Times Leader

Valley View knocked out one Wyoming Valley Conference division champion to set up its shot at the other.
Christopher Savkov intercepted two passes and added a touchdown reception Friday night to lead Valley View past visiting Wyoming Area 20-0 in a District 2 Class 4A football semifinal at John Henzes/Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Dom Memo had an efficient night in his first start of the season at quarterback, running for the first touchdown and passing for the second.
The Cougars (10-2) packed all the game’s scoring into a stretch of less than eight minutes going into and out of halftime. They head to unbeaten and top-seeded Dallas for next week’s district title game.
Wyoming Area, which went more than half the game without team leader Aaron Crossley because of an ankle injury, finished 10-2. Its season included the WVC Division 2 championship.
Lidge Kellum, taking over each time Crossley limped off the field, carried 16 times for 97 yards and broke a run for a touchdown on the game’s opening possession, only to have it wiped out by a holding penalty.
“There’s no replacing Division I Aaron Crossley in terms of his contributions,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said of the Lehigh University commit, who finished his career with more than 4,000 yards rushing. “I’m proud of the effort by those who had to step up in this football game – Lidge Kellum, Michael Crane, Anthony DeLucca took our shots down the field.
“We had opportunities. Early in the game, we had the score come off the board because of penalties. Penalties, mistakes, a few turnovers in the game; it’s tough to be successful in a big game like that.”
Savkov came up with a pair of interceptions. He made a diving pick at the 8 on a fourth down in the first quarter, then put together a spectacular 62-yard return in the second quarter, working his way along both sidelines to spark the scoring outburst that began less than a minute later.
“It was great,” Savkov said. “But, it was really tiring. It really was, running all around the field.
“I knew that they were going to take some shots on us and our coach told us all week to be ready. Both balls were up there and I needed to go get them.”
Camryn Higgins followed the long interception run with a 23-yard carry to the 1 where Memo scored on a sneak on the next play.
Memo, pressed into service at quarterback because of a season-ending injury to Adam Howanitz two years ago when he was a sophomore, was 6-for-9 for 79 yards and a touchdown. He hit Savkov for 19 yards, then for an 11-yard touchdown while running the offense through nine plays in a scoring drive that took only 2:32 to produce a score less than a minute before halftime.
After two missed two-point conversion tries, Valley View led 12-0 at halftime.
The Cougars added an important score to open the second half.
Beyon McClean returned the second-half kickoff 26 yards to the Wyoming Area 49 and the Cougars scored in seven plays.
Memo’s 31-yard run put the ball on the 1 for Higgins to score. Higgins then ran for the two-pointer, closing the scoring with 8:45 left in the third.
Wyoming Area got as close as the Valley View 17 in the first quarter, 35 in the second quarter, 28 in the third quarter and 6 in the fourth quarter along with making two other trips into Valley View territory without scoring.
Jacob Morgan led the Wyoming Area defense with 11 tackles and six assists.
Savkov also stopped another fourth-down attempt by batting down a pass. He was in on seven tackles, broke up another pass and had three receptions for 41 yards.

Citizens Voice

The ball skipped right in front of Christopher Savkov, kicking up rubber pelts at his feet.
The Valley View senior punched the artificial turf in frustration, knowing he had a chance to pull in his third interception.
It was the only thing that went wrong for Savkov on a night he won’t forget for years to come. His Cougars teammates were already talking about it before the clock hit all zeros.
The senior intercepted two passes in the first half, and hauled in a score on a crucial fourth down in the second quarter, helping lead the No. 2 Cougars to a 20-0 victory over No. 3 Wyoming Area in the District 2 Class 4A semifinals Friday night at John Henzes/Veterans Memorial Stadium.
The win sends Valley View (10-2) to next week’s final at undefeated and top-seeded Dallas (12-0), a 48-22 winner over Nanticoke Area, in the other semifinal.
“We had a few slow weeks to start the season, and last week, we had another slow week. But you know what? Every single week, this team bounces back,” Savkov said. “This team never gives up because we are a family here. We love each other.”
Forget about additional pressure in the postseason. Savkov played like a poised senior in the first half. His first interception halted Wyoming Area’s first drive deep in Cougar territory.
His second was the Warriors’ back-breaker. Savkov high-pointed the interception, and took off. He probably ran close to 100 yards on the play, eluding Wyoming Area defenders from sideline to sideline as his teammates started to build a wall in front of him.
Savkov was eventually run out of bounds, but not before advancing the ball to the Wyoming Area 26. That set up a 1-yard quarterback keeper by Dom Memo, breaking the scoreless tie midway through the second quarter.
“I couldn’t ask for a better game because this is my last time playing on this field,” Savkov said. “It’s great to go out on that note. I just like helping my team, and doing things that help us.”
He wasn’t done.
After a Wyoming Area (10-2) three-and-out, Valley View drove to the Warriors 11, but faced a fourth-and-8. No problem for Memo, who dropped back and threw a corner route to Savkov in the back of the end zone for the score and 12-0 lead right before the half.
“Pregame, Chris and I came out here, and worked on that exact play,” Memo said. “We probably worked on that play for 10 minutes, and I told him if we got the chance to run it, I knew exactly where the ball needed to be. I couldn’t be happier for Chris because he works just as hard as anyone on this team.”
It was a defensive showcase for the Cougars, holding Wyoming Area to just 205 yards of offense.
Three times, the Warriors found themselves in or near the red zone.
Three times, no points were put on the scoreboard.
“They have probably the best running back that I have ever seen play in Aaron Crossley,” Memo said. “He ran hard, and Kellum ran hard. That’s one of the best teams I’ve ever played. This is a quality performance for the defense. I am happy for coach (Scot) Wasilchak. It’s hard when you have to follow someone like coach (George) Howanitz. It’s huge for him, and all of us.”
With Lehigh-bound back Crossley limited due to an injury sustained in last week’s quarterfinals, Lidge Kellum did his best to keep the Warriors clawing back. The 5-foot-10, 160-pound junior broke off a 43-yard touchdown on the team’s opening drive of the night – only to see a holding call wipe out the score.
Wyoming Area got it back down into the red zone to the Cougars 18, but the Cougars’ defense stiffened up to stop the drive.
“That was a big momentum shift early in the game. Early points would have been important,” Wyoming Area head coach Randy Spencer said. “We had another drive that could have swung momentum and balance after forcing that turnover, but came away with no points. We just had some penalties in key times that hurt us. Mistakes like that in this type of game against a good football team come back to hurt you.”
Twice in the second half, Wyoming Area had its chance.
Recovering a fumble in the third quarter at the Cougar 28, the Warriors ended up losing yardage on the drive, stopped at the 34. Then early in the fourth quarter, Spencer’s group had it at the 6-yard line, but a short run and three incomplete passes — the fourth-down play broken up by Savkov — turned out to be the Warriors’ last drive of the season as Valley View chewed up the remaining seven minutes of the quarter.
“The difference was physicality throughout the game,” Spencer said. “Hats off to Valley View because their physicality throughout the duration hurt us.”
Leading 12-0 at the break, Valley View strung together a six-play, 51-yard drive to start the second half, all on the ground, as a 30-yard quarterback keeper by Memo set up a 2-yard Camryn Higgins plunge for the three-score lead.
“Dallas has a great team. We know it’s going to be a challenge,” Savkov said. “We have to approach it like we did this week. Every single day, we have to lock in, come out and give 100 percent. We have to do the same thing next week. Every single guy in this locker room knows it’s possible. We are going to give it our best shot ever.”

District 2 Class 4A Semifinals
Valley View 20, Wyoming Area 0
Wyoming Area`0`0`0`0 — 0
Valley View`0`12`8`0 — 20
Second quarter
VV – Dom Memo 1 run (run failed), 4:37
VV – Christopher Savkov 11 pass from Memo (run failed), 0:53.6
Third quarter
VV – Camryn Higgins 1 run (Higgins run), 8:45
Team statistics`WA`VV
First downs`11`15
Rushes-yards`28-119`39-221
Passing yards`91`79
Total yards`210`300
Passing`7-18-2`6-10-0
Sacked-yards lost`1-11`0-0
Punts-avg.`2-32.5`2-219.5
Fumbles-lost`0-0`1-1
Penalties-yards`6-60`7-50

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — WA, Lidge Kellum 16-97, Aaron Crossley 6-21, Michael Crane 4-8, Anthony DeLucca 2-minus 7. VV, Higgins 17-94, Preston Reed 10-44, Memo 5-43, Nick Kucharski 5-43, Team 2-minus 3.
PASSING — WA, DeLucca 7-18-2-91. VV, Memo 6-9-0-79, Team 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING – WA, Luke Kopetchny 3-45, Kellum 2-26, Weidl 2-20. VV, Savkov 3-41, Reed 2-23, Higgins 1-15.
INTERCEPTIONS — VV, Savkov 2-64.
MISSED FIELD GOALS – none.

Times Leader

As an edge-rusher, Wyoming Area’s Josh Mruk said he was only trying to get his hands up to deflect a pass.
Instead, he was able to pick the ball out of the air while already in the North Pocono backfield. Twice.
Mruk’s second interception resulted in the first of his two touchdowns and the biggest play in Wyoming Area being able to turn back an upset bid by North Pocono 31-19 Friday night in a District 2 Class 4A football quarterfinal.
The win advances third-seeded Wyoming Area (10-1) into the district’s most-anticipated semifinal matchup next week at second-seeded Valley View (9-2). The Cougars also had troubles advancing with a 12-7 win over Berwick.
North Pocono led in the first and second quarters and had just taken the ball back late in the third quarter while trailing just 17-12.
That’s when Mruk got his second interception and worked his way down the middle up the field for a 32-yard touchdown.
“I saw some guys in front of me, made some cuts and then it was just open field,” Mruk said. “I took off.”
Mruk found more open field with 8:30 left and Wyoming Area’s lead again down to five points.
On a night when Wyoming Area ran on six out of every seven offensive plays, Mruk was able to quickly get behind the defense off play action on a first down from the North Pocono 14. Anthony DeLucca found him for the clinching touchdown, closing the scoring.
The Warriors got the ball back, with the help of a fourth-down pass rush by Mruk, with 5:22 left and ran out the clock.
Aaron Crossley, who left the game for a while late in the third quarter after suffering an apparent ankle injury, returned to complete his 36-carry, 203-yard, two-touchdown night with a few key runs in the fourth quarter.
Crossley came in to fight his way for just enough on third-and-two during the scoring drive and then for five yards on third-and-4 on the game-ending possession.
When Crossley sat, Lidge Kellum ripped off consecutive 18- and 20-yard runs to set up the DeLucca-to-Mruk touchdown pass.
“Turnovers were a big difference in the game closing it out,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “Josh’s interception and then Lidge Kellum did a great job coming in and provided some big plays.
“Credit to those buys stepping up in a big moment on a big stage like this in a district playoff.”
The game’s first two possessions took up all but 16 seconds of the first quarter and resulted in a field goal for each team. Brady Mapes hit from 37 yards for North Pocono, then Liam Burke matched it from 26.
North Pocono fumbled through the end zone to miss out on one chance to take the lead.
Wyoming Area then had a high punt snap get into the end zone and the Trojans trapped punter John Turner there for a safety and 5-3 lead with 7:21 left in the half.
Mruk’s first interception led to six straight Crossley runs covering 31 yards, including five on the go-ahead touchdown 39.7 seconds before halftime.
Crossley kept running, carrying on eight of 10 plays on the opening drive of the second half. His 3-yard touchdown made it 17-5.
North Pocono came right back just 2:18 later on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Noah West to Ryan Marsh.

Citizens Voice

Josh Mruk walked off Jake Sobeski Field by himself Friday night, but he wasn’t really alone. With every couple steps the sophomore from Wyoming Area took, someone shouted his name. They wanted to get the attention of the player who swung the momentum of the District 2 Class 4A quarterfinal game permanently in the Warriors’ favor.
If the smile stripped across Mruk’s face following Wyoming Area’s 31-19 win over North Pocono isn’t permanent, it’s going to take a while to be wiped away. One play after dropping a critical fourth-down pass, Mruk intercepted a screen pass and returned it for a touchdown, giving the Warriors a two-score lead. He added a touchdown reception with about 8 minutes to play, which all but sealed Wyoming Area’s spot in the 4A semifinals next week where it will travel to face Valley View.
“It’s definitely a big moment,” Mruk said.
And more importantly, it was his moment. Mruk admitted after his career night, which included a pair of interceptions, that it’s hard as a young player to live up to the standard his older brothers have set before him. Corey was a four-year letterwinner for the Warriors who was on the state title team in 2019. Drew is a state and national javelin champion who was also a significant contributor on the Warriors’ football team.
But Friday night was Josh’s opportunity to show just what he’s capable of. Sure, he had that hiccup on a fourth-down pass in which he was wide open which could have extended a drive deep in North Pocono territory. But all of that was washed away with his other contributions.
And on a night where Division I recruit Aaron Crossley injured his ankle and barely played in the fourth quarter, Wyoming Area had to have someone provide answers to a handful of second-half big plays by North Pocono. Mruk just happened to be that guy.
“Josh has done an outstanding job all year. He’s an outstanding young player,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “He’s made big plays all year and significant contributions on both sides of the ball. We’re very excited for him. That was a big momentum swing that we were able to hold on to throughout the game.”
Wyoming Area was leading North Pocono, 17-12, with about 2 minutes to play in the third quarter when Crossley (35 carries, 192 yards, 2 touchdowns) was pulled down backwards on a third-down run which caused his ankle to bend awkwardly and forced him off the field. Facing fourth-and-3 from the Trojans’ 37-yard line, Spencer chose to go for the first down.
He ran a play-action pass with two criss-crossing receivers. Mruk was one of them and broke wide open on the left side of the field. Quarterback Anthony DeLucca’s pass hit Mruk in stride, but he couldn’t haul it in, turning the ball over on downs to North Pocono.
On the very next play, the Trojans ran a screen play to the left. Mruk, after hitting the tight end, sniffed out the play. North Pocono quarterback Noah West’s pass hit Mruk in the hands and he hauled it in. Mruk shrugged off a pair of tacklers before breaking free and racing 35 yards for momentum-shifting touchdown.
“Big swing. Big emotional swing,” North Pocono coach Greg Dolhon said. “We get that stop and we thought we had a play there that we really liked. But big credit to them for making the play.”
It was the second time Mruk intercepted a short pass. In the first half from his edge rusher position, he jumped up to intercept a swing pass from West. Six plays after that interception, Crossley scored the first of his two touchdowns.
“It’s about understanding where the football is,” Mruk said. “I had to shake off (the dropped pass) because when your energy goes down, everyone’s goes down. So you have to make a big play and get it back.”
But not even Mruk could have anticipated getting that emotion and energy back on the very next play. And it proved to be pivotal.
Each time Wyoming Area scored in the second half to push its lead to two scores, North Pocono found a way to answer quickly to get right back in the game. First it was a 33-yard pass from Noah West to Cole West to set up a 10-yard scoring strike to Ryan Marsh. Then it was a 48-yard connection between the West brothers to set up a 4-yard touchdown pass to Evan Wolff.
“We have some good wideouts, and we think we have a special one in in Cole,” Dolhon said. “Noah did a great job of putting the football on him in some big spots. We had to do something to stay with them.”
The final blow for Wyoming Area was one North Pocono couldn’t answer. Thirty-eight rushing yards from Lidge Kellum and a personal foul penalty on the Trojans defense led the path to DeLucca’s 14-yard scoring pass to Mruk on the same exact play in which he dropped that fourth-down pass earlier in the half.
“What a way to make up for a tough play,” Spencer said. “It tells you what type of player he is at a young age.”

