Preview of Muncie in South Williamsport | News, Sports, Jobs

DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette Muncy’s Landin Womer looks for running room against Warrior Run during a game earlier this season. Womer and Austin Johnson will provide a 1-2 running punch tonight against South Williamsport.

Muncie PPG–48.1, PPA–14.3; YPG-373, YPA-218

Implications for League Title: Tonight’s game is for the NTL-II Championship. Muncie has won their third straight league title, and if they win tonight, it will be their fourth straight. If South wins, they will get a share of the championship, and if they beat South next week, Montgomery has a chance to break into a three-way tie. If South wins both weeks, it will be the outright championship.

Muncie notes: Muncie (6-1) split two games with South last season, winning a thriller overtime in the regular season before South rallied to take the District 4 Class A championship. The final two games of the regular season in this series were decided by a combined eight points, with Muncy winning each in the final two minutes and/or overtime. The Indians brutally dominated each opponent, winning six straight. Muncy is tied with Troy among District 4 teams in points per game and leads the area in yards allowed. The Indians have had mercy rules by halftime in five of their past six games, including a 59-20 win over North Penn-Mansfield a week ago in which they scored 39 points at halftime. This includes the time when he built a lead. An experienced offensive line has paved the way for Austin Johnson and Landin Womer, both of whom have topped 10 rushing touchdowns and averaged more than 14 yards per carry. Muncy hasn’t had to throw as much, but they have a strong quarterback in Stiles Eyer, who topped 1,000 yards and threw for 293 yards and four touchdowns last year against South. . Johnson, Eyer and Carter Feigles had interceptions returned for touchdowns, Muncy also had five special teams touchdowns and Womer scored on punts and kick returns. Two-way lineman Nixon Ramper had 3 1/2 sacks against Muncy two weeks ago, and fellow lineman Nick Delaney intercepted a pass last Friday. Muncie is looking to hold off Rhine Mountain, the top seed in the district, but they lead by a percentage tonight.

Muncie player to watch – Nathan Rodgers: Underscoring Muncy’s special teams talent, Rodgers returned two kickoffs for touchdowns, doing so in consecutive weeks. The sophomore also provides weapons in the passing game and secondary, catching the game-clinching two-point pass on the final play of last year’s overtime victory.

South PPG – 23.0, PPA – 20.0. YPG–278.3, YPA–257.9

South Notes: South (4-3) has won three straight and had its best game a week ago, beating Thayer 55-7. The Mounties moved up to Class AA this year and are looking to extend the region’s longest active playoff streak (tied with Loyalsock) and reach their 13th consecutive season in the district. The Mounties are in sixth place in the deep field, with the top eight teams advancing. If South continues to win, a home game remains a possibility. South, one of the youngest teams in the area, starts all but five freshmen, plus several freshmen and sophomores. The offensive line started to perform well, with freshman running backs Cade Rask and Eli White both rushing for over 70 yards and scoring in all three games of the winning streak. Quarterback Tad Rask was a two-way player, rushing and passing for over 100 yards against Thayer. Dylan Scherer led Southtop in career yards and catches in the 2000s, catching three passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns last week. Senior Paxton Gephart is one of the top linemen in the area and has four tackles for loss. He also played fullback against Thayer, running twice for 18 yards and scoring a touchdown. Fellow defensive lineman Ben Ferris had a big game in the district final against Muncie, stopping South from scoring. Scherer earned all-state honors in the secondary and had eight interceptions over the past two seasons. Cornerback Caleb Johnson has two interceptions this season, including one at the goal line. South has allowed fewer than 20 points in all four wins this season.

South players to watch – Kasim Davenport: This will be a game in the trenches with both teams featuring similar identities and mindsets. Davenport is one of South’s exciting freshmen and has two sacks. With three tackles for loss, he is likely to be an asset in the future.

Outlook: The district final was one of the few games in the last six years where the rivalry was decided late. Both teams are eager to prove something and the chance to win should motivate everyone. This will be a physical and interesting game.