YATESVILLE – Rocco Pizano halted Pittston Area’s comeback bid and Drew Mruk finished off the Patriots.
Mruk earned the Carmelo Falcone Award as Most Valuable Player in the annual rivalry game while leading visiting Wyoming Area to the 28-14 victory Saturday afternoon at Charley Trippi Stadium.
Each team had reached a point where it thought the season had ended, largely because of a COVID-19 case close to the Pittston Area team that had caused the postponement of the scheduled meeting between the teams eight days earlier. They wound up getting together for what became the presumed season finale – plans have had a way of changing this fall – and left Wyoming Area with a 5-3 record and Pittston Area winless in a five-game season.
Pizano, who caught a 33-yard touchdown pass for a 21-0 lead in the first minute of the second quarter, picked off passes less than two minutes apart in the fourth quarter with the Warriors protecting a 21-14 lead.
Following the second interception, Mruk carried five times for 32 yards, including the 6-yard touchdown with 1:25 left to clinch the victory.
“I thought the season was over,” Mruk said. “When I heard it was back on, I got so excited and I was ready to go.”
It showed.
Mruk joined his older brother, Corey, the 2018 winner, in receiving the Falcone Award. He carried 18 times for 168 yards and was in on a team-high 11 tackles with four tackles and seven assists.
Jake Williams ran for the first touchdown, passed for another and broke up four passes, including one at the goal line for Wyoming Area. He also made four tackles, including one for a loss.
David Behm led the Pittston Area comeback, twice making tough catches in the end zone on fourth-down plays for second-quarter touchdowns on passes by P.J. Pisano.
Behm took a big hit on a 6-yard touchdown, then went up over two defenders on a 26-yarder. He caught six passes for 100 yards in the first half.
Pizano drew the assignment of slowing Behm in the second half.
“I would follow him around the season wherever he was and jam him and play man,” Pizano said.
Behm’s two second-half catches included a 36-yarder in which he wrestled with Pizano for the ball as they came down. Pizano wound up with the ball when they were separated on the ground, but officials ruled simultaneous possession at the time Behm went down, making it a catch.
“I thought we were close on a lot of plays,” Spencer said. “Give credit to (Behm), he made some highly contested catches. He had one catch that he battled for that we just maybe Rocco had gotten, too.”
Mruk ran for 116 yards in the first quarter and the Warriors appeared ready for their third straight blowout win in the series. After winning 40-0 in 2018 and 45-0 last year in the biggest blowout in the 56-game history of the series, Wyoming Area scored on its first three possessions.
Mruk’s 59-yard run on his team’s second offensive play set up a 2-yard touchdown by Williams. Mruk then followed up a 41-yard run with a 7-yard touchdown on the next play for a 14-0 lead with 5:22 left in the first quarter.
The Williams-to-Pizano touchdown pass made it 21-0.
Pittston Area answered with a 74-yard scoring drive that featured the first two of four straight fourth-down conversions in the quarter by the Patriots.
Jimmy Spindler passed 26 yards to Behm on a fake punt to set up the first Pittston Area touchdown. Behm caught passes for all four conversions, including a 12-yarder on fourth-and-three on the way to his second touchdown.
Pittston Area got as close as the Wyoming Area 23 in the final minute of the third quarter in its attempts to tie the game.
YATESVILLE — It was pretty evident right from the beginning how Wyoming Area’s offense was going to attack the Pittston Area defense. Because the Patriots hadn’t played a game since Oct. 9, the Warriors looked as if they were intent on trying to wear down the Patriots.
Wyoming Area had no better back than sophomore Drew Mruk. By the time Mruk finished his sixth carry of the game, he had already accumulated 115 yards. His seventh resulted in the first of two rushing touchdowns, as the Warriors held off Pittston Area, 28-14, Saturday afternoon at Pittston Area. The win marked the third consecutive time the Warriors have knocked off their rival.
Mruk finished the game with 167 yards rushing and two touchdowns and was selected the Falcone Award winner, annually presented to the MVP of the game between the two schools.
“Our linemen blocked amazing, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything without them,” said Mruk, who can now share the honors of being a Falcone Award winner with his older brother, Corey, who won the award when he was a junior at Wyoming Area. Corey Mruk graduated from Wyoming Area last year.
Wyoming Area scored on its first three possessions of the game. Quarterback Jacob Williams scored on a 3-yard run, Mruk scored from 1 yard out, and after the Warriors recovered a fumble, wideout Rocco Pizano got behind the Pittston Area secondary and hauled in a 33-yard pass from Williams to make it 21-0 with 11:25 left in the first half.
Pittston Area, to its credit, did not fold the tent. After not playing in weeks due to COVID-19 issues, and believing at one point the program was shut down for the year, fought back. That’s when 6-foot-5 tight end David Behm proved to be a headache for the Wyoming Area secondary. Behm caught touchdown passes of 6 and 26 yards, with the 26-yarder coming just before the second quarter ended, to bring the Patriots within 21-14 at the half.
“Given the circumstances I thought it was phenomenal,” said Pittston Area coach Nick Barbieri. “Two weeks ago we were told we were done and the seniors would never play another football game here. Then we get a reprieve, and thanks to the school board and administration we were given a chance to play another game. For (Wyoming Area) and our kids it is a great opportunity. They all had a chance to make a memory.”
With Behm giving the Wyoming Area secondary fits with his height advantage, Wyoming Area put Pizano on him in the second half when Behm lined up on the outside. Pizano picked off two passes in the second half, one coming inside the Wyoming Area 40-yard line and the other on the Pittston Area side of the field.
“I thought we were close on a lot of plays,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “Give credit to (Behm); he made some highly contested catches. Rocco did a great job defensively especially towards the end. Stepping up to that challenge, we have him the opportunity to cover (Behm) in the second half, and he did a great job.”
Pizano’s second interception set up Wyoming Area’s final score of the night, a six-play 33-yard drive capped by a Mruk 6-yard touchdown run. Mruk carried the ball on five of the six plays.
“We saw two responses tonight,” Spencer said. “It was a great response by Pittston Area when we went up by three scores, and for (Mruk) as a sophomore on both sides of the ball. We were able to see him finish strong led by the line, the fullbacks and tight end. “It was great to see him do that.”
NANTICOKE — Joe Fox steadily piled up yardage with an impressive night running the ball for Nanticoke Area.
Drew Mruk, Vincenzo Giambra and Leonardo Haros made sure Wyoming Area’s running game put points on the scoreboard.
Mruk, Giambra and Haros combined for five touchdowns and more than 15 yards per carry while leading Wyoming Area to a 42-7 Wyoming Valley Conference victory Friday night.
