Wellsboro scored on three of their four first half possessions .. and returned an interception for a score on the third play of the game .. while the Indians threw two other picks, punted twice and scored their lone TD of the game in the opening half. 

Bowen carried the ball 33 times for Wellsboro to get his 300-yard game .. good for third all-time in Wellsboro football history. Freshman QB Griffin Morral rushed six times for 11 yards and junior Marek Mascho had two carries for 10 yards. Morral completed three of his six passing attempts for 65 yards, including a 37-yard scoring strike to fellow freshman Kody Enck. Mascho grabbed Morral’s other two completions for 28 yards.

Junior Cole Knapp gave the Hornets their early lead when he picked off CV senior quarterback Graham Hess on 2nd-and-eight of the Indians’ initial possession of the game. Junior Jonathan Carl was good on the extra point kick and Wellsboro led 7-0 just 50 seconds in. 

The Hornet defense forced the first of six CV punts on the night on the Indians’ next possession and took over on their own 47-yard line. A nine play drive .. that featured seven Bowen carries .. ended when the senior back punched it in from the 4-yard line. Carl was good again on the point after try and Wellsboro led 14-0 with 3:22 left in the opening frame. 

Cowanesque Valley started the ensuing possession at their own 20 after a Carl touchback. The Indians’ went right back to their passing game and senior QB Graham Hess completed five passes during a nine play drive that ended with Hess sneaking it in from the 3-yard line. The senior repeated the sneak for the two-point conversion and with 11:10 left in the first half the Hornets’ lead was cut to 14-8.

Graham Hess completed 10 of his 23 passing attempts on the night for 165 yards and carried the ball 17 times for 65 yards and the Indians’ score. No other Indians could find running room as sophomores Dave Hess and Kegan Lane combined to carry the ball eight times for negative 15 yards. 

Jeavon Eick (51 yards), Levi Stahli (33 yards) and Dave Hess (29 yards) had two catches each, while Gavin Churchill had three grabs for 29 yards and Lane had one for 23 yards. 

Wellsboro would go on a 26-point run the rest of the way, starting with another nine-play drive which again ended with a Bowen TD run, this time from the one. Carl’s kick was blocked and the Hornets led 20-8 with 5:49 before the break. 

Carl got the ball right back for Wellsboro when he picked off Hess just inside Indian territory, and after Bowen carried the ball to the CV 37, Morral found Enck all alone behind the CV secondary. Carl hit the extra point and the Hornets led 27-8 with 4:40 left in the half. 

The Indians were forced to punt and Wellsboro had time and the ball at CV’s 32-yard line. They’d get it to the six, but Morral came up short on a 4th-and-inches and CV got the ball back with under 40 seconds left. Mascho came up with the Hornets’ third interception of the first half to send the teams into the locker rooms with Wellsboro holding a 27-8 lead. 

The Hornets’ Gavin Carson took a short CV kickoff back to the Indians’ 40-yard line to open the third quarter, and one of CV’s 14 penalties on the night gave Wellsboro a 1st-and-10 at the Indians’ 24 before CV’s “D” tightened and forced a Wellsboro turnover-on-downs at the 14. 

The Indians’ couldn’t capitalize though and went three-and-out, punting back to the Hornets. The teams would trade punts before the Hornets took over on CV’s 40-yard line and two Bowen rushes ended in the end zone. Carl was again good and Wellsboro led 34-8 with 5:28 remaining in the third quarter.

CV started the ensuing possession at their own 25-yard line and drove to the Hornet three, but a Hess sneak came up short on 4th-and-goal and the Indians’ would again turn the ball over on downs. 

Wellsboro would end up punting the ball back to CV early in the fourth quarter after their drive stalled out, but the Hornets’ defense forced another Indian punt and Wellsboro took over on their own 16. Bowen would take the hand-off on 1st-and-10 and break free .. and multiple CV tackle attempts .. for an 84-yard touchdown run. The extra point was no good and Wellsboro had their final .. 40-8.

Defensively, Bowen and Knapp both made five tackles on the night while Enck, sophomore Levi Champaign, Carl and seniors Lincoln DeCoursey and Evan Ingerick all made four tackles. Senior Jacob Dean had three tackles and two sacks in his first action of the season. 

Wellsboro improves to 1-4 (1-3 NTL-I) on the season with the win. They’ll travel to Athens next Friday night to take on the 2-2 Wildcats, who play Saturday night against North Penn-Mansfield. 

Cowanesque Valley drops to 1-4 with the loss. They’re scheduled to host South Williamsport (2-3) next Friday. 

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