District 2 Class 4A quarterfinals
Wyoming Area 31, North Pocono 19
North Pocono`3`2`7`7 — 19
Wyoming Area`3`8`13`7 — 31
First quarter
NP – Brady Mapes 37 FG, 8:14
WA – Liam Burke 26 FG, 0:16.1
Second quarter
NP – Safety (Trojans tackles punter John Turner in end zone), 7:21
WA – Aaron Crossley 5 run (Crossley run), 0:39.7
Third quarter
WA – Crossley 3 run (run failed), 6:14
NP – Ryan Marsh 10 pass from Noah West (Mapes kick), 3:56
WA – Josh Mruk 32 interception return (Burke kick), 1:18
Fourth quarter
NP – Evan Wolff 4 pass from NWest (Mapes kick), 11:55
WA – Mruk 14 pass from Anthony DeLucca (Burke kick), 8:30

Team statistics`NP`WA
First downs`10`20
Rushes-yards`18-77`55-281
Passing yards`169`36
Total yards`245`317
Passing`9-20-2`2-9-0
Sacked-yards lost`0-0`0-0
Punts-avg.`1-38.0`1-29.0
Fumbles-lost`1-1`2-0
Penalties-yards`4-45`7-55
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — NP, Kevin Wickizer 9-47, NWest 5-23, Marsh 1-7, Brady Lavery 1-2, Riley Moore 1-minus 1, Team 1-minus 1. WA, Crossley 38-203, Lidge Kellum 5-54, Michael Crane 6-29, DeLucca 6-17, Team 2-minus 22.
PASSING — NP, West 9-20-2-169. WA, DeLucca 2-9-0-36.
RECEIVING – NP, Marsh 3-53, Wolff 3-25, Cole West 2-81, Moore 1-10. WA, Crane 1-22, Mruk 1-14.
INTERCEPTIONS — NP, None. WA, Mruk 2-35.
MISSED FIELD GOAL – None.

Citizens Voice

To say Aaron Crossley was bottled up on the sideline would be an understatement. The Pittston defense had the Wyoming Area senior running back in a blender on his first carry of the second half.
He bounced off of defenders like he was the white dot in a game of Pong. But he never lost his footing. And Crossley never lost sight of the goal line.
Somehow he found a way to escape the grasp of the Pittston Area defenders and covered the remainder of the ground to the end zone to finish off a 76-yard scoring run. It was Crossley’s third scoring run in a four-touchdown night. And it was easily the most impressive.
In his final game between the two rivals, Crossley carried 28 times for 344 yards as the Warriors defeated Pittston at Jake Sobeski Field, 35-14.
“That’s why he’s a Division I football player,” Pittston Area coach Nick Barbieri said as he shrugged his shoulders.
Wyoming Area bounced back from its only loss of the season to Southern Columbia to finish the year 9-1. It will host a District 2 Class 4A quarterfinal next week. Pittston finished the regular season 5-5 after having its three-game winning streak snapped. Despite the loss, the Patriots should still earn the final spot in the District 2 5A semifinals next week.
Wyoming Area rode its Lehigh-bound running back to a punishing ground game, which racked up more than 400 yards. The Warriors did not complete a pass last night, and it attempted only two. But it didn’t particularly matter. They had the best player on the field and he just happened to play like the best player on the field.
Crossley punished defenders on short runs, initiating contact and making defenders pay the price for bringing him down. He also hit a pair of home runs, one from 86 yards and one from 76 yards. And just for good measure, he covered all 53 yards on six carried on a game-icing touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter.
“We had nine guys in the box,” Barbieri said with a what-are-you-gonna-do shrug of his shoulders. “He’s a man.”
“There’s speed and there’s power. But the depth of his willfulness that he runs with is what makes him special,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “When Aaron is playing at his highest level, he’s one of the best players in Pennsylvania.”
It’s not hyperbole in which both coaches talked about Crossley’s performance Friday night. It was honesty and adulation at its finest.
The 344 yards for Crossley were the second most of his career, behind only the 352 yards he gained in the 2022 season-opener against Tunkhannock. It was his sixth career 300-yard game.
He opened the scoring with an 6-yard run in the first quarter after a Kyle Barhight strip sack gave the Wyoming Area offense a short field to work with. Crossley burst through the line on the second play of the second quarter and outran everyone on the way to an 86-yard scoring run — the second longest run of his career.
His 76-yard scoring run in the third quarter in which he played pinball off the Pittston defenders gave the Warriors a 21-0 lead.
“You’re always trying to show out against Pittston,” said Crossley, who was presented the Carmelo Falcone Award as the game’s MVP. “Their student section talks a lot of crap, their school talks a lot of crap. So you always want to show out against them. It’s exciting to do that.
Pittston finally got back into the game in the third quarter when it finally connected on a pair of deep passes for touchdowns. The Patriots used a reverse flea flicker to allow Drew DeLucca to hit Matt Walter on a 44-yard scoring strike late in the third quarter. And 2 minutes later following a Wyoming Area fumble, DeLucca found Lucas Lopresto for a 38-yard scoring strike in tight coverage to make it 21-14.
“They were playing pass all first half,” Barbieri said of Wyoming Area’s defense which sacked DeLucca four times in the first 24 minutes. “So we started to run a little in the second half and make them change. We were able to get back into it with the passing game.”
But the Patriots just didn’t have an answer for the Warriors’ run game. A Michael Crane 37-yard run set up Anthony DeLucca’s 1-yard scoring sneak in the fourth quarter. And Crossley iced the game with his final scoring run, an 8-yarder with under two minutes to play.
It was a fitting end on a night where Crossley made his mark on this historic rivalry.
“You can’t put that kind of play on display without the other people around you, and they all did an outstanding job,” Spencer said. “I think (Crossley) is one of the best players in Pennsylvania and he put that on display tonight.”
“It’s the O-line that makes that happen,” Crossley said. “It’s the O-line and nothing else. They opened up the holes tremendously. They’re my favorite players on the field.”

Wyoming Area 35, Pittston Area 14
Pittston Area`0`0`14`0 — 14
Wyoming Area`7`7`7`14 — 35
First quarter
WA — Aaron Crossley 5 run (Liam Burke kick), 5:12
Second quarter
WA — Crossley 86 run (Burke kick), 11:11
Third quarter
WA — Crossley 77 run (Burke kick), 11:05
PA — Matt Walter 44 pass from Drew DeLucca (kick blocked), 2:38
PA — Lucas Lopresto 38 pass from DDeLucca (Brody Spindler pass from DDeLucca), 0:19.7
Fourth quarter
WA — Anthony DeLucca 1 run (Burke kick), 8:19
WA — Crossley 8 run (Burke kick), 1:40

Team statistics`PA`WA
First downs`13`12
Rushes-yards`35-106`38-406
Passing yards`166`0
Total yards`272`406
Passing`14-27-0`0-2-1
Sacked-yards lost`5-37`1-6
Punts-avg.`4-35.5`2-27.0
Fumbles-lost`2-1`2-2
Penalties-yards`5-48`7-63
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — PA, Spindler 9-34, Xzayvier Blackshear 6-30, Chris Pietrzak 4-22, DDeLucca 14-18, Lopresto 2-2. WA, Crossley 29-349, Michael Crane 5-53, Lidge Kellum 1-3, ADeLucca 3-1. 1.
PASSING — PA, DDeLucca 14-26-0-166, Lopresto 0-1-0-0. WA, Crossley 0-1-0-0, ADeLucca 0-1-1-0.
RECEIVING – PA, Lopresto 4-76, Walter 4-62, Ciaran Bilbow 1-9, Colten Lis 1-7, Malkolm Blackshear 1-7, Spindler 1-5. WA, None.
INTERCEPTIONS — PA, DDeLucca 1-0.
MISSED FGs – None.
Crossley, Warriors handle Pittston Area

