Matt Raymond (Correspondent)
WILKES-BARRE - Nick O'Brien put on a one-man show Friday night at Wilkes-Barre Memorial Stadium. The standout Wyoming Area quarterback scored on defense, special teams and twice on offense - once rushing and once throwing - all in the first half of a 44-17 trouncing of Meyers.
"It feels great. The line always does a great job and the coaches put me in position (to score)," O'Brien said. "I try and spread it around as much as I can and get everyone in the end zone as much as I can."
O'Brien finished with 44 yards on the ground and 69 through the air, making up more than half of Wyoming Area's 217 total yards.
"Nick is somebody week in and week out who brings his lunch pail," Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. "As athletic as he is, he's always looking for those little things. Offensively, he's always consistent but today you saw some on special teams and some on defense. It's contagious. It's not just him, but he has other kids hungry to make plays too."
The Warriors (4-1) didn't need to make too many plays against Meyers (1-5), whose special teams consistently gave Wyoming Area good starting field position. After taking the game's opening drive 53 yards and finishing with a Matt Kintz 1-yard score, the Warriors had touchdown drives of 58, 5 and 20 yards in the first half.
"It all starts with special teams," Spencer said. "We worked very hard at special teams this week and the kids responded. I think we did a good job with establishing field position deep within their territory and defensively, after making a few adjustments, we did a nice job spreading it out."
In between it all, O'Brien added a 38-yard interception return, an 80-yard punt return and a 1-yard run - all for scores in the first half. Also adding to the scoring party were Ahmad Bouie with a 5-yard scoring run and Cody Schmitz with a 2-yard touchdown catch.
With the mercy rule in effect, Wyoming Area killed clock in the second half and did not score. Meyers got on the board late against Warriors reserves with two fourth quarter touchdowns - a 1-yard catch by Jalen Miller and a 61-yard dash by Shacore Proctor.
Wyoming Area will face Holy Redeemer next week in its last game before the much-anticipated matchup against fellow AA contender, GAR. The Warriors will look to stay on track and maintain focus against what Spencer called a "hungry" Royals squad.
"People might look at this game as a trap game," Spencer said. "But right now you're potentially your own worst enemy. We've got to stay focused and sharp and each week's game has to be that playoff-type of game."
