The Wellsboro football team picked up where they left off following the 2013 season with a 48-0 shut out win against Cowanesque Valley Friday night in Westfield.
The Hornets started out on defense and forced CV to punt in only a handful of plays. Following a Cowanesque punt, the Hornet offense only needed three plays to find the end zone for the first time in 2014. Senior Quarterback Michael Pietropola found Senior Nick Marple for 46 yards and following a three yard run by Senior Levi Mack, Pietropola found Marple again, this time for 25 yards and the touchdown. Senior Jack Chambers’ kick was off the mark and the Hornets took a 6-0 with 6:56 remaining in the first quarter.
Following the kick, Cowanesque put together an eight play drive but failed to convert a fourth down giving Wellsboro excellent field position. Pietropola and Mack drove the Hornets down to the two-yard line before Pietropola threw his second touchdown, this time to Senior Dylan Widows. Chambers connected on the extra point to give the Hornets a 13-0 lead.
On the following drive, the Hornet defense got into the scoring mix as Seniors Ben Davis and Michael Brostrom combined for a safety to put the Hornets up 15-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Later in the quarter, Junior Owen Covert returned a punt that hit a CV offensive lineman for a two yard return to put the Hornets up 21-0 after a high snap on the extra point.
The Hornets ended the first half with a four yard touchdown by Senior Nick Levindoski and a two yard run by Mack to take a 35-0 lead at the half.
The third quarter saw no scoring for Wellsboro, but instead saw a stalled drive. Wellsboro took the second half kick and put together a seven play drive only to fumble the ball away inside the red zone. The team quickly rebounded in the beginning of the fourth quarter as Pietropola called his own number and rushed nine yards to pay dirt to put the Hornets up 42-0. Wellsboro would score once more on the night, as Junior Nick Tremper pushed the pile forward for a one yard run to go up 48-0.
“We definitely have things to work on,” said head coach Matt Hildebrand. “Things we didn’t see in scrimmages. Always something to work on.”
One of those things Hildebrand mentioned was turnovers.
“We turnoved the ball over twice in the red zone and we need to clean that up going forward.”
The Hornets amassed over 400 yards of total offense which Hildebrand was pleased with.
“We moved the ball well and some of our younger guys stepped in later on in the game when we need them to. I thought our offensive line did a good job handling their assingments, but we definitely have things to work on in practice this week as we prepare for Muncy.”
Pietropola finished the night going 15-16 through the air for 232 yards and two touchdowns. Mack was the leading rusher with 88 yards on eight carries and a touchdown, and Marple caught 8 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, Junior Anthony Cooper and Davis each had eight tackles and Levindoski added seven. Tremper recorded 1 interception and returned it for 24 yards, and Brostrom and Davis each had sacks on the night.
With the win, the Hornets start the season 1-0. The team will be back in action on Friday, September 5 as they host Muncy.
