Trending
MORRISDALE -- In a matchup of two teams going in opposite directions, surging Juniata Valley kept the pedal to the metal against winless West Branch on Friday night at L.T. Drivas Memorial Field.
The Green Hornets, who have earned some tight wins over Glendale and Claysburg-Kimmel in recent weeks, rolled to a 55-14 win over the Warriors in West Branch's homecoming game.
The Green Hornets improved to 4-1 with their fourth straight win, while the Warriors dipped to 0-5.
"I thought we came out with some intensity and played with some urgency in the first half," Juniata Valley coach Bill Musser said. "I would have liked to have seen us come out in the second half with a little more urgency and intensity. We've certainly got to tackle. If we don't tackle in the next two weeks, we're going to be chasing our tails a lot."
The Green Hornets scored 34 points in the first half and 21 points in the second half.
Play of the game: Take your pick really, but with the first half winding down Juniata Valley's Gavin Smith picked up a fumble and returned it 68 yards for a touchdown.
"Another kid who's working his butt off," Musser said. "He's doing what he's asked to do. One of our rules for the team is be where you're supposed to be. He was where he's supposed to be, and he was rewarded for it."
Players of the game: Running back Andrew Clark ran for 227 yards on 21 carries and scored on runs of 14, 35 and 77. Quarterback Jett Rand completed 9 of 15 passes in the first half for 161 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 51 yards on 8 carries and scored on a 38-yard run.
"I think he did well overall," Musser said of Rand. "We need to get settled back down and get re-focused. I'm glad to see Clark getting some success. He's working extremely hard. I'll say it again; he'll be the first to give all the credit to the guys in front of him for getting that opportunity."
Unsung heroes: The Juniata Valley offensive line, which paved the way for the Green Hornets to amass 400 rushing yards and 561 total yards.
Big Plays: Before a 6-yard touchdown run by JV's Bobby Hess with 1:52 left, the shortest touchdown play for the Green Hornets was 13 yards.
"Our kids have been working hard in practice to make sure we get our fundamentals down," Musser said. "Sometimes whenever that happens that leads to big plays."
West Branch's bright spot: Junior Frank Leskovansky, who along with Coby Kephart rotated in at quarterback and were the primary ball carriers. Junior quarterback Conner Danko didn't play because of a knee injury.
Leskovansky threw for 151 yards, including an 89-yard touchdown pass to Kephart, ran for 66 yards and returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter.
"Leskovansky played great," McDowell said. "We asked him to do something we've never done before with Conner Danko going down. He threw the ball well, ran the ball well. He commanded the offense. He stepped up in a big way. The supporting cast didn't get it done on defense."
Next week: Juniata Valley hosts Moshannon Valley. West Branch visits Curwensville.
Records: Juniata Valley (4-1), West Branch (0-5)
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Juniata Valley 14 20 7 14 --55
West Branch 6 0 8 0 --14
First Quarter
JV--Glenny 27 pass from Rand (Rodkey kick), 9:25
WB--Leskovansky 95 kickoff return (kick failed), 9:11
JV--Rand 38 run (Rodkey kick), 8:05
Second Quarter
JV--Norris 13 pass from Rand (Rodkey kick), 10:39
JV--Clark 14 run (Rodkey kick), 7:50
JV--Smith 68 fumble return (kick failed), 2:08
Third Quarter
WB--C. Kephart 89 pass from Leskovansky (Leskovansky run), 5:55
JV--Clark 35 run (Rodkey kick), 1:21
Fourth Quarter
JV--Clark 77 run (Rodkey kick), 9:40
JV--Hess 6 run (Rodkey kick), 1:52
TEAM STATISTICS JV WB
First downs 23 9
Total yards 561 262
Rushes-yards 41-400 34-92
Yards passing 161 163
Passing (comp.-att.-int) 9-24-0 9-24-1
Punts-avg. 1-16 6-32
Fumbles-lost 5-1 2-2
Penalties-yards 6-50 3-20
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Juniata Valley, Clark 21-227, Harker 6-64, Hess 5-56, Rand 8-51, Snyder 1-2. West Branch, Leskovansky 16-66, C. Kephart 16-29, Dunlap 1-1, Myers 1-(-4).
PASSING--Juniata Valley, Rand 9-24-0-161. West Branch, Leskovansky 7-21-1-151, C. Kephart 2-3-0-12.
RECEIVING--Juniata Valley, Glenny 3-88, Norris 4-54, Smith 2-19. West Branch, C. Kephart 5-129, Williamson 1-15, Esposti 2-12, Dunlap 1-7.