Auburn Edges Wellsboro

By: Lee Ed Thomas II  /  October 10, 2001

After a long road trip to Auburn, New York, the Wellsboro Green Hornets met a larger and stronger football team that had another added advantage on their side - numbers.

Auburn was able to remain fresh throughout the football game because they had both an offensive and a defensive team. Their ability to send in fresh players eventually took its toll on Wellsboro who dropped a 12-0 non-league contest Friday, October 5.

Wellsboro, on the other hand, was weary and injury-laden but still managed to almost deal Auburn their fifth consecutive loss.

"We had a couple of injuries and only had one guy who didn't go both ways," Wellsboro coach Russ Manney said. "Auburn was able to substitute freely."

Despite Wellsboro's lack of numbers, they were able to hold Auburn scoreless throughout much of the game but eventually ran out of time and stamina in the third quarter. Auburn, who was paced by Marcus Martin, 205 yards on 31 carries, broke the scoreless game midway through the third quarter.

Martin capped his performance by taking the hand off and dozing into the end zone from five yards out and give Auburn a 6-0 lead with 6:27 remaining. The extra point attempt failed.

"Our defense got sucked in and Martin broke some big plays," Manney said.

Instead of taking a forfeit from Cowanesque Valley, Wellsboro filled the hole in their schedule with Auburn. The game will be used as a learning experience for the Hornets, according to Manney. "We were glad we played the game because we learned a lot," Manney said. "We have to get stronger and get more aggressive. You like to get that out of a team. It's a good learning situation. We have to learn that when things get aggressive, we have to dedicate ourselves."

Despite Auburn's 0-4 start, the team competes in one of the stronger leagues in New York State. That is one of the main reasons the Hornet coaching staff opted to fill the vacancy with the strong team.

"We knew they didn't have a great record but they play in a tough league," Manney admitted. "They showed their aggressiveness in tackling and stripped the ball."

While the Wellsboro offense is still maturing, defensively the team stood the test Friday night. Defense was what Manney was most pleased with on the night's effort.

"On defense, we played well enough to win," Manney said. "Offensively we're still at the point where we're shooting ourself in the foot."

Manney said the Hornets built two 10- to 15-play drives but, by trying to overcome the strength of Auburn players, they eventually tired and lost focus.

"You can't have a 10- or 15-play drive and then fumble," Manney said. "We can't have those mental mistakes."

Offensively, Wellsboro rushed 42 times for 183 yards. Derek Harsch led the Hornet ground attack by rushing for 101 yards on 22 carries. Every yard the Hornets gained was a yard earned. After Auburn opened the second half by driving the length of the field for the score, Wellsboro answered back but had the ball taken away.

"We drove right back but then had the ball ripped out of our hand," Manney said. "At that point, if we would have scored, the game could have ended 7-6."

Auburn scored their final touchdown of the night with 1:33 remaining in the game after Wellsboro attempted to gain a first down on fourth-and-seven yards to go, Wellsboro's attempt to earn a first down failed and Auburn took over possession and punched the ball in for the score.

Manney is optimistic about the season and is looking for the team to pull out a winning season. "There's no doubt that we can still have a winning record," Manney said. "We hope the kids believe in us and pull together. They have to will themselves to win, they have to work on their mental as well as their physical game and not wait for something to happen."

Wellsboro returns to the field when they travel to Muncy Friday night. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m.