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WARRIORS SEASON ENDS WITH LOSS TO PEN ARGYL 21-7

Pen Argyl

Warriors (10-2)

Pen Argyl (10-2)

Saturday 1PM

November 24, 2012 Northern Lehigh

GAME SUMMARY: Game Summary: Well, no one can really be pleased with the Warriors’ 21-7 defeat at the hands of the Pen Argyl Green Knights in the first round of the state playoffs. There are lots of couldofs, wouldofs, shouldofs that can be recounted—but ultimately, the Warriors were defeated by a powerful Pen Argyl team.

It was a cold, blustery, overcast day at Northern Lehigh High School. The wind was blowing about 15-20 mph with snow flurries falling for most of the game. The Warriors moved the ball reasonably well at times in the first half, but could not seem to muster any offensive consistency. They shot themselves in the foot several times with penalties and dropped passes. Pen Argyl on the other hand pounded the ball –again and again. Using the Wing T set, they snapped the ball to their big back Mike DePaolo. For the most part, the Warriors held the Green Knights’ rushing game in check for the first half. The Warriors were stacking the box, however on one play, DePaolo broke through for a 48 yard TD run. DePaolo finished the day with 219 yards rushing.

One other notable play in the first half was when Mike Racciatto, Pen Argyl’s leading runner, busted a similar long run, looking very much destined for the end zone. Nick O’Brien used his speed to track down Racciatto and brought him down at the Warrior 10 yard line. It proved to be a touchdown-saving tackle as the Warrior defense stiffened and Pen Argyl did not score.

Trailing 7-0 starting the third quarter, the Warriors first drive stalled—again deflated by penalties. The Green Knights then added a second score in the middle of the third quarter on a DePaolo 1 yard run making the score 14-0. The Warriors were finished, right? Not so fast. Nick O’Brien then put the team on his back, like he did so many other times this year--running for over 80 yards in the third quarter alone. The Warriors came back with a score on a Nick O’Brien run, making the score 14-7 entering the fourth quarter. In the middle of the fourth, the Warriors drove down to the Green Knights four yard line, where they had second and goal. The next play was the turning point of the game. O’Brien was hemmed in on a run to his left side and lost six yards, bringing up a 3rd and goal from the 10. Unable to convert the third down, AJ Lenkaitis’ field goal attempt was wide right, leaving the score 14-7. With the Warriors looking for a big stop, DePaolo again busted though the Warrior attacking defense for a 37yard TD run—inserting the final dagger with about five minutes remaining in the game. The Warriors mounted a final threat with under two minutes remaining as a long pass from O’Brien to Zezza worked the ball down to the Pen Argyl 10 yard line. O’Brien then threw an interception that sealed the deal for Pen Argyl. It was not an ideal day to try to come from behind.

The boys played a good game and have nothing to hang their heads about. With a couple breaks, it could have been a closer game. Pen Argyl outgained the Warriors 326 to 216 and had a time of possession advantage of of 30:30 to 17:30. But again, no excuses. Pen Argyl played a solid football game behind the running of Mike DePaolo and their defense made big plays when it counted.

Right now, it probably feels like a bitter ending for the 2012 seniors. However, over time, the players will understand that they were part of a special season—a championship season--one that all of us will remember for a long time.

Times Leader Box Score

TIMES LEADER ARTICLE

Green Knights run over Warriors playoff hopes

Mike DePaolo gains 219 yards on ground and scores three times to down Wyoming Area.

JOHN ERZAR

3:30 am

SLATINGTON – Momentum came to Wyoming Area the same way it had most of the season.

Quarterback Nick O’Brien made a couple moves. The only defender with a chance to take down the school’s all-time leading rusher was pancaked by lineman Joe Erzar. Touchdown.

But unlike those victories on the way to the PIAA Class 2A first round Saturday afternoon, seizing full control was unattainable.

Wyoming Area’s next possession ended 9 yards from the end zone as did the Warriors’ last real hope as Pen Argyl went on for a 21-7 victory at Northern Lehigh High School.

District 11 champion Pen Argyl (11-2) moves to the quarterfinals against District 12 champ Imhotep Charter (13-0) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Northern Lehigh.

District 2 champ Wyoming Area ended its year at 10-3.

Trailing 14-0 midway through the third quarter, O’Brien woke up a Wyoming Area offense plagued by mistakes and penalties with a 19-yard run. (The Warriors had 24-yard TD run in the second quarter negated by a holding penalty).

Three plays later, O’Brien scored on a 31-yard run to move the Warriors within 14-7.

“I felt pretty good,” Wyoming Area senior receiver Jordan Zezza said. “I felt the energy of our team completely rise up and felt their team was down a little bit.”

Wyoming Area linebacker Jeff Skursky gave his team another jolt with a hit that forced a fumble on Pen Argyl’s ensuing possession. The Green Knights recovered the ball, but had to punt and O’Brien returned the kick 31 yards to the Pen Argyl 23.

The Warriors moved the ball to a second-and-goal at the 3. The momentum started to swing on that play as O’Brien was tackled in the backfield.

“We were coming down (the field),” O’Brien said. “That loss of 5 yards at the beginning of the fourth quarter when it was 14-7 really killed us and ended our drive right there.”

Pen Argyl took a calculated gamble on the second-down play.

“We were fortunate there,” Pen Argyl coach Paul Reduzzi said. “We decided we were going to come off the edge and go hard. They had hurt us earlier in the game when we sent too much.”

Wyoming Area came away with no points after an incomplete pass and a missed 27-yard field goal.

Pen Argyl’s throwback single-wing offense then ate up much of the fourth quarter with an 11-play, 80-yard scoring drive, capped by a 37-yard TD run by Mike DePaolo.

Two plays helped the Green Knights greatly on the scoring drive that gave them a 21-7 lead with 5:09 to play.

On the second play of the possession, DePaolo ran into a pile of players in the middle and the ball exited the other end. O’Brien pounced on the ball at the Pen Argyl 35, but an official blew his whistle well after the recovery and ruled that DePaolo was down. Wyoming Area jumped offside on the next play, giving the Green Knights another set of downs.

“Credit to our kids,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “The second half we came back and put ourselves in position. We had the momentum. We just didn’t stick the second one in there. Otherwise, I would have liked our shot with a few minutes left in the game.”

Wyoming Area trailed only 7-0 at halftime despite being outgained 257-76 in the first two quarters. The Warriors had the ball in the red zone on their third possession, but had the drive stall at the Pen Argyl 18. A pass off a fake field goal attempt fell incomplete on fourth down.

Wyoming Area also had two incompletions end its next drive where O’Brien had a 24-yard TD run wiped out by a penalty.

DePaolo finished with 33 carries for 219 yards, the most by a back against Wyoming Area this season. His workload increased when 1,400-yard rusher Mike Racciato was injured on a shoestring tackle on a 51-yard run midway through the first quarter.

PIAA Class 2A Playoffs

Pen Argyl 21, Wyoming Area 7

Wyoming Area	0	0	7	0	—	7
Pen Argyl	7	0	7	7	—	21

First Quarter

PA – Mike DePaolo 48 run (Jacob Krincek kick), 1:48

Third Quarter

PA – DePaolo 1 run (Krincek kick), 6:38

WA – Nick O’Brien 31 run (A.J. Lenkaitis kick), 4:12

Fourth Quarter

PA – DePaolo 37 run (Krincek kick), 5:09

Team Statistics	Wyo Area	Pen Argyl
Time of possession	17:23	30:37
First downs	9	15
Rushes-yards	25-142	51-291
Passing	74	35
Total Yards	216	326
Comp-Att-Int	3-15-4	3-9-0
Sacked-Yards Lost	0-0	1-6
Punts-Avg.	1-37.0	4-35.5
Fumbles-Lost	0-0	0-0
Penalties-Yards	7-48	6-46

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – Wyoming Area, O’Brien 20-117, Cody Schmitz 3-22, Zak LaNunziata 2-3. Pen Argyl, Mike Racciato 2-49, DePaolo 33-219, Nick Oyer 11-29, Ryan Lobb 4-(minus-6), team 1-(minus-1).

PASSING – Wyoming Area, O’Brien 3-15-4-74. Penn Argyl, Oyer 2-6-1-39, DePaolo 1-2-0-(minus-4), Ryan Hunt 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING – Wyoming Area, Jordan Zezza 3-74. Pen Argyl, Racciato 1-13, Derek Neid 1-(minius-4), Scott Beltz 1-26.

INTS – Pen Argyl, Oyer, DePaolo, Matt Gifilen, Zak Ruppert.

MISSED FGS – Wyoming Area, 27 WR.

SACKS – Wyoming Area, Jeff Skursky.

OFFICIATING CREW – District 1.

Times Leader Article

Pen Argyl comes up clutch in win Big plays on long-yardage Saturday allow Green Knights to climb past Wyoming Area. JOHN ERZAR

3:30 am

SLATINGTON – The single wing – utilized by such football legends as Pop Warner and Knute Rockne, and comedy legends The Marx Brothers – is designed to keep the football moving on the ground via backfield deception. It’s fatal flaw – third-and-long plays. Or at least that’s the theory until Pen Argyl proved otherwise in its 21-7 victory over Wyoming Area in the PIAA Class 2A playoffs Saturday. Pen Argyl converted 5 of 9 third-down tries on what were considered passing downs. All but once, the Green Knights did it on the ground, including a 48-yard TD run by running back Mike DePaolo. “They converted a couple times, whether it was off the edge or the fullback breaking a tackle or a little play-action,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “They did a good job converting in certain situations.” DePaolo took direct, short shotgun snaps on many of his 33 carries for 219 yards, even though quarterback Nick Oyer often lined up just to the side of the center as if he could take it. “It’s kind of hard to see in the backfield,” Wyoming Area cornerback Jordan Zezza said. “It’s hard to judge whether it’s a pass or a run. Most of the time they are running the ball, so I’m trying to read the tight end. If I went through my reads a little better, I probably should have made a couple more plays.” The most devastating of those third-down conversions came with Pen Argyl leading 7-0 midway through the third quarter. Facing a third-and-11, Oyer took the snap and handed the ball to DePaolo, who flipped it back to him. Oyer then threw a 26-yard completion to Scott Beltz to the Wyoming Area 1-yard line. The Green Knights scored on the next play. “The pass to Beltz was amazing,” Pen Argyl coach Paul Reduzzi said. “It’s not an offense that you pass a lot out of and Nicky isn’t our starting quarterback. The kids did a good job.” Pen Argyl did a great job overall on third-down plays, converting 7 of 14 for first downs. Its final touchdown – a 37-yard run by DePaolo – also came on third down. The conversion rate allowed the Green Knights to run 60 plays compared to 40 by the Warriors. They also controlled the ball for over 30 of the game’s 48 minutes. “We had to stop them coming downhill,” Spencer said. “We didn’t stop them, but we certainly slowed them down and we put ourselves in position to be in the game and make some plays. We just didn’t make those plays today.” NOTES: Each team had a significant offensive threat sidelined with an injury. Wyoming Area’s Cody Schmitz, who had scored 19 touchdowns entering the game, injured a shoulder while playing defense late in the second quarter. He injured his knee early in the third while on offense and sat out the rest of the game. Pen Argyl 1,400-yard rusher Mike Racciato left the game in the first quarter after just two carries. Reduzzi said they feared an Achilles injury at first, which would have been devastating for the two-time PIAA Class 2A wrestling champion, who has verbally committed to the University of Pittsburgh to wrestle. It was later determined to be a lower leg muscle problem.

CITIZENS VOICE ARTICLE

END OF THE ROAD

By Steve Bennett (staff writer)

Published: November 25, 2012

SLATINGTON - All the little things that pop up during the course of a football game such as penalties and turnovers are the things that Wyoming Area needs to have go in its favor rather than against.

On Saturday afternoon in the first round of the PIAA Class AA state tournament, turnovers and penalties are what hurt the Warriors most in a 21-7 loss to Pen Argyl at Northern Lehigh High School.

Those were two of the big factors.

The biggest came at the start of the fourth quarter when the Warriors trailed by a touchdown and had the momentum on their side with a second-and-goal from the Pen Argyl 3.

Wyoming Area failed to score and the Green Knights capitalized with a long clock-eating drive to put the game away.

On the opening play of the fourth quarter, Wyoming Area quarterback Nick O'Brien was dropped for a 7-yard loss. An incomplete pass on the next play set up a fourth down and the Warriors elected to go for a field goal. The kick sailed wide right, allowing the Green Knights to hang on to a 14-7 lead.

"We were going to come off the edge, they got us earlier on that but it was something we felt we could get," Pen Argyl coach Paul Reduzzi said of the tackle for loss on O'Brien. "We got it and we were fortunate."

Wyoming Area had 76 yard of offense at the end of the first half - all of it coming on the ground. Pen Argyl ran its single-wing offense to near perfection, snapping the ball to the quarterback or using direct snaps to the running backs, mainly Mike DePaolo, who scored all three Pen Argyl touchdowns.

"It's pretty much just who wants it," said O'Brien (a safety on defense) of the single win. "We know what they are going to do. They put 11 in the box and we have to put 11 in the box. We just didn't get it done."

DePaolo played the role of the feature back after leading rusher Mike Racciato didn't carry the ball after his second rush of the game because of a muscle issue in his leg.

On a third-and-seven from the Wyoming Area 48, DePaolo took a handoff up the middle and raced to the end zone to put the Green Knights ahead 7-0 near the end of the first quarter. Pen Argyl, despite being on the wrong end of several down-and-distance situations, muscled its way on the ground to keep drives alive.

"They did a nice job converting in certain situations," Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. "They kept coming down hill and it paid off for them."

The Warriors lost an opportunity to tie the game late in the second quarter when O'Brien had a 24-yard touchdown run called back because of a hold on the back side. Following an incomplete pass on the next play, the Warriors were forced to give the ball away on downs.

"Penalties and turnovers, we certainly didn't come out in the first half and play our best," Spencer said. "The second half we came back and put ourselves in position. In the beginning we missed some opportunities."

The Warriors turned the ball over four times - all on interceptions, one in the first half and the others in the second.

The Green Knights used a 26-yard pass play on third-and-11 to set up a DePaolo 1-yard run to take a 14-0 lead with 6:38 left in the third quarter. Wyoming Area answered with O'Brien scoring from 31 yards out to cut the lead in half.

More importantly the touchdown seemed to spark the Wyoming Area defense, which forced a three-and-out on Pen Argyl's next possession.

The Warriors appeared certain to tie the game after driving the ball to the Pen Argyl 3, but O'Brien was dropped for the 7-yard loss and an incomplete pass made it fourth-and-goal from the 10 and forced the failed field goal.

"It was a matter of points at that time," Spencer said of the field goal attempt. "(A.J. Lenkaitis) has the leg, it just was wide right, that's all."

From there the Green Knights went on a 11-play, 80-yard drive that took 5:51 off the clock and was capped with a DePaolo 37-yard touchdown run.

"We put ourselves in position to be in the game and make plays," Spencer said. "We just didn't make those plays today."

O'Brien finished with 115 yards rushing, giving him 5,151 for his career leaving him third all-time in the history of the Wyoming Valley Conference.

GAME PREVIEW

PREVIEW: orget Lakeland, Lake Lehman, and GAR—that is history. It’s now the start of a new season. The Warriors are entering the PIAA tourney for the first time since 2003 and will be facing powerhouse Pen Argyl. After the Warriors lost the District 2 Championship game to GAR in a shootout last year, Pen Argyl went on to dust off the Grenadiers by a score of 50-20.

Pen Argyl (10-2), plays in the Colonial League with teams like Catasauqua, Southern Lehigh, and Bangor. In their District 11 championship game last week, the Green Knights played previously unbeaten Catasauqua who entered the game ranked 8th in the state at 11-0. Catasauqua had beaten Pen Argyl earlier in the year by a score of 48-21. Pen Argyl had numerous injuries during the middle of the season and were missing several key starters for this regular season game. The Green Knights were to avenge that defeat with a 26-20 win last week for the District 11 title. Pen Argyl jumped out to a 20-7 lead at half, saw that lead evaporate in the second half when Catasauqua fought back and tied the score 20-20. With a little over 2 minutes remaining, Pen Argyl delivered the deciding blow on a 30 yard touchdown pass.

What do we know about Pen Argyl? A little, but not much. If you are a numbers geek like yours truly—you can TRY to figure out something about a team. However, more often than not, that can be misleading. For example, the Green Knights schedule might be stronger than the Warriors schedule. So in looking at numbers like “points for” or “points against” , “rushing yards”, etc…this might be very misleading if one team is playing a bunch of pushovers while the other team is playing tough opponents. But you know what—since I am a numbers geek, and I have space to to fill, I’m going to do it anyway.
Here’s what the numbers say about the two teams:

	Wyoming Area	Pen Argyl
Avg Points For	37.8	26.8
Avg Points Against	16.8	17.4

Avg Rushing Yards	248	213
Avg Passing Yards	104	85
Avg Total Yards	352	298

If you had to generalize, Pen Argyl is a Wing T, power running team. They have a big line and like to run the ball straight ahead—five yards and a cloud of dust. You might call their style similar to Lake Lehman or Lakeland. Their featured running back is Mike Racciato who wears # 5. He is a 5’7” 160 lb senior who rushes for 113 yards per game with a 5.7 yards per carry and 19 touchdowns. Racciato is a two time PA state wrestling champion and will be attending Pitt (for wrestling) on scholarship. He has been a four year starter for the Green Knights. Junior Michael Depaolo (#22), 6’3, 210 is the other running back of consequence. He also averages over 5 yards a carry with 614 yards and 11 TDs on the season. In the District Championship game against Catasauqua, Racciato had 27 carries for 119 yards and DePaolo had 24 carries for 99 yards. These two will be the workhorses that the Warriors defense will have to stop.

It appears that Pen Argyl has used two quarterbacks over the last several games. Nick Oyer, #8 (6’0, 165 lbs) went 3-7 last week for 84 yards including the game winning TD. Oyer is known as an “all purpose back” or “athlete” who has also been used as running back during the course of the season. QB Ryan Hunt has thrown more passes for the year, but his playing time at QB seems to have been reduced in the last several games. Either way—Pen Argyl will be looking to run first.

The Warriors will have their hands full stopping the Green Knights running attack. But, the 2012 Warriors have been surprisingly stout against the run all year—a credit to the guys ups front as well as the LBs and DBs who do their share. The defense limited a strong Lakeland team to less than 200 yards rushing and only 7 points. While everyone thinks of Wyoming Area as an explosive offense, they might want to take a closer look at that defense. Like last week, if the Warrior defense can keep the Green Knights running game under 200 yards, the Warriors will be in the game.

The offense has been creative and its diversity has kept opponents off balance. However, the turnover and penalty bugs have raised their ugly heads over the last few games. At this level, turnovers and penalties may be the difference in the game, so greater discipline will be required. So, this game, like the Lakeland game, will come down to Pen Argyl’s ability to control the ball and score on long drives. The Warriors, on the other hand, are hoping that their high flying offense will show up at Northern Lehigh and their "no-name" defense does the job once again...

Temperatures are expected to be in the mid-30’s on Saturday and there might be a chance of snow showers. The Warriors will be the visitors for this game. Dress warm and see you at the game. Nick Perugini (nperugini@aol.com)

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