Times Leader

DALLAS TWP. — On a warm, early November Friday night under the lights, the Dallas Mountaineers controlled the game from start to finish in a 49-28 victory over the visiting Wyoming Area Warriors in a District 2 Class 4A quarterfinal matchup.
Dallas was once again led by a stellar performance from senior team captain Parker Bolesta, as he ran for a game-high 187 yards and four touchdowns on just 14 carries.
In a matchup of two of the Wyoming Valley Conference’s top rushers, Wyoming Area’s Aaron Crossley finished with 150 yards and a score.
Mountaineers quarterback Brady Zapoticky went 7-for-10 passing for 107 yards a touchdown and an interception.
Dallas coach Rich Mannello was proud of his team’s solid effort on the night, which put the Mountaineers (9-2) into next week’s semifinals on the road against reigning district champion Valley View. The Cougars beat Honesdale 54-7 on Friday.
“The kids hung in there,” Mannello said. “That back we faced tonight is as good as we’ve seen there, (Crossley). He ran hard and we had a hard time tackling him, obviously, and you could see that.
“But our kids stayed with it, and we were opportunistic offensively. I think the drive right before the half was huge, I think with 40 seconds left to go, we went the length of the field and scored, that made a big difference in the game.”
Dallas had opened a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter, but the Warriors added a pair of touchdowns afterward and cut the deficit to 28-14 with 44 seconds left before halftime.
But that was enough time for the Mounts to score one more touchdown of their own as Bolesta found the end zone as time expired to make it a 35-14 at the break.
Both teams were coming off rivalry games as Dallas beat Lake-Lehman to reclaim the Old Shoe while Wyoming Area fell to Pittston Area in a battle for the WVC Division 2 title.
That carried over into Friday’s playoff opener as Dallas scored just 33 seconds in after the Warriors opened the game with a surprise onside kick. Dallas recovered, and Bolesta scored from 33 yards out on just the second play from scrimmage to give the Mounts a lead for the rest of the night.
Bolesta capped a 75-yard drive late in the first quarter with a 22-yard touchdown and then ripped off a 51-yard score to make it 21-0 a minute into the second quarter.
Wyoming Area would find its first answer after that as Michael Crane barreled into the end zone from the 1 with 6:51 left in the half.
Dallas would grab the momentum right back with 4:56 left in the half, as Zapoticky connected with junior wide out Zach Paczewski on a highlight reel 23-yard jump ball catch over a defender in the back of the end zone to increase the Mounts’ lead to 28-7.
The Warriors would show resiliency of their own when they came right back and scored again, this time completing an impressive 77-yard scoring drive. Quarterback Damian Lefkoski found senior tight end Justin Francis open for a 17-yard touchdown on a crucial 3rd-and-12.
Bolesta’s back-breaking score came from 3 yards out with no time left in the half.
And Bolesta wasn’t finished after the break, this time coming through on special teams to block a punt that was scooped up by junior Lucas Tirpak for a 36-yard touchdown and a 41-14 lead.
Dylan Geskey put the game away with 4:10 left in the third, scoring a 3-yard touchdown to make it 49-14.
Crossley got on the board before the quarter ended, breaking loose for a 44-yard touchdown scamper to cut the Mountaineers lead to 49-21.
Speedy Wyoming Area sophomore Lidge Kellum closed out the scoring in the fourth quarter with a 63-yard touchdown run as the Warriors closed the season at 5-6.

Dallas 49, Wyoming Area 28
Wyoming Area`0`14`7`7 — 28
Dallas`14`21`14`0 — 49
First Quarter
DAL — Parker Bolesta 33 run (Jace Chopyak kick), 11:27
DAL — Bolesta 22 run (Chopyak kick), 1:13
Second Quarter
DAL — Bolesta 51 run (Chopyak kick), 10:57
WA — Michael Crane 1 run (Liam Burke kick), 6:51
DAL — Zach Paczewski 23 pass from Brady Zapoticky (Chopyak kick), 4:56
WA — Justin Francis 17 pass from Damian Lefkoski (Burke kick), 0:44
DAL — Bolesta 3 run (Chopyak kick), 0:00
Third Quarter
DAL — Lucas Tirpak 36 punt block return (kick failed), 8:59
DAL — Dylan Geskey 3 run (Geskey run), 4:10
WA — Aaron Crossley 44 run (Burke kick), 1:27
Fourth Quarter
WA — Lidge Kellum 63 run (Adison Yankovich kick), 7:19

