Kisko, Dickerson lead charge for Smethport’s highest scoring affair in over 20 years
By HUNTER O. LYLE
SMETHPORT, PA – Head coach Ryan Yingling’s main goal for the Smethport football this season was to develop as a team. Playing together would lead to success.
In Week One of the newly-christened high school football season, the Hubbers did just that. Executing both on defense and offense, both up front and behind, on the ground in the air, Smethport willed their way to a lopsided 72-29 victory over Otto-Eldred.
“I did not want to put 70 points on, but if anything, that’s more out of respect for Otto-Eldred because we know for a fact that they could have put 30 points on us in a quarter,” said Yingling. “I’m never one to spike the ball in someone’s face, but we had to stay ahead of them because they’re a threat and they could hit us.”
The Hubbers wasted no time setting the tone: make a mistake and they would make you pay. When the Terrors very first snap of the game went awry, leaving quarterback Ryan Schenfield no choice but to scramble and get rid of the ball, Smethport’s Jude Kisko picked off the errant pass. Two plays later, the Hubbers were in the endzone, with Mason Swanson finding Aiden Tanner in a wide-open secondary, leading to a 32-yard touchdown just a minute and a half into the game.
On O-E’s next drive, a 15-yard penalty and five-yard sack immediately put them up against the endzone. Snap number three of the possession again went wild, allowing Smethport’s Cameron Jacoby to scoop and score for the second score in three and a half minutes of play, putting the Hubbers up 16-0.
“We’ve got to get right with our protections. We’ve got some inexperience on the line right now, a freshman at center. Those early bad snaps, it was a freshmen’s first varsity game. It was probably some freshmen jitters off the start,” said Otto-Eldred head coach Brian Neal. “We certainly have a lot of work to do (on the line.)”
From there, however, the Terrors were finally able to throw a punch of their own. Starting with a massive kickoff return from Leelyn Welch that put them on the opposite 30 yard-line, O-E breezed into the endzone two plays later, with Schenfield connecting with Welch for a 17-yard score.
They managed to keep the fire burning, scoring on their next two drives – Schenfield scrambled for a 47-yard touchdown followed by a seven-yard Wyatt Blendinger carry on the subsequent sustained drive – but while their offense was finding a foothold, their defense was still in tatters. Despite slowing the Hubbers advance and holding them to third-and-long situations, O-E continuously failed to find the final stop.
On Smethport’s second, third and fourth possession, they would break away for large gains that put them in the endzone, switching between Kisko and Maddox Dickerson to erase large distances in short order. By the end of the 56-minute first quarter, they had pulled away 36-22.
“(Kisko and Dickerson) work in tandem. They work well together and that’s basically what we were trying to do, not let Otto-Eldred get comfortable. Not let them key in on one,” said Yingling. “We tried to use them both as equal threats and I think they succeeded with that.”
In the second, the Hubbers’ defense dragged the chains. Despite being without their defensive leader – Zach Hungiville, who went down with an ankle injury on the very first play of the game – Smethport constantly oppressed their opponents, forcing three turnover-on-downs and another fumble on their way to a triplet of unanswered touchdowns. By the end of the half, they had amassed a 29-point cushion.
“Play No. 1, we lost our captain and basically the heart of the defense so we had to put some new guys in which changed about two or three positions,” said Yingling. “We were fortunate enough to stay with it. We had some of the more experienced guys pick up the slack.”
Faced into an almost impossible position, made more futile with a mercy rule running-clock, O-E managed to find the endzone just one more time. Out of the break, the Hubbers emerged from the locker room playing their sloppiest drive of the game, one that saw a false start and two bad snaps that cost them 29 combined yards. As the spoiled cherry on top, Smethport would see their lone turnover of the game on a third-and-25 scenario, where Welch intercepted a pass before taking it back to the house.
However, seven more points failed to amount to anything that could change the tide, let alone the outcome. Smethport rounded out the night by finding the endzone two more times, tallying the most points scored by the Orange and White in over two decades of varsity football and earning their first season-opening win in the past four years.
On offense, Kisko ended the night with five of the Hubbers’ seven touchdowns, totaling 187 rushing yards on 19 carries, also leading Smethport in unassisted tackles with nine. Dickerson came away with 125 rushing yards on twelve touches, also getting 32 yards through the air and seven unassisted tackles, while Swanson finished with 111 passing yards and two touchdowns on a 9-for-11 completion rate.
Both holding spots in the Region 4 Conference, it won’t be long before the Hubbers and Terrors meet again. In three weeks, on Friday, Sept. 18, they’ll be suiting up for a rematch, but in the meantime, both teams are just focusing on the road immediately in front of them.
“From a coaching perspective, we see all the good things we did, but we also see all the things we need to fix,” said Yingling. “What’s on my mind right now is all the things we need to fix going into Port Allegany next week. I’m happy for the win, I’ll be able to enjoy it for the night but tomorrow morning, we’re grinding out for Port. I see all the things that we need to fix for next week.”
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