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Muncy overcomes distractions; dominates Wyalusing in Thursday Night Football

By Chris Masse 7 min read

WYALUSING--A wrong turn and Mother Nature were the only things slowing Muncy.

And Muncy eventually conquered those adversaries as well. The Indians shook off both a 45-minute bus detour and a 92-minute lightning delay Thursday night, dominating all facets and routing Wyalusing, 45-0.

Quarterbacks Noah Weikle and Noah Walters combined to throw for 285 yards with three touchdowns; Cullen Reed excelled on both sides, Nate Rogers (107) topped 100 receiving yards and Finn Thomas sparked a stifling defense as Muncy won its first game and offered a glimpse at what could be coming.

"We get here 45 minutes later than we expected and have a 45-minute window to warm up but we kept going to back to our motto which was we came here for a job and there are no excuses, so let’s take care of business," Muncy coach Chris Persing said. "They did a real nice job of being dialed in from the start and not letting the heat and all those other kinds of things that can impact you, impact them."

All that longer than usual road trip and lightning delay, which came nearly midway through the second quarter, seemed to do was fuel an already motivated team seeking its first win. Playing with tunnel vision, Muncy stayed focused on the task at hand, scored touchdowns on all six first-half possessions and built a 39-0 halftime lead.

Muncy outgained Wyalusing 375-77 and the starting defense allowed just two first downs, one coming via penalty. By the time the lightning came, Muncy (1-1) already led, 26-0 after scoring 20 first quarter points. The Indians stayed on the assault when the game resumed at 8:34 p.m., Jaxson Thomas capping a short drive with a two-yard touchdown run and Walters finding Reed for a 21-yard touchdown which imposed the mercy rule.

"We kept our hopes high. We that (delay) out and came out ready to go," Walters said after completing 8 of 10 passes for 134 yards and totaling three touchdowns. "Being around these guys keeps your hopes up, and it kept the energy high."

"I think it’s exciting that we can get the ball rolling for future games," Reed said after catching four passes for 74 yards, intercepting a pass and collecting a sack. "We’re getting everything settled in."

Before the fans could really settle in, Muncy produced its own lightning as Weikle (7 of 8, 156 yards) threw a 47-yard dart to Rogers on 4th-and-16. A play later, Layken Harris scored the first of his two touchdowns on a 2-yard burst and Muncy led, 7-0.

Weikle and Rogers connected again on the next offensive play, this time Rogers (105 yards) taking a short pass, beating containment to the right sideline and going 60 yards for the touchdown. New quarterback, same result on the next series with Walters throwing a 50-yard dime to Kynton Fish on the run for a touchdown which made it, 20-0.

Muncy plans on using both its young quarterbacks (Weikle a sophomore; Walters a freshman) this season and it has paid impressive dividends through two weeks. By halftime, the duo generated 282 yards and three touchdown passes, finding a bevy of exciting playmakers.

"I love to pass. Noah does, too," Walters said. "Knowing we have the options we have and trusting that anyone we throw to will make the plays is really nice."

"Both Noah’s do very well," Reed said. "Whoever is in, we know they can get the job done."

They proved it Thursday, each completing at least 80 % of his passes. Reed, a sophomore, had a big breakout game as well, making his catches at crucial times. Walters found Reed for 13 yards on 2nd-and-long early in the second quarter, setting up Walters’ 2-yard touchdown. Following the long delay, Reed’s 15-yard catch led to Jaxson Thomas’s two-yard score a play later.

And after setting up the two previous touchdowns, Reed finished the next drive off. Sneaking behind the secondary, Reed worked himself open. Walters kept his eyes downfield while rolling right and hit Reed between the numbers, the fourth-and-goal, 21-yard touchdown making it, 39-0 five seconds before halftime.

"I had the short man, but I knew it was fourth down and we had to get in the end zone," Walters said. "I just kept rolling and I was about to take off when I saw him coming out behind the linemen and he was wide open. I just put it there for him to make the catch."

