Muncy at Line Mountain playoff preview
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Last Game: Muncy 42, Line Mountain 6, 2024 District championship
Muncy PPG--25.2, PPA--10.9; YPG--299.4, YPA--212.3
Muncy notes: Muncy and Line Mountain are familiar with each other and played their preseason scrimmage against each other again this year. Muncy was denied a trip to the finals last year for the first time since 2017 and Line Mountain defeated Montgomery for the championship. The Indians are trying to flip that script and bring momentum into the game after routing Hughesville, 31-13 in their regular season finale. Muncy led by 25 until the game's final play and has allowed just 22 points the last two games. The Indians collected 18 tackles for loss and three sacks at Hughesville. Linebacker Jaxson Thomas made a team-high 11 tackles and Nasir Miller made four tackles for loss. Nixon Lamper and Finn Thomas each made three tackles for loss and Liam Driscoll two. Finn Thomas has made quite an impact in his debut season; the freshman making 100 tackles. His older brother Jaxson has 81 and Lamper 15 tackles for loss. Nate Rogers has five interceptions and Chase Boozer four, including one for a touchdown. Rogers also is the first Muncy player in the 2000s to reach 50 catches in a season, while Cullen Reed, Kynton Fish and Drew Ryder all have caught multiple touchdowns. Reed also has three interceptions and 10 tackles for loss. Sophomore quarterback Noah Weikle and freshman quarterback Noah Walters have split time, both playing well and generating 1,688 yards and 16 touchdowns. Weikle threw for three scores at Hughesville and Layken Harris ran for a career-high 116 yards. Despite missing three games, Harris has run for eight touchdowns.
Muncy player to watch--Nasir Miller: The senior played some of his best football during the 2024 postseason and has displayed that form again late this year. Miller has 12 tackles for loss in his last four games, including two in Week 9 against 10-win Athens. The defensive end also has 3 ½ sacks, four pass break-ups and has recovered two fumbles.
Line Mountain PPG--37.6, PPA--11.1; YPG--349.7, YPA--197
Line Mountain notes: Despite taking a big graduation hit following last year's championship, Line Mountain (9-1) remains state-ranked and has pushed its two-year record to 20-2. The Eagles set the tone for their season with a hard-fought 14-7 season-opening victory at Tri-Valley. The defense is stingy and allows fewer than 200 yards for a second straight year. Freshman Caden Carson has had a fabulous debut season, making 123 tackles. Defensive tackle Garrett Cockeril forms a potent tandem with fellow lineman Cade Feger and has 4 1/2 sacks to go along with 14 1/2 tackles for loss. Luke Malfara needs eight tackles to reach 100 and Kaden Dunkleberger has four interceptions. The Eagles have turned the ball over just eight times and Dunkleberger sparks the offense with 675 yards rushing behind what has been the district's best offensive line through 10 games. He also has been highly effective when passing, completing 75% of his passes and generating seven touchdowns on 18 completions. Preston Derk is a dual-threat quarterback and has thrown for 856 yards while topping 500 rushing and scoring a team-high nine touchdowns. He is one of four players who has at least 394 rushing yards, including Niam Braswell and Liam Troutman, both who have five touchdowns. Henry Malfara missed two games, but returned for the season finale against Newport and is a game-changer who averages 26.5 yards per catch. Malfara has scored on nine of his 23 catches. Line Mountain is seeking its third straight finals appearance.
Line Mountain player to watch--Cade Feger: The sophomore defensive end is one of many outstanding young players who has stepped up big this season. Feger has 105 tackles and leads the team with both 6 ½ sacks and 23 ½ tackles for loss. He has especially surged late this year, collecting at least 12 tackles and 1 1/2 tackles for loss in four consecutive games.
Winner plays: Montgomery or Canton
Outlook: Both teams have given up points at a premium this season, so it's temping to say offense may be hard to come by in this one. But seemingly every time this reporter has projected that for a game the opposite has happened, so who knows? Line Mountain is the favorite, but Muncy also has turned it on at a good time, so this should be a good one.