Photo by Brett R. Crossley for Fox SportsWillamsport.com
Montoursville Brycen Mussina attempts a first quarter pass. Mussina overcame two interceptions in the first half to throw two touchdowns to put Montoursville up 17-0 at the half.
Photo by Brett R. Crossley for Fox SportsWillamsport.com
Montoursville’s Oleg Bohner cuts around the end for a gain in the first half against Shikellamy.
Photo by Brett R. Crossley for Fox SportsWillamsport.com
Tom Shea, who caught a touchdown from Brycen Mussina, out runs a first half throw.
Photo by Brett R. Crossley for Fox SportsWillamsport.com
Brycen Mussina attempts to throw out of his own endzone during the second half of a game against Shikellamy. Mussina finished with two touchdowns.
Photo by Brett R. Crossley for Fox SportsWillamsport.com
Nolan Ott cuts around the end for a gain in the second half against Shikellamy.
Photo by Brett R. Crossley for Fox SportsWillamsport.com
Zac Casemen knocks the ball away from Chris Tasker in the endzone as Shikellamy attempts to take a late fourth quarter lead.
By BRETT R. CROSSLEY
MONTOURSVILLE–It was closer than most would expect, but a strong stand by Montoursville’s defense helped ice the game against Shikellamy.
The Braves scored on three of their final six possessions, but would ultimately fall short as the Warriors walked off with a 25-20 win.
“I’m going to do my best to be positive,” Montoursville coach JC Keefer said. “We got the win.”
Montoursville scored on it’s final three possessions of the first half after missing a field goal on a penalty and throwing two interceptions on its first three drives.
“A lot of the upperclassmen gutted it out at the end and I coudn’t be more proud of the effort they gave,” Keefer said. “We were way to sloppy, even for a young team. We should have had a better second half.”
Shikellamy trailed by 17 points after the first half, but scored on three of its final six drives of the game.
The Braves drove down the field in eight plays and, after Tate Krankoskie went down, came tantalizingly close to pulling off the week 1 upset.
Lemier Mitchell, who led the offense in the second half with the Braves final touchdown of the game, carried the ball two times for eight yards on the final drive. He finished with 48 yards on seven carries.
Once Krankoskie went out, Shikellamy attempted its second halfback pass of the game with Gabe Tilfort on a third and two. The pass was well thrown from Tilfort, but the defense was just as good as Tasker just couldn’t separate enough.
“The kids kept with it and I’m proud of the way they played,” Shikellamy coach Todd Tilford said. “We called a play and it’s one of those when it doesn’t work you look stupid and it’s a good call when the kids connect on it. We just came up a little short.”
A miscommunication on the final play resulted in a turnover on downs for Shikellamy. The down and distance appeared to be wrong on the sideline, which made calling a play difficult.
A fumbled snap and sack ended the Braves’ chances and put Montoursville’s offense into the victory formation.
“We just kept running our stuff,” Tilford said. “We were confident.”
The Braves opened the second half down 17-0 after Montoursville’s Brycen Mussina threw two first half touchdowns and Ethan Lazorka hit a field goal.
Shikellamy intercepted Mussina three times in the game. Mussina finished with 18 completions for 188 yards, two touchdowns, a two-point conversion, and three interceptions.
“When we came out and when the kids got it going, we felt like we were in control,” Tilford said. “We just came up short. We were two plays away from it being 3-0 in the first half. It’s just everything went their way.”
Montoursville’s offense opened a little shaky. Mussina threw two picks in the opening quarter as the offense struggled to move the ball against Shikellamy.
Both Mussina and the Warrior offense found their rhythm in the second quarter. Mussina hit Tom Shea and Nolan Ott for touchdowns while gaining 123 yards on 12 completions.
Larzorka added a 23-yard field goal for Montoursville’s first points. He hit a 34-yard field goal earlier in the half, but the make was negated thanks to a false start penalty. The second attempt, this time from 39 yards, missed wide right.
“He was first-team All-state last year so there are some expectations,” Keefer said. “He works really hard at kicking. I’m really proud of him.”
Defensively, Montoursville contained Shikellamy’s running game, holding in under 30 yards over the first two quarters. The Braves backfield failed to gain 100 yards on the night.
Kranksokie completed four passes for 49 yards without a touchdown over the first two quarters. He finished with 120 yards on nine completions before leaving the game at the end.
Shikellamy entered Friday night’s kickoff with the hopes of getting a little bit of revenge. In 2015, Montoursville went up to Shikellamy and put a 40-0 beatdown on the Braves.
Shikellamy faded late as Montoursville scored 27 of its 40 points over the final two quarters. Montoursville rushed for 354 yards on 49 team carries in the win.
Shikellamy limited Montoursville to 189 yards on 37 carries Friday, but only managed to rush for 98 yards.
“Shikellamy was throwing all kinds of things at us at first,” Keefer said. “We had to really adjust some things.”
Initially, it had the making of another mercy rule game. That wasn’t the case as Shikellamy opened the second half with a turnover and a 31-yard rushing touchdown from Joey Folk, who finished with 26 yards on seven carries. Mitchell carried the ball six times for 31 yards and a touchdown.
Montoursville 25, Shikellamy 20
Shikellamy 0 0 13 7- 20
Montoursville 0 17 8 0- 25
2nd Quarter
(M)- Ethan Lazorka 30 yard field goal, 6:46
(M)- Brycen Mussina 26 yard pass to Tom Shea (Lazorka kick), 2:50
(M)- Mussina 18 yard pass to Nolan Ott (Lazorka kick), 20.7
3rd Quarter
(S)- Joe Folk 31 yard run (kick failed), 9:11
(M)- Ott 14 yard run (Mussina throw to Ott), 5:59
(S)- Folk 11 yard run (Snyder kick), 4:41
4th Quarter
(S)- Lemier Mitchell (Snyder kick), 10:44
S M
First Downs 11 25
Total Yards 230 374
Rushes-yards 30-98 37-189
Passing 132 185
Comp.-Att.-Int. 9-23-0 17-34-3
Fumbles-Lost 4-2 3-2
Penalties-Yards 5-40 8-49
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING- Shikellamy: Lemier Mitchell 7-48, Tate Krankoskie 5-16, Gabe Tilford 7-8, Joe Folk 8-39-2 TDs, Pierson White 3-(-)4, David Munoz 1-4. Montoursville: Oleg Bohner 7-48, Torin Lewis 9-41, Nolan Ott 19-87-TD, Brycen Mussina 2-13.
RECEIVING- Shikellamy: Lemier Mitchell 2-48, Gabe Tilford 5-41, Joe Folk 2-30, Chris Tasker 1-17. Montoursville: Tom Shea 6-90-TD, Nolan Ott 3-27-TD, Riley Conboy 6-60, Torin Lewis 2-8.
PASSING- Shikellamy Tate Krankoskie 9-20 132 yards, Gabe Tilford 0-2, Trey Cunningham 0-1. Montoursville: Brycen Mussina 17-34 185 yards, 2 TDs, 3 Ints.
INTERCEPTIONS- Shikellamy: Tate Krankoskie 2, Pierson White.
MISSED FIELD GOALS- Montoursville: Ethan Lazorka 41.
RECORDS: Montoursville (1-0); Shikellamy (0-1)
