Hornets sting Rams in overtime.

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In a last second overtime push, the Wellsboro Hornets secured the NTL 14-8 victory over the Rams as senior Thomas Johnston lunged for the endzone from one yard out on Friday night, October 7, at Wyalusing.

Wyalusing reached the District IV playoffs only a year ago after eight strong victories, but have suffered a setback this season, allowing the Hornets to capitalize from their own new found strength, determination and discipline to take the win over the Rams.

The first half of the matchup on the field remained scoreless, before Wyalusing's Dan Frankenfield ran a 82 yard touchdown stint into the end zone for the Rams to take a late third quarter lead 8-0, with the two point conversion.

Wellsboro's Ben Shaw returned in the fourth quarter from five yards out, scoring and adding in the conversion to tie the game with only 39 seconds left in regulation.

In the overtime period, with only a breath remaining, senior Thomas Johnston pushed through the defense to place the ball into the end zone and secure the 14-8 victory over the Rams.

"The team reacted well. They didn't hang their head, they didn't point fingers. They came out and did their job in the fourth quarter," stated Wellsboro head coach Steve Boyce. "They battled back after being down, got some momentum and took the win.

"We kept it close by mental breakdowns in key places that also kept us out of the end zone. We knew we could drive the ball, we just knew we needed to punch one in," he continued.

"I don't know if coach Matt Hildebrand was as nervous as I was about the two-point play, but I got on the phones with offense to tell them to burn our last time out and think about the play they were about to call. They made a great choice! We didn't practice a specific two-point play all year. It wasn't something that we had in mind or talked about needing, so the play they chose and ran was crucial."

In high school overtime is played with each team getting a chance on offense. You have four downs to go 10 yards. (the ball is placed on the 10-yard line). You can either score a touchdown, a field goal, or walk away with no points.

"We won the toss and elected to go on defense first," Boyce stated. "That way, you know how much you need to score to win. We held them four straight plays and they walked away with no points. When we took possession we ran three straight plays and got the ball to the 2.5-yard line. I called in the field goal team and we lined up a freshman kicker (Jack Chambers) for the win.

"It was a horrible position to put Jack in because he's only kicked one extra point in a varsity game and now we are expecting him to win a game. He nailed it dead center but there was a flag on the play."

The flag was on Wyalusing, but was thrown before the snap of the ball, so the play was dead. The ball moved to about the one yard line with the penalty and the Hornets put the offense back on the field.

"When you have a back like Tommy J (Johnston) and a little over a yard for the win, you punch in the touchdown.

"On the game field Thomas is a driving force, especially on defense. There is never a question from his team mates if Tom is ready to play. He isn't a big rah-rah type of kid, and his celebrations are small. He just goes out and plays hard to win and leads by example with his game play," concluded Boyce.

Shaw posted 11 completions for 125 yards passing, while Johnston recorded 31 for 108 yards rushing and Chase Barnes 7-67. Shaw also contributed with eight for 43 yards rushing.

Wellsboro's Dan Saniga posted for six for 94 yards receiving.

Wellsboro also recorded 13 first downs with 218 total yards rushing.