Naughton and White were the lone Williamsport senior starters this season and both made some big plays in their final game Friday at Wilkes-Barre. It’s more than the plays, however, which Williamsport coach Mike Pearson, his staff and their teammates will miss.

It’s how they played and the example they set. And those are what the returning players will try and build on after Wilkes-Barre ended Williamsport’s reign as District 2-4 Class 6A champions, capturing the title with a resounding 42-14 win. Quarterback Jake Howe became the Wyoming Valley Conference’s all-time leading passer, throwing for 243 yards and three touchdowns; the Wolfpack (8-4) built a 35-point third quarter lead and they earned their first subregional championship.

“You always wish you could do more but I hope that I made an impact on the juniors and the next guys coming up, so the future will be great for them,” White said. “We learned about sticking together and that’s something this group needs to continue to improve upon in the future because they have a lot of potential.”

“When Lucas and Gio were leaving the field, I was doing my best to hold it together because the way those boys were raised by their families and the legacies they leave are tremendous,” Pearson said. “There will be guys who come after them, but those two will not be replaced. They’re just great guys to have on your team and I can’t wait to watch them in baseball. It will be weird to start over without them. They’re just that special.”

Williamsport quarterback Tevin Williams (11) tries to run through the tackle of Wilkes-Barre Area defensive back Treyvon Gembitski in the District 2/4 subregional championship at Wolfpack Stadium in Plains Twp. on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. BILL TARUTIS / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

Naughton and White helped Williamsport overcome plenty of adversity as well as one of the state’s more demanding schedules to make it back to the district final. The Millionaires, ironically started their finals push at Wilkes-Barre, defeating the Wolfpack there, 28-21 two weeks earlier.

This time, Wilkes-Barre looked like a different team and wiped away two seasons of frustration after also losing to Williamsport in last year’s final, scoring the game’s first 21 points in less than 14 minutes and never letting the Millionaires up once they were down.

After gaining 382 yards the first time, Williamsport struggled against a revamped, swarming defense which surrendered just 168. Tevin Williams gave Wilkes-Barre fits two weeks ago, but minus a few flashes of brilliance, the Wolfpack harassed him all night, rarely giving him time to throw and stopping the big runs which gashed them in Week 10.

Add in Howe carving up the defense with precision passes and Wilkes-Barre scoring on three of its first four possessions and Williamsport was fighting an uphill battle all night.

“These two games between Wilkes-Barre and Williamsport really were a tale of the starts. Two weeks ago, we got off to a really good start with field position and special teams and we had confidence,” Pearson said. “Tonight, they got off to a really, really good start and you could just see them exhale. They made a lot of changes and improvements after our last game and you could see there development during the Hazleton game last week and I thought they were really in a good place.”

Wilkes-Barre Area running back Davon Underwood looks to ward off a Williamsport tackler in the District 2/4 subregional championship at Wolfpack Stadium in Plains Twp. on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. BILL TARUTIS / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

“The first time we came out of the gate hard and this time we didn’t,” White said. “They got us early and we weren’t able to come back. That’s what it came down to.”

Howe also ran for 73 yards and two scores and found Davon Underwood for a 32-yard touchdown on Wilkes-Barre’s second play. Following the Naughton interception, Howe and Underwood ran for touchdowns, making it, 21-0.

Williams then went Houdini and pulled three straight remarkable plays from his hat as Williamsport put together its best drive, going 62 yards. Williams chased down an errant snap on a 4th-and-5 from the Wolfpack 39-yard line and somehow was able to get a pass off to White for seven yards between two defenders. A play later, he beat two blitzers and fired a 17-yard dart on the run to Trey Damschroder before again escaping what looked like a sure sack and completing a desperation 10-yard heave to Brayden Ungard at the 8.

Two plays later, Williams was in the end zone and Williamsport was within, 21-7. The sophomore, who stepped up and moved from wide receiver to quarterback when Zion Hughes was injured in the preseason, finished his season with 2,370 total yards and 29 touchdowns.

