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South Williamsport players left Wellsboro bruised and beaten nine weeks ago. Saturday afternoon, those same players produced a tremendous all-around performance and celebrated a rousing victory with happy fans on the sun-splashed Rodney K. Morgans Stadium grass.
The Mounties were knocked down at times this season, but they kept working, kept fighting and kept improving. Now they are standing mighty tall.
Landon Lorson threw two touchdowns, Clayton Swarthout scored twice and a stifling defense swarmed Saturday as South exacted a measure of revenge, thumping Wellsboro, 36-7 in the District 4 Class AA quarterfinals. South (7-3) won for the sixth time in seven games, earned a playoff victory for a second consecutive year and made its final home game a memorable one. Next up is a date in the semifinals at four-time defending state champion Southern Columbia in a 2020 district championship rematch.
“I just figured in Week 2 we gave them an easy ‘W’ so I figured that during this playoff game we should come back and do what they did to us and smack them in the mouth,” defensive tackle Mickai Welch said after playing a super game up front. “We were very excited because we weren’t at our full potential yet in Week 2. Now we were more prepared, we practice harder and we put all our blood, sweat and tears into this football thing and we pulled out a win.”
Four different players scored touchdowns as South built a 28-0 third-quarter advantage. The Mounties led 21-0 at halftime and Swarthout’s 41-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter sealed a victory against a surging Wellsboro team which had won four straight games. The Mounties made two key stops inside the 30-yard line during the first half, the offensive line set a physical tone and Lorson was locked in, throwing touchdowns to Jake Casella and Grant Bachman.
It seemed fitting that so many seniors had big days. They were the ones who kept South positive after it started 1-2 and encountered several obstacles. The Mounties grew stronger instead of reeling and a tradition-laden program again has produced another outstanding season.
“It’s a great moment for all of us. We really stepped up our game the last half of the season and it’s really showing,” Swarthout said after running for 73 yards and shining at linebacker. “I’ve been playing for 13 years since flag football with these guys. It’s the best feeling I’ve ever had. To go out and play like we did and like we have been playing, it’s been amazing.”
“My heart right now goes out to these seniors because they really have played a lot of football and they never gave up, they never quit,” South coach Chris Eiswerth said. “That means a lot because football is like the game of life. You’re going to get knocked down and you’re going to have adversity, but it’s about how you respond to it and these guys have responded great. That makes it special.”
The seniors have been outstanding teachers and the underclassmen excellent students. That especially shows up front where an offensive line with no seniors has continued becoming one of the area’s premier units. Austin Bowersox, Evan Tortellet, Chris Confer, Lucas Long, Owen Bird, as well as tight end Connor Apker, dominated throughout the first half as South produced three scoring drives and backs repeatedly charged through big holes.
Lane Lusk capped South’s opening drive with a one-yard touchdown run before Lorson found Jake Casella for a 22-yard touchdown on the ensuing series. Two possessions later, Swarthout rumbled in from nine yards out and South led 21-0 less than four minutes into the second quarter. Lusk (76 yards) went over 1,400 yards this season and Swarthout went over 900, with Lorson adding 39 rushing yards.
“Our linemen have improved so much opening the holes for Lane and I. They’ve been such a huge help,” Swarthout said. “I love those guys. They play awesome.”
So did the defense.
Ten weeks ago, Wellsboro controlled the clock and produced long scoring drives. Conversely, South struggled to finish drives that night. The script flipped Saturday with South chewing up clock and its defense making two big second-quarter stops. That included holding Wellsboro scoreless in the first-half’s closing seconds when it forced an incompletion on fourth-and-7 from the 9.
Welch and Apker were outstanding up front, each making eight tackles while adding sacks and tackles for loss. Jake Casella and Kyle Benson helped clog running lanes and Swarthout, Lusk and Kaiser Kistner flew to the football. Bachman added a fourth-quarter interception and South allowed just 169 yards.
“We’ve made a lot of progress. We grew a lot from that Week 2 game,” Welch said. “I wasn’t there in Week 2, so I came back and said this is redemption. I didn’t get a chance to play, so I went out and played my hardest.”
