On a cloudy night in Nanticoke, a 24-point third quarter explosion ignited the Warriors to a 44-14 route of the Trojans.  Nick O’Brien’s 181 yards rushing put him over the 4,000 yard rushing mark for his career.  Cody Schmitz added a career best 137 yards rushing on only 7 attempts. 

It ended up being a blowout, but the Warriors looked lethargic in the first half.  Trailing 7-6 late in the first half, the Warriors scored a safety when Nanticoke’s kicker could not handle a high snap.   With less than a minute remaining, the Warriors executed their two minute drill to perfection, capped off by a 13 yard strike from O’Brien to Zezza with no time remaining on the clock.  The Warriors went into the locker room with a 14-7 lead.  The Warrior’s kicker A.J. Lenkaitis, was injured and could not play, so the Warriors had to go for two all night.

The Warriors got back on track in the third quarter led by a 11-yard TD pass from O’Brien to Cody Schmitz, an electrifying 78 yard run by Schmitz, and a 35 yard run by O’Brien.  O’Brien went over the 4,000 yard mark at the end of the third quarter on a rather routine play—at least by Nick O’Brien standards.   O’Brien took the snap from the shotgun, ran to his right off tackle—most other backs would have been tackled for a loss as he was confronted by a defender in the backfield.  O’Brien cut to the inside as the defender reached for air, and then sliced forward for a 10 yard gain.   O’Brien made that run  look easy—but it is the culmination of hard work, grittiness, determination, and a special talent.   

The defense again played well.  This group tends to bend but not break.   They gave up 187 yards on 46 rushes to Nanticoke—but always comes up with the big third and fourth down stops.  Credit the line for doing a good job as Nanticoke kept pounding it up the middle, but could find little running room.  At linebacker, Zak LaNunziata is clearly the defensive MVP of this team.  He is everywhere on the field, especially in the opponent’s backfield.  His partner at linebacker Mike Lumley also played a good game.   O’Brien also brought his load of bricks on several tackles. 

For the first time this year, the Warriors actually mounted some long drives that resulted in TD’s.  Yes, those 60 yard runs are nice—but the Warriors showed that they can move the chains and eat up some time.  They had 18 first downs, and although suffered some penalties, did not shoot themselves in the foot too often with turnovers.    All in all, a good night’s work.  The Warriors play Holy Redeemer next Saturday afternoon.—Nick Perugini        

VIEW MORE GOLDEN PHOTOS OF NANTICOKE GAME

NANTICOKE – Throughout his high school career, Nick O’Brien has been one of the top backs in all of District 2.

The Wyoming Area senior piled up big yardage since his freshman campaign to prove that. With 182 yards on 21 carries during Friday night’s 44-14 win over Nanticoke, he sealed his place in history as he topped the 4,000-yard milestone in his illustrious career.

O’Brien also moved within 69 yards of becoming the Warriors all-time leading rusher and now has 726 yards on the ground this season. The record is held by Jim Pizano, the brother of one of O’Brien’s coaches Joe Pizano.

“So many great players reach the (4,000-yard) milestone. To be able to be amongst them is a great feeling,” said quarterback O’Brien, who passed for two scores and ran for another against the Trojans. “If I’m lucky enough to break the record then I get to rub it in (Joe Pizano’s) face that I broke his brother’s record. It will be a good time.”

The score may have indicated a blowout, but the game was anything but that. The Warriors (3-2) and the Trojans (2-3) were in a dogfight in the first half. After a scoreless first quarter, Cody Schmitz gave Wyoming Area a 6-0 lead with 8:05 left in the second quarter.

The Trojans moved down the field on their next drive going 74 yards on 10 plays with a 3-yard TD run from quarterback J.T. Levandowski giving Nanticoke a 7-6 lead with the clock reading 3:26. A punt by the Warriors on their next drive pinned Nanticoke on its 7. Unable to run out the clock, Nanticoke lined up to punt with 50 seconds left in the half, but the snap sailed into the end zone for a safety and a Wyoming Area 8-7 lead.

That seemed to change the whole game as the Warriors got a score as time expired in the half to go up 14-7 then tallied three more touchdowns in a little more than five minutes during the third quarter to take a commanding 38-7 lead.

“That’s an important play of the half and for us to be able to take advantage,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said about the safety. “I thought we executed pretty well on the two-minute offense and our kids responded.”

Schmitz joined O’Brien going over the century mark in the game running for 137 yards on just seven touches, including a 78-yard run in the third quarter.

Nanticoke was paced offensively by Maurice Wood’s 53 yards on 12 carries. Sophomore running back Ron Kotz (9 carries, 47 yards) punched in a late TD for the Trojans with 6:46 left in the fourth quarter.

Wyoming Area 44, Nanticoke 14

Second Quarter

WA – Cody Schmitz 12 run (pass failed) 8:05

NAN – J.T. Levandowski 3 run (Norton kick) 3:26

WA – Safety (tackle in end zone) :46

WA – Jordan Zezza 13 pass from Nick O’Brien (pass failed) :00

Third Quarter

WA – Schmitz 11 pass from O’Brien (O’Brien run) 9:28

WA – Schmitz 78 run (Zezza pass from O’Brien) 6:17

WA – O’Brien 35 run (Zack Lanunziata run) 4:00

Fourth Quarter

WA – Lanunziata 8 run (run failed) 11:53

NAN – Ron Kotz 1 run (Norton kick) 6:46

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – WA, Cody Schmitz 7-137, Zack Lanunziata 3-13, Nick O’Brien 21-182, Kyler Higgins 4-38, Robert Wargo 3-9, Isiah Peoples 1-2, Kyle Bortn 1-(minus-1). NAN, Maurice Wood 12-53, J.T. Levandowski 7-4, Pat Hempel 11-39, Blake Balderrama 1-(minus-1), Mike Colatosti 2-4, Ron Kotz 9-47, Brad Yanus 3-32, Tyler Myers 1-9.