“Up front, I think we did well,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “When you have three guys who are going to run downhill for you and that complement each other in those aspects of the game, we’re also happy with that.”
The strong Wyoming Area ground game drove the ball when needed and made sure the Warriors made the most of it when the defense and special teams created good field position.
Wyoming Area (4-3) scored twice after taking over in Nanticoke Area territory and once from midfield while building a 29-0 halftime lead.
Fox carried 29 times for 179 yards for the Trojans, who crossed midfield four times and moved into the red zone twice in the first three quarters without scoring.
“He ran hard,” Spencer said. “We definitely respect the game he played tonight.”
Wyoming Area’s defense came up the key stops and Mruk and Giambra ran for two touchdowns each in the first half.
Neither carried in the second half when Haros took over at tailback and had 123 yards on six carries.
Haros scored on a 55-yard run to cover 80 yards in two plays after Adam Sigman’s end zone interception.
Sigman had sent the game into the Mercy Rule earlier in the third quarter on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Jake Williams.
Giambra’s 23-yard run and two-point conversion run, following a Nanticoke Area penalty, opened the scoring midway through the first quarter.
Nanticoke Area fumbled a fourth-down, shot-gun snap and had to fall on the ball at its 35.
Wyoming Area scored four plays later on Mruk’s 1-yard run.
Sigman’s rush caused a bad punt and sent Wyoming Area up at midfield. From there, Mruk had runs of 10 and 32 yards before scoring from the 6 for a 22-0 lead.
Blaise Sokach-Minnick returned an interception 16 yards to the Nanticoke Area 29 and Giambra scored from there on the next play with 7:43 left in the half.
Mruk stepped in front of a pitch in the Nanticoke Area backfield to create another threat before halftime, but Aidan Jaskulski intercepted for Nanticoke Area.
Nanticoke Area (1-6) broke the shutout on an 8-yard run by quarterback Mike Marcella with 7:52 left.
TIMES LEADER GAME STATS
Wyoming Area 42, Nanticoke Area 7
Wyoming Area`15`14`13`0 — 42
Nanticoke Area`0`0`0`7 — 7
First quarter
WA – Vincenzo Giambra 23 run (Giambra run), 6:13
WA – Drew Mruk 1 run (Sydney Kruszka kick), 0:47.8
Second quarter
WA – Mruk 6 run (Jayden Rusyn kick), 9:16
WA – Giambra 29 run (Kruszka kick), 7:43
Third quarter
WA – Adam Sigman 11 pass from Jake Williams (kick failed), 9:20
WA – Leonardo Haros 55 run (Kruszka kick), 2:11
Fourth quarter
NAN – Mike Marcella 8 run (Sophia Lukowski kick), 7:52
Team statistics`WA`NAN
First downs`17`14
Rushes-yards`33-377`45-228
Passing yards`21`37
Total yards`398`265
Passing`3-6-1`1-8-1
Sacked-yards lost`0-0`1-3
Punts-avg.`0-0`2-14.5
Fumbles-lost`0-0`2-1
Penalties-yards`3-20`3-17
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — WA, Haros 8-133, Mruk 7-82, Giambra 3-64, Nico Sciandra 3-35, Williams 4-34, John Morgan 3-12, Daniel Angus 3-10, Colby Gashi 1-6, Keegan Rusyn 1-2, Joe Marranca 1-minus 1. NAN, Joe Fox 29-179, Aidan Jaskulski 2-31, Seth Raymer 5-15, Ayden Everett 2-9, Ashton Brozusky 1-5, Dylan Tuthill 1-minus 2, Marcella 5-minus 9.
PASSING — WA, Williams 3-5-1-21, Morgan 0-1-0-0. NAN, Marcella 1-8-1-37.
RECEIVING — WA, Rocco Pizano 1-15, Sigman 1-11, Rusyn 1-minus 5. NAN, Sincere Shiloh 1-37.
INTERCEPTIONS — WA, Blaise Sokach-Minnick 1-16, Sigman 1-0. NAN, Jaskulski 1-13.
MISSED FIELD GOALS – None.
WEEK 6, October 16: WARRIORS FALL TO LAKE LEHMAN 47-26
WEST PITTSTON – On a night when the teams combined for 520 yards and 58 points in the first half alone, it was Lake-Lehman’s second-half defensive effort that finally separated the two teams.
The unbeaten Black Knights held defending state Class 3A champion Wyoming Area scoreless in the second half to pull away for a 47-26 victory in a Friday night Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 football game.
Lake-Lehman allowed just two first downs, nine yards rushing and 35 yards total offense during a second half in which it never let Wyoming Area cross midfield.
“We made some adjustments,” Lake-Lehman coach Jerry Gilsky said. “They came out wanting to run the ball more because they wanted to get that grind game going, which they should. That’s what they did to us last year.
“We were up 10 and they went right at us.”
Not this time.
Lake-Lehman became the first District 2 team to reach 6-0. Its defense shut down Wyoming Area’s ground attack and Ethan Adams made sure the Black Knights offense barely slowed down by wrapping up a night in which he produced 417 yards total offense and 36 points.
Ryan Eiden scored the last two of his three touchdowns in the final seven minutes to finish off the Warriors (3-3) not just in the game, but also apparently in their hopes of repeating as District 2 champions.
Neither team scored for more than 17 minutes to begin the second half, which seemed unlikely after Adams and Jacob Monko helped Lake-Lehman to leads of 21-13 after one quarter and 32-26 at halftime.
Adams found Monko for touchdown passes of 68 and 50 yards in the first quarter. He then hit Eiden with a 57-yarder in the second quarter.
The senior quarterback finished 17-for-31 for 359 yards and four touchdowns passing. He also ran 15 times for 58 yards.
Adams ran for a pair of two-point conversions, both of which came after Wyoming Area penalties moved the conversion attempt half the distance to the goal line, and threw to Eiden for another.
The fourth-quarter touchdown pass and two-point conversion pass to Eiden both came on option plays in which Adams legally pitched the ball forward to Eiden while still behind the line of scrimmage.
Monko finished with 145 receiving yards and an interception for Lake-Lehman (6-0). Eiden caught seven passes for 100 yards and was the game’s leading rusher with 72 more yards.
All that firepower helped Lake-Lehman get through a penalty-filled night in which it had consecutive touchdown runs by Adams called back by and gave up a touchdown to Wyoming Area after another sequence of consecutive penalties.
“Nothing went our way,” Gilsky said. “There were too many flags. I think kids took things for granted.
“We just really need to polish up.”
After Adams had potential touchdown runs of 7 and 16 yards called back because of illegal blocks, he found Jake Trumbower with a 19-yard pass to the 1. Eiden closed the scoring from there on the next play with 2:15 left.
