Titans, Buffaloes, Wildcats Notch Wins In Rob Marrero Classic
March 24, 2024 Billy Splain
It was a cold, wet, windy start for the Great Eastern Football Associations 2024 season at Central Columbia High School, but the action on the field heated up quickly and the night ended with a thrilling comeback win for the Wildcats of Williamsport. The Rob Marrero Kick-Off Classic got the GEFA season started with three games.
A quick recap:
Monroeville Titans 27, Somerset County Miners 24
A back and forth battle saw the first year Titans get the win over the second year team the Miners. The game had plenty of action, but also plenty of miscues that led to points. The Titans jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a safety, increased their lead on the next play with Ryan Cox returning the free kick for a score to make it 8-0.
The Miners responded with a 5 yard td return by Matt Speed, then they took the lead on another fumble return, this one by Shannem Binion making it a 12-9 game. The Miners increased their lead to 18-9 on this big pass from Wuanyai Mayo to Mike Duke.
RJ Coates put the Titans back on top with a td run but on the following point after attempt the Miners scooped a loose ball and ran it back to get 2 points of their own making it a 21-20 game. The Titans scored on the last play of the half to make it 27-20. Two safeties in the second half weren’t enough for the Miner to get the comeback.
Next week the Titans will host the Nightmare from Schuylkill County and the Miners will host the Wildcats.
Bedford County Buffaloes 65, Berks County Raptors 22
Levi Cook's last high school game was the 2017 Ken Lantzy All-Star game. He was named the MVP of that game. Fast forward 7 years. The former Bishop McCort stud is now leading the Buffalo team and they just keep on winning. Last year their season came to an end in the playoffs with only that loss. This year they hope to erase the loss completely. Bedford got off to a quick start and never looked back rolling to the win. Cook scored the first td of the game with a toss to Ian Valente, then he just kept piling it on, scoring four times in the first half leading the Buffalo to a 38-0 lead at the break. Bryce McCleaster scored 4 times and the Buffalo rolled.
Next week the Raptors look to recover at the Dauphin County Comanche. Bedford will host the Hazleton Mustangs.
Williamsport Wildcats 32, Wilkes-Barre Warriors 26
Another wild game that went back and forth. The Warriors jumped out to a 6-0 lead, increased to 12-0 with 1:32 left in the first half. In the second half it looked as though they were going to run away with the game when they made it 18-0 in the second. On the ensuing kick the Wildcats set up the return, scored to make it 18-6, then cut the lead to 20-12 at the break. In the second half Wilkes-Barre extended their lead to 26-12, but the Wildcats had other plans. Elliott Walker scored to make it 26-20 late in the third and they Wildcats finished their comeback when JR Taylor hauled in the winning TD pass with 3:42 left in the fourth quarter.
Williamsport travels to the Miners while the Warriors will host the Mo Valley Vikings next week.
