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Coughlin ground game too much for Honesdale

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Frank Kurtz carried Lake-Lehman past Hanover Area, 28-14

NANTICOKE &#8212; Through the first part of the season, Northwest coach Lon Hazlet was looking for someone on his team to step up.In the week leading up to Friday night&#8217;s game against Nanticoke, running back Beau Getz told the veteran coach that he wanted to carry the ball more frequently.Hazlet agreed, and Getz rewarded the coach with 12 bruising carries for 74 yards and the game-clinching touchdown run in the fourth quarter as the Rangers defeated the Trojans 20-15. Several times, Getz and fellow running back Jake Anderson fought off tackles or carried tacklers to pick up extra yardage.&#8220;He really set the tone for us,&#8221; Hazlet said of Getz. &#8220;He ripped off a couple runs there before the half. We were down before half, but we just kept pounding the ball with those guys.&#8221;Playing with a banged-up offensive line as two starters sat out with injuries, Anderson led the way for the Northwest (2-3) offense, piling up a game-high 130 yards on the ground on 18 touches, including a 60-yard scamper on the first offensive play of the game for the team.That long run gave the Rangers momentum and set up their first score, a 5-yard TD on a keeper by quarterback David Piestrak that gave them a 7-0 lead with 7:35 left in the first quarter.&#8220;I told the staff before the game that we had to score first to win. We were beaten up a little bit mentally after a 1-3 start and even though we got some guys back, it&#8217;s tough to come back,&#8221; Hazlet said. &#8220;I really thought it was important for us to get on the board first and have some momentum.&#8221;Nanticoke (3-2), coming off a tough loss to Meyers, couldn&#8217;t get much going offensively in the first half. Despite that, the Trojans took an 8-7 lead after Keanu Ammons returned a punt 87 yards for a touchdown with 6:14 remaining before halftime.A 4-yard TD pass from Piestrak to Brandon Hardiman in the third quarter gave Northwest the lead back at 13-8. And after Nanticoke turned the ball over on downs late in the third, a 71-yard strike from Piestrak to Hardiman on the first play of the fourth quarter went down to the 2 to set up Getz&#8217;s score and extend the lead to 20-8.&#8220;The guy was open all day, but they were bringing a lot of pressure,&#8221; Hazlet said about the long completion. &#8220;We went with a little play-action after we&#8217;ve been pounding them off tackle.&#8221;The Trojans put together an 81-yard drive later in the fourth capped by a 2-yard QB plunge from Colby Butczynski to pull within 20-15 with 5:54 to go. After forcing the Rangers into a turnover on downs, Nanticoke had one more good chance getting the ball back with 2:18 to go. But that turned into a three-and-out as the Northwest win was secured.<ins>Northwest 20, Nanticoke 15 </ins><ins>Northwest `7`0`6`7`&#8212;`20 </ins><ins>Nanticoke`0`8`0`7`&#8212;`15 </ins><ins>SCORING SUMMARY </ins><ins>First Quarter </ins><ins>NW &#8211; Piestrak 5 run (Wessler kick) 7:35 </ins><ins>Second Quarter </ins><ins>NAN &#8211; K. Ammons 87 punt return (Jeffries run) 6:14 </ins><ins>Third Quarter </ins><ins>NW &#8211; Hardimon 4 pass from Piestrak (run failed) 5:24 </ins><ins>Fourth Quarter </ins><ins>NW &#8211; Getz 2 run (Wessler kick) 11:28 </ins><ins>NAN &#8211; Butczynski 2 run (Klepadlo kick) 5:54 </ins><ins>Team statistics`NW`NAN </ins><ins>First downs`13`11 </ins><ins>Rushes-yards`44-229`35-156 </ins><ins>Passing yards`134`57 </ins><ins>Total yards`363`213 </ins><ins>Passing`8-14-0`6-17-1 </ins><ins>Sacks by-yards lost`0-0`0-0 </ins><ins>Punts-avg.`2-41.5`3-28.3 </ins><ins>Fumbles-lost`2-2`2-1 </ins><ins>Penalties-yards`11-111`6-50 </ins><ins>INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS </ins><ins>PASSING &#8211; NW, David Piestrak 7-12-0-114, Connor Hazlet 1-2-0-20. NAN, Colby Butczynski 6-17-1-57. </ins><ins>RUSHING &#8212; NW, Jake Anderson 18-130, Beau Getz 12-74, Piestrak 6-21, Tyler Stevens 4-12, TEAM 3-(minus-8). NAN, Eric Jeffries 13-41, Dawson Hughes 14-70, Butczynski 3-11, Manny Saldana 4-31, John Krzywicki 1-3 </ins><ins>RECEIVING &#8212; NW, Lucas Acornley 3-29, Hazlet 2-17, Brandon Hardimon 3-80. NAN, Joe Ammans 1-28, Jeffries 1-4, Hughes 1-6, Mark Walters 2-18, Keanu Ammons 1-1. </ins><ins>INTERCEPTIONS &#8211; NW, Colton Babcock </ins><ins>MISSED FG&#8217;S &#8211; none </ins><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>

Getz, Anderson help Northwest grind out win over Nanticoke