NTL FOOTBALL: TOWANDA FALLS IN SHOOT-OUT WITH TUNKHANNOCK (2021-10-23)
Northern Tier Sports ReportTOWANDA — In a high scoring contest Tunkhannock out lasted Towanda 55-28 in non-league football action Friday.
Towanda’s Grady Flynn and Rylee Sluyter combined for over 250 yards passing and four touchdowns as the Knights were able to hang tough with the Class 4A Tigers. However, they couldn’t overcome Ty Kong’s 278 yards rushing and three touchdowns.
Flynn was 11-for-25 for 155 yards and two touchdowns with one pick, while Sluyter went 3-for-4 for 102 yards and two touchdowns.
Four different Knight receivers found the end zone, as Riley Vanderpool had four catches for 95 yards and a score.
Justin Schoonover had three catches for 60 yards and a score, Mason Hartmann notched two catches for 20 yards and touchdown, and Zachary Parker had a 42-yard touchdown catch. Elias Schrader had four catches for 40 yards as well.
Rhyan West led the ground game with 42 yards on 12 carries.
Towanda held Tunkhannock quarterback Ben Chilson to just 4-for-9 for 58 yards and an interception but couldn’t overcome over 350 rushing yards by the Tigers.
Michael Sickler got the scoring going in the first quarter with a 3-yard run for Tunkhannock. Konen then had back to back rushing touchdowns - 62 and 2-yards - to put the Tigers up by three scores.
However, with 21 seconds to play in the first half, a Flynn to Hartmann 8-yard scoring hook-up got them on the scoreboard.
Towanda cut it to a 1-score game with 9:10 on the clock in the third quarter as Flynn hit Schoonover for a 34-yard touchdown strike.
Garrett Yuhas then scored a touchdown for Tunkhannock with 2:32 left in the third to put them up by two scores with a quarter left.
Konen got his third rushing touchdown with 11:37 left to play, but Towanda answered back as Sluyter hit Vanderpool for a 58-yard scoring strike.
However, back to back touchdowns - one by Noah Rush, and other by Chilson - put things out of reach for Towanda.
Sluyter hit Parker for a 42-yard touchdown pass with 59 seconds to play, but it was Yuhas returning the kick-off 98-yards to paydirt to give the Tigers the last word.
Towanda will travel to Wyalusing next week for the Bronze Helmet.
PHOTO CAPTION: Towanda’s Riley Vanderpool finds running room against Tunkhannock…PHOTOS BY BOB MAREAN
Tunknannock 55, Towanda 28
Scoring plays
1st Quarter
:10 TUN- Sickler 3 yard rush
2nd quarter
7:45 TUN- Konen 62 yard rush
:58 TUN- Konen 2 yard rush
:21 TOW- Hartman 8 yard reception from Flynn
3rd quarter
9:10 TOW- 34 yard reception Schoonover from Flynn
2:32 TUN- Yuhas 3 yard rush
4th quarter
11:37 TUN- Konen 5 yard rush
9:27 TOW- Sluyter: Vanderpool 58 yard catch
6:29 TUN- Rush 5 yard rush
2:42 TUN- Chilson 1 yard rush
:59 TOW- Sluyter: Parker 42 yard catch
:42 TUN- Yuhas 98 yard kickoff return
First downs
Tunkhannock: 14
Towanda: 13
Tunkhannock passing
Ben Chilson: 4-9, 58 yards, 1 int
Tunkhannock rushing
Ty Konen: 21 carries 278 yards, 3 TD
Noah Rush: 3 carries, 21 yards, 1 TD
Chilson: 6 carries, 28 yards, 1 TD
Michael Sickler: 6 carries, 51 yards, 1 TD
Tunkhannock receiving
Gavin Montross: 1 catch, 13 yards
Garrett Yuhas: 1 catch, 32 yards
Sickler: 1 catch, 8 yards
Konen: 1 catch 5 yards
Towanda rushing
Rhyan West: 12 carries, 42 yards
Riley Vanderpool: 4 carries, 0 yards
Justin Schoonover: 1 carry, 8 yards
Grady Flynn: 1 carry, 2 yards
Jace Gunther: 1 carry, 5 yards
Rylee Sluyter: 2 carries, 17 yards
Towanda passing
Grady Flynn 11-25 155 yards, 2 TD, 1 int
Sluyter: 3-4 102 yards, 2 TD
Towanda receiving
Vanderpool: 4 catches, 95 yards, 1 TD
Schoonover: 3 catches, 60 yards, 1 TD
Elias Shrawder: 4 catches, 40 yards
Mason Hartman: 2 catches, 20 yards 1 TD
Zachery Parker: 1 catch 42 yards 1 TD
Penalties
Towanda: 7 penalties, 55 yards
Tunkhannock: 5 penalties, 35 yards
