SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT – When two football teams are very evenly-matched, sometimes just one big play or one phase of the game can make a difference.
Such was the case on Thursday as Muncy and South Williamsport battled through nearly the entire game about evenly. But after Muncy scored the go-ahead touchdown with just 1:38 remaining, South Williamsport, which is primarily a running team, was unable to string together a two-minute offense and the Mounties had the clock run out on its bid to tie or take the lead, as Muncy remained unbeaten at 6-0 with an exciting 21-14 win over South Williamsport.
“This is a tough place to play, they have a great home crowd and give us everything they have every year, so it was great to see our guys take another step in the right direction toward their goals at the end of the year,” said Muncy coach Sean Tetrault.
It’s not terribly often that a team can outrush its opponent by over 100 yards and still lose, but that’s what happened to South Williamsport. The Mounties, who consistently have one of the top rushing attacks in District 4 year after year, ran for 234 yards led by Ryan Casella’s 103 yards on 18 carries and Amir Kemrer’s 91 on 16 rushes. Muncy had just 108 yards on the ground.
“It’s a shame someone has to lose a football game like this but we really did a nice job,” said South Williamsport coach Chris Eiswerth. “I think we’re growing up in some areas because we’ve got some sophomores starting, but we left it all out on the field, and that’s what we’re looking for – guys to give it their all and fight.
“Muncy has some athletes and some four-year starters and we knew they’d be tough.”
It was Muncy’s edge in the passing game that proved to be the difference, as one of those four-year starters, Branson Eyer, threw for 208 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 7-of-14 passing. His touchdown passes went for 31 and 57 yards, respectively, and had a big completion for 17 yards on the first play of Muncy’s game-winning drive that kickstarted it.
After Muncy had forced a three-and-out by the Mounties, a punt gave the Indians the ball at their own 48 with 6:15 remaining in a tie game. Eyer hit Noah Confer for a 17-yard pass to bring the ball to the South 35. From there, Muncy ran the ball eight consecutive plays, picking up 35 of its 108 rushing yards on the game, and most importantly, burning over four-and-a-half minutes off the clock that South Williamsport, with its methodical running game, wouldn’t have to work with.
Jason Shuda capped Muncy’s game-winning drive with a one-yard touchdown run, his only carry of the night. But he was the star of the night for Muncy on defense, as his 18 tackles, including two for loss, helped contain South Williamsport and give Muncy the key stops when it needed them, none bigger than on the Mounties’ last two drives of the game.
“It come down to those guys up front – Kenny Hampe, Eli Harris, Braydon Kamerer, Cam Kamerer, Lucas Gruver, Brayden Trostle, Nick Delany – those defensive linemen took onus this week and it was great to see them play well,” said Tetrault. “They ratcheted it up when they had to and made a couple of key stops.
“Jason is a senior captain and he’s put so much into work getting strong, getting physical and in shape. He’s the heart and soul of our defense, he flies around sideline to sideline, and we gave him some love there on offense, we knew he would get that yard when we needed it.”
After Muncy took the lead, South Williamsport took control at its own 24 and got a 24-yard pass completion from Radley Knapp to Landyn Gephart, plus a 15-yard penalty for roughing the passer, putting it all the way down to the Muncy 33. But from there, South Williamsport appeared to show its discomfort with the hurry-up offense. With the clock running down under a minute, the Mounties, who hadn’t committed a single penalty in the game to that point, committed four false start penalties in the next six snaps, resulting in a loss of 20 yards, and the clock ran out on them.
Prior to that, however, the Mounties had hung right with the Indians, matching them play for play, and score by score. Muncy, which entered the game ranked second in the District 4 Class A ranking behind Canton, got on the board first after a scoreless first quarter as Confer hauled in a 31-yard pass from Eyer on the first play of the second quarter to make it 7-0. Eyer had hit Confer for a 45-yard connection on the previous play, the last one of the first quarter.
South Williamsport answered on its ensuing drive, as they went 80 yards in nine plays – all rushes – capped by Casella’s 5-yard touchdown. Amir Kemrer had a big 43-yard pickup earlier in the possession.
Muncy would answer back late in the first half to retake the lead, as Eyer hit his cousin, Ross Eyer, on a short receiver screen that was caught near the line of scrimmage, and then Ross Eyer juked a defender and then turned on his speed, going all the way down the left sideline and outrunning the other defenders for a 57-yard touchdown.
After a scoreless third quarter that featured South being stopped at the Muncy 7-yard line on a fourth down, the Mounties were able to even things at 14 apiece early in the fourth quarter when Kemrer capped a nine-play drive with a four-yard touchdown run, and then Knapp took it in for the two-point conversion.
With the win, Muncy remains unbeaten and solidifies its hold on the second spot in Class A behind Canton, with a chance to potentially pass the Warriors and take over the top spot as long as they win out should Canton falter. Canton, a state semifinalist in Class A last year, takes on unbeaten Jersey Shore, a state semifinalist in Class 4A last year, in Week 9, and then has Troy, which is also currently undefeated, in its rivalry game in Week 10.
“Every week we just want to go 1-0, and we’ll let the chips fall where they may and we’ll play whoever is in front of us, but we just need to focus on ourselves and on the big picture and go 1-0 every week,” said Tetrault.
South Williamsport, which entered Thursday holding down the fourth and final spot in the Class A rankings, will likely maintain that spot but will likely need to win out and potentially get some help to move up in the rankings before the end of the regular season.
Muncy 21, South Williamsport 14
Muncy (6-0) 0 14 0 7 – 21
South Williamsport (3-3) 0 6 0 8 – 14
Second quarter
11:53 – (M) Noah Confer 31-yard pass from Branson Eyer (Revata kick), 3-79, 1:19
7:37 – (SW) Ryan Casella 5-yard run (kick failed), 9-80, 4:16
2:28 – (M) Ross Eyer 57-yard pass from Branson Eyer (Revata kick), 7-86, 2:22
Fourth quarter
10:43 – (SW) Amir Kemrer 4-yard run (Knapp run), 9-42, 4:20
1:38 – (M) Jason Shuda 1-yard run (Revata kick), 9-52, 4:37
Statistics
M SW
First downs 15 14
Rushes-net yards 30-108 45-234
Passing yardage 208 56
Passing 7-14-2-0 5-9-0-0
Fumbles-lost 2-1 3-1
Penalties-yards 4-40 4-20
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Muncy: Austin Johnson (16-54), Elijah Weikle (6-26), Branson Eyer (3-14), Jacob Fowler (2-9), Landyn Wommer (2-4), Jason Shuda (1-1-1); South Williamsport: Ryan Casella (18-103-1), Amir Kemrer (16-91-1), Caden Harris (9-42), Radley Knapp (2-(-2))
PASSING — Muncy: Branson Eyer (7-14-208-2-0); South Williamsport: Radley Knapp (5-9-56-0-0)
RECEIVING — Muncy: Noah Confer (3-93-1), Ross Eyer (3-88-1), Cameron Kamerer (1-27); South Williamsport: Landyn Gephart (3-38), Amir Kemrer (1-10), Connor Apker (1-8)
