NTL FOOTBALL: WELLSBORO SNAPS 4-GAME SKID WITH WIN OVER TOWANDA (October 8, 2026)

BY CHRIS MANNING
Northern Tier Sports Report
TOWANDA — Wellsboro used early offense then three quarters of hard nosed defense to pull out a 16-7 win over Towanda during NTL football action.

"I'm really proud of these guys," said Wellsboro coach Matt Hildebrand. "It's been a bumpy road to get to this point, and I think this week in practice we really got on these guys. We asked for more intensity and I think they responded well."

The Hornets scored on their first two possessions, but then struggled to move the football, or when they did move it, they were flagged - at one point they had a touchdown pass called back on a holding call.

"I think we left scores out there," Hildebrand said. "We've still got to clean up some things."

Griffin Morral returned and immediately made his presence known, going 7-for-16 for 154-yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.

Max Mascho led them on the ground with 87 yards on 19 carries as Reed Richardson had nine touches for 23 yards and a score.

Ethan Keane had a big night receiving with three catches for 84 yards and a touchdown.

The Hornets held the Knights to just 127 yards on the ground off 36 rushes, with Gage Evans (11 carries, 48-yards, one touchdown) leading the way. Curtis Maynard had 10 carries for 34 yards, and Jazick Brown added six carries for 24 yards.

Reese Sluyter was 9-for-17 through the air with 108 yards and one pick while Shane Maghamez was the team's leading receiver, with three catches for 62 yards.

Wellsboro came out and needed just four plays to hit pay dirt as they went 65 yards to the end zone.

The key play was a 58-yard catch-and-run from Keane who made one move and was gone. Maynard caught him at the 2-yard line, but on the next play Richardson punched it in from 2-yards out.

The extra point hit the upright so it was a 6-0 lead 2:48 into the game.

Towanda's ensuing drive began well enough with back to back Evans runs of 13-yards to get inside the Wellsboro 30-yard line.

The Knights were forced to chip away from there, eventually being forced into a field goal try from 13-yard line.

It was good, but called back due to a penalty, while the second attempt was blocked by Wellsboro.

Taking over at the Towadna 45-yard line the Hornets needed just four plays to go 55-yards, ending with a 18-yard touchdown catch by Keane from Morral.

Morral then found Christian Main for the 2-point conversion for a 14-0 lead with 3:01 left in the first quarter.

"A lot of people look at our record going in and it's very easy to overlook us so it's important that we get up, and they came out and responded right away," Hildebrand said.

Towanda responded on their second drive as they went 73-yards on seven plays. A 43-yard Sluyter pass to Maghamez got the ball to the Wellsboro 32-yard line, then two plays later Maynard had a 22-yard run down inside the Hornet 10.

On third-and-3 from the three Evans punched it in on the first play of the second quarter. Brayden Spencer added the point after for a 14-7 ball game with 11:57 left to play in the half.

It would be the last offensive score of the contest as the defenses settled in.

The third Wellsboro drive began on the 22-yard line but ended at the Towanda 6-inch line as the Knights stuffed them on fourth-and-goal to get the ball back.

Towanda was able to get out of the shadow of their own goal-line but ended up punting. The Hornets went 3-and-out, and Towanda ran one play before it was halftime.

The second half saw the two offenses play as if they were in concrete while the defenses hit as if they were made of the stuff.

The two teams traded 3-and-outs, with Towanda's next drive ending at midfield with another punt.

Wellsboro saw a series of penalties stall their drive, then Maynard ended it with an interception.

Starting at the Wellsboro 43-yard line a holding call on the first play from scrimmage sent Towanda backwards.

They were able to recover to get a new set of downs but were stuffed on 4th-and-4 at the Wellsboro 25-yard line.

The ensuing Wellsboro drive ended in a punt, but on the first play from scrimmage Asher Davenport stepped in front of a Sluyter pass to get the interception.

Sluyter would return the favor with a one-handed grab in the end zone to get another possession for the Knights.

Towanda only went backwards, though, as three straight penalties put them at their own 1-yard line.

They tried a screen on third-and-long but Wellsboro's Richardson and Owen Carson snuffed it out for the safety, making it 16-7 with 6:25 left to play.

Towanda's defense continued to give their offense chances as Gabe Wolf got an interception, the third in a row for the Knights.

The Black Knights' ensuing drive, though, began promising enough with Sluyter hitting Maynard on back to back passes for a total of 29-yards.

However, Wellsboro's defense stiffened and on fourth down Sluyter was sacked by Kody Enck to give Wellsboro the ball back.

The Hornets then ran out the clock.

"We made some mistakes down the stretch but we were able to get it done," said Hildebrand.

Wellsboro will host Wyalusing next week.

WELLSBORO 16, TOWANDA 7

Scoring Summary
First Quarter
W - Reed Richardson 2-yard run (kick failed), 10:12
W - Ethan Keane 18-yard pass from Griffin Morral (2-point conversion good), 3:01
Second Quarter
T - Gage Evans 3-yard run (Brayden Spencer kick), 11:57
Fourth Quarter
W - Safety, 6:25

Individual Stats
Wellsboro
Rushing
Max Mascho 19-87, Reed Richardson 9-23-1, Kody Enck 2-5, Team 1-(-1), Griffin Morral 2-(-2)
Passing
Griffin Morral 7-16-154-1-3
Receiving
Ethan Keane 3-84-1, Max Macho 2-45, Reed Richardson 1-16, Christian Main 1-9
Towanda
Rushing
Gage Evans 11-48-1, Curtis Maynard 10-34, Jazick Brown 6-24, Reese Sluyter 8-16, Drew Maghamez 1-5
Passing
Reese Sluyter 9-17-108-0-1
Receiving
Shane Maghamez 3-62, Curtis Maynard 2-35, Gage Evans 3-10, Jazick Brown 1-1

Team Stats Wellsboro Towanda
Rushes/Yards 33/112 36/127
Passing Yards 154 108
First Downs 10 14
Penalties/Yards 8/45 10/52
Fumbles/Lost 1/0 0/0



Print Friendly Version