You couldn’t blame Warriors fans for being a little nervous in the first quarter during Friday night’s game with Hanover Area. The Hawkeyes started the game’s opening drive on their own’ 25 yard line and held the ball for over 10 minutes--marching down to the Warrior’s 3 yard line. It appeared to many that the heavily favored Warriors were still in a funk from last week’s tough loss to Lake Lehman. Hanover Area’s Dillon Ropietski found running room up the gut on quick hitters, while QB Casey O’Mack and RB Brian Belcher gained yardage on the outside. Two pass interference penalties also aided the Hawkeyes opening drive. A first and goal from the 3 yard line finally got the attention of the defense, who rallied to keep the Hawkeyes out of the end zone. The Warriors’ offense finally got their hands on the ball with seconds remaining in the first quarter.
The second quarter? Well, this was the Warrior team that we saw in 2011 and expected to see in 2012. Nick O’Brien ripped off spectacular TD runs of 59, 46, and 6 yards. Cody Schmitz had a 62 yard punt return for a TD--his second punt return for a TD this season. In the middle of this second quarter flurry, O’Brien threw a 79 yard pass to Jordan Zezza who was taken down on the Hawkeye six yard line. In the blink of an eye, the Warriors put up 29 points in the second quarter, and never looked back.
The Warriors opened the third quarter with a 66 yard O’Brien TD run. The coaches then decided to score the old fashioned way. They then repeatedly handed the ball to Zak LaNunziata, who was playing fullback in the I. LaNunziata displayed a strong running style, dragging tacklers as he advanced. A five yard run for a TD, capped off the drive.
With four starters still injured, the Warriors played a great game. In the papers, Nick O’Brien rightfully praised his offensive line—Dimick, Zielinski, Resciniti, Taylor, Vincent, Grove, and others who provided the running room. While O’Brien has not amassed the rushing yardage that he did last year, he still has had some jaw-dropping runs. Now, much more muscular than ever, O’Brien breaks tackles that would have brought him down in prior years. During Schmitz’s punt return, O’Brien sent a defender airborne with a crushing block.
The defense again, played a solid game. While Hanover moved the ball at times, the defense yielded only 161 total yards. Cody Schmitz had an interception, while Jordan Zezza’s pick was called back on a pass interference penalty. The Warriors scored so quickly when they had the ball that they only had 5 first downs in the whole game. O’Brien rushed for 193 yards on 7 carries and is now only 164 yards from the 4000 yard mark, and 251 yards away from Jim Pizano’s all time Warrior rushing record.
This win should help the team’s confidence. While not playing a top tier team, it confirmed that the Warriors can dominate when they are hitting on all cylinders. They need to build on this effort in the next few games, so they can be ready for the heart of their schedule. – Nick Perugini
TIMES LEADER ARTICLE
Second quarter leads Warriors
PAUL SOKOLOSKI
2:17 am
WEST PITTSTON – It seemed like they were waiting forever to get their hands on the football.
But once the Wyoming Area Warriors did, they rapidly made up for lost time.
Quarterback Nick O’Brien raced for three touchdowns within eight minutes during the second quarter, added a fourth scoring run in the second half Friday and Wyoming Area hammered Hanover Area, 43-8 at Jake Sobieski Stadium.
The outburst came after Hanover Area chewed nearly 10 minutes off the clock on a game-opening drive that covered 65 yards but ended without points at Wyoming Area’s 10-yard line.
“It was a tough first quarter,” said O’Brien, who finished with 193 rushing yards on seven carries.
“They’re a good, young team,” O’Brien continued about the Hawkeyes. “They’ll have some good years to come.”
But O’Brien and his Wyoming Area teammates came back at the Hawkeyes fast.
O’Brien began the scoring with an electric 59-yard touchdown scamper 8:36 before halftime, then added a 46-yard touchdown run a little more than two minutes later.
“He’s one of those premier players,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “He’s got that ability to do those things.
“Special kid.”
Warriors fans were treated to another “O’Brien Special” when he found Jordan Zezza streaking down the right sideline with a 74-yard bomb, setting up O’Brien’s six-yard touchdown romp that put Wyoming Area up 29-0 heading into halftime.
“Every time I touch the ball, I want to score,” O’Brien said. “That’s anyone’s mentality.”
He very nearly turned it into reality Friday.
Wyoming Area 43,
Hanover Area 8
Hanover Area
0
0
8
0
—
8
Wyoming Area
0
29
14
0
—
43
First Quarter
No scoring
Second Quarter
WA – Nick O’Brien 59 run (kick failed), 8:36
WA – O’Brien 46 run (Jordan Zezza pass from O’Brien), 6:28
WA – Cody Schmitz 62 punt return (Trent Grove pass from O’Brien), 4:17
WA – O’Brien 6 run (A.J. Lenkaitis kick), 0:42
Third Quarter
WA – O’Brien 66 run (Lenkaitis kick), 10:29
WA – Zak LaNunziata 5 run (Lenkaitis kick), 5:52
HA – Dillon Ropietski 2 run (Ya Sir Jones run), 0:46
Fourth Quarter
No scoring
Team Statistics
Hanover
Wyo Area
First downs
11
5
Rushes-yards
36-129
27-283
Passing
74
74
Total Yards
203
357
Comp-Att-Int
5-7-1
1-5-0
Sacked-Yards Lost
0-0
0-0
Punts-Avg.
