Northwest can’t keep up at end
SHICKSHINNY — Northwest hung around with Muncy for the better part of 38 minutes but quickly saw the wheels fall off.
The Indians rallied for 28 points in the final 9 minutes, 42 seconds to pull away from the Rangers, 40-6.
Northwest coach Lon Hazlet credited the Indians for being mentally and physically sharper in the waning moments.
“We made too many mistakes and [the Indians] continued to play hard,” he said. “We had too many lapses when tackling. We’ve got a relatively young crew, but we’ve got to learn to play harder and finish games.
“... For the better part of three quarters, we played toe-to-toe with a heavyweight, and our kids played well. Going down the stretch, we lacked the mental and physical toughness that it takes to win a ballgame like that.”
The Rangers, down 12-6 late in the third quarter, decided to roll the dice on fourth-and-12. The Indians snuffed the play out, sacking Rangers’ Carter Hontz and getting the ball back at their own 35.
The Indians chipped away largely with running plays but ate up a good portion of the field when Branson Eyer connected with Bailey Hadzinikolov for 24 yards. The 10-play, 65-yard drive ended with Ty Nixon punching it in from 3 yards out.
Then on the Rangers’ next offensive snap, Hontz’ last throw of the game found Indians’ Ross Eyer to take the air out of the stadium and end any hope of a comeback.
The Indians then used seven plays to drive 55 yards, capped off by Austin Johnson’s second touchdown run of the contest.
Muncy then forced the Rangers to go three-and-out after pinning them deep in their own territory as communication issues struck the return team, forcing them to set up shop at their own 11.
The Indians wasted no time scoring its last offensive touchdown — a 41-yard rushing touchdown for Johnson on the first snap.
Johnson finished with a game-high 120 runs and three touchdowns, making life difficult for the Rangers in the trenches. As a unit, the Indians rushed for 300 yards and had three athletes — Johnson, Branson Eyer and Nixon — rush for at least 75 yards.
“We’re playing a lot of kids two ways,” Hazlet said. “Hats off to Muncy, but they’ve got a lot of kids going one-way, especially on the line. They’re a big, physical team and they just wore on us and they took over down the stretch.”
The Indians recorded one more turnover and converted it into six points with Benjamin Robinson intercepting Rangers’ Andrew Bonczewski. Robinson returned the pick-six 54 yards for the game’s last points.
“We let the game get away from us and that’s the disappointing part,” Hazlet said. “I think if we had finished the game 18-6, we come out of here with a positive, even with a loss — that we’re getting better. The last seven or eight minutes is not indicative of how we want to play.”
Of course, moral victories don’t count and Hazlet would be the first to say that. But he also took some good away from a tough loss — Hontz’ play at quarterback being the biggest.
The junior found ways to extend drives, hurting the Indians with his legs for a team-high 79 yards and arm for 52 yards.
The Rangers scored the game’s first points on a 14-play, 72-yard drive. Hontz accounted for 64 of those, rushing for 34 and finishing the drive off with a 2-yard dive.
“We had a big talk with Carter this week and talked about his play needing to improve,” Hazlet said. “He certainly raised to that tonight and he made some big plays for us. Hopefully, he’ll continue making those strides moving forward.”
Muncy responded — and ultimately began its streak of 40 unanswered points — on the ensuing drive with Nixon tying the game on a 1-yard run.
Johnson later gave the Indians the lead for good on a 15-yard rush.
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