Tunkhannock Rallies Past Montrose for First Win of the Season
By: Matt Flanagan | SportzWire | October 4, 2026 | Photo courtesy Madelyn Bevan
Tunkhannock showed plenty of fight Friday night, overcoming an early two-touchdown deficit to pick up its first victory of the season with a 24-21 road win over Montrose.
The Tigers found themselves in trouble early as Montrose jumped out to a 14-0 advantage in the opening seven minutes. Tunkhannock responded in a big way. Lucas Ciprich provided the spark, breaking loose for a 78-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter. Carter O’Neill followed with the two-point conversion pass to pull the Tigers back into the game.
Tunkhannock wasn’t finished. Cason Petrak, who spent his first two high school seasons at Montrose, scored on a one-yard touchdown run just over two minutes later to tie the game. The Tigers then took their first lead on a second-quarter safety, sending Tunkhannock into halftime ahead 16-14.
The momentum carried right into the second half. O’Neill returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, and Rowan Hunter hauled in the two-point conversion to extend Tunkhannock’s lead to 24-14. In all, the Tigers had answered Montrose’s fast start with 24 consecutive points.
Montrose made one final push, cutting the deficit to 24-21 on a five-yard touchdown pass from Evan Strohl to Weston Nabywaniec with 7:13 remaining. But Tunkhannock held on from there, completing the comeback and earning a much-needed victory.
The win moves Tunkhannock to 1-5 and marks the first victory of the R.J. Haas era. After several difficult weeks to open the season, the Tigers finally broke through, and they did it by battling back from an early 14-point hole on the road.
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