Not exactly a work of art--but Wyoming Area traveled to "Death Valley" and came out alive and well with a 28-12 victory over Mid Valley. For the second week in a row, the defense played a spirited game.

The Warriors held Mid Valley to 3 and out on the first series of downs. Mid Valley punted the ball and Nick O'Brien took it to the house with a 70 yard return, however, a flag negated the TD. The Warriors then fumbled on the next play from scrimmage. The Spartans punted again, and this time Cody Schmitz returned the punt 74 yards for a TD, with no hint of yellow laundry on the field.

In the second quarter, Jeff Skursky tipped a pass from the Spartan QB, and Zak LaNunziata snagged it and returned the ball to Mid Valley's four yardline. After three futile tries to get the ball in, O'Brien sliced into the end zone for a TD, making the score 14-0. The Warriors defense then softened and Mid Valley scored on a pass to their best offensive weapon, Tomasetti (#85), making the score 14-6 at half.

The Warriors came out in the second half and immediately fumbled the first play from scrimmage. Mid Valley drove the ball and scored making the score 14-12. The Warriors were in a dog fight. On the Warriors next offensive series, O'Brien had a 3rd and 10 and his own 44, scrambled right heaved the ball 40 yards in the air and found Cody Schmitz wide open for the score as the Warriors went up 21-12. The Warriors made a couple significant defensive stands in the second half. The finishing touches were put on by Nick O'Brien in a classic 44 yard run. He ran right on a keeper, looked like he was stopped in his tracks, spun a 360 and went in for the score.

There were many defensive standouts in this game. The big guys up front--ZIelinski, Erzar, Taylor, Dimick, Grove, Resciniti and others have been outstanding. There have not been many big holes up the middle in either of the Warriors two games. No one has played better on defense than Zak LaNunziata. His first half interception was the turning point in the game--and he is also making some pretty spectacular tackles. Jeff Skursky is becoming a force in the middle and Marty Michaels did a nice job at nose guard. Schmitz, Zezza, O'Brien, Davis, Lumley and Pegg did a nice job in coverage as well as tackling and sealing off the corners. Schmitz handled coverage on Tomasetti (#85) very well--and he has become a much tougher tackler this year. . Farrod Condry got some playing time at corner and looked good.

Mid Valley took the field at the start of the game by tearing through a paper sign that said "Welcome to Death Valley, O'Brien"--By the end of the game, I think Nick wore out his welcome.

QB O’Brien leads Warriors to victory
TOM FOX, For The Times Leader
2:06 am

Wyoming Area’s Nick O’Brien, left, and Mid Valley’s Tyler Collins grab each other’s facemasks on a quarterback keeper in high school football action Friday night in Throop. Neither foul was called by the officials.
Select images available for purchase in the
Times Leader Photo Store
He rolled out to his right, scrambled for about three seconds and didn’t see his receiver’s route open.
Instead, Nick O’Brien looked down the field about 40 yards and saw teammate Cody Schmitz jumping up and down -- a Mid-Valley defender not within 20 yards.
Fifty-six yards and one amazing catch later, Wyoming Area was out and rolling.
O’Brien put on a show in Lackawanna County, running for two touchdowns, passing for another and picking off a pass late in the fourth quarter as the Warriors snuck past the Spartans, 28-12.
Not too bad, considering the Warrior senior quarterback was nursing a minor injury in the first half.
“Just minor,” he said. “I knew that I had to get back into the game.”
Unfortunately for Mid-Valley, he did. Two plays show O’Brien’s heart.
On the third-down pass play, he avoided two defenders, and had the presence of mind to find Schmitz, who snuck behind the Spartan secondary and was seemingly forgotten about. That score gave Wyoming Area a 21-12 lead in the third quarter.
“It wasn’t designed that way. It was supposed to be a quick pass, but the pocket broke down,” he said. “I just saw him jumping and waving his hands. I threw it as far as I could, and he made a big play. That was huge. We were kind of at a stalemate scoring, so it was so big to get a huge play like that. Plus, it was third down. That was the changing point of the game.”
O’Brien’s second touchdown run was a picture of beauty – breaking the line of scrimmage, spinning out of a tackle, side-stepping another defender and scampering down the right sideline for the 55-yard score.
In all, the senior ran for 129 yards on 13 carries and threw for another 64.
“It all starts up front, and the line did a great job,” the quarterback said. “Last week, we had a tough game, and it was physical. This week, we physically beat Mid-Valley up front. Our line does a great job each week. Our playmakers are just going to make plays because of our line and our coaching. That’s what we feed off of.”
It could have been one of those days for the Warriors.
The first time Wyoming Area touched the ball, O’Brien returned a punt almost 70 yards for a touchdown, only to see it erased because of a holding call.
The Warriors fumbled the ball seven times, losing three of them, and Mid-Valley grabbed a lot of momentum when Matthew Tanner just barely reached the end zone on a fourth-and-goal from the 9, cutting the lead to 14-12 in the third quarter.
But two spectacular plays and a strong defensive presence was too much for Mid-Valley to rally back from.
“Nick wanted to get his motor running after last week’s game,” Wyoming Area head coach Randy Spencer said. “He kept grinding at it, but he’s a tough kid. His leadership really showed. He challenged our football team in the fourth quarter, and everyone responded.”
Wyoming Area (1-1) built a 14-0 lead on Schmitz’s 76-yard punt return in the opening quarter, and the first of O’Brien’s TD scores. But Mid-Valley trimmed the lead to 14-6 at halftime when Tanner found a streaking Ron Tomasetti down the middle of the field.
The Spartans had the game to within two, 14-12, with five minutes left in the third, and were later stopped by the Wyoming Area defense inside the red zone in the final 12 minutes.
“Mid-Valley has some outstanding athletes,” Spencer said. “They have big-play potential, and are never out of a football game. But we have a senior team, and playmakers in spots that allow us to do some things. I’m proud of the way we stepped up. Matt Tanner is a dynamic kid in his own right, and they have some good receivers.”