Lake-Lehman opened the game by scoring in just two plays and the teams were tied for just 44 seconds after that.
Wyoming Area forced a 13-13 tie late in the first quarter when two consecutive penalties on the Lake-Lehman punting team pushed the Black Knights back to trying to kick out of their end zone.
John Morgan broke in to block the kick up into the air and Jayden Rusyn caught it in the end zone for a touchdown.
Wyoming Area also nearly kept up with Lake-Lehman offensively in the first half when Jake Williams passed for 143 yards and two touchdowns while running for 58 yards, which was the most by any player during the first two quarters.
Williams threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Leonardo Haros midway through the first quarter and a 64-yarder to Rocco Pizano early in the second.
Lake-Lehman responded well to the blocked punt, scoring 16 points in the next 3:17 on the 50-yard pass to Monko, the 57-yarder to Eiden and the two Adams two-point conversion runs.
WEST PITTSTON — The track meet began on the second play from scrimmage when Ethan Adams tossed the first of his three touchdown passes to help Lake-Lehman set the tone.
Though Wyoming Area may have been a bit dazed, the Warriors refused to hit the canvas. But in the end, Lake-Lehman made just a few more plays and got a couple defensive stops in a 47-26 victory Friday night at Wyoming Area.
The win improved the Black Knights to 6-0 on the year. Wyoming Area lost for the second consecutive week and dropped to 3-3.
Lake-Lehman stuck with its game plan and used its wide-open passing game. Adams finished the night with 326 yards passing and connected with five different receivers. Jacob Monko proved to be the deep threat for the Black Knights, hauling in three passes for 145 yards — two of them going for touchdowns.
Wyoming Area mixed the pass in with the run in the first half, though the running part was mainly with quarterback Jacob Williams. That caught the Black Knights a little bit off guard, but when Max Paczewski made a 30-yard field goal just before the half ended, the Black Knights led 32-26.
“They changed up a lot of things; it really wasn’t what we saw on film,” said Lake-Lehman coach Jerry Gilsky. “We had to button some things up. We didn’t allow any points in the second half.”
Ryan Eiden rushed for 60 yards and two touchdowns, and also caught five passes for 66 yards and a score. After a scoreless third quarter, Eiden’s two rushing touchdowns came in the fourth quarter to help the Black Knights put the game away.
But it certainly wasn’t easy.
Wyoming Area quarterback Williams threw for 169 yards and two touchdowns. He connected with Leo Haros on a 25-yard score, and again in the second quarter on a 64-yard scoring play to Rocco Pizano, who was able to get behind the Lake-Lehman secondary.
“Nothing really went our way,” Gilsky said. “There were too many flags, and I think the kids took some things for granted. I’m not happy with this win at all, especially when you look at all our mistakes. Wyoming Area was working hard to capitalize them.”
That was evident in the first quarter, when the teams combined for 34 points. Seven of Wyoming Area’s points came when Jayden Rusyn caught a blocked punt in the end zone for a touchdown which, at the time, tied the game at 13. Lake-Lehman was forced to punt from its end zone after it was whistled for an illegal block in the back and then an unsportsmanlike penalty.
Paczewski’s field goal gave the Black Knights a little bit of breathing room heading into the half, where Gilsky made the necessary defensive adjustments as he expected the Warriors to try and run the ball right at the Lake-Lehman defense.
“They came out in the second half and wanted to run the ball more,” Gilsky said. “That is what they did to us last year. That is a credit to them. That is what they do well. We were able to stop them, and then our athletic guys were able to get on the perimeter when we had the ball and make some plays.”
Game Stats: Times Leader
Lake-Lehman 47, Wyoming Area 26
Lake-Lehman`21`11`0`15 — 47
Wyoming Area`13`13`0`0 — 26
First quarter
LL – Jacob Monko 68 pass from Ethan Adams (Max Paczewski kick), 10:57
WA – Leonardo Haros 25 pass from Jake Williams (bad snap, pass failed), 7:18
LL – Adams 15 run (kick blocked), 5:34
WA – Jayden Rusyn recovered blocked punt in end zone (Rusyn kick), 0:50
LL – Monko 50 pass from Adams (Adams run), 0:06.5
Second quarter
LL – Ryan Eiden 57 pass from Adams (Adams run), 9:33
WA – Rocco Pizano 64 pass from Jake Williams (run failed), 8:20
WA – Drew Mruk 1 run (Rusyn kick), 2:23
LL – Paczewski 30 FG, 0:06.7
Fourth quarter
LL – Eiden 28 pass from Adams (Eiden pass from Adams), 6:54
LL – Eiden 1 run (Paczewski kick), 2:15
Team statistics`LL`WA
First downs`16`11
Rushes-yards`29-121`29-81
Passing yards`359`169
Total yards`480`250
Passing`17-31-2`10-23-2
Sacked-yards lost`1-6`1-9
Punts-avg.`4-24.0`6-29.0
Fumbles-lost`4-1`3-2
Penalties-yards`9-93`6-46
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — LL, Eiden 11-72, Adams 15-58, Colby Roberts 1-5, Team 2-minus 14. WA, Williams 19-50, Haros 4-20, Mruk 4-9, Vincenzo Giambra 1-3, Team 1-minus 1.
PASSING — LL, Adams 17-31-2-359. WA, Williams 10-23-2-169.
RECEIVING — LL, Eiden 7-100, Jake Trumbower 5-87, Monko 3-145, Colby Kennedy 1-25, Marshall Woodrosky 1-2. WA, Pizano 3-77, Haros 3-50, John Morgan 2-41, Adam Sigman 1-3, Mruk 1-minus 2.
INTERCEPTIONS — LL, Woodrosky 1-0, Monko 1-minus 4. WA, Mruk 1-0, Sigman 1-0.
MISSED FIELD GOALS – None
WEEK 5, October 9: WARRIORS FALL TO CRESTWOOD 14-13
WRIGHT TWP. — Crestwood’s Jimmy Hawley didn’t seem like a candidate to give his team an offensive jump-start in the second half Friday.
After all, the senior running back rushed once in the first two quarters and was stuffed for no gain.
Yet when the third quarter started, Hawley was the guy.
Hawley rushed nine times on Crestwood’s 11-play drive on its first possession of the third quarter, including for a 3-yard touchdown which enabled the Comets to defeat Wyoming Area 14-13 in a Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 game.
Crestwood improved to 4-0 in the division and 5-0 overall. Wyoming Area fell to 2-1 in the division and 3-2 overall.
“We made too many mistakes,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “Some were unforced errors. Give Crestwood credit. They came out, they were physical and they ran the ball at us and did what they needed to do.”
