BY CHRIS MANNINGNorthern Tier Sports Report
The young Towanda football team had plenty of growing pains this season, and a few injuries in the mix, too, though by the second half of the year they were a much improved team as they went 3-7.
“At the beginning of the season, you always hope to win every game, but that’s just not realistic,” said coach Jamie Wecker. “We were a young and inexperienced team this year, and we definitely experienced some growing pains. But we certainly improved as we went through the season. The kids came to work every day and put in a great effort. They didn’t ever quit on each other and they bought into the process. We finished the season going 3-2 after that tough start, and I think the team is looking forward to get working in the offseason for next year.”
The Knights started the year 0-5 as they had two rough losses off the bat to CV (38-0) and Hughesville (32-0).
They nearly took down NPM (24-17) in week three, then fell to Wellsboro (33-12) and Troy (44-0).
A week six win over Canton (41-14) helped turn things around for them. That was followed by a loss to Athens (54-7) but they responded to that with a win over Sayre (42-14).
They dropped a back and forth battle to Tunkhannock (34-27), then finished the year in a high note as they beat Wyalusing (29-12) to keep the Bronze Helmet.
Reese Sluyter led the team on the ground despite being in and out of the line-up, with 387 yards and five touchdowns while Jazick Brown had 356 yards rushing and five scores. Curtis Maynard finished with six touchdown on the ground while Joey Montonya had 289 yards rushing with one touchdown.
Sluyter threw for 198 yards with a 45-percent completion percentage with one touchdown against four interceptions.
Brown had the most yards with 114 on 13 catches.
Defensively, Tanner Vanderpool led the team in tackles with 71, while Kolton McPeak had 60 tackles, nine of which were for losses.
Going forward Towanda loses few seniors, though one includes Vanderpool, as they bring back much of their offensive talent, while adding Gage Evans, who missed all of this year with an injury.
That has them hoping for a bounce back season in 2026.
“We saw a lot of development and growth with our kids, and that really makes the future pretty exciting for both the players and the coaches,” Wecker said.
