×

Hughesville at Wellsboro

Hughesville PPG–12.8, YPG–189.5; PPA–42.0, YPA–374.5

Hughesville facts: The Spartans started strong in last week’s game against District 4 Class AAA title contender Central Columbia, putting together an impressive scoring drive and taking an early 7-0 lead. Central scored the next 49 points, but the start was an encouraging sign for a young team that has dealt with costly injuries the first four weeks. Hughesville remains in the playoff hunt despite its record. Towanda, Troy and Wyalusing have the Nos. 6-8 spots in the eight-team field and all are just 1-3. Warrior Run and Hughesville are both 0-4, but a win against an undefeated Wellsboro team would give Hughesville a huge boost. Defense has been a big struggle and opponents have topped 40 points in three straight games. Linebacker Jase Wright leads the team in tackles, averaging 7.5 per game and sophomore Dylan Piquenot intercepted two passes in the season opener at Mifflinburg. Wright is having a strong offensive season, scoring in consecutive games and running for a career-high 180 yards and a touchdown against South Williamsport. Wright also leads the team in receiving. Hughesville ran for 178 yards against Central and controlled the line of scrimmage throughout a long and time-consuming opening drive. Freshman quarterback Ethan Snyder has started the last three games with starter Jacob Corson injured and threw his first high school touchdown pass against South, finding Hunter Herr for a 25-yard touchdown.

Hughesville player to watch–Colton Yocum: The sophomore running back is a nice complement to Wright and has run well the last two weeks. Yocum also has scored in consecutive games and ran for a team-high 83 yards on 15 carries against the Blue Jays. In three of his last five games going back to last year, Yocum has run for 74 or more yards.

Wellsboro PPG–37.0, YPG–334.3; PPA–6.0, YPA–181.8

Wellsboro facts: Owning the second half has helped Wellsboro extend its regular-season winning streak to 25 games and remain in a three-way tie for first place in the NTL-I. The two-time defending league champions have been tied and losing at halftime the past two weeks before outscoring those opponents, 56-0. Wellsboro erupted for 30 second-half points at Towanda a week ago, turning a 3-0 deficit into a 30-3 win. Aidan Hauser has returned the opening second-half kickoff for touchdowns in those last two games and is fourth among area rushers with 521 yards. He also has 844 all-purpose yards and scored touchdowns on plays of 85 and 81 yards against Towanda. Karter Witmer and freshman Isaac Keane have split time at quarterback and Keane is a player to keep an eye on after returning an interception 90 yards for a touchdown a week ago. Silas Wagaman is tied for the area lead in touchdown catches (5) and also has intercepted an area-high three passes. Tanner Button returned two punts for touchdowns in a 36-8 win against Troy three weeks ago and the defense leads the area in yards and points allowed for a fourth straight season. Hunter and Robert Brown are two of the area’s premier defensive linemen and Robert Brown went over 300 career tackles with last week’s 14-tackle performance. Linebackers Alex Burrell and Tyler Hancock each are having breakout seasons, combining for 73 tackles. Wellsboro has forced a district-high 14 turnovers, including four last week.

Wellsboro player to watch–Zach Florio: Another weapon along Wellsboro’s defensive line, Florio was all over the field against Towanda and his two sacks helped spark the team’s stingy defensive performance. Florio has nine sacks over the last two seasons and is averaging a sack per game this year.

Outlook: Wellsboro might not be as dominant as it has been the past two seasons, but it remains mighty good. Hughesville is getting better, but it is hard to see Wellsboro not winning this game by a double-digit margin.

–by CHRIS MASSE

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

COMMENTS

[vivafbcomment]

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today