driebelbies for two losses to send on the Wellsboro punting unit on fourth-and-14. The Black Knight defense bottled up the 235-pound junior for just 9 yards on 13 totes for the night, treating the Green Hornet like a summer's night firefly.

"We knew coming in that we had to run the ball," stated Wellsboro coach Chris Morral, "and when you play a team like Towanda that makes it rough on your quarterback. We're young and when you come into a facility like this on their homecoming it can be a little intimidating."

Baker took the Hornet punt into Wellsboro territory down to the 38-yard line. A play later lightning struck as Lamphere found an open Baker down the post for the touchdown strike. Dakota Roof booted the point after and the Knights led 7-0 with just a minute and a half off the scoreboard.

Following a second "three-and-out" by the Towanda defense, Baker reeled in his second punt of the night and located a wall of blockers to his left, where he raced up the left sideline for 33 yards before the ball was jarred loose to the turf and recovered by Driebelbies for Wellsboro at the 28-yard line.

Mother Nature would grant a 40-minute intermission as the stadium had to be evacuated due to lightning piercing the evening's sky. When the game picked back up the Hornets breathed signs of life as they executed a nine-play drive covering 72 yards, finished off by a Cameron Jones-to-Colton Acorn fade down the left sideline for the 29 yard airstrike. Driebelbies gave the ball a boot with his left foot and Wellsboro had knotted the score 7-7 with 5:10 to go in the first.

The Knights responded with a 63 yard drive to go back in front 14-7 when Lamphere bootlegged right and found Baker on the out pattern along the sideline as the 150-pound senior went in from 24 yards out.

"Jake just played really well tonight," stated a pleased Dawsey. "The whole team really gelled, the offense, the defense ... it was our best game we played all year."

On the ensuing Hornet possession Lamphere stepped in front of an errant Jones pass on third-and-long where the 6-foot-3 senior took it inside the Wellsboro 10-yard line. A play later Roof swept around the right side to put Towanda up 21-7 following his third PAT with 2:08 to go.

On the first play of the second quarter, Lamphere burned the defense again as he threw a perfect pass down the middle to Baker, again this time covering 31 yards for the Knights' third touchdown. Roof's extra point was true and Towanda led 28-7 with 11:53 to play in the half.

The Knights' next possession started from their own 42-yard line. A hard run by senior running back Adam Harris clipped off 25 yards and a Cameron Sullivan run took the ball to the five-yard line. Harris grazed over the right side for the five yard score and Towanda had blown open the game 35-7 with 9:47 to play in the half. Harris finished as the game's leading ground gainer, covering 84 yards on 12 carries with a score.

Roof booted a 29 yard field goal with 4:11 to play until half as the Knights went up 38-7. Finally, Towanda executed the two-minute drill to perfection, going 42 yards for the half's final score as Baker pulled in his fourth score 13 yards out, jitter-bugging the Hornet defender to the endzone. The snap on the point after went awry and the Knights led 44-7 at the break.

"Jake just made all the right reads and the line gave him the time to throw," stated Baker, who reeled in eight catches for 176 yards with four scores.

The Black Knights took the second-half kick under the mercy rule and marched downfield, going 49 yards on nine plays for their final score as Lamphere took the quarterback draw in from 5 yards out for the 50-7 lead.

Driebelbies finished the scoring with a seven yard run with 3:40 to go in the third. Wellsboro, which falls to 2-3 on the year, hosts Troy next Friday while Towanda looks to keep its undefeated record intact as it travels to Sayre.