NTL FOOTBALL: DEFENSE CARRIES ATHENS TO 9-0 WIN OVER MUNCY (24 PHOTOS) (October 23, 2026)

By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
ATHENS — The Athens defense forced five turnovers and the offense turned two of them into points in a physical 9-0 win over Muncy here Friday night in NTL football action at Alumni Stadium.

"Our defense played really well, they saved our butts tonight," said Athens coach Shawn Bradley.

"We put a lot of pressure on their quarterbacks tonight," he noted. (Coach) Steve (Satterly) does a great job with them. 

"We had Brendan (Cooke) putting a ton of pressure on, and Brady (Flynn), the linebackers, and then even the outside guys and our linemen ... our line did a great job," Bradley added.

Muncy took the opening kickoff and on passes of 10 and 53 yards moved the ball into the Athens red zone.

Four plays later, on fourth-and-10, junior Nolan Raupers ended the threat with an interception at the Athens 4.

"If you've watched most of our games, you see that a lot," said Bradley. "We give up a big play on the first drive and then these guys bow their neck and stop them; that's they've been doing that all year."

Athens, thanks in large part to an 18-yard pass from senior Connor Davidson to senior Brendan Cooke, and a 9-yard completion to junior Kade Rowe, moved the ball into Indian territory, but turned the ball over on downs at the Muncy 39.

Athens forced a Muncy three-and-out, and took over following the punt at its 33. The Wildcats put together a nine-play drive that bridged the first two quarter and produced the only TD of the game.

Davidson completed passes of 12 and 23 yards to senior Lucas Persun, and a a 13-yard pass to senior Gage Marmor, and also broke loose on a 14-yard run before capping the drive with a 2-yard TD run to give Athens a 6-0 lead with 9:18 remaining in the first half.

Muncy's next possession ended when Athens senior Brayden Westbrook picked off a pass, but the Wildcats turned ball back over on an interception four plays later.

The Wildcat defense forced a three-and-out, and took over at its 21 following a 53-yard punt.

Athens moved the ball into Muncy territory, but turned the ball over on downs at the Indian 43.

Three plays later, Raupers jarred the ball loose from a Muncy runner, and senior Jess Oldroyd pounced on the loose ball at the Indians' 46 with 1:01 remaining in the first half.

Davidson completed four straight passes for 43 yards, sandwiched around a personal foul call against the 'Cats, and Athens was at the Muncy 16 with 8 seconds remaining. After an incomplete pass into the end zone, senior Zach Fisher split the uprights with a 34-yard field goal as time expired to give the Wildcats a 9-0 lead.

"We had a turnover on downs there, so we bounced back to get a turnover, and then we were able to move it a little bit," said Bradley.

"Connor (Davidson) ran the 2-minute drill really well, then we kill the clock, and Zach (Fisher) is a weapon," noted Bradley. "We get him in there and we make a field goal, which is huge.

"(Muncy) had the ball inside our 20 two times, and we ended up stopping them both times," added Bradley. "Getting those kinds of stops in those situations is enormous."

The Wildcats' first possession of the second half ended with an interception and return to the Athens 32.

The Athens defense once again did its job. After consecutive gains of 9 yards, Muncy had the ball at the Wildcat 14, but four plays later, facing a fourth-and-7, the Indians missed a 29-yard field goal attempt with 6:07 remaining in the third quarter.

After a three-and-out, Fisher booted a 43-yard punt, and Muncy took possession at its 31. The Indians used 13 plays in a possession that carried over into the fourth quarter.

Facing a second-and-4 at the Wildcat 11, Muncy was flagged for holding on consecutive plays to make it second-and-24. After an offsides call against Athens, sophomore Cy Yeager picked off a pass at the Athens 4. He fumbled it as he began his return, but teammate, sophomore Devin Mayfield pounced on it at the 1.

The Wildcats punted the ball away four plays later and Muncy took over at the Wildcat 41. However, a deflection ended up in the hands of a Muncy receiver and Davidson, who wrestled the ball away for the interception.

Athens took nearly three minutes off the game clock before punting the ball away, but Muncy was forced to punt from its own 15 four plays later.

The Wildcats took over at the Muncy 32 following a 19-yard return by Yeager, and moved the ball to the Indian 11 before turning it over on downs with 1:16 remaining in the contest.

The Indians picked up three quick first downs, but ended up turning the ball over on downs at the Athens 45 with 8 seconds remaining, and the Wildcats took a knee to run out the clock.

Davidson completed 20 Of 32 passes for 174 yards, and two interceptions.

Rowe had six catches for 48 yards, and Marmor had six grabs for 42 yards to lead Athens' receivers, and Persun had three receptions for 35 yards.

Davidson led Athens on the ground with 82 yards and one TD on 25 carries.

Athens, now 8-1, hosts Sayre Saturday night in the annual "Rusty Rail" rivalry game.

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IN PHOTO 1: Athens senior Connor Davidson. IN TOP PHOTO: Athens senior Landon Layman registers a QB sack. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.

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