“He’s come a long way. He has so much ahead of him in life whichever route he chooses to go. He’s a really fun kid to be around,” Pearson said. “This was a tough game for him tonight but this was a learning experience for him which will help him in all of his sports.”

Wilkes-Barre Area tight end Nick Saracino runs out-of-bounds against Williamsport in the District 2/4 subregional championship at Wolfpack Stadium in Plains Twp. on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. BILL TARUTIS / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

Williamsport knew all about Howe from prior games, but learned one last time why he is one of the most prolific quarterbacks in District 2 history. The four-year starter needed 216 yards entering the contest to break Berwick and Notre Dame graduate Ron Powlus’s passing yardage record. He did so early in the third quarter and heads to State College for the state tournament’s opening round with 7,370 yards.

Howe helped Wilkes-Barre put the game away, ripping off a 14-yard touchdown on 4th-and-1 on its first second half possession before throwing a 9-yard touchdown to Treyvon Gembitski which made it, 42-7 with 5 minutes, 23 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

“Jake Howe was just fantastic. To break Ron Powlus’s record tonight is a huge accomplishment,” Pearson said. “He’s got a fire in him. He’s a winner. Tonight was his night.”

White and Naughton helped Williamsport have some excellent nights throughout their scholastic careers, including a year ago when they were starters for a district champion. White nearly totaled 1,000 yards this season and scored touchdowns three ways, while Naughton again topped 100 tackles despite missing three games with an injury.

Together, they helped Williamsport stay positive during tough times which included four straight losses, three against teams which entered Week 12 a combined 33-0. Through it all, they kept pushing and Williamsport won consecutive games entering the final, including a 43-16 semifinal win against Scranton.

Wilkes-Barre Area wide receiver Jonathan Otway Kellom, right, runs to the sideline against Williamsport in the District 2/4 subregional championship at Wolfpack Stadium in Plains Twp. on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. BILL TARUTIS / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

“It’s really difficult to end up like this but we did make a lot of progress this season,” White said. “We had a stretch of games unlike any school around us and we pushed through and made it to the end. It sucks but there was a lot of good that came out of it.”

Naughton made something good happen on Wilkes-Barre’s second series when he intercepted the tipped pass and returned it to the 24-yard line. Williamsport, however, went four-and-out, gaining just four yards, and Wilkes-Barre then built on the momentum, putting together an 80-yard scoring drive which drastically altered the game’s complexion.

Williamsport learned a lot this year and that included this final game. The goal now is to try and make this negative experience a positive one and flip the script next fall.

“I’m excited for those kids that are coming back. They have to take some time and reflect but the one thing we learned from (Week 8 opponent) Berwick (which made a seven-win improvement) is that if you want to be great you have to put in extreme hard work. That’s the challenge that every high school program has and the kids have to find a way to make time for it.”

White and Naughton’s time came to an end Friday but they left their mark on the program. Their stats prove it but their true legacy could come these next few years as Williamsport looks to emulate their effort and reclaim the gold medals.

Wilkes-Barre Area quarterback Jake Howe looks to pass against Williamsport in the District 2/4 subregional championship at Wolfpack Stadium in Plains Twp. on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. BILL TARUTIS / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

“The last four years of playing football has been huge for me,” White said. “I’m going to remember everything.”

No doubt, Williamsport will remember White and Naughton.

Wilkes-Barre Area running back Davon Underwood, right, takes it in for a touchdown ahead of Williamsport's Giovanni White in the District 2/4 subregional championship at Wolfpack Stadium in Plains Twp. on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. BILL TARUTIS / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

Wilkes-Barre Area wide receiver Kevon Creech, right, makes a long reception to set up a touchdown against Williamsport in the District 2/4 subregional championship at Wolfpack Stadium in Plains Twp. on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. BILL TARUTIS / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER