Wallenpaupack Area football fans turn out in droves for Senior Night ceremonies
HAWLEY — Coming into the final Lackawanna Football Conference match-up with a 1-8 record, prospects for a District 2 playoff berth were bleak for Wallenpaupack Area.
Many things had to happen in order for Paupack to get a post-season bid, one of which was a victory against 6-3 Scranton High School.
Regardless of the results of other contests around the league, the Knights' 35-13 victory ended the Buckhorns' season for this year.
Seniors Saluted
Scranton’s win pushed the Knights to the top of their District 2 Class 5A bracket.
For the Buckhorns, it means a ninth place in the Class 4A rankings and saying goodbye to their seniors: Sam Filip, Michael Fitzgerald, Jacob Gonzalez, Antonio Ianetta, Andrew Magistro, Ethan Moses, Brady Reynolds, and Aiden Robertson.
“Our seniors are leaders in all aspects,” Filip said. “They all work hard and treat everyone on the team as peers. They’ve helped mentor the younger players, but have treated them as equal brothers, not little brothers.”
Sam Filip has been with the team since freshman year and has been named to the LFC First Team All-Stars. He has also played tennis for four years.
He has been a member of the Culinary Arts program, Future Business Leaders of America, and a volunteer for Hemlock Farms Church and Synagogue.
Sam plans to continue playing football in college where he hopes to major in International Business.
Michael Fitzgerald has played football for three seasons and has been a member of the weightlifting program. He plans to attend Lackawanna College where he will continue his academic and athletic careers.
Jacob Gonzalez has been with the football team for four years. He was named Outstanding Offensive Lineman at this year’s Shrine Bowl. He plans to study Sports Medicine and go on to be an Athletic Trainer.
Antonio Ianetta has played football for four years, wrestled for two, and has been a member of the weightlifting program. Currently, Antonio’s future plans are undecided.
Andrew Magistro has been on the football team and the track and field tam for four years. He is a National Honor Society member and has participated in FBLA.
Andrew plans to study Cyber Security at a four-year college.
Ethan Moses has played football for four years and basketball for one season. He plans to attend Penn Tech where he will study High Performance Engineering.
Brady Reynolds played football for four seasons, baseball for three, and soccer for two. He is a member of the National Honor Society, Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America, a volunteer with the Hawley Hub, and a member of the Hemlock Grove Church Youth Group.
Brady plans to major in Elementary and Special Education and minor in Coaching and a four-year university.
Aiden Robertson has been a member of the football team for four years, the basketball team for one year, and the weightlifting program. He plans to attend college where he will major in Business.
End of the Line
It was clear and calm along the shores of The Big Lake as both squads took to the gridiron.
Although it was senior night for Paupack, also among the honored were members of the military and veterans. Although the Buckhorns had struggled all season, the Knights had been slipping too.
Trying to shake off three straight losses, a win for the boys from the Electric City wasn’t a sure thing.
Paupack’s defense held for the first 7:49 until Dohnavin Laybourn-Boddie got Scranton on the board with an 11-tard run. Unable to get a second TD in the period, the Knights settled for a field goal with 53 seconds left and led 10-0 going into the second stanza.
Laybourn-Boddie marched into the endzone again four minutes before intermission, but the PAT attempt failed.
With under a minute left, Mark Nilsen landed a first down for Paupack that set up Dylan Podrazil for a 4-yard run. The snap on the conversion attempt was botched and running it in didn’t work either.
The game opened up just before the break when Billy Maloney connected with Laybourn-Boddie for a 40-yard touchdown that put Scranton up 23-6.
The score didn’t change through the third.
Despite being beat up, the Buckhorns fended off a few Scranton assaults and coming into the final frame were still quite in the game. However, with 7:04 to go, Maloney connected with Elijah Ortiz for a 6-yard pass play that put a Paupack win into the category of “very unlikely.”
Not giving up, the Buckhorns struck back with two minutes left. Ianetta pushed through two yards across the goal line, and on the ensuing kickoff, they managed to recover a fumble and take control again.
Unfortunately, the clock hit zero and despite a tremendous effort, Paupack's season ended in a 30-13 loss.
“I’m proud of our guys fighting until the very end,” said Buckhorns Head Coach Dr. Mark Watson. “I liked the way we played and that we didn’t give up any ground. It wasn’t the season we had hoped for, but these guys stuck with it.”
Moving On
Now 7-3, Scranton will face Abington Heights (3-7) on Friday in the first found of the 5A playoffs.
The Comets pulled off a 38-13 upset over Delaware Valley which pushed the Warriors to the third seed. DV, at 5-5, will face 7-3 Pittston on the road.
Paupack, on the other hand, now begins the process of building back for next season. With most of the major playmakers being younger members of the team who all gained significant experience this fall, the possibility of Paupack having a big comeback next year isn’t a pipedream.
“We are super young,” said Dr. Watson. “We definitely took our lumps, but they have the potential to be very good. It’s just going to take a lot of work over the next nine months.”
This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Lackawanna Football Conference Wallenpaupack Area Senior Night