Hawley finished with 97 yards on 21 carries, slamming himself into the Wyoming Area defensive line and emerging more often than not with yardage.
“We decided at halftime we wanted to get back to our basics with pro twins,” Hawley said. “And coach told me it was going to be my kind of half and he gave me the ball.
“My offensive line was just opening the holes. I could see everything clear. I could get downhill. I couldn’t do anything without my O-line.”
Hawley used a double-team block by tackle Aidan Jardine and tight end Logan Arnold and then some muscle — banging off three tacklers into the end zone from three yards out at 6:20 of the third quarter. Kicker Ethan Shudak nailed the extra point for the 14-13 lead.
“He’s a senior who earlier this year had a tremendous loss. He lost his dad,” Crestwood coach Ryan Arcangeli said. “He wants this season more than any of our other guys. Again, one gut punch after another and that’s the heart of a champion, No. 42. I’m so proud of him and I know his dad is looking down on him and is so proud of him.”
Crestwood had just one first down in the first half, with it coming on a 74-yard run by quarterback Noah Schultz. Four plays later, Schultz connected on a 12-yard TD pass to Ryan Petrosky on a fourth-and-goal to tie the score 7-7 at 3:36 of the first quarter. Petrosky is the Comets’ starting quarterback but played receiver after missing the last two games with an undisclosed injury.
Wyoming Area put together an 11-play scoring drive late in the second quarter, taking a 13-7 lead on a 6-yard run by Vincenzo Giambra. Crestwood sophomore Cole Kakalecik, though, busted through the line to block the extra point.
“That’s a sophomore who has started 15, 16 games for us,” Arcangeli said of Kakalecik, who made his presence known at linebacker throughout the game. “He went nuts when he blocked that and I said ‘That’s going to be the difference.’”
Wyoming Area scored its first touchdown on a 31-yard run by Leo Haros at 6:56 of the first quarter that was set up by a 16-yard interception return by Jake Williams.
The Warriors, though, never moved deeper than the Crestwood 42-yard line in the second half. Both times penalties pushed the ball backward, including two in a row which resulted in a first-and-33 situation.
“We’re obviously disappointed with the mental mistakes and not having a strong finish,” Spencer said.
Things don’t get any easier for Wyoming Area next week as the Warriors host Lake-Lehman, which brings an unbeaten record into Saturday afternoon’s game against winless Holy Redeemer. Crestwood’s game with Hanover Area next week is already postponed because of two positive COVID-19 tests within Hanover Area’s athletic programs.
MOUNTAIN TOP — The Crestwood Comets came into Friday night looking for a statement win.
They were tired of the outside chatter regarding their first four games of the season and the fact they beat four teams with a combined three wins. But they’d have their opportunities against the defending state champions, Wyoming Area.
Thanks to an impressive second-half effort from senior running back Jimmy Hawley, who rushed for 95 yards and a touchdown on 20 second-half carries, the Comets (5-0) overcame a six-point halftime deficit to win, 14-13, against the Warriors (3-2).
“What we’re doing is working hard,” Crestwood head coach Ryan Arcangeli said. “What I told the kids is that we can’t let people question our hard work. Hard work shows in tough games. That’s what they can continue to do. They continue to follow the plan.
“I love these seniors. I love these underclassmen. We’re going to prepare one week at a time for every opponent, so we can give them our best shot.”
But it was an effort play from a Crestwood sophomore that would prove to be the difference.
After Vincenzo Giambra finished off a Wyoming Area six-minute, 14-play drive with a 6-yard rushing touchdown, to put the Warriors up, 13-7, before the half, Cole Kakalecik could have went easy on the extra point. But instead he tried to make a play and did just that.
The linebacker got a hand on the kick to block the point-after attempt, which would prove to be the difference.
“That’s not giving up, not giving in,” Arcangeli said of Kakalecik’s effort. “That’s a sophomore, who has started 15, 16 games for us, and he went nuts when he blocked that for us. I said, ‘That’s going to be the difference.’
“Heart is the difference, and we saw that on that play.”
The Comets went into the break trailing the defending state champs by just six points.
It was at that moment when Hawley had his name called. He was told that the game plan in the second half would stretch to his strength — ground and pound.
After getting just one carry for no yards in the first half, the senior broke out with a 20-rush, 95-yard effort in the second half to put the Warriors away. Hawley would run the ball on nine of the Comets’ 11 plays on their opening drive of the second half, totaling 50 yards out of a possible 60 on the ground.
Hawley capped off the impressive drive with a 3-yard touchdown run for the final points of the night, giving the Comets a 14-13 lead with 6:20 remaining in the third quarter.
“We just decided at halftime that we wanted to get back to basics with our pro twins,” Hawley said. “Coach told me it was going to be my type of half and he gave me the ball.
“My offensive line was just opening the holes. I could see everything clear. I was just getting downhill. I couldn’t do anything without my offensive line.”
Arcangeli did note after the win that next week’s game against Hanover Area was up in the air now that the Hawkeyes have postponed all football-related activities until Oct. 21 due to COVID-19 issues within the Hanover Area school district community.
Friday’s game against Wilkes-Barre Area was postponed.
“It looks like Hanover’s not going to be able to play, but we’ll regroup, have a conversation with our administration and we’ll make the right choice for our team,” Arcangeli said.
Game Stats - Times Leader
Crestwood 14, Wyoming Area 13
Wyoming Area`7`6`0`0 — 13
Crestwood`7`0`7`0 — 14
First quarter
WA — Leo Haros 31 run (Jayden Rusyn kick), 6:56
CRE — Ryan Petrosky 12 pass from Noah Schultz (Ethan Shudak kick), 3:36
Second quarter
WA — Vincenzo Giambra 6 run (kick blocked), 2:54
Third quarter
CRE — Jimmy Hawley 3 run (Shudak kick), 6:20
Team statistics`WA`CRE
First downs`13`11
Rushes-yards`34-149`38-191
Passing yards`39`22
Total yards`188`213
Passing`5-13-0`2-8-1
Sacked-yards lost`0-0`2-14
Punts-avg.`4-31`4-33.3
Fumbles-lost`1-1`0-0
Penalties-yards`4-33`5-55
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — WA, Drew Mruk 4-11, Haros 14-71, Jake Williams 4-10, Giambra 11-50, Richie Hizynski 1-7. Crestwood, Kaleb Benjamin 4-4, Schultz 8-88, Hawley 21-97, Nick Kruezer 1-5, Brendan Dennis 1-1, team 3-(minus-4).
PASSING — WA, Williams 5-12-0-39, Haros 0-1-0-0. Crestwood, Dennis 0-1-1-0, Schultz 2-7-0-22.
