NTL FOOTBALL: ATHENS RETAINS 'RUSTY RAIL' IN 57-0 ROUT OF SAYRE (22 PHOTOS) (2025-10-24)

Valley Sports Report
SAYRE — Senior Karson Sipley ran for three TDs, and the Athens defense had a pair of pick-6s as the Wildcats piled up 50 first-half points on its way to a 57-0 win over Sayre here Friday night to retain the "Rusty Rail" trophy in NTL football action at the Lockhart Street Bowl.

"It's bittersweet, we had two freshmen, who played their butts off the whole year, get hurt," said Athens coach Shawn Bradley. "They deserved to play, so that's the unfortunate part of the game.

"The rest of the kids were very efficient," he noted. "We didn't play a lot of offense ... our defense played well.

"The Sayre kids played hard. They played their butts off, and they didn't have to, so credit to them," added Bradley. "And (Hudson) Malanoski played a very good game."

The Wildcats opened the scoring when junior Dom Robbins stepped in front of a Sayre pass and returned it 53 yards for a score. Junior Brendan Cooke punched the conversion run into the end zone to make it 8-0.

Sipley scored on a 3-yard run late in the first quarter, and junior Zach Fisher, who was 7-for-7 on extra-point attempts, split the up rights with his first attempt of the night to make it 15-0.

Moments later, junior Lucas Persun picked off a Sayre pass and returned it 40 yards to paydirt to make it 22-0.

Freshman Shea Davidson capped a short scoring drive with a 4-yard TD pass to Gage Marmor early in the  second quarter to extend the lead to 29-0.

Sipley scored on runs of 60 and 37 yards, sandwiched around a 7-yard TD run by senior Connor Garrison to give Athens a 50-0 lead at the halftime intermission.

The Wildcats provided the final result in the fourth quarter with a 6-yard TD run by junior Nick Lesser.

Sipley led the Athens offense with 117 rushing yards and three TDs on five carries, and Lesser added 27 yards and one TD on two carries.

Shea Davidson completed 4 of 6 pass attempts for 71 yards and one TD, and senior Eli Chapman completed 2 of 10 passes for 46 yards and one interception.

Marmor led Athens' receivers tie four catches for 85 yards and one TD, and seniors James Friend (20 yards) and Ryan Cook (12 yards) each had one catch.

Sophomore Hudson Malanoski rushed for 110 yards on 27 carries to lead Sayre's offense. He also completed 2 of 14 for 11 yards and two interceptions. Quin Chandler had both catches for Sayre.

The Redskins finish up the season at 0-10, and with just 16 in uniform Friday night.

"This year our team has been challenged by multiple injuries and low numbers, but through it all these kids were adaptable, coachable, worked hard, and made improvements throughout the season," said Lindblad. 

"They continue to come every day and work to get better," he noted. "The results and successes that we had hoped for, unfortunately, haven’t been there this season. 

"We’re a young team made up of mostly sophomores, so that is encouraging going forward. They are getting that experience that can continue to help turn things around." Said Lindblad.

"Unfortunately, we were hit with the injuries that really effected how some things went for us, but our guys brought the next man mentality and continued to give their best week in and week out for the team even if they weren’t playing in their ideal positions," added Lindblad.

The Redskins graduate four seniors in Karter Green, who was injured in the first quarter of the first game this season, Logan Zingeser, Kiyshon Kole, and Ian Robles.

We only have four seniors on this team and they have been key components to our program," said Lindblad. "Unfortunately, we were without two of those pieces tonight due to injuries but as a team tonight we want to play for those guys. 

"Karter, Logan, Kiyshon, Ian have been great players for our program and we will surely miss them," added Lindblad. "We wish them nothing but the best in the rest of their high school careers this year, and well wishes on their future endeavors after school is over."

Athens, now 9-1, will travel to Jersey Shore for the District 4, Class 4A semifinals.

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