BAKER'S SPORTS PEN: TEAMS RETURN, BIG PERFORMANCES — NEWS & NOTES FROM NTL, D4 (2020-10-15)

Great to see area teams back in competition as Canton and Wellsboro returned to the gridiron this past week.

Wellsboro, in its first action since Sept. 19, netted a shutout win over Towanda. Canton, despite not playing since Week 1, looked to be in mid-season form, with a decisive win over previously-undefeated Athens in a Monday night matchup.

Those two games were just a warm-up for this coming weekend as area football fans could be treated to a trio of outstanding contests.

The Troy Trojans (2-1) are set to resume their season Friday night at Alparon Park hosting Wellsboro (2-1) in a key Large School battle.

The action moves to Saturday evening for two big contests. Undefeated South Williamsport (3-0) travels north to Athens - taking on a 3-1 Wildcat squad fresh off its first loss of the season to Canton.

The other Saturday night matchup features undefeated Canton (2-0) hosting Muncy (5-0) in a battle that could very well determine the number-one seed and home-field advantage for the district championship game. These two squads have met for the Class A title in back-to-back seasons and it could be for a third time this year.

Speaking of District Four, there were not many changes in the playoff standings.

In the Class AA rankings, South Williamsport still has a slim lead over 4-0 Southern Columbia. Central Columbia and Mount Carmel complete the top four. Troy and Wyalusing are on the outside and looking to move in.

Undefeated Montoursville and Danville would be the Class AAA title matchup with the Wildcats looming just behind.

Jersey Shore, Shamokin, Selinsgrove and Mifflinburg are the top four Class AAAA squads. 

There were some outstanding performances last weekend.

Conner Adams and Dylan Abernathy with interceptions for Wellsboro in the Green Hornets' shutout of Towanda. Teammate Isaac Keane tossed three touchdown passes.

Canton came up with a big goal-line defensive stand at its 1-yard line just when Athens was switching the third-quarter momentum to its sidelines. Earlier, in the first half, the Warriors came up with a possible 14-point swing as Weston Bellows delivered the big play of the night with an 83-yard, scoop-and-score fumble return as the Wildcats where threatening to score.

What could have been just a 20-10 Athens halftime deficit turned into a 26-3 Canton advantage.

Caiden Williams, Hudson Ward, Derek Atherton-Ely and Ben Knapp all had key fourth-quarter sacks as the Warriors closed the door on the Wildcats. Offensively, Riley Parker ripped off some huge runs throughout the game, finishing with 176 yards on the ground.

Jersey Shore's defense has allowed just 14 total points in its four wins.

Loyalsock's Chase Cavanaugh tossed four touchdown passes and netted 209 total yards in the Lancers' big win over Warrior Run. Naz Smith was on the other end of three of those scoring strikes.

North Penn-Mansfield's Kohen Lehman ran for 208 yards and three touchdowns in his team's 30-12 win over Cowanesque Valley. Lehman did his damage on just nine carries.

Montoursville's Rocco Pulizzi has accumulated 1,002 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns on the season.

Montgomery's Kaide Drick, the NTL's second-leading ground-gainer, netted three touchdowns and 170 yards in the Red Raiders' win over Columbia-Montour Vo-Tech.

Just another day at the office for Southern Columbia's Gavin Garcia – four carries, 186 yards and a trio of touchdowns. Southern wins again - 56-7 over Hughesville.

Northern Tier League leading rushers: Ty Nixon, Muncy (464 yards); Drick, Montgomery (460); Gage Sutcliff, Bucktail (408); Zack Miller, South Williamsport (397); Caleb Binford, Troy (359); Shayne Reid, Athens (292); Mitchell Burke, Wyalusing (273); Damien Landon, Troy (266); David Northrup, Sayre (246); Alex Mosier, Wyalusing (229); Riley Parker, Canton (220).

District 4 Scores: Wellsboro 43, Towanda 0; Canton 33, Athens 9; North Penn-Mansfield 30, Cowanesque Valley 12; Montgomery 48, Columbia Montour Vo-Tech 14; Central Mountain 41, Shamokin 27; Montoursville 45, Lewisburg 7; Line Mountain 28, Halifax 21; Mifflinburg 35, Midd-West 33; Williamsport 48, Wyoming Valley West 13; Muncy 21, Northwest 13; South Williamsport 28, Bucktail 8; Loyalsock 26, Bloomsburg 20; Selinsgrove 28, Shikellamy 0; Southern Columbia 56, Hughesville7; Danville 16, Central Columbia 10; Loyalsock 52, Warrior Run 18.

Northern Tier League schedule: Friday's Games - Troy (2-1) at Wellsboro (2-1); Bucktail (1-4) at Currensville (0-4); Montgomery (2-3) at Wyalusing (3-1); Columbia-Montour Vo-Tech (0-4) at Towanda (0-4); Sayre (1-2) at North Penn-Mansfield (2-1). Saturday's Games - South Williamsport (3-0) at Athens (3-1); Muncy (5-0) at Canton (2-0).

NTL Large School Standings: Canton (2-0), Athens (3-1), Wyalusing (3-1), Troy (2-1), Wellsboro (2-1), North Penn-Mansfield (1-1), Towanda (0-4).

NTL Small School Standings: Muncy (4-0), South Williamsport (3-0), Northwest (3-2), Montgomery (2-3), Sayre (1-2), Bucktail (1-4), Cowanesque Valley (0-3), Columbia Montour Vo-Tech (0-4).

District 4 Schedule: Bloomsburg (3-2) at Danville (4-1); Montoursville (5-0) at Loyalsock (3-1); Shamokin (3-2) at Milton (0-4); Shikellamy (1-4) at Jersey Shore (4-0); Lewisburg (1-4) at Southern Columbia (4-0); Hughesville (1-4) at Midd-West (0-5); Warrior Run (1-4) at Mifflinburg (2-3); Pittston (1-3) at Williamsport (5-0); Central Columbia (3-2) at Mt. Carmel (2-3); Line Mountain (2-1) at Northwest (3-2); Central Mountain (4-1) at Selinsgrove (2-3).