Banks, Warriors Capitalize Off Turnovers And Strong Run Game To Beat Wellsboro, 47-7

By: Ed Weaver  /  August 24, 2024  /  Photo: Dr. Robert Bair

For the second year in a row Montoursville and running back Christian Banks ran all over Wellsboro.

Last year the Warriors shut out the Hornets 49-0. This year they won 47-7, thanks to five Wellsboro turnovers in the first half and 126 yards on the ground from Banks.

After an opening drive three-and-out the Warriors' offense kicked into gear as they amassed 388 yards of total offense. Banks did the dirty work on Montoursville's second drive, but Hayden Harvey found the end zone first on a 30-yard run with 4:22 remaining in the opening quarter.

"I was a little upset with the silly penalties and mistakes but you'll have that the first game," Montoursville coach Joe Hanna said. "I thought we played solid and did what we needed to do to win the game."

Montoursville's Kingston Fisher intercepted a Griffin Morral pass on the Hornets' next drive to set the Warriors up deep inside Wellsboro territory before quarterback Jimmy Mussina connected with Owen Kleinman from 11 yards away to make it 13-0 after a missed extra point.

Wellsboro's ensuing drive ended in another turnover but the home team managed to get the ball back as junior Marek Mascho picked off Mussina, however Wellsboro turned it right back over four plays later as Owen Kleinman stepped in front of Morral's pass and returned it to the Wellsboro 26. Two plays later Banks was in the end zone for the first time on the night, pushing Montoursville's lead to 19-0 with 8:35 remaining in the game. Montoursville added another Banks touchdown, this one from 15 yards out, after the Warrior defense again picked off Morral, making it 26-0.

Montoursville's final score of the first half came exactly one minute after their last one as Kingston Fisher picked up a Wellsboro fumble and returned it 22 yards for the score. As the first half buzzer sounded, Montoursville held a 33-0 lead over the Hornets.

"We knew there would be growing pains. A lot of times we have six freshman out on the field," said Wellsboro head coach Matt Hildebrand. "Obviously the score isn't what we wanted, but there were a lot of positives to take from the loss. We're young, we had 22 underclassmen out there tonight, and Montoursville is a good football team, but we have a lot to clean up heading into next week."

Montoursville added two more scores in the second half, the first with 7:47 remaining in the third on a 20-yard pass from Elijah Eck to Noah Kemmerer. The second came with 8:41 remaining in the game on another Eck pass, this one to Noah Kemmerer from 19 yards out.

Sandwiched in between Montoursville's second half scores was the Hornets' first touchdown of the season. Following Eck's first touchdown pass the Hornets started out at their own 24 and began moving the ball through the air as Morral found Mascho for 14 yards, then connected with junior Jonathan Carl for 9 yards up to the Wellsboro 48. On the next play, Morral found Mascho in the clear, Mascho made one move around his defender, and was off to the races for a 52-yard score. Carl's extra point was good.

Montoursville rushed for 288 yards, lead by Banks' 126 yards and Harvey's 74 yards. Mussina finished the evening 2-for-6 for 16 yards while Eck completed 5-of-6 passes for 84 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Kemmerer led all receivers with 46 yards on a pair of receptions.

Morral completed 7-of-15 passes for 93 yards in his first career start, 75 of them going to Mascho. Morral also led Wellsboro's ground game with 14 yards on 5 carries. Senior Ryder Bowen was held to just 12 yards on 13 carries. Defensively Bowen made 9 tackles with junior Hayden Stevens and sophomore Levi Champaign adding 5 tackles each. Stevens also had a sack.

The loss starts Wellsboro out at 0-1. The team is back in action next Friday at Muncy (0-1) for an NTL cross-over game.

Montoursville (1-0) hosts Milton (1-0) next week.