SCRANTON — Austin Johnson had barely broken the plane of the goal line with the football when Muncy’s Kenny Hampe and Cameron Kamerer ran over to coach Sean Tetreault.
“We’re going for two,” Hampe shouted at his coach.
It wasn’t a request. It wasn’t even a demand. It was a statement. Johnson’s 32-yard catch-and-run touchdown on a screen pass had brought Muncy within one point of Lackawanna Trail with just 75 seconds remaining in Friday’s PIAA Class A first-round game at Scranton Memorial Stadium.
Even before that moment Tetreault had decided he would go for two points if the Indians scored. But when his players approached him, it made him even more sure it was the right decision.
Johnson barreled through a couple defenders and plunged into the end zone for a successful two-point conversion that was the winning margin in a wild 47-46 victory over District 2 champion Lackawanna Trail.
To call Friday’s game a track meet would have been an insult to track meets. There was more running than at the Boston Marathon. The two teams combined for 1,074 yards of offense, including 892 on the ground. Johnson finished with 284 yards and three touchdowns. Trail running back Isaac Ryon ran for 303 yards and a trio of touchdowns, and the Lions’ Demitrius Douglas added 167 yards and two touchdowns.
But the most important play of the night didn’t count toward those rushing totals. But it was the final two points that gave Muncy its first state playoff win since beating Millersburg, 49-0, on Nov. 16, 2019.
Muncy advances to the state quarterfinals where it will face either Delone Catholic or Belmont Charter. Those teams play at 1 p.m. Saturday.
“I knew I was going for two, I just didn’t know what I wanted to do,” Tetreault said. “But when the kids come over and they’re so passionate about it, it’s 100 percent we’re going for it. When you have Cameron Kamerer, who is one of the best tight ends in the state, and Kenny Hampe, who is one of the best linemen in the state, who want to go for two, it’s an easy decision and we’re going to run behind those two. And they made me look good.”
In a game which felt like the team with the ball last was going to win, Muncy’s Stiles Eyer proved that theory wrong when he intercepted Trail quarterback Tyler Jervis with 50 seconds to go on his own 11-yard line. It was the third interception for a Muncy defense which had absolutely no answer for a Lions running attack which went for nearly 500 yards.
But they did have an answer in the secondary, picking off three of the five passes Jervis threw, two from Dominic Guardini, and the clincher from Eyer.
“Lackawanna is a really good ball control team. They don’t fumble,” Eyer said. “We knew the only way we’re getting the ball back is if they pass the ball and we get some turnovers that way. And we did.”
“It all goes back to believing we’re one best teams in the state,” Tetreault said. “If we believe and we execute, we’re a force to be reckoned with.”
Offensively, the Indians were definitely that Friday. And it largely came on the back of their 200-pound running back who is the only player in school history to run for 2,000 yards in a season. But when it had to have a score after Lackawanna Trail took a 46-39 lead with 1 minute, 50 seconds to play, the Indians turned to the right arm of Eyer.
The senior quarterback found Landyn Wommer for 26 yards to get into Trail territory. He then threw a dart to the sideline to Paxton Derr for 10 more yards. And that set up a throwback screen to Johnson, who hadn’t had a catch all game.
But he slipped one tackle and found a convoy of blockers sealing off the left sideline. He made one stutter-step move to get through the last defender and get into the end zone for the potential tying touchdown. And that’s when Muncy’s players insisted Tetreault go for two.
“We have so much confidence, especially in the line,” Johnson said. “We know we’re going to send it, go for it, and leave it all out there. I wasn’t going down there. I just said I’m punching it in.”
“That kid’s a freight train,” Eyer said. “On the two-point conversion I told him if he gets caught up, I’m right behind him. But he didn’t need me. The kid squats 600 pounds, he deadlifts 700, and he benches 400. He didn’t need any help.”
Eight of Johnson’s runs went for more than 10 yards. He had touchdown runs of 48 and 59 yards, and a 42-yard explosion which set up a 4-yard scoring run.
He was the workhorse which made the Muncy offense go on a night where it had to operate at optimum efficiency. His work allowed for counters from the Indians offense which included and Landyn Wommer 54-yard touchdown run, or a 64-yard touchdown pass to Kamerer in the first half.