Team statistics`WA`DAL
First downs`19`21
Rushes-yards`47-361`27-273
Passing yards`62`107
Total yards`423`380
Passing`6-9-0`7-10-1
Sacked-yards lost`3-30`2-9
Punts-avg.`3-30`2-33
Fumbles-lost`2-0`1-0
Penalties-yards`7-55`3-30
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — WA, Aaron Crossley 18-150, Lidge Kellum 9-129, Michael Crane 9-45, Luke Barhight 3-8, Keegan Rusyn 2-5, Josh Mruk 1-3, Oliver Bolin 3-13, Teddy Gilroy 1-10, Damian Lefkoski 1-(minus-2). DAL, Parker Bolesta 14-187, Dylan Geskey 2-31, Zach Paczewski 1-18, Jarratt Webb 9-39, AJ Fife 1-(minus-2).
PASSING — WA, Damian Lefkoski 6-9-0-62. DAL, Brady Zapoticky 7-10-1-107.
RECEIVING — WA, Aaron Crossley 1-25, Lidge Kellum 1-11, Garrett Pocceschi 1-5, Joe Marranca 2-4, Justin Francis 1-17. DAL, Zach Paczewski 3-49, Dylan Geskey 2-29, Joe Peters 2-29.
INTERCEPTIONS — WA, Joe Marranca 1.
MISSED FGs — None.

Times Leader

YATESVILLE — The football banner hanging in the gymnasium hadn’t been disturbed in 20 years. Pittston Area made sure it was due for an update.
The Patriots completely dominated rival Wyoming Area as quarterback Drew DeLucca threw four touchdown passes in a 35-0 rout Friday night that clinched the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 championship.
“We talked to them a lot,” Pittston Area coach Nick Barbieri said. “We took them in the gym, we showed them the banner and we said, ‘It’s time. 2002 was the last one, it’s time. You’re going to come back in 20 years from now and it’s going to be hanging in the gym.’
“For us, it’s a big deal. We’ve been down for a long time. This is special for us.”
An added incentive was the 2002 district championship team was honored at halftime.
Pittston Area finished 6-0 in the division and 7-3 overall. Based on the power rankings late Friday night, the Patriots will play Delaware Valley at home next Friday in a District 2 Class 5A quarterfinal game. Del Val was upset by Abington Heights, and that allowed Pittston Area to get the second seed in the four-team playoff.
Wyoming Area (5-1, 5-5) will most likely be playing at Dallas in a D2-4A quarterfinal game, provided the power rankings remain the same after Saturday’s game. A couple games Saturday might affect the Warriors’ final seed, which is currently sixth.
DeLucca followed up his five-TD pass performance against Holy Redeemer by hitting on 13-of-19 passes for 154 yards and four more scores. He also threw for a two-point conversion and was awarded the Carmello Falcone Award, which has been given annually since 1978 to the MVP of the game.
“It feels great,” said DeLucca, who started last year for a team which won three games. “It doesn’t get much better than this. (The award) is great, but it’s just an extra, a bonus. These guys, it’s great to go out and win with them, especially a rivalry game.”
Kevin Lockett hauled in the first two TD catches of 15 and 27 yards on the Patriots’ first two possessions. A quick hitter on a 10-yard TD pass to Robby Barbieri the next time Pittston Area got the ball made it 19-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Running back Harry Pugliese, who went over 1,000 yards rushing during the game, added balance and a 4-yard touchdown run at 4:21 of the second quarter. A DeLucca-to-Barbieri throw for the two-point conversion pushed the lead to 27-0 at halftime.
When Pittston Area wasn’t making things miserable for Wyoming Area in the first half, the Warriors were making it miserable for themselves. They were penalized nine times in the first two quarters, often leading to long down-and-distance situations that prevented the run-heavy attack from getting any traction.
Running back Aaron Crossley, who finished as the Division 2 rushing champion, carried the ball 11 times for 67 yards, snapping a streak of three consecutive 300-yard rushing games and six in a row where he produced at least 100.
Wyoming Area’s woes continued on its first possession of the third quarter. Penalties for a false start and chop block and later a lost fumble gave Pittston Area the ball at the its own 46.
Pugliese ran five consecutive times to get the ball to the 26 where DeLucca found Anthony Ranielli for a 26-yard catch-and-run TD. Pugliese ran for the two-point conversion, starting the mercy rule at 4:21 of the third quarter.

