NTL FOOTBALL: WYALUSING HEADS TO TOWANDA FOR BRONZE HELMET (2024-10-25)
BY CHRIS MANNINGNorthern Tier Sports ReportIt’s rivalry week with Towanda (7-2) hosting Wyalusing (4-5) for the Bronze Helmet in the final week of regular season football action Friday.
“The kids know what’s at state this week,” said Towanda coach Jamie Wecker. “The Bronze Helmet has been around since before my playing days here, so everyone is very familiar with it, and how much it means to our school.”
Wyalusing won the Bronze Helmet in a classic last year, a game came down to the final play - and will be hard to top this year.
“The kids are excited for rivalry week, especially the seniors for their final Bronze Helmet Game,” said Wyalusing coach Rich Rogers. “It is a great tradition for both schools, two programs which have seen a lot of success through the years.”
The Rams come in needing a win to make the district playoffs after a close loss to Hughesville last week.
“Wyalusing is going to be hungry,” Wecker said. “They are fighting for a playoff berth, and I’m sure they aren’t going to want to give up the helmet to us. So, I’m expecting their best game of the year. They have a potent running game, and their RB is about as good as we’ve seen so far. Defensively, they throw a lot of looks at you, so we have to be prepared to handle that.”
The key for the Knights will be getting their defense off the field.
“To slow down their running attack, we have to be very sound and play within our system,” Wecker said. “We have to tackle well also. Another thing that I think helps slow down an offense is to put together drives when we have the ball, so our defense isn’t on the field too much.”
As for Wyalusing, they’ll need to find a way to slowdown Riley Vanderpool.
“Towanda is having a great year and we will need to play our best this week,” said Rogers.
KEYS TO THE GAME
Wyalusing — Counter Towanda’s penetration. The Towanda defense isn’t afraid to bring blitzers, especially if they smell blood in the water. The Rams will need to throw in some wrinkles to keep the Knights honest.
Towanda — Get the ball in space. Not just for Riley Vanderpool but all their athletes, get out in space and make Wyalusing make defensive plays out in open territory, away from their gang tackling.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Ayden Hunsinger, Wyalusing, LB, RB — While he’s known more for his running, it’ll be his defense that will key the Rams. They’ll need to him to spy Vanderpool, and try to keep him contained.
Riley Vanderpool, Towanda, QB, S — He had over 200 yards rushing last week, and will likely need a repeat performance this week to get the Bronze Helmet back.
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