BRETT R. CROSSLEY/Talk Williamsport
Hughesville’s Landon Henry throws a pass against South Williamsport. Henry has passed for more than 300 combined yards the last two weeks.
BRETT R. CROSSLEY/Talk Williamsport
Montoursville’s Brycen Mussina delivers a pass against Southern Columbia. Mussina has been the Warriors’ top offensive weapon this year.
By BRETT R. CROSSLEY
The final two weeks of the regular season means the best of area rivalries renewed for one more year.
Montoursville, fresh off a 49-0 pounding of Milton, will travel to Hughesville, which has won two straight.
A few weeks ago this might have just had local rivalry appeal, but after two straight wins by the Spartans, it all of a sudden looks to be one of the week’s top games.
Hughesville will need all of its offensive weapons if it hopes to keep up with a Montoursville squad that appears to be getting healthy at the right time.
Montoursville currently sits atop the AAA playoff standings, leading 6-2 Loyalsock by 290 points. Hughesville is battling Line Mountain (5-3) and Mount Carmel (4-4) for the right to enter the AA playoff field. A win tonight would go a long way toward helping the Spartans secure a berth in the postseason tournament.
Hughesville’s season appeared on the brink of disaster as it slipped into a four-game losing streak.
The Spartans opened with such promise, defeating Lewisburg (26-23 OT) and Central Mountain (35-21).
After those two wins it was a perpetual downslide as Southern Columbia, Loyalsock, Bloomsburg, and South Williamsport all defeated Hughesville.
Since the four-game drop Hughesville has regained its footing to record road wins over Central Columbia and Warrior Run.
The offense, which appeared broken at times over the losing streak, has scored 68 points over the last two weeks.
Landon Henry passed for a combined 354 yards and three touchdowns over the Spartans’ current winning streak.
If they want to push it to three games, Henry is going to have to play an outstanding game against an imposing Warrior defense.
Torin Lewis, who is the Warriors’ second leading rusher, leads Montoursville with 74 tackles. He is averaging 9.3 tackles a game and has nine for a loss. Brian Shaffer is right behind with 55 and Riley Conboy and Mitchell Rothrock have more than 40 tackles apiece.
If the Spartans hope to have success through the air with Henry, they are going to need Ryan McClain and Jase Wright to soften up the Warriors defensive front.
Wright has carried the ball 78 times for 364 yards and two touchdowns.
McClain has been the centerpiece for the Spartans’ offense, rushing for 547 yards on 96 carries. He has two 100-yard games and four touchdowns on the season.
McClain has shown the ability to grind out games when needed and, depending on the field conditions later today, could play a big part if the Spartans pull off the upset.
Hughesville won last year 28-21, but lost the previous two meetings by a combined 79-3.
Montoursville got right back on track with a 49-0 win over Milton last Friday.
The Warriors were obviously still stinging from the season’s first loss, which came against rival Southern Columbia in a 42-21 defeat.
Brycen Mussina continued to be one of the area’s top passers, completing six throws for 167 yards and four touchdowns in the romp over Milton. All but one pass went for more than 15 yards for Mussina, who has passed for 1,891 yards on 113 completions. He’s also thrown for 21 touchdowns against 12 interceptions.
Musisina has been the leader through some tough runs for Montoursville, which has been forced to dig deep at the running back position.
Mussina also distributed the ball well, completing passes to six different receivers. Tom Shea was the lone receiver to catch multiple passes, finishing with two catches for 92 yards and two touchdowns. Riley Conboy scored a touchdown on a 17-yard reception and Mitchel Rothrock pulled in a 22-yard score.
Nolan Ott, who looks stronger with each passing week, carried the ball 13 times for 97 yards and a touchdown. Also contributing through the ground were Logan Ott (4-16, TD) and Torin Lewis (5-19, TD).
Montoursville’s ground attack has been tested throughout the season as multiple players have stepped up to fill the void.
Ott and Lewis lead the team with 501 and 379 rushing yards, respectively. Ott, who has been battling injuries throughout the season, but looks to be back as the Warriors’ No. 1 runner.
Lewis, who has scored five touchdowns and rushed for more than 100 yards in two games, proved to be a worthy backup to Ott. Lewis gained tough yards against some of the area’s top defenses, including back-to-back 100-yard games against Jersey Shore and Lewisburg. Lewis has also scored a touchdown in four straight games.
