NTL FOOTBALL: NP-MANSFIELD OUTLASTS ATHENS, 16-14 (19 PHOTOS) (2024-09-21)
By TIM BIRNEYValley Sports ReportATHENS — In a game punctuated by penalties — 24 in all, North Penn-Mansfield scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to pull out a 16-14 win over Athens here Saturday night in NTL Large School Division football action at Alumni Stadium.
“They played better than we did,” said Athens coach Shawn Bradley. “They deserved to win, and we didn’t.
“We just didn’t execute when we needed to,” added Bradley.
On a night where gold — as in "Gold Out" against cancer —was the prime color, yellow flags were the primary source of aggravation for both coaches.
The Tigers were penalized 14 times for 115 yards, while the Wildcats drew 10 flags for 88 yards. Ten more penalties were declined in the game.
The game began as if it would be a shootout, with both teams scoring TDs in the first four minutes of the game, but by night’s end points would be at a premium.
Athens sophomore standout Connor Davidson put the Wildcats on the board just 18 seconds into the contest with an 87-yard return of the opening kickoff. Sophomore Zach Fisher’s PAT kick made it 7-0.
NP-M answered with a seven-play, 48-yard drive, capped by QB Cooper Shaw’s 15-yard TD run to close the gap to 7-6 with 8:07 remaining in the first quarter.
The Tigers tied the game at 7-7, but Athens was flagged for offside on the extra-point attempt. NP-M chose to take the penalty, which moved the ball inside the 2-yard line, but a pass for conversion fell incomplete, and the Wildcats led 7-6.
Both teams threatened throughout the remainder of the first half, and in the third quarter, but self-inflicted wounds stopped the majority of drives.
Athens’ first play following the ensuing kickoff was a 30-yard run by sophomore Lucas Persun, which took the ball to the NP-M 32.
After another first down, Athens had the ball at the NP-M 22, but a bad shotgun snap resulted in a 30-yard loss and a subsequent punt.
Fisher’s punt pinned NP-M at its 10, and the Wildcat defense forced a quick punt.
Athens took over at the Tiger 32, and a 28-yard pass from Davidson to Sean Peters moved the ball to the NP-M 2.
A pair of false-start penalties moved the ball back to the 12, and an interception by Shaw ended the threat.
Three plays later, NP-M coughed the ball up at its own 31, but Athens returned the favor on the next play.
The Tigers drove from their 26 to the Athens 20, but Athens junior Brenden Comstock sacked Shaw on fourth down to force a turnover on downs at the Wildcat 25 early in the second quarter.
Back-to-back completions of 8 and 6 yards from Davidson to sophomore Gage Marmor started the Wildcat possession, and a 25-yard dart to Peters moved the ball to the NP-M 37, with a late hit call against the Tigers advancing the ball to the 22.
Runs of 7 yards by Davidson, and 6 yards by Persun moved the ball to the NP-M, but a personal foul penalty on second down moved the ball back to the Tiger 30, and the drive fizzled.
The Wildcat defense forced a quick punt, and Athens had good field position at the NP-M 40.
Athens overcame a holding call, thanks to a 20-yard pass from Davidson to Peters moved the ball to the NP-M 19, but another holding call and a sack of Davidson for a 10-yard loss resulted in the Wildcats turning the ball over on downs as time expired in the first half.
NP-M took the second half kickoff and marched from its 36 to the Athens 8, before a holding call forced the Tigers into a 35-yard field goal attempt, which sailed wide left with 4:14 remaining in the third quarter.
Davidson gained 9 yards on the first play of the ensuing possession, then hit Peters with a 26-yard strike to the NP-M 42.
Another holding call put the Wildcats in a hole, and they punted three plays later.
NP-M once again put together a drive, mostly on the running of Shaw and Riley Oakes, but the Athens defense stiffened inside its 10. This time, Brody Grinnell split the up rights with a 25-yard field to give the Tigers a 9-7 lead with 9:18 remaining in the game.
A pair of illegal procedure penalties against the Wildcats put them in a second-and-15 predicament on their next possession, and they punted two plays later.
The Athens defense forced a quick three-and-out, but the Wildcats were flagged for roughing-the-punter, giving NP-M new life at their 48.
Seven plays later, thanks in part to a 15-yard helmet-to-helmet call against the Wildcats, Shaw scored on a QB sneak from 1-yard out. Grinnell’s PAT kick made it 16-7 with 1:43 remaining in the game.
Athens quickly moved down field on a five-play scoring drive that started with a 24-yard run by Davidson, and culminated with a 23-yard TD pass to Marmor with 32.5 seconds left in the game.
Fisher’s PAT kick trimmed the deficit to 16-14, but NP-M pounced on the ensuing onside kick attempt to seal the win.
Davidson completed 11 of 23 pass attempts for 157 yards, one TD, and one interception, with Peters leading the way with six receptions for 94 yards, Marmor hauling in two passes for 48 yards and one TD, and junior James Friend collecting two receptions for 8 yards.
Davidson, who had negative-40 yards on a sack and a bad snap, which he collected and attempted to advance, led Athens on the ground with 48 yards and one TD on 13 carries, while Persun added 42 yards on six carries.
Shaw led NP-M with 159 yards and two TDs on 30 carries.
He also completed 10 of 21 passes for 102 yards, with Luke Kreger hauling in five catches for 83 yards.
Oakes rushed for 27 yards on four carries, and had three catches for 20 yards.
Athens, now 2-3, hosts Wellsboro Friday.
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IN PHOTO 1: Athens sophomore Connor Davidson. IN TOP PHOTO: Athens sophomore Gage Marmor. … PHOTOS BY MATT PATTON.
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