Hornets Outlast Southside

By: Chris McGann  /  September 7, 2007  /  Photo: Tim McBride

The Wellsboro Hornets opened their season on the gridiron by downing South Williamsport 25-14 in Wellsboro Friday night.

Hornets coach Chris Morral was pleased with his squad's performance, especially since there were so many question marks going into the season. He was especially concerned about special teams since they do not play in pre-season scrimmages.

Overall, Morral added, the Hornets played with composure and were particularly effective in the second half.

"The biggest thing was we did not turn the ball over," Morral said.

On the other side of the ball, the Hornet defense forced three turnovers, one of which turned into a touchdown and another was returned to the three yard line.

"We had 11 guys flying to the football and that's what our defense likes to do," he said.

The Mountaineers opened the scoring on a four yard run by Patton Bartholomew late in the first quarter. The extra point kick missed, and South Williamsport took a 6-0 lead.

The Hornets responded midway through the second quarter as running back Jake Coolidge ran the ball in from four yards out at the 7:38 mark. Pat Driebelbies connected on the extra point and the Hornets went up 7-6.

Wellsboro extended their lead when Colton Acorn scooped up a forced fumble and returned it 40 yards for the score. The PAT failed and Wellsboro extended their lead to 13-6 with just over a minute to play in the first half.

The Mountaineers were not finished yet. They took a 14-13 lead late in the second half as the Hornet defense allowed a 47 yard touchdown run by Wade Morehart at the 3:44 mark of the third quarter. The two point conversion was good as Mark Smithgall found Matt Marzzacco for the score.

Morehart led all rushers with 142 yards on 25 carriers.

A minute and a half later, the Hornets finished the job as Driebelbies scampered 37 yards for his own touchdown. South Williamsport stopped the two point conversion run, but the Hornets took the lead 19-14.

Wellsboro tacked on six more points as Coolidge took the ball in from the six yard line to complete the scoring.

Driebelbies led the running game for the Hornets as he picked up 82 yards on 14 carries. Coolidge added another 57 yards on 12 rushes. Coolidge also caught three passes for 50 yards. Acorn also caught three passes for 30 yards.

Getting much of the credit was an offensive line that may be one of the biggest and most talented that Wellsboro has seen in several years.

In addition, Coolidge, Driebelbies, and Steve Mengee helped with blocking from the running back position.

"Jake, Steve, and Pat all blocked well for each other," Morral said.

On the other side of the ball, Coolidge was credited with intercepting Smithgall once and returning it 21 yards to the three yard line. He finished the drive by scoring the touchdown.

Cameron Jones made his first start at quarterback and posted a solid 6-for-11 passing mark. The Hornets had a total of 80 yards through the air and did not give up any interceptions.

The defense also turned in a strong performance, recovering two fumbles and returning an interception to the three yard line, which led to one of Coolidge's scores.

Next up for the Hornets is an away match against Canton, which will actually be played in Troy on Friday, September 7.