“That’s the belief in who we are,” Tetreault said. “We have to believe in our process and believe in our system. We couldn’t stop the Wing-T, but we kids made plays when they needed to.”
Trail forced Muncy to play one of the best offensive games — considering what was on the line — in the program’s history because its rushing attack was unstoppable. The Lions had won 10 games in a row on the back of its Wing-T offense which produces yards and points like Hershey’s produces chocolate.
The Lions got to the perimeter with ease, creating a gap between Muncy’s defensive ends and tackles, allowing pulling guards and tackles to clear out any linebackers before getting into the Muncy secondary.
No matter how many times they ran it, and no matter whether it was Ryon or Douglas carrying the ball, the Lions averaged nearly 10 yards per carry. Ryon had touchdown runs of 68, 56 and 29 yards. And 19 of Trail’s 55 rushing attempts went for 10 yards or more.
“It’s the Wing-T way, get as many bodies to the point of attack as possible, get one crease, and then go,” Tetreault said. “They hit the C-gap hard and we have to do a better job to shore that up. But the Wing-T is tough to stop. (Ryon) us a heck of a back. I don’t think anybody can stop him. Our kids just made enough plays to win us the game.”
“I’ve been waiting my whole high school career for a game like this,” Johnson said. “This is just an amazing feeling. It’s so great for our school and community.”
Austin Johnson with a beautiful catch and run on a screen for a 32-yard TD pass and the. He barrels in for 2 to give Muncy a 47-46 lead with 1:15 to go
Austin Johnson with a beautiful catch and run on a screen for a 32-yard TD pass and the. He barrels in for 2 to give Muncy a 47-46 lead with 1:15 to go pic.twitter.com/UMm0ZRmSV4
— Mitch Rupert (@Mitch_Rupert) November 16, 2024
Muncy 47, Lackawanna Trail 46
Muncy 7 25 7 8 – 47
Lackawanna Trail 14 10 8 14 – 46
First quarter
LT—Demitrius Douglas 14 run (Isaac Ryon kick), 6:14
M—Austin Johnson 48 run (Austin Hartzel kick), 4:10
LT—Ryon 68 run (Ryon kick), 3:10
Second quarter
M—Stiles Eyer 17 run (kick failed), 11:19
M—Johnson 4 run (run failed), 4:26
LT—Ryon 56 run (Ryon kick), 2:32
M—Landyn Wommer 54 run (pass failed), 1:53
M—Cameron Kamerer 64 pass from Eyer (Hartzel kick), :59
LT—Ryon 30 FG, :00
Third quarter
LT—Ryon 29 run (Ryon run), 2:55
M—Johnson 59 run (Hartzel kick), 1:20
Fourth quarter
LT—Douglas 9 run (kick failed), 9:06
LT—Tyler Jervis 1 run (Ryon run), 1:50
M—Johnson 32 pass from Eyer (Johnson run), 1:15
Mun LT
First downs 20 24
Rushes-yds 40-405 55-487
Com-att-int 5-9-2 2-5-3
Pass yards 142 40
Total yards 547 527
Fumbles-lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties-yards 2-5 3-15
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing—Muncy, Austin Johnson, 26-284, 3 TDs; Landyn Wommer, 10-80, TD; Stiles Eyer, 2-39, TD; Wesley Somits, 1-3; Team, 1-(-1). Lackawanna Trail, Isaac Ryon, 21-303, 3 TDs; Demitrius Douglas, 23-167, 2 TDs; Tyler Jervis, 8-28, TD; Logan Edwards, 2-8; Team, 1-(-19).
Passing—Muncy, Eyer, 5-9-2, 142 yds., 2 TDs. Lackawanna Trail, Jervis, 2-5-3, 40 yds.
Receiving—Muncy, Wommer, 2-36; Cameron Kamerer, 1-64, TD; Johnson, 1-32, TD; Paxton Derr, 1-10. Lackawanna Trail, Max Kimmel, 2-40.
INTERCEPTIONS—Muncy (3), Dominic Guardini 2, Eyer; Lackawanna Trail (2), Ryon 2.
RECORDS: Muncy (11-2); Lackawanna Trail (11-2).
