Ryon
SCRANTON — While their Lackawanna Trail and Muncy teams were engaged in a wild offensive shootout for a spot in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class A state football quarterfinals, Isaac Ryon and Austin Johnson were waging their own contest of “can you top this?”
Ryon put up the higher numbers in a game filled with outrageous statistics, but Johnson came up with the last and biggest of the game-changing plays.
Johnson took a screen pass 32 yards for a touchdown and added the deciding two-point conversion with 1:15 remaining Friday night as the District 4 champion Indians ended Lackawanna Trail’s state title hopes with a 47-46 victory at Memorial Stadium.
“I think tonight you just saw a great display of high school football,” Lackawanna Trail coach Steve Jervis said. “Great team play, some great individual efforts and it was kind of whoever had the ball last.”
That point was driven home to the Lions in agonizing fashion.
Lackawanna Trail moved ahead for the fourth time when it drove for more than 4½ minutes to take a 46-39 lead on a 1-yard Tyler Jervis run and Ryon two-point conversion with 1:50 left.
There were still three possessions left.
Muncy hit three straight passes to score in four plays and 35 seconds.
Lackawanna Trail moved to the Muncy 36 in two plays, then the Indians came up with their third interception.
Muncy had the ball last and handed it to Johnson for the 25th time for the run that produced the first down needed to run out the clock.
Ryon mixed speed with a refusal to go down on touchdown runs of 56 and 29 yards in which he ran through nearly a dozen tackles total.
Johnson showed the toughness that makes him one of the nation’s top wrestling prospects in the upper weight classes. It often took several Lions to bring down the 220-pounder, who is a three-time state finalist at 215 pounds and is headed to Oklahoma State for wrestling, and when he broke free, Johnson showed off speed similar to Ryon’s.
A junior running back/defensive back/kicker/kick returner, Ryon was effective on offense, defense and special teams. He accounted for 363 all-purpose yards and 28 points.
Ryon carried 21 times for 305 yards and touchdowns in each of the first three quarters and twice ran for two-point conversions. He led the Lions defensively with seven tackles, six assists, two interceptions and a broken-up pass. Ryon kicked a field goal and went 3-for-4 on extra-point kicks. He returned three kickoffs for 58 yards.
Johnson was quiet on special teams, but ever-present on offense and defense. He was responsible for 312 yards from scrimmage and 26 points.
The senior fullback/tailback/linebacker rushed for 280 yards and three touchdowns, then added the 32-yard reception for a score in each quarter. On defense, he contributed five tackles and two assists.
“Their (Johnson) and (Landyn Wommer) were really good and our (Demitrius Douglas) and (Ryon) were really, really good,” coach Jervis said.
Douglas carried 23 times for 165 yards and two touchdowns. He was in on five tackles.
Wommer ran 10 times for 81 yards and a touchdown and, as Muncy’s only player with two catches, added 36 receiving yards. He also made six tackles.
Lackawanna Trail opened with one of the game’s few defensive stops, holding Muncy to two yards on two runs, then getting the first of Ryon’s interceptions.
Then, the fireworks began.
The next four possessions resulted in touchdowns for a 14-13 Lackawanna Trail lead early in the second quarter.
The Lions moved 62 yards in nine plays on their first drive, with Douglas and Ryon splitting duties. Ryon’s 22-yard run was the biggest play; Douglas ran eight yards on third-and-seven; and Douglas could not be brought down on an inside counter for a 14-yard touchdown.
Muncy scored five plays later when Johnson went off tackle for a 52-yard touchdown.
That drive covered 71 yards.
Lackawanna Trail went the same distance in just two plays. Ryon went through a huge hole for a 68-yard touchdown and a 14-7 lead after one quarter.
Muncy went 65 yards on a 10-play drive that carried into the second quarter and ended on a 17-yard touchdown by quarterback Stiles Eyer.
The Indians recovered an on-side kick and were threatening when Ryon intercepted at the 1 and brought it out 48 yards.
That set up a Lackawanna Trail threat, but Dominic Giardini matched Ryon by intercepting at the 1. It was the first of two interceptions by Giardini, who made a game-high 11 tackles.
Muncy went 89 yards for its first lead.
Johnson went 40 yards. Ryon’s touchdown-saving tackle only delayed things until Johnson could score from the 4.
It was the first of five scores that the teams packed into the final 4:26 of the half.
Ryon took a pitch to the right, cut to the middle, broke tackles, cut left, stopped, broke two more tackles, then sprinted the rest of the way for a 56-yard touchdown.
Wommer went up the middle for 54 yards and a score 39 seconds later. Less than a minute after that, the Indians had the game’s biggest lead at 32-21 when, following another interception, Eyer found Cameron Kamerer open deep for a 64-yard touchdown.
Lackawanna Trail got back within eight at the half when Ryon kicked his 30-yard field goal as time expired.
The only two punts were forced on the first second-half possession for each team, then Lackawanna Trail tied it up.
Ryon ran through a series of tackles to go up the middle for a 29-yard touchdown, then added the two-pointer with 2:55 left in the half.
Three Johnson runs quickly put the Indians back in front. He scored from 59 yards out.
Ryon’s 25-yard kickoff return got the Lions started toward a 9-yard touchdown run by Douglas. But, their only failed conversion of the night left the Lions facing a 39-38 deficit with 9:06 left.
Douglas and Max Kimmel combined for a fourth-and-one stop of Johnson, who had gained yards on his previous 21 carries.
Ryon’s 13-yard run on third-and-10 helped lead to the late, go-ahead touchdown by the Lions.
Jervis and Douglas combined to stop Johnson for another loss on the next play, but three straight completions by Eyer — he only had two to that point — put Muncy back ahead.
Lackawanna Trail finished with a 25-20 lead in first downs and a 479-402 advantage in rushing yards. Muncy led 142-40 in passing yards and 544-519 in total offense.
Colin Owens had six tackles, two assists and a pass rush for the Lackawanna Trail defense. Logan Edwards had five tackles and three assists. Jervis had five tackles, including two for losses, and two assists.
“Up front, I thought we did a good job of moving the ball,” coach Jervis said. “We just couldn’t get the stop — the one stop. Hats off to them. They’re a really talented football team and good luck to them moving forward.”
Muncy (11-2) advances to face Delone Catholic or Belmont Charter in the quarterfinals.
Lackawanna Trail finished 11-2. The Lions won their fourth straight District 2 Class A title after repeating as a division champion in the Lackawanna Football Conference, this time in Division 3.
“That’s really special,” coach Jervis said of the four district titles for the senior class. “They’ve had a profound impact on our program. I’m really appreciative of our seniors and their leadership.
“They’re going to be missed.”
The pursuit of excellence, with Ryon and about half of the other starters returning, will continue.
“I think this feeling already kind of makes you hungry for next year,” Jervis said.