Citizens Voice

YATESVILLE — In all the extracurricular activities that go along with playing a rivalry game, Nick Barbieri found time to take the Pittston Area football team into the school’s gymnasium.
Hanging on the wall are the banners displaying all the championships and success the Pittston Area athletic teams have accomplished over the years. Barbieri showed the football team its banner and quickly showed the last time a Pittston Area football team won a division title.
After Friday night, there will be a new set of numbers to hang up.
The Patriots controlled the game from the opening kick on both sides of the ball in a 35-0 victory at Charley Trippi Stadium. The Patriots end the regular season 7-3 and as Division 2 champs of the Wyoming Valley Conference. It is the first division title for the Patriots since 2002.
“This is 20 years in the making this championship,” Barbieri said. “We talked about it a lot. We took them in the gym and showed them the banner. We told them it’s time. The last one was 20 years ago. For us, it’s a big deal for our program. We have been down for a long time, this is special for us.”
The Patriots scored the first three times the offense touched the ball. Pittston Area took the opening kick and went 71 yards in seven plays, capped with a Drew DeLucca to Kevin Lockett 15-yard touchdown pass. It was the first of three first half touchdown passes for DeLucca, who was named the Falcone Award winner, presented to the MVP of the game. DeLucca now has nine touchdown passes in the last two games.
“They played a lot of man and they stayed in it,” DeLucca said. “We saw a lot of opportunity. The run game helped the pass.”
Following a Wyoming Area turnover, DeLucca and Lockett hooked up on the first play, this time for 27 yards and a 13-0 Pittston Area lead.
“We wanted to take momentum,” Barbieri said. “We felt we had an advantage throwing and running. We went down and scored quick. We get the quick turnover and got a second one. That set the tone. I thought our kids were physical the whole night.”
Too many mistakes prevented Wyoming Area from getting any sort of consistency on the offensive side of the game. The Warriors turned the ball over three times, and the running game was never really able to get going.
“They did an outstanding job with execution,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “In a game like this when you have changes in momentum, you have to answer. We weren’t able to answer in the first half. We had too many mistakes and not enough consistency.”
Robby Barbieri caught a 10-yard touchdown pass late in the first quarter, and Harry Pugliese scored on a 4-yard run to help the Patriots take a 27-0 lead at the half.
Pittston Area’s defense held Wyoming Area’s run game in check, allowed just 88 yards on the ground and another eight through the air. The Warriors managed to just run 31 offensive plays to Pittston Area’s 50. Wyoming Area ends the regular season at 5-5. Both teams will advance to the District 2 playoffs, Wyoming Area in 4A and Pittston Area in 5A.
“Seven wins, it feels great,” DeLucca said. “It doesn’t get much better than this. It is great to win out here especially in a rivalry game for a division title.”

Pittston Area 35, Wyoming Area 0
Wyoming Area`0`0`0`0 — 0
Pittston Area`19`8`8`0 — 35
First quarter
PA — Kevin Lockett 15 pass from Drew DeLucca (Robby Barbieri kick), 9:06
PA — Lockett 27 pass from DeLucca (kick failed), 7:50
PA — Barbieri 10 pass from DeLucca (pass failed), 3:45
Second quarter
PA — Harry Pugliese 4 run (Barbieri from DeLucca), 4:21
Third quarter
PA — Anthony Ranielli 26 pass from DeLucca (Pugliese run), 6:57

Team statistics`WA`PA
First downs`5`20
Rushes-yards`29-90`32-161
Passing yards`8`154
Total yards`98`315
Passing`2-3-0`13-19-0
Sacked-yards lost`4-21`1-12
Punts-avg.`4-27.2`3-24.3
Fumbles-lost`4-3`0-0
Penalties-yards`12-75`6-41
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Wyoming Area, Aaron Crossley 11-67, Michael Crane 14-18, Keegan Rusyn 3-12, Brady Jones 1-(minus-7). Pittston Area, Pugliese 15-91, DeLucca 3-14, Chris Pietrzak 5-10, Drew Menendez 1-10, David Sudo 6-33, John Barchi-Crich 1-1, Kyle Breymeier 1-2.
PASSING — Wyoming Area, Crane 2-3-0-8. Pittston Area, DeLucca 13-19-0-154.
RECEIVING — Wyoming Area, Garret Pocceschi 1-2, Kevin Wiedl 1-4. Pittston Area, Kevin Lockett 5-54, Barbieri 3-29. Josh Pierre 1-9, Ranielli 2-38, Anthony Cencetti 1-18, Sudo 1-6.
INTERCEPTIONS — none.
MISSED FGs — none.

Times Leader

The game may not have had the same juice as some of the recent matchups between Wyoming Area and Southern Columbia. But both sides threw plenty of haymakers all the same.
A perennial state title contender, the host Tigers entered Friday night having lost three games for the first time in more than a decade. But they still brought enough firepower to overcome another huge game by Aaron Crossley to defeat the Warriors 55-28.
Crossley again shined for Wyoming Area (5-4), turning in his third straight 300-yard rushing game — and fourth of the season — while running for two touchdowns and throwing for a third. New starting quarterback Michael Crane ran for 100 yards and threw for a score.
The marquee non-conference series was held for the third time in the last four seasons — the pandemic prevented the teams from playing in 2020. The Tigers have won all three, including handing the Warriors their only loss in their 2019 state championship campaign. Wyoming Area fell just short of ending a multi-year Southern winning streak in 2021.
On Friday, both teams came out of the gate with big plays. The Tigers defense delivered a pick-six by Jake Toczylousky on the game’s opening drive only to have the Warriors answer with an 80-yard touchdown burst by Crossley to tie the game.
And when Southern went back on top with a 64-yard run by Louden Murphy, Wyoming Area ended up taking a 14-13 lead after Crossley threw a 24-yard touchdown to Garret Pocceschi on a trick play.
It didn’t last.
By the time the whistle sounded to end the first quarter, the Tigers held a 27-14 lead as a 43-yard Carter Madden touchdown was followed by a Warriors turnover that led to a Jack Biermaas score.
Ball security remained a problem for Wyoming Area in the second quarter, as the Warriors lost another fumble just short of the end zone and watched as the Tigers delivered what amounted to a knockout punch right away — a 98-yard run by Braeden Wisloski that made it 35-14.
The Tigers (6-3) didn’t stop there, taking a 41-14 lead into halftime as Murphy was back into the end zone on a 56-yard run.
Wisloski upped the lead to 48-14 to start the third quarter on a 31-yard scoring run.
Pocceschi came up with his second touchdown catch of the night after that, hauling in a 22-yard pass from Crane.
Kyle Christman caught an 8-yard touchdown for the Tigers after that before Wyoming Area closed out the scoring with a 5-yard Crossley run in the fourth quarter.
The Warriors are 5-0 in WVC Division 2 play and 0-4 outside of that. They face a huge matchup with archrival Pittston Area in next week’s regular season finale.

