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WILKES-BARRE — Coughlin scored six touchdowns. But it was the defense that stole the show.
Facing one of the Wyoming Valley Conference’s top offenses, the Crusaders forced four turnovers and held a dangerous Williamsport team in check for most of the night.
The defense even got in on the scoring with a fumble return for a touchdown in Coughlin’s emphatic 41-20 win over the Millionaires Friday at Wilkes-Barre Memorial Stadium.
Given the opponent, it was the Crusaders’ best defensive showing of the season.
“Absolutely,” Coughlin coach Ciro Cinti said without hesitation. “That’s a fantastic (Williamsport) team. I give our kids a heck of a lot of credit. We had guys that were hurt. Other guys stepped up. That’s what a true team is about.
“Defense played great. They bent but didn’t break. We caused turnovers, and that was the difference.”
Coughlin (4-2) recovered two fumbles in the first half, with Jacob Soller scooping up the second one before it went out of bounds, returning it 15 yards for a touchdown and a 20-0 lead. It was the Crusaders’ first defensive score of the year.
Jake Cole, who forced that fumble, also came up with a 60-yard interception return in the fourth quarter. Khalid Credle then added another pick to set up a final Coughlin touchdown.
Williamsport coach Chuck Crews also cited the turnovers as the game’s deciding factor.
“All of our games, at the very least, should be shootouts,” Crews said. “Of course we want the defense to get stops. But at the very least, nobody has stopped us yet on offense. And I don’t say that braggadociously. I’m just saying, as it is, no one has stopped us on offense yet.
“We have continually stopped ourselves. And those are the trademarks of a young team.”
The Crusaders were able to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, as the offense racked up 382 yards on the ground, including 126 from Soller and 108 from Zach King, who injured his left leg late in the fourth quarter.
Soller piled up four total touchdowns on the night — adding two rushing scores and a 72-yard bomb to a wide-open Josh Hvozdovic on top of the fumble return. The pass made it 34-14 early in the fourth and put the game out of reach.
“They caught us selling out for the run,” Crews said. “That was a good play-call. Hats off to them.”
Cole and King each scored once on the ground, with Cole carrying three Williamsport defenders for the final four yards across the goal line.
Williamsport (4-2) was handicapped early on, holding out the team’s top two players — quarterback Isaiah Hankins and wideout Jerah Reeves — for the first quarter.
Without them on the field, the Millionaires gained just 35 yards, lost a fumble and missed a field goal, falling into a 13-0 hole in the opening 12 minutes.
Hankins (141 yards passing, 79 rushing) hooked up with Reeves on a pretty fade route for a 14-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Hankins also added a late 14-yard rushing score in the fourth.
“We’re a resilient team,” Cinti said. “Sometimes during the season, you get up on a team and you don’t play (hard) the whole four quarters. Our team has played every quarter. You win up front, and that’s what we did. We won the up-front battle.”
Coughlin 41, Williamsport 20
Williamsport`0`7`7`6`—`20
Coughlin`13`7`7`14`—`41
First quarter
COU — Jacob Soller 15 run (Michael Cinti kick), 10:34
COU — Jake Cole 10 run (kick failed), 3:58
Second quarter
COU — Soller 15 fumble return (Cinti kick), 8:27
WIL — Jerah Reeves 14 pass from Isaiah Hankins (Terrance Hillman kick), 6:07
Third quarter
WIL — Elliott Walker 3 run (Hillman kick), 6:03
COU — Soller 25 run (Cinti kick), 1:46
Fourth quarter
COU — Josh Hvozdovic 72 pass from Soller (Cinti kick), 10:45
COU — Zach King 2 run (Cinti kick), 5:29
WIL — Hankins 14 run (pass failed), 3:50
Team statistics`WIL`COU
First downs`13`19
Rushes-yards`30-114`48-382
Passing yards`141`82
Total yards`255`464
Passing`12-24-2`2-5-0
Sacked-yards lost`1-2`0-0
Punts-avg.`2-43.0`2-33.0
Fumbles-lost`4-2`3-1
Penalties-yards`5-54`7-63
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — WIL, Isaiah Hankins 13-79, Treyson Potts 6-22, Elliott Walker 8-20, TEAM 1-(minus-1), Angelo Girardi 2-(minus-6). COU, Jacob Soller 12-126, Zach King 15-108, Vincent Todd 7-87, Jake Cole 8-64, TEAM 2-(minus-3).
PASSING — WIL, Hankins 12-24-2-141. COU, Soller 2-5-0-82.
RECEIVING — WIL, Jerah Reeves 6-77, Jalen Jackson 2-46, Dante Wright 2-9, Walker 1-7, Potts 1-2. COU, Josh Hvozdovic 1-72, Cole 1-10.
INTERCEPTIONS — COU, Cole, Khalid Credle.
MISSED FGs — WIL, 46(S).
