By CHRIS MANNING Valley Sports Report
WYALUSING — Sayre coach Guy Kapichok thinks he's found a secret weapon coming out of halftime - Uncrustables. He had his players eat some along with Sunny D, and they went out and scored four unanswered touchdowns and pulled away from Wyalusing in a 41-12 win in NTL football action Saturday.
"That was fun," he said about the second half. "We had Uncrustables at halftime, I think that was the key; and Sunny D. At halftime we don't scream and yell, we just make adjustments, eat our little snack, and come back."
He mentioned that they've struggled with cramps during the second half in the past, so they wanted to feed them, and on Saturday afternoon it showed.
Kapichok also credits a defensive change in the second half, going from a 3-4 to a 4-4.
"We switched fronts on them, and that was nice," he said, as they held the Rams to 92 total yards in the second half after giving up 140 in the first two quarters.
Offensively, they hit big in the pass game, and pounded out yards on the ground. Hudson Malanoski ran for 106 yards and three scores on 22 carries, with Braydan Northrup adding 41-yards and a touchdown on five touches.
"He's a beast," Kapichok said about Malanoski. "It's just all his work in the off-season, and it's not just football. He volunteers for everything. He's just the hardest worker on the team, and the rest of the guys are scared of him, so when Hudson speaks, everybody listens."
Declan Barry was 8-for-11 for 172 yards and two touchdowns through the air. Brayden Vorhis had five catches for 129 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown strike, with Tyrese Hayes hauling in a 33-yard touchdown reception.
"We have to stretch it out a little bit, and it's been looking better and better," said Kapichok. "Our biggest problem is that we don't have a scout team to go against.
"We only have four guys, so we were really doing one-on-ones for three weeks now, hard one-on-ones, so it's just receivers winning one-on-one routes," he added. "If we can get a one-on-one we feel comfortable there."
For Wyaluasing, Jacob Gromley pounded out 86 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries with Patrick O'Connor adding 59 yards on 14 touches.
Wiley Trobaugh was 8-for-17 for 76 yards with a touchdown, and a pick.
Andrew Taylor had a big night with four receptions for 67 yards, and a touchdown.
It was a defensive battle to start the game. Wyalusing took the opening kick-off, got one first down, but then turned it over on downs at the Sayre 32-yard line.
The Redskin opening drive came to a halt when Gromley fell on a Sayre fumble at the Redskin 37-yard line.
The ensuing Ram drive was another turnover on downs with Sayre taking over at their own 32-yard line.
This time, they held on to the ball, going 68 yards on 13 plays, well into the second quarter, as Malanoksi plunged in from a yard out to get the Redskins on the scoreboard.
They went 4-for-4 on third down conversions during that drive, with a 20-yard hook-up of Barry to Vorhis getting them inside the Wyalusing red zone.
Malanoski hit the point after for a 7-0 lead with 9:48 left in the quarter.
After a short Sayre kick, Wyalusing answered with a strong drive of their own, going 51 yards on seven plays.
They went 2-for-2 on third conversions, the big one coming on the Trobaugh to Taylor 30-yard touchdown reception on third-and-13. Taylor came back for the ball, then broke a few tackles en route to the end zone.
Sayre stuffed their 2-point conversion attempt and it was 7-6 with 5:31 left in the half.
It didn't take long for Sayre to answer. On the second play from scrimmage, Barry found Vorhis behind the defense for a 75-yard scoring strike down the left side of the field. Malanoski's kick was good, and it was 14-6 with 4:43 on the clock.
The Rams punched back on their ensuing drive, going 55 yards on eight plays. The drive ended with a 4-yard Gromley touchdown run.
An 11-yard run from O'Connor on the first play from scrimmage got them on Sayre's side of the field, then a 16-yard strike from Trobaugh to Taylor got them down to the 11-yard line.
The Redskin defense stuffed the 2-point conversion again for a 14-12 score with 57 seconds left, and that's where they were at the half.
Sayre got the opening kick-off to start the second half, taking over at their own 32-yard and going 68 yards on six plays to pay dirt.
A 16-yard run from Malanoski on the second play from scrimmage got them inside Wyalusing territory, then a 34-yard cut back run from Northrup got them in the end zone with 8:43 on the clock.
Malanoski's kick was good and it was 21-12.
The ensuing Wyalusing drive ended at midfield with a punt, and Sayre took over at its own 43-yard line.
The Ram defense held, forcing the Redskins to punt, with Wyalusing taking over at their own 24-yard line.
On the first play from scrimmage, though, Sayre's Quin Chandler stepped in front of a Trobaugh pass, and took it back to the 12-yard line.
Malanoski would rumble the rest of the way to the end zone to make it 28-12 after his kick with 1:58 left in the quarter.
The ensuing Ram drive ended with a turnover on downs near midfield, giving Sayre the ball at the Ram 45-yard line.
They needed just four plays to get into the end zone. Malanoski punched one in from 16 yards out to cap the drive.
The key play was a third-down conversion that saw Barry hit Vorhis for an 11-yard gain, with 15 yards tacked on for a late hit.
A bad snap ruined Malanoski's streak of made extra points but Sayre led 34-12 with 9:24 left in the fourth.
The final Sayre score came after another turnover on downs by Wyalusing.
Taking over at the Ram 33-yard line Barry hit Hayes for a 33-yard scoring strike. Malanoski hit the point after and it was 41-12.
Kapichok can't remember the last time Sayre football had a winning streak, but that was the goal this week.
"We'll take it," he said. "We knew they'd come out tough, and they did. They're great kids over there, so it was a fun game to play."
Sayre, now 2-3, returns to action Friday at Canton.
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PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING.
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SAYRE 41, WYALUSING 12
Scoring Summary
Second Quarter
S - Hudson Malanoski 1-yard run (Malanoski kick), 9:48
W - Wiley Trobaugh 30-yard pass to Andrew Taylor (run failed), 5:31
S - Declan Barry 75-yard pass to Brayden Vorhis (Malanoski kick), 4:43
W - Jacob Gromley 4-yard run (run failed), :57
Third Quarter
S - Braydan Northrup 34-yard run (Malanoski kick), 8:43
S - Hudson Malanoski 12-yard run (Malanoski kick) 1:58
Fourth Quarter
S - Hudson Malanoski 16-yard run (kick failed), 9:24
S - Declan Barry 33-yard pass to Tyrese Hayes (Malanoski kick), 6:41
Individual Stats
Sayre
Rushing
Hudson Malanoski 22-106-3, Braydan Northrup 5-41-1, #19 1-3, #88 1-0, Declan Barry 1-(-3)
Passing
Declan Barry 8-11-172-2-0
Receiving
Tyrese Hayes 1-33-1, Brayden Vorhis 5-129-1, Hudson Malanoski 2-9
Rushing
Jacob Gromley 16-86-1, Patrick O'Connor 14-59, Patrick Dahl 2-4, Dillon Gonsauls 3-1, Wiley Trobaugh 3-1, JJ Latini 1-5
Passing
Wiley Trobaugh 8-17-76-1-1
Receiving
Andrew Taylor 4-67-1, Landry Tinna 2-9, Tucker Harvey 1-2, Matthew Ferguson 1-(-2)
Team Stats SAYRE WYALUSING
Rushes/Yards 30/157 39/156
Passing Yards 172 76
First Downs 14 11
Penalties/Yards 5/40 6/45
Fumbles/Lost 2/1 2/0
Interceptions: Sayre-Quin Chandler