First Quarter
WA -- Cody Schmitz 76 punt return (A.J. Lenkaitis kick), 7:42
Second Quarter
WA -- Nick O’Brien 3 run (Lenkaitis kick), 5:12
MV -- Ron Tomasetti 34 pass from Matthew Tanner (run failed), 2:41
Third Quarter
MV -- Tanner 9 run (pass failed), 5: 49
WA – Schmitz 56 pass from O’Brien (Lenkaitis kick), 1:50
Fourth Quarter
WA -- O’Brien 55 run (Lenkaitis kick), 4:04


Read More http://www.timesleader.com/stories/QB-OBrien-leads-Warriors-to-victory,202315#ixzz25tbyyXpO

H.S. FOOTBALL: O'Brien keys Wyoming Area win over Mid Valley

By Conor foley (Staff Writer)
Published: September 8, 2012

THROOP - Wyoming Area's Nick O'Brien made one thing clear Friday night at Spartan Stadium: he's a play maker.
O'Brien tallied 125 yards on the ground with two touchdowns, passed for 64 yards and another score, and capped his night with an interception to lead Wyoming Area to a 28-12 victory over eighth-ranked Mid Valley.
"It starts up front," O'Brien said. "This week, we physically beat Mid Valley's line. The line does a great job every week. The coaches had us very well prepared for the entire week and our play makers are just going to make plays off of our line and our coaches."
Trailing, 14-0, late in the second quarter, Mid Valley quarterback Matt Tanner found tight end Ronny Tomasetti deep downfield for a 34-yard touchdown that gave the Spartans a boost heading into halftime.
The momentum swing paid off as Mid Valley forced a fumble on Wyoming Area's first play from scrimmage in the third quarter.
Tanner marched the Spartans down the field, and on the 12th play of the drive, dived into the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown to cut the Warriors' lead to 14-12. Tanner nearly fumbled on the play, but the officials ruled he crossed the goal line first.
That was as close as the Spartans would get, as O'Brien took over the game.
Facing a third-and-long with 1:50 remaining in the third quarter, Mid Valley defenders swarmed O'Brien in the Warriors backfield, and were set to close in for a sack. But O'Brien rolled into an empty pocket and heaved a pass down field to Cody Schmitz, who had gotten behind the secondary. Schmitz waited for the pass to come down, made the catch and sprinted to the end zone for a 56-yard touchdown that gave the Warriors a 21-12 lead.
"It wasn't designed that way," O'Brien said. "It was supposed to be a quick pass, but the pocket broke down. I flushed out of the pocket and Schmitz is 40 yards down the field, jumping up at down waving his hands.
"I threw it as far as I can, he caught it, and he scored. He made a big play."
Mid Valley's pressure on O'Brien never let up, but the athletic quarterback withstood it. With a little more than four minutes left in the game, O'Brien took off running, weaving and spinning through the defense on his way to a 45-yard touchdown.
On Mid Valley's ensuing possession, O'Brien ended the Spartans' hopes at a comeback by intercepting a fourth-down pass with 2:49 left in the game.
"We have to regroup, get a little better," Mid Valley coach Frank Pazzaglia said. "We made a lot of mental mistakes we have to try to correct. We just made a lot, a lot of mental errors more than physical errors."

Well, it wasn't exactly the start that the Warriors had hoped for against Scranton Prep last weekend. In a hard fought defensive struggle, the Warriors came out on the losing end of a 12-6 game. It won't get any easier for the Warriors this coming week, as the squad travels to Mid Valley for a rematch of last years exciting District 2, AA, Semi-final, where the Warriors prevailed, 35-28. Warrior fans will remember the 350+ yard rushing performance turned in by Nick O'Brien on that night--and they needed every bit of it.

Mid Valley returns over half of their starters from last year. The 2012 Warrior-Spartan rematch promises to be a good one. Mid Valley players to watch out for are Ron Tomasetti(#85), a 6'2 210lb wide receiver and linebacker, Chris Rebar(#7), First Team Lackawanna Conference Defensive Back, Cory Tomassetti (#11) a sophomore running back who gained 84 yards against Hanover last week, and running back Tyler Collins(#26), who had 132 yards rushing against Hanover Area. Mid Valley pummeled the Hawkeyes from the opening kickoff. Rebar had a 89 yard kickoff return and the score was 42-0 at halftime.

Wyoming Area will be looking to get their offense on track on Friday night. Nick O'Brien was held to 135 yards rushing against Prep and was unable to find enough running room to break the big one. Scranton Prep blitzed O'Brien and Jordan Zezza all night, making the passing game completely ineffective. The good news--the defense played very well against Prep. Keys to the game for the Warriors. The offensive line will have to keep on their blocks longer to allow O'Brien, Skursky, and La Nunziata to break some longer runs. The Warriors will also need to have an answer to the blitz--as the Spartans will probably follow Prep's example by stacking the box. One advantage the Warriors may have is that they already went through a tough game, while the Spartans did not face adversity against Hanover. See you in Throop on Friday night.