Muncy seniors have led the team to new heights

MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent
MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent
Muncy senior quarterback Stiles Eyer runs for a touchdown after making an interception earlier this season.

Most friends were there when they attended their first youth football practice. Years later, they remain together, working toward the same goal.

It has been quite a ride for the current Muncy seniors over the years. Now they are trying to make their final one their most memorable. And they would love nothing more than extending it as long as possible.

Muncy has reached the Class A state quarterfinals for the second time in program history. There, they face Delone Catholic Friday at Cedar Cliff High School. The winner of that game makes history, becoming the first in its respective program’s history to reach the Final 4.

“Seeing them say they want this for their final season gives you that extra motivation to try and make it all work out,” junior safety Dominic Guardini said. “It’s the emotion they bring to the game. They make you want to feel it. It makes you want it more than you already did. They always want to push you to be the best player that you can be.”

Above the league and district championships and all the wins, that might be this senior group’s most impressive legacy. Many say the sign of greatness is making those around one better. The seniors have succeeded there, helping Muncy (11-2) reach 11 wins for the first time this century while capturing league and district titles in the same year for the first time since 1986.

This group had experienced district heartbreak the previous three seasons, Muncy losing in the district final each time. So, nearly as soon as last season ended, the incoming seniors started laying the foundation for 2024 success. Whatever price it took, the seniors would make sure the entire team was ready to pay it in order to win that elusive district crown and try and go as far as possible.

“At the beginning of the season, we had a senior meeting after the Line Mountain scrimmage because it was not very pretty,” senior quarterback/cornerback Stiles Eyer said. “We all decided from there on that we would play selfless, team ball and whatever adversity we faced, we would pull and push through as a team, not as individuals.”

Muncy quickly had its chance to put those words into action when District 4 Class AAA finalist Warrior Run rallied for a thrilling 28-21 season-opening win. Instead of focusing on what happened, Muncy turned its attention to what could be and won the next eight games via mercy rule, securing a fifth straight NTL-II championship in the process.

But the regular season ended as it started and Hughesville scored late in the finale, edging Muncy, 28-27. Again, the seniors kept the team focused and moving forward. Senior running back/linebacker Austin Johnson said the team came back the following Monday and had its best practice all season.

It showed in districts as Muncy overwhelmed Canton and Line Mountain, outscoring them 98-20 and winning the program’s fifth district championship since 2016.

“We try and be role models for the younger kids and I think (the district final) showed it,” two-way senior Ken Hampe said following the Line Mountain win. “Everybody was together, everybody was enthused and everybody was into the game. That’s what we feed off.”

The seniors had the younger players feeding off that throughout the offseason. So many play multiple sports, but so many often found the time to continue honing their football skills and hitting the weights. In-season success often is born from dedicated offseason work. The seniors understood this and kept the entire team on the same page, driving, cajoling and exuding all they could from each player. Nothing has changed once the games started counting as Muncy remains as determined and focused as it did last winter when the 2024 work began.

“As upperclassmen, they’re in the weight room and practicing hard,” Muncy coach Sean Tetreault said. “The underclassmen are looking at them and saying if they’re working that hard, I have to work that hard, too. We’ve been using (freshman) Jackson Guardini in our goal line packages and that’s a testament to the older guys bringing along the younger guys.

“They don’t care who’s out there. They have the next man up mentality and trust in everyone and get everyone believing we’ll be OK.”

Muncy has been better than OK since these seniors reached high school. Johnson and Hampe have started all four years and others have contributed all four years. Together, they have helped Muncy go 41-7 and win at least 10 games every season.

These are not just talented and hard-working players, but also well-rounded ones. Paxton Derr has played nearly every offensive position. Landyn Wommer has been a defensive chameleon, lining up at all three levels at different times.

So many have overcome personal adversity, too, recovering from injuries. Cam Kamerer epitomizes both the seniors’ and the entire team’s mentality. The versatile tight end has suffered season-ending injuries in football and baseball multiple times, but keeps coming back even hungrier and he caught a 64-yard touchdown from Eyer in last Friday’s 47-46 win against Lackawanna Trail.

“They all come in and do whatever it take to win. They do a great job of understanding the team scheme and sacrificing themselves to help the team flourish,” Tetreault said. “These seniors have rewritten the record book, but they’re never satisfied.”

That showed after Muncy defeated Line Mountain and captured the district championship. A few minutes after earning the gold medal he and his teammates worked so hard to win the last four years, Hampe already was looking ahead.

His focus had shifted toward the state tournament. One mountain had been climbed but another one rested along the horizon, so Muncy quickly went back to work. The Lackawanna Trail game really was a microcosm of the entire senior group’s football journey, too.

The game was physical, fiercely fought and featured enough twists and turns to make Stephen King smile. The lead changed hands five times, but Muncy rallied in the last two minutes and secured the hard-fought victory.

“It’s a testament to the hard work that they put in,” Tetreault said. “It would have been easy to pack it in after the last three years and coming up just short in districts but they didn’t take the easy road. They came back from adversity and injuries and are peaking at the right time.”

The seniors have traveled a long and winding road and it now leads them to Cedar Cliff High School. There, the challenge is big again but the seniors will make sure Muncy pursues it the same way it has everything else this year–together.

“One of my best friends is Landyn and after every game, no matter what, we meet and tell each other we played great,” Eyer said. “There’s a lot of emotion between all of us. We all have that same exact connection.”