RECEIVING — WA, Blaise Sokach-Minnick 1-4, Rusyn 2-14, Rocco Pizano 1-13, Adam Sigman 1-8. Crestwood, Petrosky 1-12, Brenden DeMarzo 1-10.
INTERCEPTIONS — WA, Williams 1-16.
MISSED FGs — none.
WEEK 4, October 2: WARRIORS TAME TUNKHANNOCK: 35-6
TUNKHANNOCK — Wyoming Area combined hard hits on defense with quick strikes on offense Friday night.
Drew Mruk was a big factor in both.
Mruk scored on four consecutive carries during a stretch of 8:19 of the second and third quarters as the Warriors ran away for a 35-6 victory.
The sophomore running back/linebacker had touchdown runs of 5, 37, 33 and 62 yards to finish with 157 yards and 10 carries despite not getting the ball for the final 20:43. On defense, Mruk made seven tackles, including a sack and two other tackles for losses.
When Mruk scored twice in the first 3:18 of the second half, those points forced the remainder of the game into the 35-point Mercy Rule. Tunkhannock broke the shutout with 13 seconds left.
“We were looking for consistency in terms of execution offensively,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said after his team ran for 285 yards on 36 carries. “I’m pleased with our running game. Tunkhannock brought a lot of pressure, so there was a lot of pressure on our offensive line, tight ends and fullbacks, as far as being able to block through their gaps and pick up people.
“I thought our backs did a nice job, too, because it wasn’t just short runs. We had a couple long runs broken by those backs.”
Mruk went off left tackle for his first touchdown to complete a 12-play, 51-yard drive in which the Warriors converted three straight third-down situations.
The rest of Mruk’s touchdowns were on plays that went right up the middle and the rest of the Wyoming Area scores happened in a hurry.
Wyoming Area’s first-quarter touchdown came on the first play after a Tunkhannock roughing-the-punter penalty ruined what would have been a three-and-out for the Tigers defense.
Keegan Rusyn, another sophomore running back, took a Jacob Williams screen pass 43 yards for the touchdown.
Mruk scored on the second play of a possession with 2:21 left in the half, the fourth play of the second half and the first play of the next possession. His 37-yard touchdown run followed up a 27-yard Williams pass to Adam Sigman. The 33-yarder came one play after Vincenzo Giambra’s 23-yard run converted a third-and-three.
“Our linemen really picked it up this week,” Mruk said. “If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be able to do it.”
Wyoming Area’s secondary came up with several big hits to prevent completions or stop Tunkhannock immediately after making catches in an 11-for-30 night passing by the Tigers.
“Physicality was another thing,” Spencer said. “The secondary, our safeties, Leo Haros and Jake Williams, and our corners, Rocco Pizano and Adam Sigman and also we got Drew Mruk out there in space in our even fronts. I thought those guys did a great job as a group.”
Jhamal Zacharias, the third quarterback Tunkhannock used, led the Tigers down the field for a late score against the Wyoming Area reserves. He completed a 35-yard pass to Garrett Yuhas, then kept on a rollout for a 5-yard touchdown on the next play.
Tunkhannock was looking to get in the win column, but Drew Mruk and Wyoming Area had different plans Friday night.
Mruk rushed for 150 yards on nine carries — four of them touchdowns — in a 35-6 victory for the Warriors on Friday in the Wyoming Valley Conference.
A roughing the kicker penalty on the Warriors’ first series set up their first score on a Jacob Williams 44-yard pass to Keegan Russen at 9:19 of the first quarter.
From there, Mruk would handle the rest of Wyoming Area’s scoring.
His first touchdown came in the second half on a 5-yard run with 5:01 left. His second score was a 37-yard run where he tore through the middle of the field with little resistance and the Warriors led, 21-0 at the half.
Mruk scored again early in the third quarter on a 33-yard run for a 28-0 lead.
The Tigers turned the ball over on downs, something the offense did six times Friday night, and put the ball right back into Mruk’s hands.
With 8:56 remaining in the third, Mruk took a handoff, juked a Tiger, and ran alone down the center of the field for a 62-yard touchdown run.
Jhamal Zacharias entered late in the fourth as the signal caller to get some game reps in. He went 1 for 2 in passing, gaining 37 total yards.
Tunkhannock got on the board after Zacharias’ 37-yard bullet to Garrett Yuhas set the Tigers up and Zacharias followed it up with a 5-yard keeper for a touchdown.
Wyoming Area 35, Tunkhannock 6
Wyoming Area`7`14`14`0 — 35
Tunkhannock`0`0`0`6 — 6
First quarter
WA – Keegan Rusyn 44 pass from Jacob Williams (Sydney Kruszka kick), 9:19
Second quarter
WA – Drew Mruk 5 run (Rusyn kick), 5:01
WA – Mruk 37 run (Kruszka kick), 2:21
Third quarter
WA – Mruk 33 run (Kruszka kick), 10:26
WA – Mruk 62 run (Kruszka kick), 8:42
Fourth quarter
TUNK – Jhamal Zacharias 5 run (bad snap), 0:13
Team statistics`WA`TUNK
First downs`18`12
Rushes-yards`36-285`29-93
Passing yards`88`128
Total yards`373`221
Passing`4-12-0`11-30-1
Sacked-yards lost`1-8`1-4
Punts-avg.`2-35.5`6-35.3
Fumbles-lost`1-1`0-0
Penalties-yards`6-39`7-75
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — WA, Drew Mruk 10-157, Vincenzo Giambra 8-63, Leonardo Haros 9-57, Colby Gashi 3-16, Rich Hyzinski 1-2, Team 2-minus 2, Jacob Williams 3-minus 8. TUNK, Zacharias 4-20, Connor Elgin 5-17, Bobby Schultz 3-16, Mason Roccograndi 3-11, Ty Konen 4-11, Ben Chilson 1-9, Garrett Yuhas 1-8, Colin Madan 1-2, Jack Chilson 4-0, Brian Christ 3-minus 3.
PASSING — WA, Williams 4-12-0-88. TUNK, JChilson 9-27-1-89, Zacharias 1-2-0-35, BChilson 1-1-0-4.
RECEIVING — WA, Adam Signan 2-31, Rusyn 1-44, John Morgan 1-13. TUNK, BChilson 4-42, Nathan Lord 3-27, Riley Jones 2-6, Yuhas 1-35, Michael Sickler 1-18.
INTERCEPTIONS — WA, Williams 1-0. TUNK, None.
MISSED FIELD GOALS – None.
WEEK 3, September 25: WARRIORS CRUISE TO WIN OVER HOLY REDEEMER 41-20
WEST PITTSTON — Wyoming Area bounced back from a loss to Williamsport in a big way, scoring a 55-20 win over visiting Holy Redeemer on Friday.