Citizens Voice

FRANKLIN TWP. — Wyoming Area was two yards away from making Friday night’s nonconference game against Southern Columbia a one-score game.
Then, the Tigers’ Braeden Wisloski struck on back-to-back plays, changing the complexion of the contest.
The all-state running back and University of Maryland recruit stripped a Warriors ball carrier on the Tigers 2. On the next snap, the former PIAA 100-meter champion got the corner on a sweep and raced 98 yards for a touchdown.
Wyoming Area, which came in having won four of its last five games, never recovered.
The Tigers won a first-half track meet to open a big lead before beating the Warriors, 55-28, at Jim Roth Field.
The two-play swing was emblematic of how the night went for both teams. Wyoming Area couldn’t get out of its own way, turning the ball over four times in the first half despite churning out nearly 280 yards of offense.
Southern Columbia was opportunistic, turning those four turnovers into 20 points as it opened a 27-point halftime lead.
Aaron Crossley eclipsed the 300-yard rushing mark for the fourth time this season, running for 312 yards and two touchdowns on 35 carries. It was the most rushing yards against Southern Columbia since Steel Valley’s Nahjier West ran for 288 yards in the 2016 PIAA Class 2A championship game.
“We’re not happy with the outcome, but there were some positives,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “There were positives for sure, but you can’t turn it over four times and not tackle well.”
Added Crossley: “We tried everything we could, and we played the way a Warrior football team should play. If we don’t win there’s always frustration. But we just have to see what we did wrong and fix those things and move on to Pittston next week.”
Trailing, 27-14, Wyoming Area began a march toward the Tigers’ end zone. On second-and-goal, quarterback Michael Crane was stood up on the 2-yard line, and Wisloski ripped the football from Crane’s arms.
One play later, Wisloski took a wing-back sweep to the right side, raced past the Warriors’ secondary and coasted into the end zone. Instead of being down just a score, Wyoming Area stared at a three-score deficit.
“We felt confident that if we go in there, it’s a one-score game, and we’re right there punch for punch,” Spencer said. “That’s a key point in the game where it was a turn of momentum.”
The three-score cushion, which turned into four and then five, was enough to save the Tigers from a Wyoming Area run game it never figured out.
Crossley’s second run of the game went for an 80-yard touchdown. He was over 100 rushing yards before the end of the first quarter. He was at 200 before the end of the first half and averaged nearly 10 yards per carry for the game.
He did it by running past defenders, like on his 80-yard score. He did it by bullying his way through arm and shoulder tackles to turn 3-yard runs into 10-yard runs. And he did it by exploiting the gaps his offensive line was able to create for him.
“Our No. 1 concern was our run defense and we struggled at that again,” Southern Columbia coach Jim Roth said. “(Crossley) had something to do with that. He’s a heck of a player. He looked good on film, but until you see him in person, it’s totally different. He was tough to bring down and we didn’t tackle him well.”

Southern Columbia 55, Wyoming Area 28
Wyoming Area`14`0`7`7—28
Southern Columbia`27`14`7`7 — 55
First quarter
SC — Jake Toczylousky 26 interception (Isaac Carter kick), 10:25
WA — Aaron Crossley 80 run (Liam Burke kick) 10:12
SC — Louden Murphy 64 run (run failed), 9:12
WA — Garret Posseschi 24 pass from Crossley (Burke kick), 3:55
SC — Carter Madden 43 run (Wisloski run), 2:34
SC — Jack Biermaas 1 run (kick blocked), 0:25
Second quarter
SC — Braeden Wisloski 98 run (Ryan Kerstetter catch), 8:50
SC — Murphy 56 run (kick blocked), 6:16
Third quarter
SC — Wisloski 31 run (Carter kick), 9:45
SC — Posseschi 17 pass from Michael Crane (Burke kick), 2:43
Fourth quarter
SC — Kyle Christman 8 pass from Blake Wise (Carter kick), 11:15
WA — Crossley 5 run (Burke kick), 4:06

