GRAHAMSVILLE –– It was the perfect day for Football on Saturday as the Tri-Valley Bears hosted the Rockland Wolves. The sun was shining, the surrounding hills were alive with color, you couldn’t ask for a better day for these two teams to meet, each  squad looking for their first win of the season.

The Bears came out of the gate strong, scoring on a 51-yard run by Spencer Scanna, and converting the 2-point try on their first drive to take an  8–0 lead.

But the Wolves came to play and matched Tri-Valley’s first drive with a score of their own with Patrick Gorr punching it in to cap off a methodical drive.

It didn’t take long for the Bears to answer. James Kachelriess would run it in on their next possession. The Bears took a 16 to 6 lead after a successful 2-point try. 

Tri-valley hit their stride and after a couple of defensive stops, they scored on a long 42-yard run. With the converted 2 points they took a 24 to 6 lead. Rockland’s offense could not sustain their drives and ended up giving the ball back to the Bears on downs. Tri-Valley, riding high on momentum, scored another touchdown on a run by Sean Woods but failed on their 2-point conversion.

  The end of the first half and beginning of the second half were marked by turnovers and penalties. A few minutes before the start of the fourth quarter the Bears scored their first touchdown in the second half on a pass to Nathan Closs who ran it into the endzone. 

Rockland’s Danny Wilson scored a touchdown for the Wolves, but they were unable to secure the 2-point conversion. Tri-Valley would come away with the victory in this game with a final score of 36-12.

Rockland coach Mike Hill was still very positive about the game, “We scored on our first drive, we got some stops on defense, we got at least one takeaway, it’s improvement. Our last games have been tough to take, but today’s performance really helps our attitude and will bolster our effort level. We’re still making mistakes, but that’s part of the process. Overall, we made big strides today.”

Tri-Valley’s coach Kevin Crudele’s thoughts were also aimed at the bigger picture, “We played guys in different spots today, wanted to see what we have. It was a good time for a victory, good to see our offense move the ball, finally getting some turnovers on “D.” We’re getting a little better every week.”