Jevin Folk pictured above
Photo credits to Kody of Clipped by Kody Photography
By: Edward Kiesendahl
Last Friday was the final regular season home game for the Buckhorns, and they were up against the Wyoming Valley Conference Division one champs, Pittston. Pittston secured the crown of league champs the previous week after a decisive win over Hazelton, improving their record to 7-1. Wallenpaupack was coming off a loss to Abington which dropped their record to 3-5. As the final home game of the season, it was senior night. This year’s senior class has brought great leadership and commitment to all seasons, and they will certainly leave behind a lasting impact on the program. The seniors include Logan Caruso, Gavin Clark, CJ Doty, Tyler Gallo, Mason Gonzalez, Christian Gutierrez, Evan Huber, Riley Lemin, John Morales, Rodrigo Plua, Izael Rodriguez and Jamie Stiner.
Following the senior night festivities, the game began, and it started fast. Wallenpaupack opened the game with the ball and put together an impressive drive, marching down the field with purpose. Senior wide receiver Izael Rodriguez finished the drive scoring from twenty-nine yards out on a reverse toss from Eddie Kiesendahl.
Pittston responded to the score with a purposeful drive spanning thirteen plays to tie the game 7-7. However, during a play on the goal line Paupack’s starting Center and Noseguard Jamie Stiner went down with a leg injury. Stiner unfortunately had to be carted off the field on a stretcher after being surrounded by his teammates wishing him well. This was a tremendous loss for the Buckhorns with Stiner not only being a terrific player on the field, but also a great leader and teammate. After the injury, Paupack’s offense came out with the purpose of driving down the field. Their drive came to an end on Pittston’s twenty-four-yard line after a failed fourth down attempt. Both teams’ next drives ended in punts. Pittston ended the half with a drive stalling in Paupack territory.
Both defenses continued to stand tall during the second half. Pittston started the second half with the ball and once again inched its way down the field. In the middle of their drive on a fourth down, there was a fake punt attempt, and there was a hugely controversial call of first down by the officials which gave the Patriots the momentum they needed to finish the drive with a score. Wallenpaupack knew they had to respond with the fourth quarter quickly approaching. It only took one play for them to put points on the board as Jake Rafferty connected with Mason Gonzalez for an eighty-five-yard touchdown pass. However, the extra point attempt was blocked, allowing Pittston to retain the advantage by a score of 14-13. A forced three and out for the Patriots gave the Buckhorns the ball back early in the fourth quarter, and they started putting together a drive. Paupack made it all the way down to the twenty yard-line, but they were stood up on fourth down. This gave Pittston the opportunity to run out the clock and take the win.
This loss was a heartbreaker for the Buckhorns, but it did not eliminate them from the playoffs. They will face Valley View next week in a win-and-in game. Valley View is currently 5-4 coming off a win against 1-8 Wyoming Valley West. It will be an even matchup with both teams fighting for the best possible playoff position. The game is 7:00 tomorrow at Valley View.
