Honesdale High School Principal Chris Pietraszewski crowns senior Leah Krol 2020 Homecoming Queen.

Homecoming

Friday night’s game featured Homecoming festivities at halftime.

Following a vote by the student body and faculty members, the 2020 Court consisted of: Mia Yatwa, Kylie Laude, Leah Krol, Sarah Meyer and Julia Eisele.

High school principal Chris Pietraszewski closed out the ceremony by crowning Leah Krol this year’s Homecoming Queen.

Meet the members of this year’s Honesdale Homecoming Court. These hard-working and talented young ladies were honored at halftime of Friday night’s Lackawanna Football Conference contest between the Hornets and Western Wayne. Pictured are (from left): Peter West, Mia Yatwa, Tommy Renner, Kylie Laude, Leah Krol, Eric Lukan, Sarah Meyer, Sam Jones, Derek Pabon, Julia Eisele.

HONESDALE — There was electricity in the air Friday night as Honesdale put out the proverbial welcome mat for Western Wayne in Week Three Lackawanna Football Conference action.

The Hornets had suffered lopsided losses in their first two games of the season under rookie skipper Paul Russick.

However, this was Homecoming and the Red & Black were excited about the chance to take on a 1-1 Wildcat squad.

Unfortunately for Maple City fans, a first win of the campaign just wasn’t in the cards. Honesdale played a solid game, but Western Wayne’s prolific rushing attack was just too much.

Zane Janiszewski erupted for nearly 300 yards and a pair of touchdowns leading the ‘Cats to a 28-14 victory.

“I feel like we played the best game of our season so far,” said Coach Russick. “I really think this was a step in the right direction against a good team.”

Next up for Honesdale is a Week Four battle with archrival Wallenpaupack Area. The Buckhorns are also searching for that elusive first win after dropping a 20-14 decision to North Pocono.

Opening kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday night at the Daniel J. O’Neill Sports Complex.

Back & Forth

Western Wayne struck first in this one.

James Murphy got the Wildcats on the board with 6:22 remaining in the first period. The senior running back powered his way into the endzone from five yards out. Thomas Chernasky drilled the first of his four conversion attempts, giving the visitors a 7-0 lead.

Honesdale showed its mettle, though, mounting a game-tying drive early in the second quarter.

Connor Schmitt did the honors, breaking free on a 10-yard touchdown run. Brady Hanson split the uprights with the PAT try, knitting the score at 7-7.

Schmitt enjoyed a breakout game on this particular night. The talented junior tailback slashed his way to 143 yards on 24 carries.

“Our offensive line had its best performance of the season,” Coach Russick said. “Geoff Johnson, Brad Bennett, Josh Clark, Kane Rogers, Jordan DeGroat and Brady Carmody did a great job.

“And, Connor was outstanding. He ran very, very hard all game long.”

Western Wayne rose to the occasion, though. The Wildcats retook the lead before the break, thanks to Caden Brungard’s two yard TD plunge with 14 seconds left in the half.

Top Gun

Honesdale trailed just 14-7 heading into the third quarter, but the Hornets would have no answers for one of the LFC’s premier backs down the stretch.

Zane Janiszewski ran wild after intermission. The senior star would tally a pair of scores, one from 10 yards out and the other covering four yards.

Janiszewski finished up the game with an eye-popping 293 yards on 37 carries. Zane has now accumulated a total of 654 yards and seven TDs through three games.

To their undying credit, the young Hornets refused to quit. Senior quarterback Peter West scored from a yard out late in the fourth quarter, bringing the final score to 28-14.

“We definitely moved forward,” Coach Russick said. “It’s baby steps right now, but I like that the kids never gave up. They never quit. I told them after the game that we have to finish. We have to complete every play. Every single play matters.”

The Red & Black skipper singled out seniors Jake Orrick and Kane Rogers for commendable play on the defensive side.