With running game in gear, Muncy rolls to 56-18 win over Columbia-Montour Vo-Tech

Written by: Matt Beltz on Sunday, October 1st, 2023. Follow Matt Beltz on Twitter.

ALMEDIA – There are several reasons why Muncy has played in the last five consecutive District 4 Class A championship games, including winning three straight from 2018-20, and one of them is the Indians’ consistent running game and its deep stable of running backs.

That depth and strong ground game was on display on Saturday afternoon at Columbia-Montour Vo-Tech, as Muncy racked up 368 rushing yards, of which 292 came in the first half, to top the Rams 56-18.

“Saturday afternoons can be a tough time to come play here. It’s been fall weather all week but today was in the 70s, so our kids adjusted well and we’re happy they came in and played hard,” said Muncy coach Sean Tetrault.

The three-headed backfield of Austin Johnson, Jacob Fowler, and Landyn Wommer touched the ball a combined 16 times for 292 yards – which was Muncy’s first-half rushing yard total. Fowler led the way with 133 yards and three touchdowns on just five carries, while Wommer found the end zone twice on just five carries and had 91 yards. Johnson also had a touchdown and 68 yards on six carries.

“Our kids keep getting better each week. We had a lot of injuries to start the year but they’re getting more comfortable each week and they’re working hard every week and that’s all we can ask them,” said Tetrault. “If they keep working hard like they are right now, we’ll be where we need to be at the end of the season. Hopefully, things will go our way, and we get a few good bounces, but we just need to keep working hard and our kids are taking ownership of that.”

The Indians scored on their first three possessions, as they got a 42-yard touchdown run from Johnson on the game’s fifth play from scrimmage. Muncy then blocked a CMVT punt on the Rams’ first drive to take over at the CMVT 31 and needed just five plays to score another touchdown, this one a four-yard run by Fowler.

Wommer got loose for a 56-yard touchdown run on the first play of Muncy’s next drive, giving Muncy a 21-6 lead at the 1:32 mark of the first quarter.

“We tackled much better and did a much better job on the interior runs but the outside runs are still getting us a little bit and that’s where we need to just flow a little bit better,” said CMVT coach Mark Varner.

CMVT was able to put together a sustained drive in the first quarter prior to Wommer’s touchdown, as they went eight plays for 71 yards to cut the lead to 14-6 at the 1:47 mark of the first quarter. Two big receptions by Logan Bracey were the majority of that drive, as he hauled in a 35-yard catch while falling down to flip the field position, and then three plays later, caught a 24-yard pass in the end zone for the touchdown.

“Axton (Koser) had over 100 yards receiving last week and has been really big for us the last few weeks so the safety was shading as soon as the snap went off to Axton’s side so that allowed Bracey 1-on-1 and he came through with two great catches,” said Varner.

But following Bracey’s touchdown catch and Wommer’s touchdown run, the Rams were forced to punt on their next two drives, and Muncy later got another long touchdown run, this one 25 yards from Fowler. Then, Muncy took advantage of a CMVT turnover as they started a drive at the Ram 26 following an interception, and Stiles Eyer found Carter Feigles for a 26-yard reception to make it 35-6.

The Indians got two more touchdowns later in the second quarter, as Wommer notched his second score, a 33-yard run, and Fowler recorded his third on a 77-yard run.

The Rams scored a pair of second-half touchdowns as Braxtyn Brown recorded scores from seven and 19 yards out. Brown finished with 161 yards on 20 carries for his third straight 100-yard game.

“Braxtyn is doing a good job for us,” said Varner. “I think he has a very high ceiling but he’s not quite there yet. It seems like it takes him a bit to get going, so we’re going to work on that. He’s just one step away from that next step in his development into a really good back.

“We were able to score on them and keep it tight early on but then we made some mistakes and they wore us down. A lot of our guys had a good game, but we just need to string that together to get some consistency. It’s two or three plays that are good, and then one play where they just hit a seam where maybe we don’t come down quick enough or we get caught up and we can’t flow to the outside, and that’s enough for a good team like Muncy to take advantage.”

The Indians tacked on a second-half touchdown as second-string quarterback Bryson Barrows punched it in on a 14-yard run late in the fourth quarter.

Muncy now looks ahead to what could be a pivotal game against South Williamsport next week. Both teams will carry the same 5-1 record into the contest, and with South’s lone loss coming to unbeaten Canton, which currently holds the top spot in the District 4 Class A rankings, the game could go a long way to deciding which team gets the higher seed in the playoffs.

“Single A is always a tight, bottleneck race to see who’s going to get the top seeds, so we just need to come out and play physical and hard, and it’s going to be a good measuring stick for our guys up front with how physical South can be,” said Tetrault.

Muncy 56, Columbia-Montour Vo-Tech 18

Muncy (5-1) 21 28 0 7 – 56

Columbia-Montour Vo-Tech (1-5) 6 0 0 12 – 18

First quarter

9:20 – (M) Austin Johnson 42-yard run (Hartzel kick), 5-64, 2:40

5:22 – (M) Jacob Fowler 6-yard run (Hartzel kick), 5-31, 2:13

1:47 – (VT) Logan Bracey 24-yard pass from Caden Long (run failed), 8-71, 3:35

1:32 – (M) Landyn Wommer 56-yard run (Hartzel kick), 1-56, :15

Second quarter

7:55 – (M) Jacob Fowler 25-yard run (McCahan kick), 6-67, 1:59

6:06 – (M) Carter Feigles 26-yard pass from Stiles Eyer (Hartzel kick), 1-26, :08

4:08 – (M) Landyn Wommer 33-yard run (McCahan kick), 2-33, :13

:12 – (M) Jacob Fowler 77-yard run (Hartzel kick), 2-80, :56

Fourth quarter

11:55 – (VT) Braxtyn Brown 7-yard run (run failed), 4-57, 1:48

4:17 – (VT) Braxtyn Brown 19-yard run (pass failed), 7-88, 3:51

1:22 – (M) Bryson Barrows 14-yard run (McCahan kick), 4-23, 2:55

Statistics
M VT
First downs 16 15

Rushes-net yards 28-368 33-180

Passing yardage 75 111

Passing 7-11-1-0 7-20-1-2

Fumbles-lost 0-0 2-0

Penalties-yards 3-20 1-15

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Muncy: Austin Johnson (6-68-1), Jacob Fowler (5-133-3), Landyn Wommer (5-91-2), Bryson Barrows (3-32-1), Vincenzo Finochiaro (3-2), Jaxson Thomas (3-12), Kase Snyder (2-30), Dominic Guardini (1-0); CMVT: Braxtyn Brown (20-161-2), Mason Haught (5-17), Caden Long (4-(-14)), Ashton Smith (3-17), TEAM (1-(-1))

PASSING: Muncy: Stiles Eyer (6-9-68-1-0), Bryson Barrows (1-2-7-0-0); CMVT: Caden Long (7-20-111-1-2)

RECEIVING: Muncy: Carter Feigles (2-33-1), Gavin Barrows (2-26), Paxton Derr (2-5), Austin Johnson (1-11); CMVT: Logan Bracey (3-67-1), Axton Koser (3-46), Braxtyn Brown (1-(-2))

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