PASSING – WA, Jordan Zezza 0-1-1-0, O’Brien 4-12-0-54. NAN, Levandowski 5-8-0-48.

RECEIVING – WA, Zezza 3-43, Schmitz 1-11. NAN, Hempel 3-38, Kyle Gavrish 1-7, Balderrama 1-3.

INTS – NAN, Kyle Gavrish

MISSED FGS – none

NANTICOKE - Just before halftime Friday night at Greater Nanticoke Area High School, something clicked with the Wyoming Area Warriors.

A punt pinned Nanticoke deep, leading to a safety when the Trojans mishandled a punt of their own and a 38-second touchdown drive that ended as time expired turned a 7-6 deficit into a 14-7 halftime lead.

From there, the Warriors took off behind quarterback Nick O'Brien and racked up a 44-14 win. O'Brien went off for 116 second-half yards en route to 181 on the night and more than 4,000 rushing yards for his illustrious career.

"(O'Brien) is an incredible kid," Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. "We always talk about what kind of dynamic athlete he is, but his heart, he runs as hard for the 4- or 5-yard gains as he does the big gainers.

"He's the first one unselfish to block somebody and throw that key block as he is to carry the ball. Great kid from an athletic standpoint, but even better from a character standpoint. I couldn't be happier for Nicky."

O'Brien is now just 69 yards shy of James Pizano's Wyoming Area school record of 4,086 rushing yards.

"It feels great," O'Brien said. "So many great players reached the milestone and to be amongst them is a great feeling."

Once O'Brien and his Warriors (3-2) got going, there was nothing Nanticoke (2-3) could do to stop them. On the second half's opening drive, Wyoming Area quickly drove downfield and found the end zone on an O'Brien 11-yard completion to Cody Schmitz.

It was Schmitz's second of three scores on the day and the second of five consecutive Wyoming Area touchdowns that put the Trojans away 44-7 early in the fourth.

"Cody is that kind of athlete," Spencer said. "I think you've seen it in the first couple games. He's got the ability to make a big play. He's certainly a threat in space throwing the ball, but he also can carry the ball. We expect Corey to make plays for us."

"We came into the half and broke down what kind of mistakes we were making," O'Brien said. "We had to turn the intensity up. We knew our jobs and we just had to execute them. We had to play for each other and come together as a team and that's what happened and we got the win."

Schmitz, who also scored on runs of 12 and 78 yards, finished with 139 yards of offense to go along with O'Brien's big night.

The Trojans struggled to counter the impressive Wyoming Area offense, compiling just 18 second-half yards against the Warrior starters.

"We've got a senior group here that's been through a lot the last couple years," Spencer said. "We've got some injuries we're battling as a team but the guys that are out there, they really have to do it from a leadership standpoint."

The Warriors (2-2) travel to Nanticoke (2-2) this Friday night with both teams’ playoff hopes on the line.  Nanticoke was flying high as it entered last week’s game with Meyers.  They had a 2-1 record and in the previous week, had defeated Susquehanna 10-0.  Nanticoke had their wings clipped when they were crushed by a potent Meyers passing attack, 45-16.    The winner of Friday night’s game between the Warriors and Trojans will keep in the District playoff hunt, while the loser will probably be on the outside looking in.

Nanticoke is a young team, and has had some offensive problems this year as they average only about 180 yards of total offense per game.   (The Warriors haven’t fared much better, averaging 210 yards per game. )  The Trojans are led by junior running back Pat Hempel who has rushed the ball for 343 yards on 62 rushes and 2 TDs.     Junior QB TJ Levandoski has rushed 30 times for 73 yards, and Senior Maurice Wood has rushed 11 times for 114 yards.    The Trojans have only passed for 25 yards per game. 

The Warriors are coming off a resounding 43-8 victory over Hanover Area.  Slowly, the Warriors are getting healthy, and it looks like they might have one or two of their 4 injured starters back for Friday’s game with the Trojans.  Look for Nick O’Brien to do his thing on the ground and the air.  In particular, the Trojans were torched for over 200 passing yards against Meyers, so we might see the Warriors try to follow suit in the air.  O’Brien needs 164 yards rushing to reach the 4000 yard milestone.  If he rushes for 251 yards, he will break the all time Wyoming Area rushing record held by Jim Pizano.

In addition to having a great year defensively, Zak LaNunziata is beginning to assert himself running the ball.   He ran well against Lake Lehman and Hanover and may again, be called upon to play fullback against the Trojans.  Cody Schmitz and Jordan Zezza are both making big plays on offense.   As teams are punting the ball away from O’Brien, Schmitz has returned two for TDs this season.   So teams get to pick their poison.
The Warriors’ defense has been stellar this year, holding opponents to under 200 total yards per game, while allowing only about 11 points per game.     The Warriors defense tends to bend but doesn’t break.  Last week, Hanover Area successfully ran the ball in the first quarter, but the Warriors managed to keep them out of the end zone.     

Look for the Warriors to have a big game in the air and the ground against the Trojans.    It’s a fair bet that Nick O’Brien will reach 4,000 yards rushing in this one.   See you at the game—Nick Perugini