Times Leader

In just over a minute Friday night, the deficit Wyoming Area was chasing tripled.
Against a team like six-time defending Class 2A state champion Southern Columbia, the abrupt change was lethal.
Southern Columbia used a punt return with a fumble and an interception touchdown to take control in the third quarter as the Tigers defeated Wyoming Area 34-7 in a non-conference game played mostly in a heavy, steady rain.
Southern Columbia improved to 8-1, but coach Jim Roth wasn’t around in the second half. He was ejected at halftime after confronting the officiating crew. The reason was unclear, but the Tigers were penalized eight times for 80 yards in the second quarter when a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Roth was figured in.
Roth was located sitting behind the wheel of a school van outside the stadium following the game. He declined to comment on the ejection or the game.
Wyoming Area fell to 8-1.
“Coming off a competitive first half and then have the third quarter and have those big plays happen,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “They made big plays and we couldn’t answer it.”
Wyoming Area trailed 14-7 when it punted midway through the third quarter. Southern Columbia returner Louden Murphy fielded the ball at the Tigers’ 18-yard line. He started down the right sideline and was hemmed in, so he ran diagonally across the field, avoided tacklers on the left sideline with a pirouette and dashed toward the end zone.
Just inside the Wyoming Area 15-yard line, Murphy stumbled and lost control of the ball. Teammate Garrett Garcia picked it up and ran to the 8-yard line. Murphy scored on the next play to increase the lead to 21-7 at 6:36.
Murphy was ambiguous on whether he fumbled or was trying to lateral to Garcia on the punt return.
Three plays after the ensuing kickoff, Southern Columbia defensive end Colden Bloom speared an interception over his head and ran in for an 18-yard score. In a matter of 66 seconds, the Tigers lead went from 14-7 to 28-7.
The Tigers drove 49 yards in 11 plays on their first possession of the game, with Carter Madden capping it with a 2-yard run.
Wyoming Area answered on its ensuing possession. Quarterback Anthony DeLucca connected twice with receiver Kevin Wiedl for gains of 38 and 22 yards as the Warriors moved to the Southern Columbia 23-yard line. Three plays later, DeLucca found tight end Josh Mruk for an 18-yard touchdown pass to help knot the score 7-7 with 57 seconds left in the first quarter.
Southern Columbia had a 223-81 yardage advantage at halftime, yet just a seven-point lead.
“It was demoralizing going into half,” Murphy said, “and then have coach Roth get kicked out, it just lit a fire under us. Everybody was pretty mad. We really wanted to win this game.”
While Wyoming Area had success throwing the ball in the first half, a driving rain extinguished the passing offenses for both teams in the final two quarters. Southern Columbia then zeroed in on Wyoming Area 1,000-yard rusher Aaron Crossley, who finished with 49 yards on 15 carries. The Warriors went three-and-out on four possessions after falling behind 28-7.
“We threw the ball effectively,” Spencer said. “That’s what we needed to do, be balanced in this game. But up front, we weren’t able to move the ball on the ground. That was a big factor early and throughout the game.”

Citizens Voice

After playing the perennial Class 2A state power tight in the first half, Wyoming Area watched as the Tigers were able to seize momentum and control of the game in the final two quarters in a 34-7 victory over the Warriors.
Southern Columbia improved to 8-1 on the season while Wyoming Area suffered its first loss and is now 8-1.
The game did not lack for entertainment.
“It came down to some big plays,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “They got them and we didn’t. Coming off a competitive first half, they had those big plays in the third quarter.”
Probably none more entertaining than Southern Columbia’s Louden Murphy who fielded a punt at his own 18 and returned it up the left sideline. At some point during the return, Murphy either lost control of the football or pitched it but regardless, teammate Garrett Garcia was there to clean up the mess and set the Tigers up at the Wyoming Area 8-yard line. From there, Murphy scored on the first play from scrimmage to put the Tigers ahead, 21-7.
“I felt the ball coming out,” Murphy said. “I saw everybody on my team in front of me. I’m not going to say that I fumbled the ball on accident. I’m not going to say it was on purpose trying to get somebody else to score. You know.”
Southern Columbia’s defense held Wyoming Area to 81 yards of offense in the first half with three of those yards coming on the ground. The Tigers bottled up Wyoming Area running back Aaron Crossley who had 16 yards on 10 carries in the first half. The Tigers took a 7-0 lead when Carter Madden scored on a 4-yard run at the 4:06 mark of the first quarter.
Wyoming Area answered right back when Anthony DeLucca, who completed he first three passes for 78 yards found Josh Mruk on an 18-yard TD pass on a fourth-and-five call to tie the game.
And that still wasn’t the most exciting part of the game before the teams left the field at the half.
Murphy got behind the Wyoming Area secondary for a 44-yard touchdown pass play to tive the Tigers a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter.
But for as much as the Tigers were able to control the line of scrimmage and the momentum of the game, they could not control their own miscues. Southern Columbia was called for 90 yards of penalties in the first half, 80 of those yards coming in the second quarter.
The Tigers were looking to add another touchdown late in the second quarter, but the drive continued to move backwards. There was a holding call, then a false start two plays later which led to a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty that moved them back to their own 32. The Tigers eventually moved the ball to the Wyoming Area 14 and after a personal foul on Wyoming Area that pushed the ball to the Wyoming Area 9-yard line with 12.2 seconds left, the clock began to run after the ball was spotted.
Southern Columbia coach Jim Roth, the winningest high school football coach in the state was attempting to call timeout but never got it. Southern Columbia’s pass attempt as time expired fell incomplete in the end zone.
Roth, along with several of his assistants went out on the field to talk to the officials. The conversation became heated and eventually Roth was ejected not only from the game but the stadium as well. Sitting in a Southern Columbia van outside the stadium, Roth declined to talk about the game.
“It was a de-moralizer to go into half like that,” said Murphy. “Then coach Roth got kicked out. That lit a fire under us. Everybody was mad. Everybody just had to stay cool. Some calls didn’t go our way. We are the ones with the ball not the refs. We have to do what we have to do.”

Wyoming Area 49, Lake-Lehman 14
Wyoming Area`28`7`7`7 — 49
Lake-Lehman`0`0`7`7 — 14
First quarter
WA – Aaron Crossley 5 run (Liam Burke kick), 9:29
WA – Crossley 68 run (Burke kick), 8:17
WA – Crossley 12 fumble return (Burke kick), 7:22
WA – Josh Mruk 69 pass from Anthony DeLucca (Burke kick), 3:18
Second quarter
WA – Crossley 6 run (Burke kick), 0:21
Third quarter
LL – Chris Yetter 26 pass from Hayden Evans (Ben Wnuk kick), 8:23
WA – Lidge Kellum 39 run (Adison Yankovich kick), 2:16
Fourth quarter
WA – Trustin Johnson 3 run (Yankovich kick), 7:46
LL —- Branden Mosher 1 run (Reilley Kirkitus kick), 0:24

Team statistics`WA`LL
First downs`18`15
Rushes-yards`32-348`31-123
Passing yards`85`90
Total yards`433`213
Passing`3-6-0`10-22-0
Sacked-yards lost`1-8`1-13
Punts-avg.`1-26.0`4-27.3
Fumbles-lost`1-0`1-0
Penalties-yards`6-35`3-25
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — WA, Crossley 15-176, Kellum 7-124, Johnson 4-63, Michael Crane 3-17, DeLucca 2-6, Team 1-minus 18. LL, Jim Mitkowski 8-32, Gavin Shoemaker 6-31, Connor Poulos 2-21, Keagan Bennett 4-13, Ben Dowling 2-11, Hunter Lee 2-6, Mosher 2-6, HEvans 5-3.
PASSING — PA, DeLucca 3-6-0-85. LL, HEvans 10-22-0-90.
RECEIVING – PA, Mruk 2-81, Kevin Weidl 1-4. LL, Dowling 4-21, Mike Sholtis 3-38, Yetter 1-26, Jake Evans 1-9, Sammuel Plummer 1-minus 4.
INTERCEPTIONS — None.
MISSED FIELD GOALS – None.

