IT’S BEEN A WHILE
Pen Argyl tops Wilson for 1st win since Halloween 2020
There were dark circles under Brad Rissmiller’s eyes. Gian Greggo and Damian Tyminski were slightly blood shot.
It was the sign of a lack of sleep in the preceding nights.
“We’ve been dreaming about this,” Tyminski said. “We couldn’t sleep the last three nights. None of us. We were thinking about what the scoreboard would look like.”
When the final seconds ticked off the Smith Field scoreboard, Pen Argyl beat host Wilson 22-12. It was the Green Knights’ first win since Halloween 2020.
There was relief on the faces of Rissmiller, Greggo, Tyminski and their teammates.
Head coach Brady Mutton had a few tears in his eyes moments after Saturday afternoon, knowing how hard everyone associated with the program worked since the end of last season’s 0-10 journey.
“This one is amazing,” Mutton said. “I told them, ‘Don’t worry about the mistakes. We’ll worry about them Monday.’ These guys earned it. I’m so happy. We put in so much time. Last year was a killer for these kids. They earned every single bit of this. You saw the effort, Mutton added. “We made mistakes, but they happen in football.”
Rissmiller and Tyminski hooked up 13 times for 130 yards, including a 16-yard touchdown for a 16-6 Pen Argyl cushion.
Greggo ran for two touchdowns, caught a couple passes, had two tackles for loss and recovered a fumble as the Green Knights limited the youthful Warriors to just three first downs and 40 total yards.
“Words really can’t explain it,” Greggo said of the win. “We were hoping and wishing we could get here. Now we have to keep going. Everybody stepped up [defensively] and did their jobs.”
The teams combined for one first down in seven first-quarter possessions before Pen Argyl hit its stride offensively.
Mutton’s club put together a nine-play, 65-yard drive to take the lead it would never relinquish. After nearly losing the ball on two of the previous three plays, Rissmiller and Greggo connected for an 18-yard completion. Rissmiller then found Tyminski for 15 more to the Wilson 12.
Two plays later, Greggo scored his first varsity touchdown. Tyminski caught the two-point conversion pass from Kris Kessler for an 8-0 lead.
“We planned this out the whole summer,” Mutton said. “He knew it was coming. If I give a playmaker like that the football, I’m going to do it. You saw what he did.”
Pen Argyl was driving for a second score before halftime, but Anderson Louis Juene’s 91-yard interception return for a touchdown in the final minute got Wilson within 8-6.
Rissmiller hit Tyminski for a 16-yard TD pass in the third quarter and Greggo scored again early in the fourth to push the cushion to 22-6.
The Green Knights twice converted on fourth down on the third-quarter scoring drive — one on an offsides penalty and the other on a 26-yard pass from Rissmiller to Alex Moser.
Juene, the kicker, punter and full-time soccer player last season, also returned a fourth-quarter kickoff 77 yards for a score for the Warriors.
The Warriors didn’t get a first down until midway through the second quarter and managed just eight yards in the first half.
“I think our effort was great,” Wilson first-year head coach Michael Fleming said. “We played well on both sides of the ball at times, but we were just inconsistent. I think we got tired at certain times. We’ll need to correct that at practice,” Fleming said. “I think we tackled well at times. I think everything was just at times. That was the biggest issue today.”
Game notes
Rissmiller gained 53 yards on his last nine carries to help Pen Argyl establish a running game that was able to move the chains. He also threw for 200 yards.
Chris Weston managed only 34 yards of offense in his first start as Wilson’s quarterback, but he had two sacks and two other tackles for loss on defense.
Greggo, who had 130 tackles last season, was stellar again Saturday, but had help from many including freshman linebacker Terrell Estes.
Rissmiller had an interception and Tyminski made the tackle on Wilson’s final offensive series on fourth down to seal the victory.
Up next
Wilson (0-1) visits Palisades (0-1) at 7 p.m. Friday. Pen Argyl (1-0) travels to Mahanoy Area (1-0), also at 7 Friday.