The Warriors, who now improved their overall record to 2-1, set the tone from the start with a dominant 41-0 first quarter over the Royals, who were playing their first game of the season because of a two-week delay due to COVID-19 issues.
“We had a lot of work that we needed to do coming off of the tough competitive game against Williamsport,” Warriors coach Randy Spencer said. “Obviously we needed to clean up turnovers, limit our penalties, and improve our execution. So offensively we made the most of our opportunities, I think we executed pretty clean on offense, and defensively did what we needed to do.”
Wyoming Area got the scoring barrage started immediately when running back Drew Mruk sprinted down the sideline for a 50-yard touchdown run on his team’s first offensive play.
Less than three minutes later, Adam Sigman blew past the Royals special teams squad for a lightning-quick 60-yard punt return touchdown with 7:52 left in the first quarter to up his team’s lead to 14-0.
Immediately after a Redeemer fumble the ball at the 29-yard line, running back Vincenzo Giambra cashed in on the turnover with a 29-yard rushing score to make it 21-0.
Wyoming Area would cash in again a few minutes later on an impressive Rocco Pisano punt return all the way to the 3-yard line. Leo Haros barreled into the end zone from there for a 27-0 lead.
Another turnover caused by the Warriors defense — a Tom Collins interception — set up Mruk’s second touchdown of the game from 3 yards out. With 1:30 left in the first quarter, it was already 34-0.
And the quarter wasn’t over. Giambra went 51 yards for another score on the ground on the final play of the frame for a 41-0 lead.
Holy Redeemer would end up scoring three touchdowns after that, getting on the board in the second quarter on a 2-yard touchdown run by Christian Leon.
The second touchdown came when sophomore Jake Koons recovered a fumble on defense and took it all the way to the house for an 85-yard touchdown before halftime.
Redeemer’s final score came in the the fourth quarter, when speedy wide receiver Zack Perta scored on a 30-yard throw from quarterback Catal Ormando with 7:50 remaining.
Wyoming Area’s reserves answered with two scores of their own. Backup quarterback John Morgan’s 53-yard touchdown run increased the lead to 49-20 with 6:53 left.
The final touchdown came with only 3:59 left in regulation when tailback Joe Marranca, pounded his way into the end zone from 3 yards out.
The Warriors travel to take on Tunkhannock next week, while Holy Redeemer plays at Crestwood.
WEST PITTSTON — All week in practice, Wyoming Area was looking to bounce back from its first defeat of the season.
Bounce back it did as the Warriors defeated Holy Redeemer, 55-20, in a Wyoming Valley Conference high school football game Friday at Jake Sobieski Stadium.
The Warriors controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, rushing for 314 yards and forcing six fumbles.
“We did a good job of cleaning up our mistakes from last week,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said.
It didn’t take long for the Warriors to score as Drew Mruk took a handoff and scooted 50 yards untouched for a touchdown.
On the ensuing possession, Adam Sigman fielded a punt on Warriors’ 40, made a move to his left, followed his blocking and race untouched 60 yards to the end zone.
It was the same story as Wyoming Area forced another Royal punt. Vincenzo Giambra took a handoff and burst 30 yards off of the left tackle for the score.
Following a John Morgan 57-yard punt return, Leo Haros bolted 3 yards up the middle to increase the Warriors’ lead.
Wyoming Area then drove 40 yards in four plays. Drew Mruk’s 22-yard run set the Warriors up with a first-and-goal from the 3. On the next play, Mruk capped the drive with a 3-yard touchdown.
The Warriors ended the first quarter as Vincenzo Giambra rumbled 57 yards for a touchdown and a 40-0 lead after one quarter.
Holy Redeemer settled down in the second quarter as it moved 53 yards in 5 plays. Christian Leon bulled his way across the goal line from 2 yards out to put the Royals on the scoreboard.
Late in the half, the Royals forced a Warriors’ fumble that Jake Koons scooped and ran 85 yards for the score.
Cataldo Ormando hit Zack Perta with a 30-yard scoring strike for a Royal score.
“I am proud of the way we were able to hang in with a very good Wyoming Area team” said Royals coach Tyson Kelly. “We were able to show a lot of heart.”
WEST PITTSTON – Wyoming Area bounced back from last week’s loss to Williamsport in a big way.
The Warriors opened a 41-point lead in the first quarter on the way to a 55-20 rout of visiting Holy Redeemer in a Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 football game Friday night at Anthony “Jake” Sobeski Stadium.
Facing the defending state Class 3A champion Warriors (2-1) was a tough way to start the season for the Royals, who were winless a year ago and had their first game delayed two weeks because of issues related to COVID-19.
“We had a lot of work that we needed to do coming off of the tough, competitive game against Williamsport,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “Obviously, we needed to clean up turnovers, limit our penalties and improve our execution.
“So, offensively, we made the most of our opportunities. I think we executed pretty clean on offense and, defensively, we did what we needed to do.”
Drew Mruk scored on a 50-yard run on the first offensive play and the points piled up in a hurry.
The Warriors forced a punt, which Adam Sigman returned a punt 60 yards for a score. They took the ball back on a fumble and Vincenzo Giambra scored in one play on a 29-yard run. Rocco Pizano’s 56-yard punt return put the ball on the 3 and Leo Haros scored from there to make it 27-0. Thomas Collins returned an interception 23 yards and Mruk scored from the 3. Giambra ran 51 yards on the last play of the quarter to make it 41-0.
John Morgan ran 53 yards for a touchdown and Joe Marranca ran 3 yards for the last Wyoming Area score.
Holy Redeemer scored three touchdowns, including one on an 85-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Jake Koons. By the numbers
Wyoming Area piled up 325 yards on 35 carries against Holy Redeemer Friday when five players combined for seven rushing touchdowns in a 55-20 romp over the visiting Royals. … Reserve quarterback John Morgan ran eight times for 107 yards and a touchdown. Vincenzo Giambra scored on both of his carries, accounting for 80 yards. Drew Mruk ran for touchdowns on two of three carries, finishing with 75 yards. … Nico Sciandra returned a fumble 62 yards and led the team defensively with four tackles and an assist. Up next
Wyoming Area (1-0 in division, 2-1 overall) heads to Tunkhannock (0-1, 0-2) Friday night for a Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 game. The Tigers lost to Hazleton Area, 34-7, Friday. Tunkhannock is allowing 34.5 points per game and Wyoming Area is scoring 32.0.
WEEK 2, September 18: WARRIORS FALL TO WILLIAMSPORT, 35-14
WEST PITTSTON – Red-zone production was non-existent for Williamsport Friday night.
