Written by Edward Kiesendahl
After a tough stretch of losses for the Buckhorns, they were able to get back in the win column against Pittston. The Team had won against Pittson 22-10. Heading into the game it was a must win for Paupack if they wanted to make the playoffs, and Pittston was no easy task. Though Pittston only had two wins under their belt they had been in every game they have played. This includes losing by one score to Dallas and Crestwood, and these are two of the teams that the Bucks could play in the District Two 4A playoffs.Paupack would also be going into the game missing their starting guard and inside backer.
Pittston started the game with the ball, but a stout Buckhorndefense quickly shut them down and forced a punt. Then on the offense’s third play of the game a Drew Kiesendahl pass was batted up and around and was intercepted by Pittston. The Patriots couldn’t capitalize with a touchdown off the turnover, but they settled for a field goal to take a 3-0 lead. Both teamsensuing drives stalled out and led to punts. As the first quarter came to a close the Buckhorn offense finally came to life with a thirty-seven-yard touchdown connection between DrewKiesendahl and Michael Passenti to take the lead 7-3. The rest of the half didn’t lead to any more scores with Pittston missing a field goal, and Paupack stalling out on fourth down in the waning seconds of the first half.
The third quarter was dominated by the defenses. Both the Buckhorn and Patriot defenses shut down the opposing offenses holding them to no scores through the quarter. The end of the third quarter saw the Buckhorns’ offense come back to life,producing a nineteen-play drive that ended with a Drew Kiesendahl rushing touchdown with a little more than six minutes to go. This score was followed by a bad snap exchange on the extra point try which Sophomore kicker Nick Annunziatacollected and threw to George Rafferty for a two-pointconversion. With all the momentum behind them, Paupack’s defense held the Patriots to a quick four-and-out. The momentum continued as Freshman quarterback Jake Rafferty threw a thirty-five-yard touchdown to Michael Passenti to extend the lead to 22-3. Pittston continued to fight putting together a touchdown drive capped off by a catch made by Lucas Lepresto. This brought the score to 22-10. The Buckhorns couldn’t ice the game with a first down which gave Pittston one last chance to score. This chance ended quickly when Michael Passenti intercepted a pass to end the game.
It was a tough hard-fought victory for Wallenpaupack, and it puts them in third place in the 4A playoffs. They also can be the first Paupack football team since 2018 to finish the season without a losing record. They would need to topple the 8-1 Valley View Cougars to do so. The game is on Friday night at7:00, at home, and its senior night.