1-32
2-39
Fumbles-Lost
4-2
1-0
Penalties-Yards
10-59
7-68
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – HAN, Dillon Ropietski 11-84, Brian Belcher 15-35, Casey O’Mack 4-18, Brandyn Cole 4-3, Ian Murphy 1- (minus 2), Isaiah Taylor 1- (minus 9); WA, Nick O’Brien 7-193, Zak LaNunziata 8-38, Cody Schmitz 2-22, Isaiah Peoples 5-20, Robert Wargo 3-10, Kyle Borton 1-1, TEAM 1- (minus 1).
RECEIVING – HAN, Stephen Morgan 2-38, Chuckie Schmoil 1-20, Antonio Costantino 1-9, Taylor 1-7; WA, Jordan Zezza 1-74.
INTS – WA, Schmitz.
CITIZENS VOICE ARTICLE
O'Brien sparks Warriors
By Evan Korn (Staff Writer)
Published: September 22, 2012
WEST PITTSTON - Wyoming Area quarterback Nick O'Brien is dashing his way toward history. The senior entered Friday's game against Hanover Area needing 358 rushing yards to reach the 4,000-yard plateau for his career.
Four thousand yards will have to wait, as will the school record of 4,086, held by Jim Pizano.
But O'Brien is well on his way to history: He rushed for 194 yards and four touchdowns on eight carries as the Warriors breezed to a 43-8 win in WVC Class AA.
O'Brien is now 164 yards shy of 4,000 and 251 yards away from eclipsing Pizano.
"The (offensive) line did a great job," O'Brien said. "They opened up the holes, They do it every game, but this game, obviously we had a lot of success on the ground."
Hanover (0-4) opened the game with 19-play drive that shaved more than 11 minutes off the clock. Two pass interference calls on Wyoming Area extended the drive, but on fourth-and-goal from the 10, the Hawks turned the ball over on downs following an illegal forward pass penalty.
"That was a frustrating situation, but you have to battle through it," Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said of Hanover's opening drive. "We were able to make a couple of adjustments to put ourselves in a better situation for what they were doing."
O'Brien took over in the second quarter with touchdown runs of 59, 46 and six yards. He also made the key block that helped Cody Schmitz return a punt 65 yards for a touchdown.
"Obviously, I love carrying the ball," O'Brien said. "That's what I love to do. But when I'm not carrying the ball, we have other athletes on the team, and I'm going to do whatever I can to spring them to score a touchdown. It's not just one person on this team. It's the entire squad."
O'Brien put the finishing touches on his evening with a 67-yard TD run that gave Warriors (2-2) a 36-0 lead with 10:35 left in the third quarter. That was O'Brien's final carry of the evening. Four thousand yards, and the school record, will have to wait at least one more week.
"During the game, it's not really on my mind," O'Brien said. "It's a great milestone, There are great players who have hit that milestone. If I hit that, then I'd be honored to be among the great athletes that came before me."
GAME PREVIEW
2012 has been a roller coaster ride for the Wyoming Area football team. A hard fought opening loss to powerful Scranton Prep, was followed by a brilliant Week 2 victory over Mid-Valley. Last week’s shocking last-second loss to Lake Lehman finds the Warriors with a 1 and 2 record. The Warriors need to start picking up some “W’s” if they want to play football into November.
The Warriors play Hanover Area (0-3) this Friday night at Anthony “Jake Sobeski” Stadium. Hanover Area has been routed in its three games against Lackawanna Conference opponents. They lost to Mid Valley, 48-14, then to Lackawanna Trail, 51-12, and last week were defeated by Lakeland 34-15.
The Hawkeyes leading rusher in 2011, Parrish Bennett transferred to Meyers, leaving a void at tailback. Junior Brian Belcher # 33, has stepped up to carry the load in 2012. Belcher has 285 yards on 52 rushes (5.4 avg). Sophomore QB Sophomore Casey O’Mack, #14 has carried the ball 12 times for 78 yards with 2 TDs. Both Belcher and O’Mack have good speed, although they are listed at 150lbs and 140 lbs respectively. Hanover Area has not shown much in the way of passing, only amassing 80 yards in three games. The Hawkeyes have gained more yards in their first three games, than the Warriors have.
Wyoming Area entered last week’s game with Lake Lehman, with four starters that were injured and didn’t suit up. The lack of depth finally caught up with the Warriors, as several other starters were dinged up during the Lake Lehman game. All that said, the Warrior defense played a spirited game shutting the Black Knights out for three quarters. Fatigue and injuries probably had something to do with the fourth quarter collapse. Hobbled as they are, the Warriors defense should still be able to stop the Hawkeyes’ offense.
The Warrior offense has been surprisingly inconsistent this year. There has been very little running room up the middle—even when the Warriors operate out of the spread. Defenses have successfully been keying on Nick O’Brien—the Lake Lehman defense holding him under 100 yards. Zak LaNunziata had some nice runs against Lehman, and O’Brien has passed the ball well to Schmitz and Zezza since the Scranton Prep game. Zezza, running the option, with O’Brien at tailback look effective on a drive in the second half of the Lehman game. However, the explosive offense that put up 40 points a game in 2011 has lacked consistency and has often sputtered.
It’s now time for everyone to step up their game—the seniors, as well as the underclassmen who have had limited action until now. All games are a “must win”, and a young team like Hanover Area would like nothing more than to knock off the wounded Warriors. We’ll see which Warrior team shows up on Friday night. I'm expecting a big win. —Nick Perugini