Times Leader

Wyoming Area encountered little resistance on the path to remain unbeaten, scoring 55 first-half points in a 55-13 dismantling of Holy Redeemer on Saturday night at Spartan Stadium.
Eight different Warriors found the end zone in a game that was abbreviated by shortened quarters and a running clock in the second half.
“Any time we have opportunities to get guys chances to make plays, and they execute and make those plays, it’s great for their competitive confidence,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “The more we get more players to do for us, from a balance standpoint, it’s critical for us going forward.”
On both sides of the ball, Wyoming Area overpowered and overmatched Redeemer. The Warriors defense held the Royals to negative yardage on the ground, recovered three fumbles — one in the end zone for a touchdown by Nick Scalzo — and picked off two passes, hounding Redeemer quarterback Thomas Dugan and forcing him to roll out and routinely have to make uncomfortable throws.
An interception from Michael Crane set up Wyoming Area for a quick touchdown, while Bolin’s pick was a house call with the junior taking it back 36 yards for a score.
The balance was there for the Warriors offense, but at the top it was the familiar sight of Aaron Crossley getting things started.
A short night for Crossley with just two rushes from scrimmage, Crossley still had time to break one loose for a 25-yard touchdown run to open the scoring in the first quarter before his day was largely through.
A light load for Crossley meant more time for his teammates to step up, and they did. Quarterback Anthony DeLucca completed all four of his passes for 82 and two scores, one to Josh Mruk and one to Lidge Kellum.
Kellum would add a score on the ground, as would fullback Luke Barhight and backup quarterback Brady Jones.
The Warriors led 35-0 before Holy Redeemer could answer early in the second quarter. Running back Josh Kreidler found a little bit of running room and bolted through it for a 12-yard score.
The Royals would add one more score right before halftime, Dugan throwing one up to Daniel Hughes who made a nice catch in traffic before dragging a would-be tackler across the goal line for a touchdown.
The action in this one was contained almost entirely to the first half. An agreement between Spencer and Holy Redeemer head coach Tyson Kelley led to a running clock, and eight-minute quarters in the second half as opposed to the usual 12 minutes.
A quick half ensued, and when it ended, Wyoming Area improved to 7-0 while Holy Redeemer was left still looking for its first win of the year.
The Warriors will head to Lake-Lehman next week, while Redeemer will play Nanticoke Area at McCarthy Stadium.

Citizens Voice

Randy Spencer walked the fine line Saturday evening of putting a competitive football team on the field while being respectful of the situation Wyoming Area faced.
To Spencer’s credit, he managed to do both.
Wyoming Area scored five first-quarter touchdowns, one of them defensively, in a 55-13 victory over Holy Redeemer at Spartan Stadium.
The Warriors (7-0) remained undefeated, while Holy Redeemer dropped to 0-7. The second half was played with eight-minute quarters with a running clock.
“I just think it was a good job of managing the game,” Spencer said. “Our guys came out and made the most of their opportunities. A lot of our young guys got an opportunity to play a lot. In that respect, it was positive for our guys.”
Aaron Crossley, who leads the Wyoming Valley Conference with 17 rushing touchdowns, carried the ball twice for 29 yards. He went over 1,000 yards for the season and has 1,025 yards rushing. Crossley did not take a snap on defense. Wyoming Area quarterback Anthony DeLucca completed all four of his passes for 82 yards and two touchdowns.
“I just think any time you have an opportunity to get guys chances to make plays and they execute those plays, it’s great for their competitive confidence,” Spencer said.
Wyoming Area’s Lidge Kellum had the biggest night on offense, running for a 57-yard score and catching a 51-yard touchdown. The Warriors had 12 players credited with at least one rushing attempt and, for the most part, the regulars were out of the game no later than the third series of the first quarter.
The Warriors held Holy Redeemer to a pair of second-quarter touchdowns and 58 yards of total offense. Holy Redeemer quarterback Thomas Dugan threw for 80 yards and one touchdown.
Wyoming Area’s Nick Scalzo recovered a fumble in the end zone and Oliver Bolin returned an interception 36 yards for a score in the second quarter.
“In terms of health of the program, when the situation is right for the young guys to play, they want to be under the lights,” Spencer said. “That’s what kids who come out for varsity sports want to do. Right up until the end of the game, they were out there competing.”
The game was delayed with 5:38 left in the second quarter when Holy Redeemer tight end Kyle Ly landed awkwardly after attempting to catch a pass. Ly was attended to by trainers from both teams, and was alert when taken from the stadium by ambulance.
“First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers are with Kyle,” Spencer said. “Hopefully it was just precautionary when he was taken off. Our thoughts and prayers are definitely with him.”

Wyoming Area 55, Holy Redeemer 13
Wyoming Area`35`20`0`0 — 55
Holy Redeemer`0`13`0`0 — 13
First quarter
WA — Aaron Crossley 25 run (Liam Burke kick) 7:19
WA — Josh Mruk 11 pass from Anthony DeLucca (Burke kick) 6:14

WA — Lidge Kellum 51 pass from DeLucca (Burke kick) 4:50
WA — Nick Scalzo 0 fumble recovery (Burke kick) 3:00
WA — Luke Barhight 1 run (Burke kick) 2:15
Second quarter
HR — Josh Kreidler 12 run (kick blocked) 10:58
WA — Kellum 56 run (Adison Yankovich kick) 8:52
WA — Oliver Bolin 36 interception return (kick failed) 7:42
WA — Brady Jones 8 run (Yankovich kick) 6:38
HR — Daniel Hughes 32 pass from Thomas Dugan (kick good) 0:26

Team statistics`WA`HR
First downs`6`4
Rushes-yards`24-217`21-(minus-29)
Passing yards`82`81
Total yards`299`52
Passing`4-4-0`8-21-2
Sacked-yards lost`0-0`1-12
Punts-avg.`0-0`5-27.2
Fumbles-lost`2-2`4-3
Penalties-yards`2-25`1-5
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — WA, Barhight 2-3, Crossley 2-29, DeLucca 1-9, Michael Crane 3-27, Kellum 3-90, Bolin 1-3, Jones 1-8, Rocco Siani 2-10, Jamari Yates 5-34, Luke Kopetchny 2-0, Ben Gravine 1-2, Savino Sabatini 1-2. HR, DJ Mcdermott 12-5, Dugan 2-(minus-4), Kreidler 5-9, Team 2-(minus-39).
PASSING — WA, DeLucca 4-4-82-0. HR, Dugan 8-21-81-2.
RECEIVING — WA, Kevin Weidl 1-4, Mruk 1-11, Kellum 1-51, Jacob Morgan 1-15. HR, Kyle Ly 2-19, Kreidler 2-6, Mike Zbierski 3-24, Hughes 1-32.
INTERCEPTIONS — WA, Crane 1-19, Bolin 1-36. HR, none.
MISSED FGs —none.

