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Landon Lorson bobbled the snap and the play appeared broken. Just as quick, though, Lorson secured the ball, burst through a gaping hole, cut right and produced a 43-yard touchdown.
Even when things went wrong they went right Thursday night. It did not matter who touched the ball either. Behind a dominant offensive line, they all ran at will and South Williamsport bulldozed its way into the District 4 Class AA playoffs.
Clayton Swarthout, Lane Lusk and Jake Casella all went over 100 yards rushing as South produced a staggering 601 rushing yards and routed Northwest, 56-26 on Senior Night at Rodney K. Morgans Stadium. Lorson hit Grant Bachman with two touchdowns as well and South totaled 659 yards, the most by an area team during the 2000s.
Offensive lineman Austin Bowersox, Lucas Long, Chris Confer, Owen Bird and Evan Tortellet, as well as tight end Connor Apker, put on a blocking clinic, each back ran hard and South put on offensive show which would make Bill Walsh smile. The Mounties (6-3) scored on eight straight possessions between the first and fourth quarters and averaged 13.2 plays while winning for the fifth time in six games. Swarthout ran for a career-high 200 yards and three touchdowns as South ovepowered Northwest over the final three quarters.
“We just were pulling for our seniors. We wanted to give them one last ride if it was their last ride here,” Long said. “We just performed our best and did everything right.”
They sure did. A line of all underclassmen blew defenders off the ball and opened up gaping holes. Then they watched their senior teammates explode through them before bowling over tacklers and gaining yards after contact. That combination was unstoppable Thursday as Northwest was stuck on the tracks when a powerful locomotive came thundering along.
South’s starters averaged 15.6 yards per carry. All eight touchdowns came from 10 or more yards, including five from 42 or more yards out. That included rushing scores of 56, 51, 53, 43 and 29 yards. A program which prides itself on physical play, tough lines and strong running backs produced a display which should have its proud alumni standing and applauding because the Mounties basically did whatever they wanted when they wanted.
That included producing 18 runs of 10 or more yards. Northwest hung tough early and the game was tied 14-14 early in the second quarter but the offense kept going while the defense constricted. South scored the next 35 points, invoking the mercy rule by midway through the third quarter. It built a 35-14 halftime advantage, ran for 347 first-half yards and went over 500 total yards when Lorson’s 43-yard touchdown made it 49-14.
“It feels pretty good seeing them get those big runs,” Bowersox said. “As the second quarter was going by they started to wear down and it really started going our way.”
“They like playing that kind of football. When you have guys firing on all cylinders like that it’s just so much fun,” South coach Chris Eiswerth said. “We start working early and to see the the development from the start to now has been exciting.”
South produced more excitement and fireworks than a Fourth of July display against Northwest. Swarthout did his best Dominick Bragalone impersonation early, opening the scoring with a 51-yard touchdown run before breaking a 56-yarder after Northwest had taken a brief 8-7 lead. Swarthout’s 29-yard touchdown made it 21-14 and triggered South’s flurry of 35 straight points.
Each Swarthout score showed why South was so dominant. On the first, he blew through a huge hole, made a quick cut and went the whole way untouched. The next time, he again followed strong blocking and gained a quick five yards before breaking a tackle and outrunning the remaining defenders. The line surged a series later, Swarthout gained a quick seven yards and then made a fantastic cut against the grain, breaking free for the go-ahead score as South really started rolling.
Swarthout went over 800 yards this season and if that was his final home game, the senior sure made it memorable. That goes for the linemen who helped make it happen, too.
“It’s amazing when we do our job and they get the yards and we get the touchdowns. We can perform for them and do what we do up front and they perform for us,” Long said. “We just dominated and made our mark on where we were from the first snap of the game.”
“I’m proud of that. It’s so fun to block well and see them do that,” Bowersox said. “We work pretty hard. We’re doing well.”
That was quite an understatement Thursday. South unleashed new weapons like Casella and Harris and it was the speedy Harris (59 yards) who set up a touchdown with a 34-yard run and made it 28-14 with his 10-yard score. Even when there was little time remaining in the first half, South need not deviate from what it likes doing best. The Mounties were at their own 30-yard line with just 37.4 seconds left, but the way they were moving the ball, it felt like they had 37 minutes.
