NTL FOOTBALL: TOWANDA TAKES THEIR GAME ON THE ROAD TO CV (2025-08-21)

BY CHRIS MANNING
Northern Tier Sports Report
Towanda will be starting their season a day later than everybody else as they travel to Cowanesque Valley on Saturday with a 6 p.m. kick-off.

The kids, though, are comping at the bit to get going.

“The kids are pretty excited to finally play a game,” said Towanda coach Jamie Wecker. “It’s been a long summer, and a tough camp. They are getting a little restless going against their teammates all the time, it’s time to get the season going.”

Wecker liked what he saw from his team in their scrimmage against Susquehanna last Saturday.

“We learned a lot actually,” Wecker remarked. “Saw some really good things and, of course, saw things we need to improve. But I think we started to see the kids come together. I was really happy with their composure in the face of some adversity. With a young team like we have, those things are really important.”

Last year the Indians kept it close until Towanda pulled away in the second half, so Wecker knows they have to come prepared.

“The first thing about CV is that they are going to come at us,” he said. “They did that last year, and I know we have to be ready to face a really physical team. They run multiple formations, and really two different offensive schemes, so preparation is going to be key. The QB can hurt you with his legs as well as his arm, so we need to be very fundamentally sound defensively. Offensively, we need to be smart and not make the mental mistakes that can hurt the drives. Some young kids are going to need to grow up this weekend. I’m excited to see them do it.”

KEYS TO THE GAME
Towanda - Keep the mistakes to a minimum. The thing with young teams is there’s a lot of highs, and a low of lows. If they can keep the lows from getting too low they’ll be alright.
Cowanesque Valley - Don’t give up the big play. Towanda has plenty of athletes - young athletes - but they can still hurt you in a lot of different ways. They need to force the young Towanda team to drive the ball, and make them play mistake-free to keep the chains moving.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
Kolten McPeak, Towanda, LB - There will be plenty of new faces on both sides of the ball, but they have a better idea of offense after Reese Sluyter started two games a year ago. McPeak will be leading the defense in the middle, and that’s where things will have to start if they’re going to grow into a strong force.
Dave Hess, CV, RB/LB - Hess ran for 449 yards and four touchdowns a year ago with an average of 5.8 yards per carry. If he gets loose he could be tough to stop.

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