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Warrior Run holds off Muncy late to earn an exciting 14-7 win in Week 1

By Jon Gerardi 7 min read

Muncy had momentum on its side. Good coverage with just over two minutes to go and Warrior Run's pass on fourth-and-12 from Muncy's 25 fell incomplete, giving the Indians the ball with 2:05 left and a chance to drive and tie the game or, better yet, take the lead and win.

But Warrior Run lived up to its namesake on that final drive and defensively, played outstanding. The Defenders forced three incomplete passes, including one on fourth-and-11, to prevent a dramatic Muncy comeback.

Landon Stevenson kneeled it three times and Warrior Run walked off the field with a thrilling 14-7 Week 1 win at Muncy's Stanley Schuyler Stadium at Scott McLean Field.

That final drive against Muncy was key for Warrior Run not letting Muncy swing momentum after the Indians had their own fourth-down stop a drive prior.

"It's important because you don't know what happens. They get a touchdown, they could go for two and win it. Our defense stepped up," Warrior Run coach Derrick Zechman said. "They got open and got behind us that we gotta get fixed, but overall I'm pleased with our defense. Our offense? We gotta step up and do a lot better."

Muncy and Warrior Run went into the break at halftime without a score as both defenses held strong in not giving up points. Muncy forced five Warrior Run turnovers in the first half while Warrior Run forced three. But, despite eight first-half turnovers combined, neither team could punch in a touchdown in the first 24 minutes of competition.

It wasn't until the closing minutes of the third quarter when the Defenders put points on the board.

With 1:58 to play in the third quarter, the Defenders put together a eight-play, 55-yard drive that culminated with Denyn Beachel punching in a score from one yard up on a run up the middle.

After forcing a Muncy punt from its own 38 on fourth-and-7, Warrior Run got the ball on the Indians' 25-yard line after a stellar return and then needed just five plays to score a touchdown. It was again highlighted by Beachel, who had a two-yard run after he took all five plays on direct snaps without a quarterback on the field, running for nine, three, nine, one and three yards to accumulate the entire drive.

"He's a workhorse. He's a beast. He runs hard and they were doing a good job stopping some of the stuff. (Bryson) Weigel had some good runs early, we had some momentum and we had a penalty that put us behind the sticks (early)," Zechman said. "But having Beachel, he's a beast back there. It definitely helps out for sure."

And striking first and scoring was big momentum wise for the Defenders after nearly three entire quarters of scoreless football.

"I didn't know if anyone was going to score there for awhile. I thought we were watching paint dry. Up front, in shape I know it was tough on them as well with guys cramping up," Zechman said. "We know every year coming into Week 1 game we'd have this problem. When we got that first score, it felt good. We had some momentum going. Both teams have guys playing both ways like they do, ended up gutting it out."

Beachel ran the ball 31 times for 147 yards, constantly churning out big plays and picking up first downs when needed. While Muncy's defense did well limiting the running attack in the first half, the second half saw the Defenders finally break through.

Muncy avoided the shutout when Noah Walters used his feet to make a play happen. On third-and-14 from the 24, Walters ran to his right to avoid Warrior Run's pressure defensively. He looked like he was going to keep it and try turning nothing into something, but threw it at the last moment to Nathan Rogers in the corner of the endzone.

"It was great. We needed something. … He came in and threw a great ball to Nathan. Nate's a great athlete, one of best receivers in the area, so we want to try to get him some touches," Persing said. "Noah laid it out there and he got it. You could see it kind of invigorate everyone and got things going. Defense played great. We needed that and Noah Walters really stepped up in a big moment for us."

Walters ended the game going 4 for 10 for 92 yards while Noah Weikle was 3 for 15 with two picks, but did accumulate 104 passing yards.

Persing noted the plan entering Week 1 was to rotate both quarterbacks and get them time as the duo combined for 196 yards in the air.

"Get the monkey off your back and getting some points on the board (was big). We brought Noah Walters in, I thought Noah Weikle did a really good job for us. The plan was to play both guys today," Persing said. "One's a freshman, one's a sophomore. They're going to be competing all year which is great for them and great for us. So when Noah Walters chance for a freshman to come in down 14 and kind of be poised and calm and make some plays for us, it was really exciting to see for us."

Warrior Run out-gained Muncy in total yards of offense, 355-258. Muncy was hurt as well by 12 penalties for 96 yards, a number of which impacted drives by turning short-yardage situations into second- and third-and-long plays.

Jaxson Thomas led Muncy's ground game with 14 carries for 32 yards while Weikle had five for 26. Rogers caught four passes for 119 yards and a touchdown. He had a big 48-yard catch in the second half that kept a drive going for the Indians.

Muncy struggled on third- and fourth-down conversions throughout the night. Muncy was just 3 for 11 on third down and 0 for 3 on fourth down. The Indians also just reached the red zone once.

"The defense played well. They made some plays in the passing and got the job done. We were in a good spot, but then they scored a touchdown on a big play," Zechman said. "So, we gotta fix a lot of things."

Muncy's defense did well in situations too on third-down as Warrior Run was 4 for 11 in those situations and went 0 for 2 on fourth down, including the final pass before Muncy's last drive.

"We know they're very good. We knew their line would be difficult for us, and difficult for most teams. We did well against a pretty solid line. Ended up throwing the ball a little bit more than we would have liked too, but you can't keep banging your head against the wall and hope something changes," Persing said. "In the second half we asked our guys to really give a full effort and man, you could see it. They competed at the highest level.

"We had a lot of new guys in different spots. We had guys go down with cramps and injuries, so we're putting new pieces in the game. They responded. So proud of them," Persing continued. "Warrior Run's obviously a very good team. To scrimmage Line Mountain and them, you have to be ready right away. Now, we have a short week and we have to get ourselves ready."

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