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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Northwest&#8217;s Tyler Stevens noticed the flaw the first time Meyers attempted a field goal, but couldn&#8217;t exploit it. Instead, teammates Ezra Judge came off the edge to block the kick.</p><p>Given a second chance, Stevens made sure he broke through.</p><p>Steven blocked a 41-yard field goal attempt as time expired as Northwest held on to defeat Meyers 14-13 Thursday night in a Wyoming Valley Conference Division 3A-A game.</p><p>Northwest (6-3) also clinched a spot in the District 2 Class A championship game against Lackawanna Trail (6-2). Three-time defending D2-A champion Old Forge (3-5) was eliminated from contention with the Rangers&#8217; victory.</p><p>Meyers (5-4) took over possession for the final time at its 22-yard line with 2:52 left. Quarterback Willie Wallace, subbing for injured starter Janssen Wilborn, made two big throws on third downs &#8212; a 19-yarder to Khabir Williams and a 9-yard to Najese Wood &#8212; to get the ball to the Northwest 21.</p><p>Three plays netted minus-2 yards and Meyers sent kicker Ken Macko on the field to attempt a 41-yard field goal with 6.3 seconds left. Macko kicked a 38-yarder earlier in the season, so the attempt was on the fringe of his known range.</p><p>Macko&#8217;s kick never had a chance. A high snap gave Stevens an extra split second to break through the line and smother the kick.</p><p>&#8220;The first time they did a field goal I saw they had a weak spot,&#8221; Stevens said. &#8220;I tried to get in there, but he blocked me. But it was all on the line. We needed this to be undefeated in the Wyoming Valley Conference. I was like, I have to get this for my team.&#8221;</p><p>Northwest also needed a touchdown in the fourth quarter to overcome a 13-7 deficit. The last time the Rangers had the ball there was eight minutes left in the game, the idea was to score and waste as much clock as possible.</p><p>&#8220;We were trying to run out the clock,&#8221; said Northwest coach Lon Hazlet, whose team had a couple long drives where it came up empty. &#8220;We were trying to milk the clock down there and score with no time left. But we didn&#8217;t want to end up a fourth-and-6. But that&#8217;s the way it turned out and our young quarterback made a great throw.&#8221;</p><p>Northwest was in that situation at the Meyers 11. The Rangers went back to a play that worked for a touchdown just before halftime &#8212; a slant pass to Judge.</p><p>Judge had to make a sliding catch for the first touchdown, but quarterback David Piestrak made a better throw this time. He zipped a pass that Judge caught in stride.</p><p>&#8220;Time just slows down and all you see is the ball and you know you have to catch it,&#8221; said Judge, who had a season-best four receptions for 82 yards.</p><p>Freshman kicker Jack Wessler added the extra point, giving Northwest a 14-13 lead.</p><p>Meyers dropped from fourth to fifth in the battle for four D2-3A playoff berths. More shuffling is expected once Week 9 is completed.</p><p>&#8220;I thought our kids gave everything they had,&#8221; Meyers coach Jeff Labatch said. &#8220;I&#8217;m proud of them.&#8221;</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Northwest 14, Meyers 13</strong></p><p><strong>Northwest`0`7`0`7`&#8212;`14</strong></p><p><strong>Meyers`0`0`13`0`&#8212;`0</strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Second quarter</strong></p><p>NWT &#8212; Ezra Judge 9 pass from David Piestrak (Jack Wessler kick), 0:20</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Third quarter</strong></p><p>MEY &#8212; Je&#8217;Vondra McClair 44 fumble return (Ken Macko kick), 5:55</p><p>MEY &#8212; Reese Patronick 6 run (run failed), 0:46</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Fourth quarter</strong></p><p>NWT &#8212; Judge 11 pass from Piestrak (Wessler kick), 2:57</p><p><strong>Team statistics`Nwt`Mey</strong></p><p>First downs`16`19</p><p>Rushes-yards`42-181`47-235</p><p>Passing yards`100`67</p><p>Total yards`281`302</p><p>Passing`7-13-1`7-12-1</p><p>Sacked-yards lost`0-0`0-0</p><p>Punts-avg.`2-37.5`1-40</p><p>Fumbles-lost`0-0`6-2</p><p>Penalties-yards`3-20`8-64</p><p><strong>INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS</strong></p><p><strong>RUSHING</strong> &#8212; Northwest, Jake Anderson 27-123, Jack Stancavage 2-8, Piestrak 7-31, Tyler Stevens 4-14, Judge 1-2, Beau Getz 1-2. Meyers, Janssen Wilborn 10-46, Namir Murphy 9-52, Rajhan Woodson 9-44, Khabir Williams 9-67, Patronick 2-15, Willie Wallace 8-11.</p><p><strong>PASSING</strong> &#8212; Northwest, Piestrak 7-11-1-100, Brandon Hardiman 0-1-0-0, team 0-1-0-0. Meyers, Wilborn 2-4-1-24, Wallace 5-8-0-43.</p><p><strong>RECEIVING</strong> &#8212; Northwest, Judge 4-82, Hardiman 1-11, Anderson 1-7. Meyers, Wallace 1-11, Steven Morel 2-20, Williams 2-29, Najese Hod 2-7.</p><p><strong>INTERCEPTIONS</strong> &#8212; Northwest, Hardiman 1-0. Meyers, Wallace 1-0.</p><p><strong>MISSED FGs</strong> &#8212; Meyers, 24 BLK, 41 BLK.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Northwest&#8217;s Ezra Judge (24) scores a TD to the dismay of Meyers&#8217; Willie Wallace (2) in Thursday&#8217;s WVC game in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_meyersnw01.jpg</photo0><caption0>Northwest&#8217;s Ezra Judge (24) scores a TD to the dismay of Meyers&#8217; Willie Wallace (2) in Thursday&#8217;s WVC game in Wilkes-Barre. </caption0><photoCredit0>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_meyersnw02.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Northwest&#8217;s Jake Anderson (35) gets a big gain on run during Thursday&#8217;s WVC game in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_meyersnw02.jpg</photo1><caption1>Northwest&#8217;s Jake Anderson (35) gets a big gain on run during Thursday&#8217;s WVC game in Wilkes-Barre. </caption1><photoCredit1>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_meyersnw03.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Northwest&#8217;s Brandon Hardiman (3) picks off a pass intended for Meyers&#8217; Willie Wallace in the end zone during the second quarter. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_meyersnw03.jpg</photo2><caption2>Northwest&#8217;s Brandon Hardiman (3) picks off a pass intended for Meyers&#8217; Willie Wallace in the end zone during the second quarter. </caption2><photoCredit2>Pete G. Wilcox | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By John Erzar</p><p>jerzar@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach John Erzar at 570-991-6394 or on Twitter @TLJohnErzar</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Northwest swats away field goal attempt to edge Meyers