Times Leader

Wyoming Area running back Aaron Crossley was effective with the football in his hands and also effective without it.
With the ball, Crossley ran 39 times for 310 yards and three touchdowns. Without it, Scranton’s concern over the Lehigh University recruit led to two more touchdowns as Wyoming Area defeated the Knights 35-19 Friday night in a non-conference game.
Wyoming Area improved to 6-0 while Scranton fell to 4-2.
“What you saw tonight was an outstanding team effort led by number 5 Aaron Crossley,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “He truly showed tonight why he’s one of the best players in Pennsylvania.”
Scranton scored on the first drive of the game, using a 19-yard run by Chris Chandler on a fake punt to keep the 11-play drive going. Running back Memphis Shotto scored from one yard away as the Knights took a 7-0 lead.
Crossley then embarked on his fifth 300-yard rushing game of his career. He scored from 54 yards out on the Warriors’ second play from scrimmage. He then added a 1-yard run after a fumble gave the Warriors a short field which with to work.
“I couldn’t do it without my O-line,” Crossley said. “The O-line is the real MVP.”
The offensive line of seniors Jacob Gustitus, Jacob Krulick and Anthony VanAuken and juniors Chase Desanto and Andrew Steinberger allowed Crossley to reach the second level continuously. There, he bashed, carried and battered anyone willing to tackle him.
However, the turning point came in the third quarter when Wyoming Area scored twice without giving the ball to Crossley to take a 28-13 lead into the fourth quarter.
The first touchdown came after Crossley carried the football on eight of the first nine plays. Quarterback Anthony DeLucca’s play-action to Crossley allowed Josh Mruk to sprint down the middle of the field to haul in a 17-yard touchdown pass. (Mruk also batted down three passes on defense).
The second TD came after Scranton converged on Crossley on a third-and-5 play. Instead, DeLucca ran a bootleg for an 8-yard gain to the right. Three plays later, DeLucca plowed in from the 1-yard line.
“Situationally, he’s really effective,” Spencer said of DeLucca, a junior who last played in junior high. “I don’t know how the QBRs (quarterback ratings) are calculated, but his is probably pretty high because he’s been so efficient and effective.”
Wyoming Area’s main concern defensively was Billy Maloney, a dual-threat quarterback. He had just 29 yards on nine carries in the first half, but busted runs of 50 and 46 yards in the second half. He finished with 134 yards on 15 rushes while hitting on 19-of-31 passes for 182 yards.
The Warriors, though, stopped Maloney at a crucial juncture. Down 28-19 early in the fourth quarter, Maloney tried to run for a first down on fourth-and-1 at the Scranton 38-yard line. Crossley raced in from his linebacker spot and stonewalled him for a 2-yard loss.
“I play both side of the ball,” Crossley said. “I’m not really focused on one side, I’m focused on being a football player for this team. Next year (at Lehigh), maybe just running back, but this year I’m a football player.”
Wyoming Area pretty much iced the game as Crossley carried three times to cover all 36 yards for the Warriors’ final score after stopping Scranton on fourth down.

Citizens Voice

Wyoming Area played physical at the point of attack.
By controlling the line of scrimmage, the Warriors created space, and Aaron Crossley darted through for 310 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-19 win over Scratnon in a nonconference football game at Jake Sobieski Stadium Friday night.
“I am proud of the way the big boys played up front tonight,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “They are starting to gel as a cohesive unit.
“It is about time that Aaron Crossley gets mentioned as one of the best backs in the state.”
Scranton set the tone early when it drove 51 yards in 16 plays and consumed 5:40 off of the clock. Chris Chandler hauled in a 12-yard reception that set up Memphis Shotto’s 1-yard touchdown, giving the Knights the lead 7-0.
Wyoming Area needed only two plays to answer. Crossley, who is committed to Lehigh, showed off his sprinter’s speed when he burst through the middle of the line and raced untouched to tie the game at 7-7.
Both teams then traded fumbles. Then, after Wyoming Area’s Kevin Weidl had a recovery, Anthony DeLucca hit a wide open Josh Mruk with a 30-yard pass down the left sideline. From there, Crossley leaped into the end zone to give the Warriors a 14-7 halftime lead.
Wyoming Area started the second half with a 12-play, 57-yard scoring drive. Crossley accounted for the bulk of the yardage on the ground to set up DeLucca, who faked a handoff to Crossley and spotted wide open Mruk from 17 yards for a touchdown and a 21-7 advantage.
Scranton’s Billy Maloney tried to rally Scranton for the second straight week. The Knights’ quarterback made a sharp cut to his left and raced 50 yards to cut into the Warriors’ lead.
Wyoming Area finished the third quarter with a 12-play, 62-yard drive. Again, Crossley did the bulk of the work before DeLucca scored on a 1-yard run for a 28-14 lead.
Maloney, who finished with 132 yards rushing and 211 yards passing, had a 46-yard scramble to keep a drive alive for the Knights. Three plays later, he scored on a 7-yard run to make it 28-19.
Scranton turned the ball over on downs on its next possession, and Crossley had three carries for 36 yards, with the final going 11 yards to close the scoring.

Wyoming Area 35, Scranton 19
Scranton`7`0`6`6 — 19
Wyoming Area`7`7`14`7 — 35
First quarter
SCR — Memphis Shotto 1 run (Erman Ahmenbeg kick), 6:20

WA — Aaron Crossley 54 run (Liam Burke kick), 5:35
Second quarter
WA — Crossley 1 run (Burke kick), 10:11
Third quarter
WA — Josh Mruk 17 pass from Anthony DeLucca (Burke kick), 7:24
SCR — Billy Maloney 50 run (run failed), 6:32
WA — DeLucca 1 run (Burke kick), 1:00
Fourth quarter
SCR — Maloney 7 run (pass failed), 11:31
WA — Crossley 11 run (Burke kick), 8:03

Team statistics`SCR`WA
First downs`14`20
Rushes-yards`21-152`46-334
Passing yards`193`68
Total yards`345`404
Passing`19-32-0`5-11-0
Sacked-yards lost`1-5`0-0
Punts-avg.`2-24`2-38.5
Fumbles-lost`1-1`1-1
Penalties-yards`3-20`5-35
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Scranton, Maloney 15-134, Shotto 2-(minus-4), Chris Chandler 2-27. Reece Whitman 1-(minus-4), team 1-(minus-1). Wyoming Area, Crossley 39-310, Michael Crane 3-17, DeLucca 2-9, team 2-(minus-2).
PASSING — Scranton, Maloney 18-31-0-182, Connor Thomas 1-1-0-11. Wyoming Area, DeLucca 5-10-0-68, team 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING — Scranton, Adrien Johns 2-13, Chris Delsanto 1-4, Chandler 7-73, Shotto 3-27, Oliver Alomonte 3-45, Jon Perez 1-5, Whitman 2-26. Wyoming Area, Mruk 3-45, Crane 1-11, Lidge Kellum 1-12.
INTERCEPTIONS — none.

Citizens Voice

All three units contributed to Wyoming Area’s prolific scoring burst Friday night.
A bruising offense, a swarming defense, and an opportunistic special teams corps made quick work of Hanover Area.
The Warriors tallied three of their four first-quarter touchdowns in a 1-minute, 17-second span before cruising to a 47-0 dismantling of the Hawkeyes at Memorial Stadium and improving to a 5-0 record.
“We were able to be aggressive and make some plays and take advantage of some of the opportunities that we had offensively, defensively, and on special teams. We were able to create some things by being aggressive,” Wyoming Area head coach Randy Spencer said. “We were fortunate that we had that kind of section in the game and we were able to ride that momentum.”
After Wyoming Area punted midway through the first in a one-score contest, the rest of the game was played on Hanover’s side of the 50-yard line. In fact, Hanover’s only offensive snap in plus territory was a punt from the Warrior 48 on its first drive.
Once Jacob Gustitus recovered a fumble at the Hawkeye 20 on Hanover’s second possession, the rout began.
Aaron Crossley, who scored on a 28-yard run on the game’s fourth play from scrimmage, rushed for a 20-yard score that was wiped off the board for a holding call but hit paydirt three plays later on a 4-yard carry to open up a 14-0 lead at the first quarter’s 2:33 mark.
The Warriors stole the ball on the ensuing kickoff with a pooch kick, and Anthony DeLucca immediately delivered a 28-yard pass to tight end Ben Gravine to extend the advantage to 21-0 just six seconds after the previous score.
Hanover (1-4), which totalled just 25 yards all night, went three-and-out on its next series. Luke Barhight blocked the punt and Skyler Pierce scooped the loose ball for a 15-yard return with 1:16 left in the opening frame.
In the blink of an eye, Wyoming Area led 28-0.
“I think it was important for us to come out here and execute, and I think we executed at a high level, that first drive aside,” Spencer said, referencing the Warriors’ only punt of the night.
Crossley finished with 89 yards in addition to his pair of rushing scores, and Michael Crane added 41 yards and a touchdown with 7:30 left in the second quarter to make it 35-0. Liam Burke hit 5-of-5 extra points.