Reed was as impressive defensively as he was offensively. The linebacker set up Muncy’s third touchdown when he dove and intercepted a pass which defensive end Nasir Miller tipped at the line. A series later, Reed burst past the line and ended another possession, this time with a sack.

One of several underclassmen taking on big roles, Reed continued showing why both the present and future look pretty good at Muncy.

"I think as a sophomore you have to step up to the plate and get things done," Reed said. "I think after the Warrior Run game; I started to settle in and play my game offensively and defensively."

Muncy took the defending HAC-III tri-champions to the limit six nights earlier and continued showing its promise against Wyalusing. Playing alongside his brother at linebacker, freshman Finn Thomas was a beast, making eight first-half tackles, almost all at, behind or near the line of scrimmage. Nixon Lamper set an early tone; Drew Ryder made six first-half tackles and Aydan Aurelio nearly took a second-half interception in for a touchdown.

The starting defense allowed just 32 yards and that strong defense often set up the offense with short fields as all aspects clicked together.

"Drew and JT (Thomas) and all captains, they are setting a tone of this is how it needs to be," Persing said. "We have a 90-minute delay, and they came out ready to play. They had them fired up. That’s a tribute to those seniors and getting them ready to play."

The only blemish at times was penalties, but even then, Muncy turned negatives into positives. The Indians were 4-for-4 on third and fourth downs of 10 or more yards. Kyle Feigles made a big catch which kept Muncy’s fourth touchdown drive going, hauling in a 13-yard strike from Walters.

The second half offered Muncy a chance to play just about everyone who dressed and there was not much letdown. Ajay Zuniga made it 45-0 with a two-yard, fourth down touchdown run and sophomore Kyler Fish generated a five-yard sack which was a few inches from being a safety.

"They put in a lot of time all summer and all offseason," Persing said. "It was nice to see that pay off for them and have a real strong performance on a Thursday night. It was nice to see them have those moments where they can see what they can do if they keep working hard."

Muncy 45, Wyalusing 0

Muncy 20 19 0 6--45

Wyalusing 0 0 0 0--0

First Quarter

M--Layken Harris 2 run (Nolan Trostle kick), 8:59

M--Nate Rogers 60 pass from Noah Weikle (Trostle kick), 6:26

M--Kynton Fish 50 pass from Noah Walters (run failed), :26

Second Quarter

M--Walters 2 run (kick failed), 7:39

M--Jaxson Thomas 2 run (Trostle kick), 5:52

M--Cullen Reed 21 pass from Walters (kick failed), :05

Fourth Quarter

M--Ajay Zuniga 2 run (kick failed), 9:33

TEAM STATISTICS M W

First Downs 15 4

Rushes-yards 28-85 21-8

Passing yards 290 69

Total yards 375 77

Comp-Att-Int 15-18-0 5-18-2

Fumbles-lost 0-0 0-0

Penalties-yards 8-50 3-17

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Muncy, Noah Walters 6-37, TD; Layken Harris 8-29, 2 TD; Nasir Miller 4-14; Jaxson Thomas 1-2, TD; Ajay Zuniga 8-2, TD; Noah Weikle 1-1. Wyalusing, Jacob Gromley 9-11; Patrick O’Connor 6-4; Wiley Trombaugh 6-(-7).

PASSING: Muncy, Weikle 7-8-0, 156 yards, TD; Walters 8-10-0, 134 yards, 2 TD. Wyalusing, Trombaugh 5-18-2, 69 yards.

RECEIVING: Muncy, Cullen Reed 4-74, TD; Nate Rogers 3-105, TD; Kynton Fish 2-49, TD; Chance Boozer 3-25; Thomas 1-16; Kyle Feigles 1-13; Ayden Aurelio 1-8. Wyalusing, Landry Tinna 4-55; Sullivan McCracken 1-14.

INTERCEPTIONS: Muncy, Reed, Aurelio.

SACKS: Reed.

RECORDS: Muncy 1-1, 1-0 NTL-II. Wyalusing 0-1, 0-1.

Starting at /week.