When green grass opened in front of the Millionaires, however, they took full advantage.
The Millionaires scored touchdowns from 47, 73, 33, 28 and 52 yards in a span of 19:49 to hand defending state Class 3A football champion Wyoming Area a 35-14 loss in a non-divisonal game between Wyoming Valley Conference teams.
None of the players were touched by a Warrior on their way to the end zone.
“They have four of five guys that you know coming in have that game-breaking ability,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “They probably have more than that.
“They have guys with some big-time, play-making ability.”
Williamsport ran just one play from inside the Wyoming Area 20 and Drew Mruk instantly knocked the Millionaires out of the red zone by breaking into the backfield to throw Nasir Hennigan for a loss.
The Millionaires produced 10 first downs, but only two preceded touchdowns.
Instead, Williamsport struck quickly and unexpectedly.
The Millionaires scored three times in the first 3:26 of the second half, scoring on the first play, then adding two more touchdowns while on defense.
A game that was scoreless until 3:22 before halftime morphed into a 28-0 Williamsport lead with 8:34 left in the third quarter and a 35-7 advantage with 7:33 remaining.
Hennigan ran 73 yards up the middle on a draw to begin the second half.
Nassir Jones, limited to 20 yards on five catches on offense, stripped the ball away from Wyoming Area and scored on the 33-yard fumble return.
Damond Greene then returned an interception 28 yards for the 28-0 lead.
“I told our guys, ‘Champs don’t lay down, you have to lay them down,’” Williamsport coach Chuck Crews said.
With Williamsport in position to score again off a turnover at the Wyoming Area 13, the Millionaires went backward. A penalty and two tackles for losses were followed by Nico Sciandra’s interception and 55-yard return.
Sciandra’s interception set up a 9-yard Vincenzo Giambra touchdown run in the waning seconds of the third quarter.
Wyoming Area had one chance to further cut into its deficit, but Williamsport put the game away on the next possession when Keith Freeman broke free in the middle and was uncontested as he took a short Frankie Morrone pass 52 yards for a touchdown.
Rocco Pizano took a pass in the flat from Jacob Williams and went 56 yards for the game’s last touchdown.
The first two quarters were drastically different.
Wyoming Area converted four third-down situations and dominated the first quarter, but could not score. The Warriors held the ball for 10:20 of the 12 minutes and led 5-0 in first downs and 82-6 in total yardage.
Williamsport turned it around to take a small time of possession advantage during the second quarter while putting up advantages of 7-1 in first downs and 164-25 in total offense.
Neither team took a snap from closer than the opponent’s 27, but the Millionaires had the biggest play of the half.
On third-and-10 with 3:22 left in the half, Frankie Morrone hit Cameron Sims with a slant pattern and the speedster hit an opening in the secondary to race untouched 47 yards for the touchdown and a 7-0 halftime lead.
WEST PITTSTON — Charles Crews’ halftime message was straight to the point.
“I told them champions don’t lay down. You have to lay them down,” the Williamsport head coach said. “(Wyoming Area) are state champs. You know they aren’t going to lose. You have to beat them.”
Apparently, his Millionaires were paying close attention.
Nasir Hennigan scored on the first play of the second half, and two quick Williamsport defensive touchdowns broke the game wide open as the Millionaires pulled away for a 35-14 victory over the Warriors on Friday night.
“Any time you can play this way against a caliber team like Wyoming Area, it says something about the staff and the players that you have,” Crews said.
Four minutes — that’s how quickly the tide turned.
Hennigan, who rushed for a game-high 115 yards, took the draw on the first play of the second half and went 73 yards untouched.
On the next Wyoming Area offensive series, Williamsport jarred the ball away from Wyoming Area quarterback Brian Williams. Nassir Jones, an all-state athlete, scooped up the loose pigskin and went 34 yards to the end zone.
The next possession didn’t get much better for the Warriors as backup quarterback Blaise Tokach-Minnich was hit while throwing the ball. Damond Greene picked off the underthrown pass and jogged 28 yards for Williamsport’s third score in a four-minute stretch.
“We had the opportunity to turn the momentum when we forced a fumble on the second-half kickoff, but couldn’t get the recovery,” Wyoming Area head coach Randy Spencer said. “Then, they follow it up with that touchdown. I think we started to press a little bit once we got down.”
For Wyoming Area (1-1), it was about missed opportunities in the first half.
Twice, the Warriors were inside the Williamsport 35, but both times the Millionaires forced big stops on fourth-down plays.
And the only difference in the first 24 minutes was one play. On a third-and-8, Williamsport signal-caller Frankie Marrone found speedster Cameron Sims on a slant across the middle of the field, and the receiver did the rest by running 47 yards to the end zone for the lone first-half score.
“Talented players and big plays hurt us,” Spencer said. “I think the failure to capitalize on a few drives in the first half really changed the complexion of the game. Give their guys credit because they made some big plays.”
Wyoming Area got it back to a three-score game late in the third quarter on Vincenzo Giambra’s 10-yard TD, but Williamsport iced it with 7:23 left when Marrone connected with Keith Freeman on a 56-yard strike and a 35-7 lead.
A late 56-yard connection from Williams to Rocco Pizano with 55 seconds left ended the scoring.
“When their quarterback went down there for a bit in the third quarter, I think it threw their rhythm off,” Crews said. “We were able to capitalize with two defensive touchdowns, and that’s what really put the game out of reach. And the opening TD on the first play of the second half didn’t hurt, either.”
WEST PITTSTON – Blaise Sokach-Minnick fills many roles for the Wyoming Area football team.
His newest one was where Sokach-Minnick made the biggest impact Friday night.
Sokach-Minnick led a pass rush, which kept Riverside’s prolific passing game contained while allowing Wyoming Area to open its state title defense with a 30-6 non-league victory.
Playing defensive end for the first time, Sokach-Minnick had three sacks for 28 yards in losses, assisted on another for an 8-yard loss and batted down a pass.
“Riverside’s a big passing team,” Sokach-Minnick said. “We knew we had to get pressure on the quarterback. He’s a good quarterback, so we had to get pressure on him to get him to force some throws into tight windows and hopefully make some plays for our D-backs.”
The combination of Wyoming Area’s pass rush and two bad snaps by Riverside left the Vikings with minus-28 net rushing yards for the game.
Coach Randy Spencer put an emphasis on the pass rush while facing John Gilchrist, who still got off 37 passes.
“We committed more to pressure in this game with Gilchrist and what he was bringing in,” Spencer said. “We’ve got different ways to do that, so it doesn’t always look the same. That certainly was a big part in terms of the defensive emphasis facing him this week.”
The Warriors held the Vikings scoreless until the last six minutes.
