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Muncy defeats Line Mountain in a rout to win the District 4 Class A championship

By Chris Masse 9 min read

MUNCY -- Over the years, Muncy football players gathered and enjoyed pregame meals. But they tasted their finest cuisine yet late Friday night after the game concluded.

Three years of frustration came pouring out in one marvelous, dominant performance. Doing so helped Muncy trade silver for gold. And those players posing for photos afterward while placing gold medals between their teeth provides them all a memory they will never forget.

Together, they delivered a pretty unforgettable performance.

The offensive line produced a blocking clinic, Austin Johnson ran for 228 yards and Landyn Wommer scored three touchdowns two ways as Muncy stomped Line Mountain, 42-6 and captured the District 4 Class A championship at Scott McLean Field. The Indians (10-2) captured the elusive championship which had avoided it following three straight title losses and also secured the program's fifth district crown since 2016 while earning a spot in next week's state tournament against Lackawanna Trail.

"It just feels so good," Johnson said after running over and around defenders, while scoring three touchdowns. "It's amazing to leave a mark and to do it for Muncy."

Johnson scored three touchdowns and became Muncy's first-ever 2,000-yard rusher.

"For three years we were standing out here crying. Everybody was crying and being emotional and you have to take it all in; take it in and own it," lineman Ken Hampe said after helping Muncy gain 442 yards, including 390 on the ground. "This year finally having that great feeling is amazing but we're not satisfied. We want to keep going. Every week we have to play our game of football like we did tonight."

Sad tears became happy ones Friday and Muncy played its best game yet against an outstanding team which was a few plays from beating teams like District 4 Class AAA finalist Lewisburg and two-time defending Class A state champion Steelton-Highspire. As good as Line Mountain is, Muncy (10-2) would not be denied. This was its championship and nobody was taking it from it.

The defense did not allow a point and Muncy scored 29 second quarter points to open a 35-6 halftime lead. Johnson's bruising 19-yard third quarter score made it 41-6 as the Indians imposed the mercy rule. The Indians never let up but the game's final 15 minutes allowed them to reflect and take in a moment four years in the making, while becoming the first Muncy team since 1986 to win league and district championships in the same season.

"It's so great for this senior class, seeing them get that monkey off their back. We put four quarters together and everyone did their job and it feels so great getting those gold medals back," Muncy coach Sean Tetreault said. "We talked about it all year. No one man is above the team and it's going go take a team effort to win the game."

Only Avery Engelhart's 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdown which pulled Line Mountain within 13-7 early in the second quarter prevented Muncy from a shutout. The Indians, though, thundered back, scoring 22 points in 8 minutes, 27 seconds to take control.

All the parts fired as one. Hampe, Nixon Lamper, Tyler Humphrey, Nick Delany, Evan Trostle, tight end Cam Kamerer and Jackson Guardini overpowered Line Mountain up front, Wommer returned an interception for a touchdown and Carter Feigles and Stiles Eyer added interceptions which ended Line Mountain scoring threats.

For the seniors, they had one last chance. For the underclassmen, one never knows if they will again earn a moment like this. Together, they all made sure Muncy owned this moment.

"We had a chip (on the shoulder) and played hard. We played the best football game we've played all year," Lamper said after collecting 1 ½ sacks. "We started with momentum and never really lost it. We just kept rolling."

The seeds for Friday's success were planted last Saturday when Line Mountain fans chanted, 'We want Muncy!' as time wound down in the Eagles' semifinal win against Montgomery. Well, they got what they wished for and its nightmare became Muncy's dream.

The Indians ran for 390 yards with Wommer (91) and Wes Somits (55) complementing Johnson. Muncy scored on all but one of its five first half series, not including the final one in which it let the clock run after Delany recovered a late fumble. Muncy tackled well, blocked hard, ran hard and brilliantly executed.

The work continues and another huge challenge awaits, but Muncy made its final home game quite a memorable one.

"It feels great," Lamper said. "When they said, 'We want Muncy,' it flipped the switch and made us want to play."

"We were 0-3 coming in, but all our brothers came together tonight and got the job done, but we're not satisfied," Hampe said. "If we come out and play with enthusiasm we can be a great team."

Muncy sure looked the part against Line Mountain. The Indians made their intention's clear on the game's first series, going 74 yards on six plays and taking a lead they never relinquished. Eyer found Wommer for 34 yards on third-and-3 and Johnson hurdled a defender while finishing off a 23-yard touchdown run a play later.

Feigles intercepted a deflected pass, ending Line Mountain's ensuing drive and Muncy rode its line and strong running game to another touchdown early in the second quarter. A Paxton Derr first down catch helped spark the five-play drive. Wommer followed excellent blocking up the middle three plays later before bouncing to the outside and going for a 41-yard touchdown which made it, 13-0.