That effort was contagious and it was Welch’s relentless pursuit which helped produce Swarthout’s victory-clinching play. Welch stormed through the line and forced an errant throw along the right sideline. Swarthout read the quarterback’s eyes, intercepted it and then cut the opposite way, breaking and eluding tacklers. Just when it looked like a defender might catch Swarthout near the sideline, Long delivered a thunderous block which probably could be felt miles away, clearing the last obstacle as Swarthout went the rest of the way untouched on the 41-yard return which made it 36-7.
“It was just a freak moment. I saw the whole line going toward the left and decided to cut to the right and had to break a few tackles and wanted to score,” Swarthout said. “Those linemen have done so much for us. It’s been amazing.”
Wellsboro quarterback Isaac Keane went over 1,000 yards for the season and pulled his team within 28-7 in the third quarter when he hit Spencer Wetzel with a six-yard touchdown. Keane later intercepted his fifth pass this year and closed his scholastic career with more than 4,000 yards of offense. Fellow senior Darryn Callahan played a strong game and his 31-yard run helped set up that Wellsboro touchdown.
Hayes Campbell, Cameron Brought, Wayne Shirley and Joe Brown all played quality defensive games. Wellsboro, too, came a long way this season. After starting 1-3 and having two games canceled, Wellsboro (5-4) put everything together and won its last four regular-season games. The Hornets produced their eighth winning season in nine years and have not suffered a losing campaign since 2011.
South’s success has mirrored Wellsboro’s run during that same time and the Mounties are making the most of their 10th consecutive playoff appearance. Several alumni attended Saturday’s games, including all-staters Dominick Bragalone, Tyler Schonewolf and Zack Miller. The Mounties have built something good over the last decade and the 2021 team has added another brick in that strong foundation.
“We have great guys that always come back. We’ve built a nice family,” Eiswerth said. “They’re all doing extremely well and that’s kind of what we’re built on.”
“It means a lot because I grew up with all of these guys,” Welch said. “We’ve grown a brotherhood here.”
South Williamsport 36, Wellsboro 7
Wellsboro 0 0 7 0ä7
South 14 7 7 8ä36
First Quarter
S-Lane Lusk 1 run (Landon Lorson kick), 8:51
S-Jake Casella 22 pass from Lorson (Lorson kick), 4:18
Second Quarter
S-Clayton Swarthout 9 run (Lorson kick), 8:37
Third Quarter
S-Grant Bachman 48 pass from Lorson (Lorson kick), 7:25
W-Spencer Wetzel 6 pass from Isaac Keane (Jack Poirier kick), 4:02
Fourth Quarter
S-Swarthout 41-yard interception return (Lorson pass to Casella), 6:02
TEAM STATISTICS W S
First Downs 10 15
Rushes-yards 33-106 41-211
Passing yards 63 87
Total yards 169 298
Comp-Att-Int 6-18-2 4-5-1
Fumbles-lost 1-0 1-1
Penalties-yards 5-35 8-77
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Wellsboro, Darryn Callahan 7-55; Joe Brown 6-30; Isaac Keane 9-9; Ryder Bowen 2-7; Conner Adams 8-5; Jack Poirier 1-0. South, Lane Lusk 18-76, TD; Clayton Swarthout 10-73, TD; Landon Lorson 9-39; Jake Casella 2-15; Caden Harris 2-8.
PASSING: Wellsboro, Keane 6-18-2, 63 yards, TD. South, Lorson 4-4-0, 86 yards, 2 TDs; Lusk 0-1-1.
RECEIVING: Wellsboro, Adams 2-22; Spencer Wetzel 2-9, TD; Callahan 1-16; Brown 1-16. South, Grant Bachman 2-60, TD; Jake Casella 1-22, TD; Swarthout 1-5.
INTERCEPTIONS: Wellsboro, Keane. South, Swarthout, Bachman.
SACKS: Wellsboro, Callahan. South, Connor Apker, Mickai Welch.
RECORDS: South 7-3. Wellsboro 5-4.