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WVC Football: Northwest scores 3 unanswered TDs to knock off Tunkhannock

WVC football: Hazleton Area crushes Crestwood, 38-3

NANTICOKE &#8212; One thing Nanticoke wanted to accomplish on Friday night was to keep its closest rival Hanover Area from qualifying for the District 2 Class 3A playoffs on the Trojans&#8217; home field.It took until late in the fourth quarter, but the Trojans accomplished the goal thanks to a fumble recovery by Nate Harrison with under 6 minutes remaining. Five plays later, Nanticoke scored its second touchdown off of a turnover &#8211; and its second of the fourth quarter &#8211; to defeat the Hawks 26-14 to eliminate them from playoff contention.Both teams end their regular season with 5-5 records and will now wait to see if they can perhaps qualify for an Eastern Conference playoff game.Prior to the game, Nanticoke was eliminated from the district playoff picture when GAR defeated Meyers on Thursday night. But the Hawks still had a chance to get in with a win and a Western Wayne loss. The Wildcats lost, but Hanover Area couldn&#8217;t keep up on its end, being held to just 207 total yards despite banged up and hobbling quarterback Brandon Chafin playing.Chafin, who rushed for a team-high 91 yards and a pair of touchdowns, scored the game&#8217;s first TD, finding the end zone from 20 yards out with 2:10 remaining in the first quarter giving the Hawks a 6-0 lead.The Trojans went in front for the first time in the second quarter taking advantage of an interception grabbed by John Shoemaker in Hanover Area territory. Six plays later, Trojans QB Matt Wrubel used a QB sneak to put his team in front 7-6.Nanticoke forced the Hawks to punt on their next possession then converted once again as Wrubel scored his second of three touchdowns giving his team a 13-6 advantage heading into halftime.Chafin wasn&#8217;t about to let the Trojans maintain that lead as he reeled off of a 62-yard TD run in the third quarter giving his team hope with a 14-13 lead.After Wrubel&#8217;s third score of the game put Nanticoke back in front 19-14, the Hwks had the momentum after stopping the Trojans&#8217; next drive. But on the first play on their next possession, a bad snap sailed over Chafin&#8217;s head and was recovered by Harrison. Five plays after the turnover, the Trojans sealed the win with a 4-yard touchdown run by Ian Novakowski to take a 26-14 lead with 3:58 to go in the fourth.Nanticoke Area 26, Hanover Area 14Hanover Area`6`0`8`0`&#8212;`14Nanticoke Area`0`13`0`13`&#8212;`26First quarterHAN &#8211; Chafin 20 run (run failed), 2:10Second quarterNAN &#8211; Wrubel 1 run (Klepadlo kick) 2:39NAN &#8211; Wrubel 3 run (kick blocked) :19Third quarterHAN &#8211; Chafin 62 run (Chafin run) 5:12Fourth quarterNAN &#8211; Wrubel 1 run (run failed) 11:14NAN &#8211; Novakowski 4 run (Klepadlo kick) 3:58Team statistics`HA`NANFirst downs`7`18Rushes-yards`24-131`67-238Passing yards`76`35Total yards`207`273Passing`6-23-1`3-11-0Sacks by-yards lost`1-1`2-14Punts-avg.`5-32.2`5-27.0Fumbles-lost`1-1`0-1Penalties-yards`11-108`6-53INDIVIDUAL STATISTICSRUSHING &#8212; HAN, Jopling 9-47, Chafin 13-91, Taylor 1-(minus-2), Brueckner 1-(minus-5). NAN, Hughes 24-111, Wrubel 13-59, Jeffries 18-29, Boseman 8-35, Walters 1-2, Novakowski 1-4, TEAM 2-(minus-2).PASSING &#8212; HAN, Chafin 6-23-1-76. NAN, Wrubel 3-11-0-35RECEIVING &#8212; HAN, Percy 2-13, Brueckner 2-45, Jopling 1-5, Nettles 1-13. NAN, Casey 3-35.INTERCEPTIONS &#8212; NAN, Shoemaker 1-0.<style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Dave RosengrantFor Times Leader</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Times Leader sports at 570-829-7143 or on Twitter @TLSports</shirttailMeta></div>

Nanticoke knocks Hanover Area out of District 2 playoffs