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Juniata Valley Stings Newport In Season Opener

Tagged under: District 3, District 6, News, pfn

| August 24, 2024


Juniata Valley started their season off in a big way with a dominant 34-7 victory over Newport. This game ended early in the fourth quarter after Newport running back Dalton Kratzer went down with an injury and left the field.

The Hornets were able to do everything right tonight, despite losing some key players to injuries. Starting quarterback, Jett Rand, went down with an injury in the second quarter after throwing two touchdown passes to Vincent Hoover. Damian Williams replaced Rand and performed very well passing for 136 yards and a touchdown. Coach Bill Musser gives him a lot of credit for his performance, along with the assistant coaches for having him ready to come in as the backup.

Coach Musser said, “As far as Damian Williams coming in, I give credit to the coaches for making sure that we are prepared. I thought my assistant coaches did a nice job at having players prepared tonight. He (Williams) stood out at quarterback, but we played seven different linemen, seven different running backs, and on defense a total of 18 players. That’s a testament to them wanting to play and the coaches having them prepared.”

One of Williams best plays tonight was on fourth down during the Hornets first drive out of halftime, where he hit Logan Brantner on a slant for a 26 yard touchdown. Brantner broke off a group of Newport tacklers and was able to find his way into the end zone. Logan could not believe he was still on his feet after that play.

Brantner said, “I thought for sure I was gonna get tackled, but then I lowered my shoulder and went through them and got a touchdown.”

Brantner also tallied a big tackle for loss and 73 receiving yards.

Logan and Coach Musser really emphasized tonight that the difference maker tonight was the adjustment they made at halftime. Brantner described it as working as “one” after the half and Coach believes that getting rid of the nerves from week one was important.

This team also feels a little different to Coach Musser. He believes that the players have a “willingness to put their bodies on the line for another player.”

Levi Thompson also played a heck of a game tonight as he was tally 90 total yards and an impressive one handed interception. Trenton Norris had the Hornets lone sack and a few catches for 20 yards. Andrew Clark was a unit at linebacker and had a mean touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Freshman Konner Harker also had a touchdown run, which sealed the win for Juniata Valley.

Newport on the other hand struggled tonight. Before exiting the game, Kratzer rushed for 79 yards, which was the main offensive production. The lone touchdown scored tonight came from a pass from Trevin Arnold to Ethan Grove from 14 yards out.

With a roster of 24 players, replacing a guy like Kratzer is difficult, but Coach Rothermel says that Khriztofer Granados is the next man up at running back.

Coach Rothermel believes that execution is what the team was missing tonight and is what they can improve on down the road. “I just think overall execution. I tell our kids all the time that I really think physically we are fine. Physically we can play with anybody. It’s not that we need to get better physically. It’s the mental part, it’s the determination. When bad things happen overcoming adversity, play through it. That kind of stuff we need to get better at.”

Next week, Juniata Valley will travel to North Star and Newport will host Line Mountain.

Follow PA Football News on Twitter @PaFootballNews

 
 
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