Midway through the third quarter, Barhight scored on a 7-yard run, and late in the fourth, Luke Kopetchny squeezed in a 1-yard QB sneak to tally the final points.
One blemish on Wyoming Area was 10 penalties for 75 yards, including four offensive pre-snap penalties on one drive. That possession still resulted in a touchdown.
The Hawkeyes had trouble moving the ball and were plagued with fumbled handoffs and botched snaps, leaving them with minus-26 yards rushing and just four first downs on the score sheet.
Quarterback Rahmel Currie has found his favorite target, though, in Deacon Eisenbach. The freshman wide receiver caught all four of Currie’s completions for 51 yards.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to coach (Jason) Majiros,” Spencer said. “I know he’s going through a health issue and couldn’t be with his team the last couple weeks, and Hanover being a young team, we know what it’s like being young and going through some growing pains.”
It’s been a rough stretch for Hanover, playing daunting opponents while missing its head coach out with a health problem.
Current head coach Scott Majiros has been thrown directly into the fire, but the Hawkeyes should be competitive in their next two games on the road against Holy Redeemer and Montrose, looking to build some momentum heading into a three-game homestand to close out the regular season.
“That’s what we’re building our program toward, what Wyoming Area has,” Scott Majiros said. “All we can do is come back Monday and get ready for Redeemer.
“Kids aren’t quitting on us,” Majiros added. “Today we played a good first quarter. It was 7-0 with four minutes left. I love how hard the kids work.”
Wyoming Area’s season has gone exactly how Spencer planned it so far, but the path to 10-0 gets tougher from here. Class 4A Wyoming Area hosts two Class 5A teams — Scranton next week and Pittston in Week 10 — and state powerhouse Southern Columbia in Week 9.
For Spencer and his Warriors, they just have to keep doing what they’re doing.
“We’re fortunate to be where we’re at at this point in the season, and we’ve got an opportunity in front of us this week to play a very good Scranton team,” Spencer said. “Our team should not have any problem being highly motivated. We were young and went through some growing pains last year so this is an opportunity for us to seize moments.”

TIMES LEADER STATS

Wyoming Area 47, Hanover Area 0
Wyoming Area`28`7`6`6 — 47
Hanover Area`0`0`0`0 — 0
First quarter
WA — Aaron Crossley 28 run (Liam Burke kick), 10:12
WA — Crossley 4 run (Burke kick), 2:33
WA — Ben Gravine 28 pass from Anthony Delucca (Burke kick), 2:27
WA — Sklyer Pierce 15 block punt return (Burke kick), 1:16
Second quarter
WA — Michael Crane 5 run (Burke kick), 7:30
Third quarter
WA — Luke Barhight 7 run (run failed), 5:55
Fourth quarter
WA — Luke Kopetchny 1 run (kick failed), 5:49

Citizens Voice

Twice in the first half, Nanticoke Area drew as close as it could without scoring. Those missed opportunities opened the door for Aaron Crossley, Anthony DeLucca and the Wyoming Area offense.
DeLucca was the model of efficiency, throwing half of his six total passes for touchdowns, and Crossley ran for exactly 100 yards and two scores as the Warriors pulled away to a 35-13 win Friday night in a WVC football matchup at Jake Sobeski Memorial Stadium.
Wyoming Area (4-0) made two defensive stands inside its own 5-yard line in the first two quarters, allowing a three-score lead to hold the rest of the game.
“Their kids came out and, physically at times, played very well and challenged us,” Wyoming Area head coach Randy Spencer said. “They made plays, they got down in the red zone, they pushed us to the goal line, and if we didn’t stand those two plays it’s a one-score game.”
Nanticoke Area (1-3) was shorthanded without starting quarterback Peyton Kepp or lead running back Zack Fox, and the Trojans likely could have used their help on the doorstep of the end zone.
With Wyoming Area up 14-0 about eight minutes into the game, Treston Allen nearly returned a kickoff for a touchdown but was caught from behind and tackled at the Wyoming Area 4-yard line. However, the Trojans went backward with a pair of false starts, and Seth Raymer was swarmed on fourth down for a drive-ending sack.
After DeLucca hit Lidge Kellum for a 49-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter, Nanticoke Area put together a 14-play drive that again put the offense feet from scoring. However, Raymer’s pass for the corner of the end zone fell incomplete, and the Warriors escaped.
Raymer did score early in the third quarter to cut Nanticoke Area’s deficit to 21-6, but Wyoming Area threw in an offensive wrinkle on its next drive as Crossley lined up at quarterback in the shotgun. The Trojans had no answer for the new look, and Crossley finished off the drive with his second touchdown to put Wyoming Area back in control.
Allen was the standout for Nanticoke Area, rushing for 76 yards and a late touchdown in addition to his near score on special teams.
Kevin Wiedl and Michael Crane each caught one of DeLucca’s other touchdown passes for Wyoming Area.
“(DeLucca’s) just been steady and consistent throughout his first four starts early this season,” Spencer said. “That’s the kind of balance to our offense that we need, and we need those type of plays in our passing game.”

Times Leader

Wyoming Area combined three quick strikes on offense with repeated, sturdy defensive efforts Friday night to fight off an impressive performance by short-handed Nanticoke Area and remain undefeated with a 35-13 home-field victory in a Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 game.
The Warriors used the win on Military Appreciation Night to improve to 2-0 in the division and 4-0 overall.
Nanticoke Area held the ball for 16:44 of the 24 first-half minutes, but trailed 21-0 when Wyoming Area scored on three possessions that combined to last 1:02. Taking over in Trojans territory each time, the Warriors scored on possessions that lasted two plays, one play and one play.
The Warriors held on downs on a first-quarter drive that started at the Wyoming Area 4 and a second-quarter drive that advanced to their 5.
“If we didn’t stand on those two plays, we’re in a one-score game down the stretch,” Warriors coach Randy Spencer said.
Spencer was impressed that Nanticoke Area was in position to put up such a fight while at less than full strength.
Already going the bulk of the season without quarterback Payton Kepp for the second straight year, the Trojans also were without leading rusher Zack Fox, one of the WVC’s top running backs, Friday. Fox was in uniform, but without a helmet, watching the game from the sideline.
“I want to give all the credit in the world to Nanticoke Area tonight,” Spencer said. “They came in with one arm and two legs tied behind their backs with Payton being out earlier with the ACL – our thoughts and prayers go out to him – and also Fox not being able to play. Those are two really talented players who certainly would have made a difference in this game.
“That being the case, their kids came out and physically at times played very well and challenged us. They made plays, got into the red zone and pushed us to the goal line.”
Quarterback Anthony Delucca’s efficient night kept Wyoming Area in control.
Delucca threw six passes and completed five for 104 yards. He connected on touchdown passes to three different receivers.
“There were 9½, 10 guys in the box and they did a good job,” Spencer said. “We made some plays down the field that were the difference for us; Anthony Delucca made some nice throws.”
Kevin Wiedl wrestled the ball away from a defender in the end zone for a 22-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Delucca hit Lidge Kellum in stride deep down the middle for a 49-yard score midway through the second quarter. Delucca rolled out and hit Michael Crane with a pass in the flat on the first play of the fourth quarter and Crane got past a defender for an 18-yard touchdown.
Aaron Crossley ran for the other two scores.
Crossley opened the scoring on a 16-yard run in the first quarter after Damian Lefkoski forced a fumble that Matt Rutkoski picked up.
Held to 31 yards on nine carries to that point, Crossley picked up 54 on five carries in a third-quarter scoring drive that he capped with a 5-yard run.
That touchdown came in response to Nanticoke Area getting within 21-6 on a 3-yard Seth Raymer touchdown on the Trojans’ first possession of the second half.
Treston Allen had a big game for the Trojans (0-1, 1-3).
Allen carried 17 times for 85 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. He had an 80-yard kickoff return and came up with a sack, five other tackles and a broken-up pass on defense.