Harris’s 34-yard run ignited things before Bachman blew past his defender and Lorson hit his senior teammate in stride with a 42-yard scoring strike. Northwest was not saved by the ball as South needed just three plays to move 60 yards on its first second-half possession. Lusk (144 yards), the area’s leading rusher, produced a highlight reel play on a 53-yard touchdown, trucking a defender before delivering two Jim Brown-like stiff arms and breaking away. Casella, a 220-pound wrecking ball, moved from tight end to the backfield in the second half and his 46-yard run set up Lorson hitting Bachman for a 16-yard touchdown on the fourth quarter’s first play.
“It gets us pumped up seeing them make those plays,” Long said. “It shows they’re giving it their all and we’re giving it our all.”
Northwest matched South early and scored on two consecutive drives and when Jake Bobersky’s 3-yard touchdown tied the game 14-14 on the second quarter’s opening play, a shootout seemed like it might be in the works. South adjusted well, however, and quickly altered the game’s complexion. While the offense was scoring at will in the middle quarters, the defense forced three straight three-and-outs. The starters did not allow another point or a first down.
Apker was explosive coming off the edge at defensive end and made eight tackles, including one for loss. Bowersox, Swarthout and Lusk all excelled at linebacker and Kyle Benson played a vital role in stifling the middle running game which Northwest had going early.
It was exactly the type of team performance South was looking for entering districts for a 10th straight season. South likely will be seeded either No. 4 or No. 5 in the District 4 Class AA quarterfinals which open next Saturday. If Wellsboro defeats North Penn-Mansfield Friday night, South and Wellsboro will play with the power rankings determining who will host the game. Either way, South is excited, especially after rallying from a 1-2 start and clinching another winning season.
“It’s exciting,” Eiswerth said. “To see how Landon has progressed and the backs and the line have progressed and to see the defense tackling really well, I’m just so happy for them because they have worked so hard.”
South Williamsport 56, Northwest 26
Northwest 8 6 6 6–26
South 14 21 14 7–56
First Quarter
S-Clayton Swarthout 51 run (Kayvan Shams kick), 4:44
N-Carter Hontz 5 run (Hontz run), 2:47
S-Swarthout 56 run (Shams kick), 2:02
Second Quarter
N-Jake Bobersky 3 run (pass failed), 11:55
S-Swarthout 29 run (Shams kick), 9:38
S-Caden Harris 10 run (Shams kick), 2:35
S-Grant Bachman 42 pass from Landon Lorson (Shams kick), :7.7
Third Quarter
S-Lane Lusk 53 run (Shams kick), 11:00
S-Lorson 43 run (Shams kick), 5:57
N-Hontz 36 run (run failed), 1:05
Fourth Quarter
S-Bachman 16 pass from Lorson (Shams kick), 11:51
N-Hontz 77 run (kick blocked), 7:37
TEAM STATISTICS N S
First Downs 8 18
Rushes-yards 34-251 45-601
Passing yards 22 58
Total yards 273 659
Comp-Att-Int 2-6-0 2-5-0
Fumbles-lost 1-1 0-0
Penalties-yards 3-23 5-40
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Northwest, Carter Hontz 13-179, 3 TDs; Jake Bobersky 11-40, TD; Andrew Bonczewski 2-18; Derek Dietz 8-14. South, Clayton Swarthout 11-200, 3 TDs; Lane Lusk 12-144, TD; Jake Casella 4-127; Landon Lorson 5-64, TD; Caden Harris 5-59, TD; Garrett Cooley 4-7; Chase Beck 2-4; Kaden Shay 1-(-1); Team 1-(-3).
PASSING: Northwest, Hontz 2-6-0, 22 yards. South, Lorson 2-5-0, 58 yards, 2 TDs.
RECEIVING: Northwest, Bonczewski 2-22. South, Grant Bachman 2-58, 2 TDs.
RECORDS: South 6-3. Northwest 3-6.