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TUNKHANNOCK — Extending his arms high into the sky, as if he was reaching for the stars, Jake Stevens out-leaped two defenders to pull down a nine-yard touchdown pass late in the final quarter.

And although that impressive scoring grab didn’t win Friday’s game for Tunkhannock, it sent a pretty clear message.

The Tigers aren’t turning tail from anyone anymore.

Not even an unbeaten team like Western Wayne, which rode two touchdown runs by Danny Booths to a nerve-wracking 32-24 victory over Tunkhannock and a 5-0 record midway through the high school football season.

“It’s interesting to watch the morph of Tunkhannock football right now,” said Tigers coach Jan Cechak, who returned as Tunkhannock’s coach three years ago. “These kids are not giving one inch here. These kids are believing.”

For the longest time, the Tigers gave their fans a lot of hope, too.

Billy Prebola kicked a 31 yard field goal at the end of the first quarter and Logan Cywinski scored on a four-yard touchdown run to keep things close in the first half. And when Matt Ramey followed Cywinski’s 60-yard burst with a one-yard touchdown plunge 17 seconds into the second half, Tunkhannock had a 17-13 lead.

“I’m proud of our kids. They battled,” Cechak said.

The lead didn’t last, though.

Kept in check most of the night, Western Wayne quarterback Matt Valenda answered Tunkhannock’s go-ahead score with a 41-yard strike to receiver Dylan Walck. That set up Zane Janisewski’s six-yard touchdown run as Western Wayne took the lead back.

Then Walck helped Western Wayne pad it, as he picked off a pass playing defensive back, leading to the second scoring run for Booths — a six-yard bolt that put Tunkhannock in a 25-17 hole.

The Tigers tried to answer with a quick-strike, 62-yard pass play, but they fumbled the fall away seven yards from the end zone. From there, Western Wayne took off on a 93-yard scoring march fueled by two Valenda passes for 60 yards and his four-yard touchdown run.

“Our thing is, we get other teams into a third-and-long situation and keep giving up that long play,” Cechak said. “It’s been our albatross.”

It didn’t deflate the Tigers, though.

They put together a 63-yard touchdown drive that Stevens capped by out-leaping Western Wayne defenders in the end zone for a nine-yard touchdown that pulled the Tigers within eight points with 3:55 to play.

And they had a shot at recovering the ensuing onside kick season, which bounded off a Tunkhannock hand and into the possession of Western Wayne — which then ran for two first downs to run out the clock.

“Western Wayne, give them credit,” Cechak said. “They’re a big team, and their undefeated. (But) teams are respecting what we’re doing.”

Western Wayne 32, Tunkhannock 24

Western Wayne`7`6`12`7`—`32

Tunkhannock`3`7`7`7`—`24

First quarter

WW — Ben Burkhardt 19 run (Jake Shepherd kick), 7:21

T — Billy Prebola 31 FG, 0:08

Second quarter

WW — Danny Booths 5 run (kick failed), 4:05

T — Logan Cywinski 4 run (Prebola kick), 1:36

Third quarter

T — Matt Ramey 1 run (Prebola kick), 11:43

WW — Zane Janisewski 6 run (kick failed), 8:51

WW — Booths 6 run (kick failed), 3:21

Fourth quarter

WW — Matt Valenda 2 run (Shepherd kick), 9:36

T — Jake Stevens 9 pass from Zach Rogers (Prebola kick), 3:55

BOX Western Wayne 32, Tunkhannock 24 Western Wayne`7`6`12`7`—`32

Tunkhannock`3`7`7`7`—`24

First quarter WW — Ben Burkhardt 19 run (Jake Shepherd kick), 7:21 T — Billy Prebola 31 FG, 0:08

Second quarter WW — Danny Booths 5 run (kick failed), 4:05

T — Logan Cywinski 4 run (Prebola kick), 1:36

Third quarter T — Matt Ramey 1 run (Prebola kick), 11:43

WW — Zane Janisewski 6 run (kick failed), 8:51

WW — Booths 6 run (kick failed), 3:21

Fourth quarter WW — Matt Valenda 2 run (Shepherd kick), 9:36

T — Jake Stevens 9 pass from Zach Rogers (Prebola kick), 3:55

Team statistics`WW`TUN

First downs`16`7

Rushes-yards`43-187`22-119

Passing yards`157`144

Total yards`332`263

Passing`9-13-0`11-18-1

Sacked-yards lost`0-0`1-1

Punts-avg.`1-29`2-31.5

Fumbles-lost`0-0`2-1

Penalties-yards`3-30`3-25

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — WW, Ben Burkhardt 11-73, Kobe Sauter 20-69, Danny Booths 7-33, Matt Valenda 3-7, Zane Janisewski 1-6, TEAM 1- (minus 1). TUN, Logan Cywinski 16-119, Garrett Hopkins 3-1, Matt Ramey 1-1, Zach Rogers 1- (minus 1), TEAM 1- (minus 1).

PASSING — WW, Valenda 9-13-0-157. TUN, Rogers 11-18-1-144.

RECEIVING — WW, Dylan Walck 3-62, Derek Mason 3-44, Booths 2-16, Burkhardt 2-35. TUN, Hopkins 5-54, Jake Stevens 3-84, Sam Rice 1-6, Evan Turner 1-0..

INTERCEPTIONS — WW, Walck 1-7.

https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_football-2.jpg.optimal.jpg

By Paul Sokoloski

[email protected]

Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski