WEST PITTSTON – Wyoming Area had barely four minutes Friday night to make up for the previous 44.
All the Warriors could do with them was avoid a shutout.
Scranton Prep did a little more with its few offensive chances, scoring twice in the fourth quarter to hand Wyoming Area a 12-6 loss in a non-conference football game.
Nick O’Brien’s 2-yard run with 59 seconds to play completed Wyoming Area’s only sustained drive of the game and cut the deficit to six. The ensuing onside kick was recovered easily by Prep, sending the Warriors to their second consecutive opening-season loss.
“I really came down here and thought they’d get two (touchdowns) and I was hoping we could get three or four,” Prep coach Nick Donato said. “It turned out it wasn’t that type of game.”
Nor was it the type of game Wyoming Area, considered solid contender for a District 2 Class 2A playoff berth, wanted to open its season.
The Warriors were plagued by poor field position in the opening half and didn’t cross midfield until the 9:10 mark of the second quarter. It was the only time they did before halftime.
But like in previous possessions, four penalties hampered the drive that stalled on an incompletion on a fourth-and-19 from the Prep 29-yard line.
Then there were two interceptions to end its first two possessions.
“Penalties and turnovers were one,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “The heat went both ways. You saw both teams cramping there at the end. The key for us was if we could finish the game with the bodies we started. We tried to get guys in spots and they held up pretty well.
“But we had that four-minute period in the beginning of the fourth quarter when they got a couple on the board.”
The game was a combination of a defensive stalemate and an offensive struggle for both teams until the 10:20 mark of the fourth quarter. That’s when Prep’s Pat Marino squirted up the middle and dashed for the right pylon for a 31-yard touchdown.
Until that point, the Cavaliers had just 26 yards on the ground.
Prep then scored on its next drive, with Marshall Kupinski carrying the load before scoring from a yard out. Again, a Wyoming Area penalty – one of 11 committed – turned a third-and-3 into a first-and-goal at the 2.
O’Brien ran for a game-high 138 yards on 31 carries, but Prep’s defense never allowed the elusive quarterback/running back to break off his usual game-changing run.
“In the second half, we played a lot better on defense,” Donato said. “I think they got the feel of just how quick this kid is.”
Prep was equally quick on defense, sacking O’Brien twice and Jordan Zezza once. Blitzes from the blindside led to two fumbles, including one that Prep recovered at its 33.
Scranton Prep 12, Wyoming Area 6
| Scranton Prep |
0 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
— |
12 |
| Wyoming Area |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
— |
6 |