Team statistics`WA`SC
First downs`21`11
Rushes-yards`60-398`22-392
Passing yards`47`19
Total yards`445`411
Passing`3-5-2`2-5-0
Fumbles-lost`5-2`0-0
Penalties-yards`3-15`4-20
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — WA, Aaron Crossley 35-309; Michael Crane, 19-104; John Mruk, 2-5; team, 4-(minus-20). SC, Braedan Wisloski, 6-151; Carter Madden, 2-58; Jack Biermaas, 6-34; Louden Murphy, 3-131; Tyler Arnold 1-12; CJ Swank-Dworchak, 2-8; team, 2-(minus-2).
PASSING — WA, Crane 2-4-2-23; Crossley 1-1-0-24. SC, Blake Wise 2-5-0-19.
RECEIVING — WA, Garret Posseschi 2-41; Mruk 1-6. SC, Kyle Christman 2-19.

Citizens Voice

WEST PITTSTON — All Garret Pocceschi did was focus on Gavin Paraschak’s hips.
When Pocceschi saw the Lake-Lehman receiver break off a curl route in the end zone, the Wyoming Area cornerback jumped in front of the ball and batted it away.
If the senior doesn’t get his hand on it, Paraschak has his second touchdown and the game is tied.
But he did.
The Wyoming Area defense held Lehman scoreless in the second half, and Aaron Crossley scored four times and ran for more than 300 yards as the Warriors pulled away from the Black Knights, 35-14, on Friday night in a Wyoming Valley Conference game.
“I knew that was going to be a big play because that would have tied the game if he caught it,” Pocceschi said. “When he broke inside, I just went with him. And the next play, they kind of ran the same thing and lined him up one-on-one with me. I was ready for it. At halftime, we knew we had to bring the intensity in the second half. We wanted to hold them off the scoreboard.”
Patience and defense.
Randy Spencer never changed the game plan when Lehman jumped out to a 14-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
The WA head coach stuck to the bread-and-butter of his offense and continued to rely on Crossley, quarterback Michael Crane and his big offensive line. The Warriors rolled up a total of 421 yards on the ground and only threw one pass.
Making his second quarter behind center, Crane effectively ran a Wildcat-looking offense — churning up big plays all night as 15 of the team’s 43 runs went for seven yards or more.
“Our front has blocked well, and Aaron is an outstanding back,” Spencer said. “As you get later in the game, hopefully, a good ground game gets stronger. Again, we want to get to a point where we have all facets of the offense clicking, but I thought Michael did a good job in his second start in terms of executing and managing the game.”
And Spencer trusted his defense would make stops.
“Lehman played well early, and I thought that our kids did a great job of responding,” Spencer said. “We were able to get some better pressure in the second half, and we went more to a man coverage than a zone. We kind of tightened the space on the receivers, and it allowed us to get some more pressure.”
Lehman (2-6) had a chance to knot up the game early in the fourth quarter with a first-and-10 on the Warrior 17. But it quickly faded away.
Pocceschi breaks up a pass on second down. An incomplete pass on third. And then, two costly penalties totaling 27 yards to set up a fourth-and-30 — forcing Lehman to punt.
The Black Knights got the ball back down 21-14 with nine minutes left, and ended up converting a long third-and-19. But two incomplete passes and a sack by Joseph Marranca never allowed the ball to cross midfield.
“I thought that we played well for 90 percent of the game,” Lehman head coach Jerry Gilsky said. “We were neck-and-neck with them the whole game. Big plays hurt us. Crossley broke three huge runs late in the game, and that hurt us. I am not happy that we lost, but I am proud to see that our boys played tough.”
From there, it was all Crossley.
Coming off a seven-touchdown performance one week ago, the junior continued to churn up yards.
He scored twice on runs of 69 yards – one of those where he stiff-armed a Black Knight linebacker to the turf and outran a safety down the left sideline – and iced the game with 2:51 left on a 55-yard score.
Crossley finished with 315 yards on 23 carries, and has a total of 11 touchdowns in the last two games.
After a pair of punts to start the game, it was Lehman that got on the board first. Taking over at its own 38, the Knights put together a nine-play drive with a nice balance between the pass and run. A screen pass from Landon Schuckers to Javon Borger took the ball inside the Warriors’ 10, and three plays later, Schuckers found Paraschak on a 7-yard touch pass right at the front pylon for the early lead.
Lehman built a 14-0 lead on Schucker’s 32-yard keeper before Wyoming Area (5-3) came to life.
Keeping the ball on the ground on 25 of its 26 plays in the opening half, the Warriors started to chip away.
Following Schucker’s long run, Wyoming Area answered with a 10-play, 56-yard drive with Crossley and Crane splitting the carries. It was Crane that broke the goal line on a short keeper right behind center, trimming the deficit to 14-7.
After a botched Lehman punt, the Warriors took advantage of a short field. Crossley carried the ball 32 yards inside the 5-yard line, and scored on the next play on a short burst. But the extra point was blocked as Lehman took a 14-13 lead into halftime.

