Montoursville PPG–58, PPA–0; YPG–467, YPA–65

Montoursville notes: Montoursville has high hopes for this season and came out strong in its opener, controlling all facets in a 58-0 win against Wellsboro. The Warriors hit the road tonight and face a team which played it tough a year ago. Montoursville won that game, 20-0, with the score not being an indicator of how close it was. The Warriors set up the running game with the pass against Wellsboro and sophomore quarterback Elijah Eck threw for 145 yards, twice finding Brayden Burkett for touchdowns. Kane Moore caught three passes and also dropped the hammer on Wellsboro in the second half when he returned an interception 70 yards for a touchdown. Christian Banks picked up where he left off last season when he went over 1,300 yards, rushing for 149. Hayden Harvey and Jordan Cohick both went over 50 and scored touchdowns. Harvey went over 500 yards last season and also forms a strong linebacking duo with Banks. Two-way starting lineman Noah Rakestraw is coming off an impressive season and had two tackles for loss in the opener. Burkett forced a fumble and Carlos Tira, Branson Fogleman and Jacob Schon all recovered fumbles.

Montoursville player to watch–Kingston Fisher: Coming off a big junior season, Fisher moved to tight end offensively and caught a 24-yard pass last week. His height, strength and speed could make him a tough match-up there. He also is tough coming off the edge defensively. Fisher made a team-high eight tackles a week, also forcing a fumble.

Milton PPG–15, PPA–33; YPG–262, YPA–412

Milton notes: Milton fell behind by 13 early last week against Shikellamy and made things interesting a few times before a late Pick 6 sealed its fate. The Black Panthers were one of the area’s most resilient teams last year, overcoming a series of injuries and winning four road games after trailing in the fourth quarter. They also reached districts for a fourth straight year. Monty Fisher sets the tone for the offense and has surpassed both 1,000 yards rushing and receiving during his four years. Fisher went over 800 receiving yards last year, but has moved to the backfield now and ran for 131 against Shikellamy. Jaeden Canelo added 63 yards and his running ability gives Milton the flexibility to use Fisher in a lot of ways. Milton received a pleasant surprise late in the offseason when Chase Lytle decided to play after performing well when Izayah Minium was injured last fall. Lytle led a dramatic game-winning drive at South Williamsport and threw for 512 yards and four touchdowns, averaging nearly 100 yards per game. Freshmen Jensen Souder is one of the several young players Milton is excited about and he led the team in receiving last week, while also intercepting a pass. Jackson Wertz added 10 tackles.

Milton player to watch–Brady O’Rourke: Coming off an impressive freshman season at Montgomery, O’Rourke looked right at home in his Milton debut. The outside linebacker made a career and team-high 13 tackles, including 2 ½ for loss. O’Rourke produced a sack and gives Milton a nice complement to reliable senior Brady Wolfe.

Outlook: This will be more of a challenge than last week for Montoursville, but Milton certainly has its work cut out. Look for Milton to hang early before the Warriors pull away in the second half.