Sokach-Minnick was a big reason why.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder’s short-term future is at quarterback where he’s a junior backing up senior Jacob Williams. His long-term future is likely as a long snapper, following his older brothers who used that specialization to progress to NCAA Division I college football.
When not needed at quarterback, Sokach-Minnick takes offensive snaps as a tight end or wide receiver. His previous defensive work was as a safety until about a month ago when Spencer instructed to him to begin working with another position group.
“Coming into this year, I knew I had to play a lot of roles on the team,” Sokach-Minnick said. “I was just trying to get bigger, stronger, faster, all the usual. About a month ago, coach Spencer brought me down to work with the D-ends.
“It turned out pretty well and I’ve never looked back from there.”
The move put Sokach-Minnick on center stage on Opening Night.
The offense moved the ball, but had just two touchdowns and a field goal to show for 17 first downs and 335 yards.
Special teams and defense took care of the rest.
Freshman Aaron Crossley scored the team’s first touchdown when a Riverside punt snap got away and he won the battle for the loose ball before running it in from 35 yards out with 7:40 left in the first quarter.
Adam Sigman took an interception 51 yards, running down the left sideline before making the cut to beat a defender late in the touchdown return for a 24-0 lead with 4:17 left in the third quarter.
The Warriors took a 17-0 halftime lead on Vincenzo Giambra’s 6-yard run for the first of his two touchdowns and Jayden Rusyn’s 30-yard field goal as time expired.
Riverside broke the shutout with 5:52 left when Gilchrist hit Michael Rickert with a 15-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-14.
Wyoming Area made the most of its opportunities.
Some presented by its opponent, others created by a methodical offensive grind.
On a night where the Warriors celebrated their PIAA Class 3A championship in front of an empty Jake Sobeski Stadium, the new season kicked off with a 30-6 victory over Riverside in a nonconference high school football game Friday night.
They did so by returning two Riverside miscues for scores, using a tenacious and unrelenting pass rush, and pounding out 220 yards on the ground. And their efforts were well received by a collection of fans who took to lawn chairs outside the chain link fence that surrounds the stadium.
“I loved every minute of this game,” said Blaise Sokach-Minnick, who led the Warriors defense with three sacks and several batted down passes. “Warrior Nation is always out there. They were outside the fence and in their cars, and we saw them cheering.
“It’s not ideal, but we are going to make the best of it.”
Aaron Crossley returned a high punt snap 35 yards for the initial score of the game, Adam Sigman took back an interception 50 yards for a score in the third quarter, and Vincienzo Giambra ran for 59 yards and two scores to lead the Warriors.
“It was important to get the running game going,” Giambra said. “We stuck together and played as a team.”
Riverside quarterback Johnny Gilchrist, who had more than 2,900 yards and 39 touchdown passes last season, threw the ball 35 times and had 182 yards with a touchdown in the fourth quarter to newcomer Michael Rickert.
However, the Vikings couldn’t overcome their two mistakes that led to Wyoming Area points, and the negative plays that totaled 31 yards in losses in the rushing game.
“Playing against a quality opponent with experience is helpful, especially for our young guys,” Gilchrist said. “We are going to get better. We were a couple of bad, but fixable plays, to be in a tie game. It was a four-quarter game and we played whistle to whistle and every quarter so we can build off this.”
Wyoming Area took the early lead when Riverside had a snap on a punt sail over the punter’s head. Crossley, making his debut, corralled the loose ball and darted 35 yards for the season’s first score.
“I am thinking when they snapped it high, I was going to pick it up and score,” said Crossley, who is a freshman. “It felt great to put the first points on the board for the season.”
Wyoming Area had another drive push toward a score, but Gavin Williams had a fumble recovery at the 6. And later in the half, Giambra pushed his way through for a 6-yard score to give the Warriors a 14-0 lead with 1:14 to play.
That margin increased when Wyoming Area’s Jayden Rusyn added a 30-yard field goal as time expired.
Riverside’s Reese Gaughan halted another Wyoming Area drive, this one in the third quarter, with an interception at the 6.
But the Vikings’ high-octane offense is inexperienced, and Sokach-Minnick continued to speed up Gilchrist’s timing with his intense pursuit that resulted in a pair of sacks in the second half.
“We had to get the rush on them, because we knew they were a passing team,” Sokach-Minnick said. “He is a great quarterback, so we had to force him into some tight windows and create plays for our defensive backs.”
Sigman’s interception return made it 24-0 with 3:15 left in the third quarter, and the lead grew to 30-0 after a 10-play drive covered 62 yards with Giambra capping it with a 1-yard score.
STATS
STATS BY TIMES LEADER
Wyoming Area 30, Riverside 6
Riverside`0`0`0`6`—`6
Wyoming Area`7`10`7`6`—`30
First quarter
WA – Aaron Crossley 35 fumble return (Sydney Kruszka kick), 7:40
Second quarter
WA – Vincenzo Giambra 6 run (Kruszka kick), 1:41
WA – Jayden Rusyn 30 FG, 0:00
Third quarter
WA – Adam SIgman 51 interception return (Kruszka kick), 4:17
Fourth quarter
WA – Giambra 1 run (bad snap, pass failed), 9:27
R – Michael Rickert 15 pass from John Gilchrist (kick failed), 5:52
Team statistics`RIV`WA
First downs`13`17
Rushes-yards`22-(-28)`47-233
Passing yards`182`102
Total yards`154`335
Passing`16-37-1`6-14-1
Sacked-yards lost`5-40`1-5
Punts-avg.`4-33.0`0-0
Fumbles-lost`2-1`1-0
Penalties-yards`5-25`8-72 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — RIV, Noah Parchinski 5-21, Charles Azarsky 1-minus 4, Gilchrist 14-minus 12, Team 2-minus 33. WA, Drew Mruk 10-64, Vincenzo Giambra 12-60, Colby Gashi 8-44, Rich Hyzinski 4-15, Rocco Pizano 1-10, J. Rusyn 2-10, Jacob Williams 4-8, Nico Sciandra 1-7, Daniel Angus 1-6, John Morgan 1-5, Crossley 3-4. PASSING — RIV, Gilchrist 16-37-1-182. WA, Williams 6-13-1-102, Blaise Sokach-Minnick 0-1-0-0. RECEIVING — RIV, Azarsky 6-87, Rickert 5-51, Reese Gaughan 3-19, Joshua Godlewski 1-25, Parchinski 1-0. WA, Mruk 2-42, Pizano 1-42, Usamah Alansari 1-13, Evan Melberger 1-7, Gashi 1-minus 2.
INTERCEPTIONS — RIV, Gaughan 1-0. WA, Sigman 1-51. MISSED FIELD GOALS – None.
