PUNXSUTAWNEY — Allowing an onside recovery on the game’s opening kickoff wasn’t the way Bradford wanted to begin.

But, as poorly as the game started for the Owls, the ending may have been worse. After trading touchdowns and turnovers with Punxsutawney for three quarters, things got away from Bradford in the fourth.

An offensive onslaught by the Chucks accompanied a flurry of penalties called on the Owls, an ejection and hostility between the Bradford crowd and the game’s officials.

In the end, Punxsy tallied its first win of the season, a 49-21 homecoming triumph in a District 9 Large School matchup. And, the Owls’ promising moments were overshadowed by four turnovers, offensive inefficiency and a whole lot of yellow flags.

A pair of early Punxsy rushing touchdowns forced the Owls to play from behind the entire way. 

Their first glimpse of momentum came on a 36-yard touchdown pass from Elijah Fitton to Jerid Wilmoth. The Chucks brought back the ensuing kickoff, however, immediately seizing back the game’s momentum.

After Bradford’s offense began to stall, Talan Reese took over quarterbacking duties, moving Fitton to a skill position in an effort to get the ball into his hands.

Reese, a freshman, struggled to complete passes against Punxsy’s stingy man coverage, however. He’d finish 17-of-30 passing for 150 yards and three interceptions while Fitton completed 9-of-17 passes for 86 yards, a touchdown and an INT.

Trailing by two scores, the Owls started the second half with newfound energy. First-half officiating had prompted emotions to rise for Bradford’s players, coaches and fans, and momentarily, the fervor appeared to fuel the Owls.

Punxsy had converted a fake punt on its first possession before Fitton intercepted a pass attempt on the next play and returned it 52 yards for a score, making it 28-21 Chucks.

Bradford’s defense seemed to have solved Punxsy’s run-heavy attack. When Zeke Bennett broke a run up the middle for a 69-yard touchdown, however, things began to unravel for the Owls.

Bradford drove into the red zone on its next drive before Landon Peterson intercepted a Reese pass attempt. The Chucks would march down the field again, this drive culminating in a 37-yard TD score by Bennett.

During Bradford’s next offensive possession, the emotions that stemmed from three quarters worth of early whistles and late flags boiled over. With just over 10 minutes to play, two unsportsmanlike penalties were called on Bradford within seconds of each other.

The first was on head coach Jeff Puglio; the second a result of Bradford’s crowd’s reaction. Puglio, it being his second unsportsmanlike of the night, was ejected.

And, just before the collective emotions of Bradford’s contingency came to their focal point, two officiating decisions had hurt the Owls.

First, a 4th-down Bradford pass attempt to Wilmoth fell short when he was knocked off his route by a Punxsy defensive back. The hit came well before Reese’s throw reached Wilmoth — but no call.

Then, with Punxsy possessing the ball, a big hit from a Bradford defensive back resulted in a 15-yard penalty. The referee signaled for a horse collar tackle, but targeting appeared to be the more likely call — if the play was worthy of a whistle.

Punxsy added another score on that possession, extending its lead to 28 points and sinking the Owls’ chances of snapping what is now a 16-game losing streak.

Despite forcing four turnovers, including an interception by Brett Thompson, the Owls turned it over four times themselves. Punxsy capitalized.

“They scored on them and we just could not come back,” said Bradford assistant coach Davis Redington. “We just gave up too many turnovers tonight.”

Despite their second-half offensive struggles, the Owls stuck with Reese at QB through the end of the game. That decision stemmed from available personnel, or a lack thereof, Redington said.

“The problem was, Ashton Smith was banged up, so we did not have another fullback,” Redington said. “Our fullback situation was bad, and (Fitton) stepped up and said I’ll do whatever we need and I will play fullback tonight.”

The Owls were able to get the ball to Fitton out of the backfield, as he recorded 46 rushing yards on eight carries and 75 receiving yards on six catches.

“We were short-handed and we just went with what we had,” Redington said. “Injuries, Covid have just been beating us up this year, so we’re just doing what we can.”

The Chucks limited Bradford’s big-play receivers, holding Dalton Dixon to just five catches for 35 yards and a touchdown. Wilmoth added five catches for 48 yards and a TD while Isaiah Fitton made four receptions for 48 yards.

“They were playing a lot of man on Dixon,” Redington said. “They shut our best receiver down.”

The injuries continue to pile up for the Owls, who only brought two-dozen players to Punxsy due to injuries accrued prior in the season and ongoing quarantines. They’ll need to get healthy ahead of next weekend’s home finale against Central Clarion, in which they’ll be without Puglio, a mandated result of his ejection.

“These guys are sticking together 115% every play of every game,” Redington said. “We’re getting better, the scoreboard just isn’t showing it.”