Team statistics`LL`WA
First downs`14`15
Rushes-yards`23-54`46-433
Passing yards`228`0
Total yards`282`433
Passing`13-27-1`0-1-0
Sacked-yards lost`4-24`2-8
Punts-avg.`3-36.7`3-36.0
Fumbles-lost`2-0`2-0
Penalties-yards`7-53`6-61
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — LL, Schuckers 14-45, Javon Borger 5-7, Hunter Lee 4-2. WA, Crossley 25-318, Crane 15-105, Lidge Kellum 5-11, Team 1-minus 1.
PASSING — LL, Schuckers 13-27-1-328. WA, Crane 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING – LL, Paraschak 4-48, Borger 3-53, Christopher Sholtis 2-77, Gavin Wallace 2-30, Dowling 2-21. WA, None.
INTERCEPTIONS — LL, None. WA, Damien Lefkoski 1-0.
MISSED FGs – LL, None. WA, Burke 29 (wide right).

Times Leader

WEST PITTSTON — Touchdowns were scored on Wyoming Area’s first six possessions Friday night.
The Warriors scored five of them, but the one hiccup didn’t matter. Those points were more than enough in a 56-18 victory over Holy Redeemer in a Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 football game.
Wyoming Area (4-0 Div. 2, 4-3 overall) remained atop the division. Redeemer fell to 2-2 in the division and 3-4 overall.
Wyoming Area’s gameplan seemed obvious all week. The Warriors ran Aaron Crossley at a Redeemer defense that hadn’t faced a standout running back all season. Crossley scored on touchdown runs of 87, 1, 29, 16 and 37 yards for the first five touchdowns. He added a 36-yard TD run to give Wyoming Area 42-12 lead at halftime.
Crossley carried just two times in the second half and scored his seventh TD on a 3-yard run at 9:50 of the third quarter. He finished with 328 yards on 16 carries and went over 1,000 for the season.
“He played well,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “Michael Crane stepping in at quarterback did a nice job. Up front, we did what we needed to do. It was nice to see that type of performance.”
As for Redeemer’s touchdown on a Wyoming Area possession, Darryl Wright scored it from 44 yards out after ripping the ball away after a short completion by the Warriors. Zach Perta also had a 93-yard kick return touchdown, picking up the ball after it appeared heading out of bounds and sprinting down the right sideline.
The Royals entered the game averaging a division-leading 369.7 yards per game. They finished with just 196.
Quarterback Jacob Hunter connected a couple times with Perta on Redeemer’s first possession to put the ball at the Wyoming Area 28-yard line. But a run for minus-9 yards from there sapped the energy from the drive. The Royals went three-and-0ut in their next three possessions.
Wyoming Area made a switch at the quarterback position by inserting Crane, a running back. He finished with 112 yards rushing on 13 carries.
“He’s played that in junior high and we worked him a little bit at times,” Spencer said. “But this is the first game as a varsity player I believe he took any snaps. He did a great job for his first game.”

Citizens Voice

WEST PITTSTON — Aaron Crossley rushed for 323 yards and seven touchdowns as Wyoming Area rolled to a 56-18 victory over Holy Redeemer on Friday night at Jake Sobieski Stadium.
Crossley, who eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the season, scored on runs of 87, 1, 29, 16, 37, 36 and 4 yards.
Michael Crane added 103 yards rushing for the Warriors.
Holy Redeemer was forced to relinquish the football on its initial possession, pinning the Warriors deep in their own territory. With the ball resting on their own 13, Crossley took a handoff brushed off of his left tackle and sprinted 87 yards for a touchdown.
On the Warriors next possession, Holy Redeemer’s Darryk Wright ripped the football away from a Warriors receiver and raced 47 yards for a touchdown.
Wyoming Area then needed four plays to cover 54 yards. Once again, Crossley took a handoff and raced 29 yards off left tackle to increase the lead.
The Warriors forced Holy Redeemer to turn the ball over on downs. Crossley had a 29-yard run, and then 37 yards for a touchdown.
Wyoming Area’s Jacob Morgan recovered a Holy Redeemer fumble on the ensuing kickoff.
Again, Crossley took a handoff and rambled 36 yards up the middle, dragging several Royals defenders into the end zone.
Crossley would cap his night with a 4-yard touchdown burst.
Holy Redeemer hit the scoreboard again when Jacob Hunter hit Louis Lussi over the middle on a slant and Lussi did the rest, cruising 64 yards for a touchdown.
Wyoming Area’s Lidge Kellum finished the scoring with a 4-yard run.

