Wellsboro falls to South Williamsport, 32-54.

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The Wellsboro Hornets played host to the South Williamsport Mounties on Friday night, October 1, suffering another loss, 32-54.

The Mounties pulled ahead early with a 20-6 lead in the first half before Wellsboro's sophomore quarterback Ben Shaw connected on a 58 yard pass to senior Nick Saniga to put the Hornets on the board.

South Williamsport answered back with another five yard run into the end zone before the end of the first quarter to take a 28-6 lead.

Heading into the second quarter, the Mounties garnered two touchdowns off a 31 and 43 yard run inside the goal, with Wellsboro squeezing in a 31 yard pass from Shaw to Ethan Callahan in between the two, trailing 41-12 at the end of the half.

With an eight yard run to score again for the Mounties with seven minutes on the clock into the third quarter, Wellsboro returned to the end zone with a 17 yard pass again from Shaw to Callahan. The Mounties would end the third quarter with another 11 yard run, scoring to take the lead, 54-20.

"With the lead, South Williamsport didn't bring as much pressure defensively, allowing our younger players more time to think and react on the field," stated Wellsboro head coach Brandon Falk. "We got a better effort out of the defense in the second half and eliminated so many turnovers offensively."

In the fourth quarter Wellsboro's Chase Barnes, a junior running back, took a three yard run for the Hornets to decrease the deficit to 26-54.

With less than 1:20 on the clock, Shaw connected with Callahan on a 42 yard pass into the end zone, concluding the game, 32-54.

"We have yet to put together a whole game on both sides of the ball," stated Falk. "The boys are still working hard and looking for success anywhere we can find it."

"Some starters returned to our original lineup in the beginning of the year, letting us play more cohesively."

"Our focus this week is to put together better first drives on both sides of the ball and to get some momentum built up in our favor," Falk concluded.

Wellsboro recorded no penalties on the night, while South Williamsport posted eight for 80 yards.

On offense, Ben Shaw posted nine attempts for 10 yards rushing, while teammate Chase Barnes carried the ball nine times for 70 yards. Thomas Johnston added 20 yards on five carries.

South Williamsport's leading rushers were Brandon Stonge with 16 attempts for 124 yards and Matt Bartholomew with 15 carries for 169 yards.

Shaw led the Hornets with 10 completions on 26 attempts for 227 yards passing, while Callahan posted five receptions for 137 yards.

After five games this season, Wellsboro's Thomas Johnston leads the offense with 180 yards rushing; Barnes with 146. Johnston also leads the defense with 65 total tackles; Connor Coolidge with 42 tackles and two sacks; Brenton Acorn, 32 tackles.

Adding to the highlights for Wellsboro, three athletes have been listed on MaxPreps Pennsylvania state's top 20 leaders. Making the list were quarterback Ben Shaw, ranked 17th with 910 yards passing; senior receiver Ethan Callahan, ranked 1st with eight touchdown receptions; and Thomas Johnston, ranked 9th with 65 total tackles.