Summary: West Scranton's quarterback Tyler Hughes proved to be the real deal--living up to his "All Region" quarterback status. His 190 rushing yards and 196 passing yards led the Invaders to a convincing 40-27 victory over the Warriors on Friday night at Jake Sobeski Stadium. The night started off very promising for the Warriors. They took the opening kickoff and marched the ball 60 yards down the field to take a 6-0 lead. Quarterback Chris Murphy had a nifty 40 yard scramble to set up the touchdown and a 6-0 lead (the PAT was no good.) West Scranton's first play from scrimmage was a 50 yard bomb from Hughes to receiver J. Schroeder. The Warriors defense stiffened, at its own 20 yard line setting up a fourth and 10. Warrior Linebacker Nick Perugini blitzed and had Hughes in his grasp but couldn't wrestle him down. Hughes threw a Hail Mary into the end zone that was caught for a touchdown by Malcolm Sweeting. That gave the Invaders a 7-6 lead and they never looked back.

The Warriors went into halftime trailing 14-6. The Warrior offense sputtered in the second quarter and the Invaders came out in the third quarter with two long touchdown runs by Hughes making the score 27-6. Finally, the Warriors offense erupted. Chris Murphy hit Larry Popovich on a 63 yard touchdown pass, followed by a ten yard touchdown run by Murphy. In the fourth quarter, Murphy hit Kody Nowicki with a 61 yard strike. All this was too little, too late as the Warrior defense was unable to reel in Hughes. West Scranton did not have to punt all night.

There were some bright spots in this loss. Murphy threw the ball well in the second half and the offense finally came to life. Kody Nowicki made some nifty grabs, with 4 receptions for 102 yards. Eric Eramo is showing great hands as he had two receptions. Larry Popovich's speed was evident on his 63 yard touchdown catch. And Nick O'Brien--gave the same gritty performance we all are becoming used to with 18 rushes for 73 yards, and 2 receptions for 19 yards. Julian Campenni is playing in another league on defense--and Nick Perugini added 8 tackles.

Next Week: Lake Lehman is 2-0. They have a big line and some skilled players. This will be a true test for the Warriors as they are getting into the meat of their schedule.