Hornets Rattle Off Third Straight Win, Down CV 37-15

By: Ed Weaver  /  September 20, 2025  /  Photo: Matt Stevens

The Wellsboro Football team won their third game in a row after starting off the season 0-2 by downing the Cowanesque Valley Indians 37-15 Friday.

Wellsboro overcame a slow start then scored 37 straight points.

"It's a good feeling that we haven't experienced for awhile here for the last few years," head coach Matt Hildebrand said. "Some of these kids have never been over .500 in their career. I was very proud how they played tonight. It was a very 'chippy' game, but they kept their composure. They came out in the 2nd half and finished the game. There was no quitting in them. They're beat up a little bit, very physical football game, but very, very proud of them."

Speaking of the game's physicality, both team combined for 20 penalties and 190 yards and had to be separated after a personal foul by the Indians ended the first half with the Hornets leading, 12-0.

Just five seconds into the second quarter Wellsboro found the scoreboard as sophomore Reed Richardson went untouched up the middle of the Indians' defense from 7 yards away. Then with 23 seconds remaining, the Hornets successfully executed an under-two-minute drive, resulting in Wellsboro going to their bag of tricks and pulling off a 32-yard half-back pass from senior Marek Mascho to sophomore Kody Enck to make it 12-0. Both two-point conversions failed.

The Hornets picked up where they left off to start the third quarter. The personal foul penalty that ended the half allowed Wellsboro to kick off deep in CV territory. Wellsboro capitalized on an onsides kick opportunity and recovered the ball at the 15. Two plays later, and following a 12-yard run from sophomore Griffin Morral, Mascho punched in the ball from 3 yards out to make it 18-0 not even a minute in.

Just past the midway point of the quarter Wellsboro's offense struck again, as Morral hooked up with junior Ethan Keane on a 23-yard pass, increasing the lead to 24-0. Wellsboro added one more score before the quarter expired as Morral intercepted a Levi Stahli pass, and returned it 30 yards for the score. Senior Finn Matthews converted the extra point, giving Wellsboro a 31-0 lead heading into the final frame.

The Hornets' final score of the evening came just 19 seconds into the start of the 4th. After a blocked punt setup Wellsboro at the Indian 10, Morral called his own number and hit pay dirt, increasing the lead to 37-0.

"We knew they were going to be physical but our guys met the challenge. The kids made plays when they needed to. We had to go into our bag at times, but we played much better football in the second half," Hildebrand added.

Cowanesque Valley avoided the shut out adding two late scores, both runs from Kegan Lane. Lane's first was a 25-yarder with 8:55 remaining. He added a 60-yard run with 4:09 to play for the game's final score.

Morral led the Hornets, both through the air and on the ground, completing 6-of-17 passes for 77 yards and rushing 7 times for 57 yards. Mascho added 49 yards on 10 carries and Richardson finished with 11 yards on three totes. Keane led the receiving corps with 50 yards on three grabs while Enck finished with 40 yards on two catches. Junior Max Mascho also hauled in two passes for 19 yards.

Marek Mascho led the defensive efforts with 8 tackles while Enck and senior Hayden Stevens made 5 stops apiece. Stevens also had a sack. Senior Dylan Copp also pitched in 4 tackles.

Stahli finished 3-for-15 through the air for 34 yards with two interceptions. Lane led the CV ground attack with 143 yards rushing on 14 carries.

The Hornets now move to 3-2 overall (3-1 NTL Large School Division). Next week the Hornets host the Athens Wildcats (4-1, 4-1 NTL Large School Division) on Friday.