Honesdale opened Friday night’s LFC battle against Wallenpaupack with back-to-back completions.

Quarterback Andrew Branning hit Donny Wasylyk on an out pattern at the Hornets 40-yardline. Moments later, Branning connected with Pat Maher on a similar route and the Hornets were moving.

Reality Sets In
Alas for a hardy band of Red & Black fans who braved the elements on this ugly evening, the drive was short-lived.

Maher couldn’t hold onto the ball and Paupack’s Pat Ingulli recovered. From that point on, the night belonged to the Buckhorns in general and Joey DeFebo in particular.

Paupack rolled to an easy 48-6 victory in this Division One showdown...thanks in large part to an Herculean effort from DeFebo.

Joey shredded the Honesdale defense, rushing for a season-high 323 yards. Paupack’s All-State tailback also set a brand new school record with six rushing touchdowns.

“I had a really good night, but I couldn’t have done anything without my line,” Joey told TWI Sports just moments after the final gun sounded. “I’ve been running behind most of these guys since the eighth grade. They’re the best. They were just blowing people off the line.”

With this unforgettable performance, DeFebo increased his season numbers to near-mythic proportion. Through eight weeks of action, Joey has 1,731 yards and 22 TDs. He’s also closing in on 5,000 yards for his career.

Paupack is now 6-2 on the season and eyeing a return to the District 2/4/11 subregional. The Bucks earned an Eastern Conference bid last fall, but were eliminated in the first round.

The Buckhorns are currently just 10 points behind Hazleton Area for the top ranking among local AAAA teams. The Cougars are also 6-2, but by virtue of a stronger schedule are alone atop the standings.

“The bottom line is this: we control our our fate,” Dr. Mark Watson said. “If we win our next two games, we’re in. We might even come out with a #5 or #6 seed. But, we’re not taking anything for granted.”

Next up for Paupack is one final regular season home game. The Bucks will host West Scranton Friday night on the shores of The Big Lake.

The Invaders are coming off a grueling battle with Delaware Valley...a game the Warriors rallied to win in the final minutes by a score of 28-24.

“They’re a scary team,” said Dr. Watson said. “I don’t think they can stop our running game, but we’ll have to tweak our defense to slow them down. They can score points in a hurry and we’ll need to work very hard to contain them.”

Opening kick-off for this clash of Division One squads is slated for 7:00 p.m.

Simply Unstoppable
DeFebo wasted no time in stamping his presence Friday night’s contest.

Paupack took over at its own 43 after the Maher fumble and quickly turned the game over to it’s best player.

Joey carried the ball three straight times and wound up in the Hornet endzone. His first TD of the night came on a 16-yard carry off left tackle. DeFebo deked to the outside, then cut it back up the middle. Joey outran a swarm of Honesdale players to paydirt.

Moments later, John Kilduff banged home the first of seven PATs and Paupack had a 7-0 advantage...a lead the Bucks would never relinquish.

The “Joe DeFebo Show” continued on Paupack’s very next possession. This time, the Buck-horn tailback broke loose on a 31-yard TD gallop.

Taylor Newcomer led the way on this particular scoring run. Paupack’s senior fullback delivered a bone-crushing block at the point of attack, springing DeFebo into the secondary.

“We knew we could run the ball on them,” DeFebo said of the Hornets. “We just wanted to come out and run right at them. Newcomer is an awesome fullback. He doesn’t get as much credit as he should. I love running behind him.”

While DeFebo & Newcomer were pounding away at the Red & Black front seven, Chris Ingulli was settling in under center. The senior signal caller made the most of his second straight start in relief of Erik Kraft.

Ingulli capped Paupack’s next possession with a nifty 25-yard scamper. Chris rolled left looking to throw, but pulled the ball down and sprinted untouched into the endzone.

Kilduff once again split the uprights with the conversion try and, with 28 seconds left in the first quarter, Paupack has itself a 21-0 bulge.

Over & Out
Honesdale’s lone bright spot on offense came early in the second quarter.

Tailback Manny Rivero turned what looked to be a short gain into an electrifying run. Rivero took the hand-off from Branning, cut to his right and blazed down the sideline to a 53-yard TD.

Manny enjoyed a solid game on this night, carrying the ball 10 times for 80 yards.

Paupack retaliated quickly, hammering out three more TDs before intermission. DeFebo did the honors each time, scoring on runs of 1, 5 and 72 yards.

The Bucks dominated both sides of the line against the Hornets. Paupack’s offense piled up 461 yards...all on the ground.

The defense allowed just 166 yards, 53 of which came on Rivero’s touchdown run.

“This was a great win for us,” Dr. Watson said. “I’m very happy with how well we played.”

Score by Quarters...
WAL (6-2)  21  20  7  0 - 48
HON (0-8)   0    6   0  0 -  6