Wyoming Area 56, Holy Redeemer 18
Holy Redeemer`12`0`6`0 — 18
Wyoming Area`21`21`14`0 — 56
First quarter
WA — Aaron Crossley 87 run (Liam Burke kick), 8:24
WA — Crossley 1 run (Burke kick), 4:30
HR — Zach Perta 93 kickoff return (pass failed), 4:17
HR — Darryl Wright 44 fumble return (run failed), 3:25
WA — Crossley 29 run (Burke kick), 1:39
Second quarter
WA — Crossley 16 run (Burke kick), 11:13
WA — Crossley 37 run (Burke kick), 3:54
WA — Crossley 36 run (Burke kick), 3:13
Third quarter
WA — Crossley 3 run (Burke kick), 9:50
HR — Lou Lussi 64 pass from Jacob Hunter (pass failed), 8:49
WA — Lidge Kellum 4 run (Burke kick), 5:38

Team statistics`HR`WA
First downs`8`19
Rushes-yards`18-39`50-556
Passing yards`157`6
Total yards`196`562
Passing`8-23-1`2-7-1
Sacked-yards lost`0-0`2-16
Punts-avg.`4-20`0-0
Fumbles-lost`5-3`4-1
Penalties-yards`6-61`3-25
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING —Redeemer, Luke Kopec 5-17, Perta 3-(minus-14), Hunter 9-37. Josh Wesneski 1-(minus-1). Wyoming Area, Crossley 16-328, Keegan Rusyn 3-21, Michael Crane 13-112, Kellum 4-59, Matt Rukoski 1-3, Oliver Bolin 6-27, John Turner 6-15, Brady Jones 2-(minus-9).
PASSING —Redeemer, Hunter 8-23-1-157. Wyoming Area, Crane 2-6-1-6, team 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING — Redeemer, Perta 5-77, Lussi 1-64, Wesneski 2-16. Wyoming Area, Kellum 1-(minus-1), Garret Pocceschi 1-7.
INTERCEPTIONS — Redeemer, Wesneski 1-20. Wyoming Area, Damian Lefkoski 1-0.

Citizens Voice

WEST PITTSTON — Wyoming Area’s game plan was to run the football.
The Warriors executed it to near perfection Friday, amassing 452 yards on the ground and seven touchdowns in a 56-14 victory over Hanover Area at Jake Sobieski Field.
Aaron Corssley led the way with 154 yards and three scores, Michael Crane had 97 yards and a touchdown, Joe Marranca ran for 79 yards and a touchdown and Lodge Kellum added 67 yards and two scores for the Warriors.
After forcing the Hawkeyes to punt, the Warriors were off and running as Crossley accounted for all 72 yards on the ground, capped by a 3-yard scoring run for the game’s first touchdown.
Wyoming Area’s Kevin Weidl’s 35-yard yard punt return set up the Warriors at the Hanover Area 40. Two plays later, Crossley took a handoff, started to his right, cut back to his left and cruised 36 yards to extend Wyoming Area’s lead.
On the Warriors next possession, Joe Marrance burst 23 yards up the middle for Wyoming Area.
Following a Hanover Area punt, the Warriors marched 30 yards in four plays. Crossley’s 20-yard run gave the Warriors a first-and-goal from the 6. Kellum took it from there, bolting 6 yards untouched for the touchdown.
Hanover Area had its next drive snuffed as Crane intercepted an errant pass.
Warriors’ quarterback Brady Jones hit Dominic Colavito in stride down the right sideline for another touchdown. Crossley’s 7-yard touchdown run ended the scoring for the Warriors in the first half.
Wyoming Area picked up where it left off on its first series of the third quarter as Crane busted through the center of the offensive line and raced 32 yards for the score.
On the next possession, the Warriors’ Sam Rau recovered a fumble. From there, Kellum scored on a 32-yard run.
Hanover Area scored both of its touchdowns on Christian Torres scoring strikes. The first one went to Sean Dooner, and the second was a 47-yard strike to Rashmal Currie.
Torres passed for 259 yards.

Wyoming Area 56, Hanover Area 14
Hanover Area`0`0`7`7 — 14
Wyoming Area`21`21`14`0 — 56
First quarter
WA — Aaron Crossley 3 run (Gage Speece kick), 5:47
WA — Crossley 36 run (Speece kick), 3:38
WA — Michael Crane 23 run (Speece kick), 1:00
Second quarter
WA — Lidge Kellum 6 run (Speece kick), 11:27
WA — Dominic Colavito 24 pass from Brady Jones (Adison Yankovich kick), 3:00
WA —Crossley 7 run (Yankovich kick), 1:06
Third quarter
WA — Crane 32 run (Yankovich kick), 11:01
WA — Kellum 35 run (Yankovich kick), 8:45
HA — Sean Dooner 77 pass from Christian Torres (Ethan Chafin kick), 7:44
Fourth quarter
HA — Rahmel Currie 47 pass from Torres (Chafin kick), 6:23
Team statistics`HA`WA
First downs`8`19
Rushes-yards`9-(-21)`41-478
Passing yards`267`34
Total yards`246`512
Passing`17-267-1`2-34-0
Sacked-yards lost`3-21`0-0
Punts-avg.`4-25`0-0
Fumbles-lost`3-1`1-0
Penalties-yards`2-20`6-35

