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An explosive start for the GAR in rout of Honesdale

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Penn State Football 2016

UNION TWP. &#8212; The first drive of the 2016 lasted not even three minutes. But all of the opening day excitement in the grandstands dissipated before Northwest touched the ball.After giving up a touchdown to a high-powered no-huddle offense, the Rangers walked out to receive the kick in a depleted, sluggish state.North Penn Mansfield ran circles around Northwest in the first half en route to a 41-6 win in Friday&#8217;s season opener. The Rangers allowed five unanswered touchdowns in the first half.&#8220;We knew we were playing them since February,&#8221; Northwest coach Lon Hazlet said. &#8220;We only had two weeks of camp; so did they. Credit goes to the victor. They executed their game plan. They dominated in all facets of the game.&#8221;North Penn&#8217;s no huddle offense did not have an answer from the Rangers defense. The Panthers drove down the field to punch their first touchdown on a Kipp Hillson run with 9:13 left in the first.The Northwest offense started with three straight three-and-outs that gave the team little momentum. North Penn scored each of its next three touchdowns with three possessions that lasted fewer than three possessions. The Panthers&#8217; lead expanded to 28-0 with less than a minute left in the first quarter.&#8220;That&#8217;s our offense,&#8221; North Penn coach Tom Dickinson said. &#8220;We run no-huddle shotgun the whole time. We wanted to push the button on the team and wear them down. And they seemed, even in that first quarter, a little worn down.&#8221;Posing the biggest problem for the Rangers&#8217; defense was North Penn&#8217;s Brendan Hill. Hill touched the ball five times for 184 yards and three touchdowns. He juked his way around the Northwest linebackers for a 58-yard rushing score at the end of the first quarter.After the Rangers&#8217; defense looked to have finally solved the North Penn offense by pinning the Panthers deep in their territory, Hill broke away for a 92-yard touchdown in the closing seconds of the half to go into the break with a 35-0 lead.&#8220;He was a wide receiver last year,&#8221; Dickinson said. &#8220;I guess we were poor coaches for two years.&#8221;In a packed stadium, Northwest scored its lone touchdown from a 4-yard Jake Anderson rush.Northwest quarterback David Piestrak had a solid debut. He completed 12 of 20 passes for 126 yards. Wide receiver Ezra Judge caught three passes for 52 yards.&#8220;(Piestrak) is a tough kid,&#8221; Hazlet said. &#8220;It was his first time, not only playing quarterback, but his first start. We didn&#8217;t do the best job of protecting him. He certainly did some encouraging things.&#8221;North Penn 41, Northwest 6North Penn`28`7`0`6`&#8212;`41Northwest`0`0`0`6`&#8212;`6First quarterNP &#8212; Kipp Hillson 1 run (Justice Giarth kick), 9:13NP &#8212; Brendan Hill 15 run (Giarth kick), 6:51NP &#8212; Garrett Bickhart 30 pass from Brock Burleigh (Giarth kick), 4:19NP &#8212; Hill 58 run (Giarth kick), :52Second quarterNP &#8212; Hill 92 run (Giarth kick), :02Third quarterNo scoringFourth quarterNW &#8212; Jake Anderson 4 run (Jake Rielly run failed), 5:24NP &#8212; Hunter May 2 run (kick blocked), :24Team statistics`NP`NWFirst downs`13`11Rushes-yards`27-293`29-81Passing yards`97`126Total yards`389`207Passing`8-14-0`12-20-0Sacked-yards lost`0-0`1-5Punts-avg.`2-36.5`3-31Fumbles-lost`0-0`1-1Penalties-yards`1-5`6-35INDIVIDUAL STATISTICSRUSHING &#8212; NP, Hill 5-184, Judson Wise 3-6, Hillson 6-20, BroBurleigh 4-30, Mason Gee 1-(minus-2), Don Edwards III 7-55, Brent Burleigh 1-20; NW Anderson 14-57, Ezra Judge 1-0, Beau Getz 1-2, David Piestrak 11-37, Nick Levandowski 1-3, Tyler Stevens 1-12PASSING &#8212; NP, BroBurleigh 7-11-0-102, BreBurleigh 1-3-0-(minus-5); NW Piestrak 12-20-0-126RECEIVING &#8212; NP, Hillson 2-9, Hill 2-12, Joel Whitteker 1-45, Bickhart 1-30, Nick Kasper 2-7, Edwards 1-(minus-5); NW, Adam Bukavich 3-26, Judge 3-52, Connor Hazlet 3-30, Austin Ford 1-11, Bryce Koser 1-7<style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_WVCMediaDay-Northwest_5-3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Lon Hazlet, Northwest head coach </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_WVCMediaDay-Northwest_5-3.jpg</photo0><caption0>Lon Hazlet, Northwest head coach </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Jay MonahanFor Times Leader</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Times Leader sports at 570-829-7143 or on Twitter @TLSports</shirttailMeta></div>

Northwest football drops opener to high-powered North Penn