Englehart took the kickoff back for a touchdown, but it was just a brief Line Mountain reprieve. The line continued driving defenders back and Muncy went back to work with Wommer's nine-yard touchdown capping a 79-yard drive. Wommer, who has six playoff touchdowns, was back in the end zone just 11 seconds later.

On Line Mountain's next play, Wommer jumped a route before zigging and zagging his way through a broken field. Playing a hybrid safety-linebacker position against Line Mountain's spread, Wommer produced a 43-yard pick 6 which Muncy up, 27-6 and started demoralizing Line Mountain.

"Any time you get a big play or special teams big play that really helps keep the moment going and it was great to see some phases come together and that's a testament to all the work the kids put in. We put Landyn in that new position and he has a great football mind and absorbed it."

Muncy's defense kept absorbing anything Line Mountain tried, shutting down an explosive offense which averaged nearly 40 points and 400 yards entering the game. The Eagles scored 40 points against Steel-High and gained 483 yards in last week's semifinal win. A week after rushing for 234 yards, Ian Bates was limited to 68 as Muncy made Line Mountain one-dimensional.

Muncy then proceeded to crush that dimension, frequently pressuring quarterback Kaiden Maurer and becoming the first team to hold the district's touchdown pass leader without one. A Lamper sack helped by a charging Nassir Miller helped stifle one drive and Johnson and Lamper combined on another sack as Muncy took over the line on both sides of the ball.

"It comes down to practice and everybody knowing their assignment and being disciplined," Johnson said. "When we put everything together all-around able to play as a team good things happen."

Good things continued happening following Wommer's interception touchdown as the defense forced a punt and Muncy's offense picked up where it left off its previous possession. Johnson, who ran for 178 first-half yards, ripped off a 45-yarder, looking like Bo Jackson in Tecmo Bowl as he bounced off defenders. He finished the march with a 5-yard run and Muncy took a 35-6 halftime lead.

At times this season, Muncy grew lackadaisical after opening double-digit leads, but it learned from past mistakes and would not let history repeat itself. Doing so helped it make history, and do something which happened just one other time.

After the defense forced two punts to open the third quarter, Muncy imposed the mercy rule against a team which lost three previous games by eight combined points. Eyer and Wommer ran twice for 31 yards and Johnson scored his seventh playoff touchdown as Muncy started celebrating a title born from so much effort and sacrifice which began soon after last year's final ended.

As the final seconds ticked away, Kamerer was one of the players who literally jumped for joy. Kamerer was a microcosm of Muncy's perseverance the last four years. The senior tight end overcame a series of painful injuries that ended his football and baseball seasons early but kept working, kept pushing and kept coming back.

He and his teammates took some hits the past three years, but kept moving forward and now stand alone as District 4's best Class A team.

"We were preaching all week that you worked so hard all offseason, so hard in two days and we pushed to the limits," Tetreault said. "We had to get over that hump and the seniors left no doubt. They weren't going to let anyone take it from them."

Muncy 42, Line Mountain 6

(District 4 Class A championship)

Line Mountain 0 6 0 0―6

Muncy 6 29 7 0―42

First quarter

M--Austin Johnson 23 run (kick failed), 8:23

Second quarter

M--Landyn Wommer 41 run (Austin Hartzel kick), 10:45

L--Avery Engelhart 89-yard kick return (kick blocked), 10:34

M--Wommer 9 run (Hartzel kick), 6:20

M--Wommer 43-yard interception return (Hartzel kick), 6:02

M--Johnson 5 run (Wommer run), 2:07

Third quarter

M--Johnson 19 run (Hartzel kick), 3:36

TEAM STATISTICS

LM M

First downs 12 20

Rushes-yds 18-54 43-390

Passing yards 151 52

Comp.-Att.-Int. 14-30-3 3-4-0

Total yards 205 442

Fumbles-lost 3-1 3-0

Penalties-yards 7-33 6-65

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Line Mountain, Ian Bates 14-68; Dalton Schadel 1-4; Kaiden Maurer 3-(-18). Muncy, Austin Johnson 25-228, 3 TD; Landyn Wommer 8-91; 2 TD; Wes Somits 6-55; Stiles Eyer 4-16.

PASSING: Line Mountain, Maurer 14-30-3, 151 yards. Muncy, Eyer .

RECEIVING: Line Mountain, Schadel 5-90; Bryce Smeltz 5-28; Avery Engelhart 1-22; Bates 1-9; Ethan Lenker 1-3; Max Johnson 1-(-1). Muncy, Wommer 1-34; Paxton Derr 1-10; Gavin Barrows 1-8.

INTERCEPTIONS: Muncy, Wommer, Eyer, Feigles.

SACKS: Muncy, Nixon Lamper 1 1/2; Johnson 1/2.

RECORDS: Muncy 10-2. Line Mountain 8-4.

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