Team statistics`WA`NA
First downs`11`9
Rushes-yards`37-210`41-214
Passing yards`35`59
Total yards`245`273
Passing`3-12-1`3-7-1
Sacked-yards lost`0-0`3-25
Punts-avg.`3-38`3-34
Fumbles-lost`4-0`3-1
Penalties-yards`9-45`7-50
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — WA, Aaron Crossley 19-129, Lidge Kellum 6-60, Michael Crane 7-17, Joe Marranca 2-5, TEAM 3- (minus 1). NAN, Zach Fox 19-152, Jaylin Collins 10-47, Mykal Julian 6-39, Ashton Brozusky 3-12, Lucas Stachowiak 1- (minus 2), TEAM 2- (minus 34).
PASSING — WA, Brady Jones 2-9-1-32, Damian Lefkoski 1-3-0-3. NAN, Collins 2-5-1-30, Fox 1-1-0-29, TEAM 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING — WA, Kevin Weidl 1-18, Marranca 1-14, Crane 1-3. NAN, Ayden Kolet 1-29, Julian 1-20, Seth Raymer 1-10.
INTERCEPTIONS — WA, Weidl 1-4. NAN, John Kus 1-2.
MISSED FGs — WA, Liam Burke, 32-Short.

Times Leader Stats

Honesdale 21, Wyoming Area 0
Honesdale`0`7`7`7 — 21
Wyoming Area`0`0`0`0 — 0
Second quarter
HO — Max Mickel 20 run (Mickel kick), 11:08
Third quarter
HO — Bradley Bibalo 15 block punt return (Mickel kick), 8:57
Fourth quarter
HO — Issac Carmody 50 run (Mickel kick), 8:48

Team statistics`HO`wA
First downs`9`13
Rushes-yards`25-142`46-132
Passing yards`69`16
Total yards`211`148
Passing`6-16-69`3-12-16
Sacked-yards lost`0-0`1-10.
Punts-avg.`5-30`4-29
Fumbles-lost`2-1`1-0
Penalties-yards`7-50`7-67

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — HO, Max Mickel 12-63, Kage Southerton 1-(minus-1), Robert Quinn 1-1, Mason Avery 1-4, Jeffery Delgado-Santos 2-18, Cameron Hedgelon 1-(minus-8), C.J. Hinton 4-17, Issac Carmody 1-50, Aiden Collins 2-(minus-2). WA, Aaron Crossley 28-103, Joseph Maranca 3-6, Lidge Kellum 4-10, Michael Crane 8-18, Damian Lefkoski 2-(minus-9), John Turner 1-4.
PASSING — HO, Aiden Collins 5-15-33-1, Johnny Kauffman 1-1-36-0. WA, Damian Lefkoski 3-5-0-16, Aaron Crossley 0-7-0-2, Brady Jones 0-3-0-1.
RECEIVING — HO, Max Mickel 1-2, Isaac Carmody 3-36, Kole Fries 1-36, Zach Gledhill 1-(minus-4). WA, Kevin Wiedl 2-11, Skylar Pierce 1-5.
INTERCEPTIONS — HO, Lance Peck 2-2, Max Mickel 1-0. WA, Michael Crane 1-0.
MISSED FGs — None.

Times Leader Stats

Honesdale 21, Wyoming Area 0
Honesdale`0`7`7`7 — 21
Wyoming Area`0`0`0`0 — 0
Second quarter
HO — Max Mickel 20 run (Mickel kick), 11:08
Third quarter
HO — Bradley Bibalo 15 block punt return (Mickel kick), 8:57
Fourth quarter
HO — Issac Carmody 50 run (Mickel kick), 8:48

Team statistics`HO`wA
First downs`9`13
Rushes-yards`25-142`46-132
Passing yards`69`16
Total yards`211`148
Passing`6-16-69`3-12-16
Sacked-yards lost`0-0`1-10.
Punts-avg.`5-30`4-29
Fumbles-lost`2-1`1-0
Penalties-yards`7-50`7-67

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — HO, Max Mickel 12-63, Kage Southerton 1-(minus-1), Robert Quinn 1-1, Mason Avery 1-4, Jeffery Delgado-Santos 2-18, Cameron Hedgelon 1-(minus-8), C.J. Hinton 4-17, Issac Carmody 1-50, Aiden Collins 2-(minus-2). WA, Aaron Crossley 28-103, Joseph Maranca 3-6, Lidge Kellum 4-10, Michael Crane 8-18, Damian Lefkoski 2-(minus-9), John Turner 1-4.
PASSING — HO, Aiden Collins 5-15-33-1, Johnny Kauffman 1-1-36-0. WA, Damian Lefkoski 3-5-0-16, Aaron Crossley 0-7-0-2, Brady Jones 0-3-0-1.
RECEIVING — HO, Max Mickel 1-2, Isaac Carmody 3-36, Kole Fries 1-36, Zach Gledhill 1-(minus-4). WA, Kevin Wiedl 2-11, Skylar Pierce 1-5.
INTERCEPTIONS — HO, Lance Peck 2-2, Max Mickel 1-0. WA, Michael Crane 1-0.
MISSED FGs — None.