Wyoming Area 35, Nanticoke Area 13
Nanticoke Area`0`0`6`7`—`13
Wyoming Area`14`7`7`7`—`35
First quarter
WA – Aaron Crossley 16 run (Liam Burke kick), 5:10
WA – Kevin Wiedl 22 pass from Anthony Delucca (Burke kick), 4:12
Second quarter
WA – Lidge Kellum 49 pass from Deluca (Burke kick), 6:48
Third quarter
NAN – Seth Raymer 3 run (kick blocked), 5:28
WA – Crossley 5 run (Burke kick), 3:41
Fourth quarter
WA – Michael Crane 18 pass from Delucca (Burke kick), 11:50
NAN – Treston Allen 3 run (Giovanni Huertero kick), 6:57

Times Leader

WEST PITTSTON — Wyoming Area didn’t only remember last year’s 42-point loss to Crestwood. Many of the current Warriors were on-field witnesses to those painful 48 minutes of football.
Friday night offered an opportunity for some payback and Wyoming Area got it.
Three Wyoming Area running backs scored touchdowns and the defense came up big when needed as the Warriors defeated Crestwood 29-22 in a Wyoming Valley Conference non-divisional game.
Wyoming Area improved to 3-0 before embarking on its WVC Division 2 schedule. Crestwood, which played in the PIAA Class 4A state semifinals a year ago, fell to 0-3 with its third seven-point loss. All three Crestwood opponents exited Friday night at 3-0.
“We’re there, but we’re not making plays,” Crestwood coach Ryan Arcangeli said. “Players win games, coaches lose them. I have to do a better job preparing our guys in tough times and certain situations on how to make the play, period.”
A big difference was Wyoming Area’s Aaron Crossley was able to find running room this time. A 2,000-yard rusher last season, Crossley had just 43 yards on 12 carries in last year’s 49-7 loss to Crestwood. He finished Friday night with 153 yards on 21 rushes, scored a touchdown and ran for a two-point conversion.
Crossley, though, wasn’t the only difference maker. Running back Michael Crane added 58 yards on eight carries and scored twice. Running back Lidge Kellum touched the ball once, but sifted his way up the middle for a 61-yard touchdown with 10:26 left that proved to be the game-winning score.
“I said to a bunch of people that teamwork is something you can’t teach. And chemistry,” Crossley said. “Just knowing coming on the field, you don’t have to worry about one guy. We could roll in fresh guys. From the bottom to the top of the depth chart, we have guys who can score from anywhere on the field and that can make plays and change the game.”
The game-changers weren’t only on offense.
The Wyoming Area defense also came up big when needed. Matt Rutkoski had a 12-yard sack on a fourth-and-4 from near midfield. Three plays later, Crane scored on a 23-yard run as the Warriors took a 22-14 lead into the fourth quarter.
Crestwood’s final possession was kept alive by a pass interference penalty on fourth down. The Comets moved to the Wyoming Area 8-yard line on the running of quarterback Jaden Shedlock, who finished with 188 yards rushing. A penalty and a bad snap pushed the ball back to the 21. After an incompletion, Kellum and Josh Mruk sandwiched Shedlock as he released a pass, resulting in another incompletion.
“(Shedlock) was going to get his plays and they made their plays,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “In critical situations and times, the defense stood up and made those plays you have to make to win a football game.”
Wyoming Area then ran out the final 4:14, giving Crestwood a heavy dose of Crossley.

Citizens Voice

WEST PITTSTON — Friday night was more about a learning experience for Wyoming Area as well as trying to win a football game. And with a year of maturity and development under their belts, the Warriors proved they have come a long way since last season as well as being more than just a one-man show.
Michael Crane scored two touchdowns, and Lidge Kellum put the game away with a 61-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter as the Warriors remained undefeated with a 29-22 victory over Crestwood at Wyoming Area.
The Warriors are now 3-0 on the season while Crestwood dropped to 0-3, losing each game by seven points.
“Penalties and mistakes, just the little things,” said Crestwood coach Ryan Arcangeli. “We’re there but we just aren’t making plays. We will get it fixed.”

As far as the marquee players in the game, Crestwood quarterback Jaden Shedlock and Wyoming Area running back Aaron Crossley, they both performed as expected. Shedlock rushed for 187 yards and two touchdowns while Crossley finished with 152 yards and one score.
But it was the little things the Warriors were able to accomplish that helped them win the football game. With Crestwood being called for five penalties for 35 yards in the first half, two coming on potential scoring drives that took the offense out of rhythm, Wyoming Area was doing its best to take advantage.
“They’ve grown and matured into roles that we need to be a balanced team,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “We were that tonight. I don’t think there would be a more motivated team than our guys after the way we lost games last year. These kids played in those games. It wasn’t like they were young guys watching.”
Crane and Shedlock each scored a touchdown in the second quarter to make it 7-7 at the half. The teams exchanged touchdowns early in the third quarter to keep the game tied, but that’s when Wyoming Area caught a break.
After Crane scored his second touchdown, Crestwood jumped offsides on the PAT attempt enabling the Warriors to go for the 2-point conversion. From there the Comets answered once again. Allen Angon scored on a 15-yard run and Shedlock tied the game one last time with a 2-point conversion run.
“We spoke about playing against a player (Shedlock) who had almost 500 yards of offense last week against a very good team (Dallas),” Spencer said. “That was to be well noted. We knew he was going to get his plays. There were times our defense stepped up and made plays.”
Wyoming Area had plenty of time to respond to Angon’s game-tying touchdown. 

Times Leader Stats

Wyoming Area 29, Crestwood 22
Crestwood`0`7`6`8 — 22
Wyoming Area`0`7`15`7 — 29
Second quarter
WA — Michael Crane 3 run (Liam Burke kick), 11:29
CRE — Jaden Shedlock 2 run (James Barrett kick), 4:41
Third quarter
WA — Aaron Crossley 23 (Burke kick), 9:11
CRE — Shedlock 57 run (Barrett kick), 8:46
WA — Crane 23 run (Crossley run), 1:57
Fourth quarter
CRE — Allen Angon 15 run (Shedlock kick), 11:25
WA — Lidge Kellum 61 run (Burke kick), 10:26

Team statistics`CRE`WA
First downs`20`16
Rushes-yards`47-305`34-268
Passing yards`17`80
Total yards`322`348
Passing`2-8-0`4-8-1
Sacked-yards lost`2-18`1-8
Punts-avg.`1-47`1-32
Fumbles-lost`1-0`2-0
Penalties-yards`13-83`5-41

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Crestwood, Shedlock 29-188, Colin Lazo 4-24, Barrett 5-40, Angon 6-49, Jason Swank 2-12, team 1-(minus-8). Wyoming Area, Crossley 21-153, Crane 8-58, DeLucca 3-(minus-3), Kellum 1-61, team 1-(minus-1).
PASSING — Crestwood, Shedlock 2-8-0-17. Wyoming Area, Anthony DeLucca 4-8-1-80.
RECEIVING — Crestwood, Matt Sklarosky 2-17, Osten Grigas 1-14. Wyoming Area, Crane 1-26, Josh Mruk 2-50, Gage Speece 1-4.
INTERCEPTIONS — Crestwood, Lazo 1-0.
MISSED FGs — none

Times Leader

Aaron Crossley continued his strong start to the season, racking up four touchdowns for the second straight week to give the Warriors the win. The game was played at Wallenpaupack as Honesdale’s home field was not ready.
Crossley scored three of his touchdowns in the first half as Wyoming Area (2-0) raced out to a 28-6 lead before halftime.

Anthony Delucca opened the scoring by hitting Kevin Weidl for a 40-yard touchdown strike. Crossley made it 14-0 in the first quarter with a 5-yard score.

After the Hornets got on the board on a Mason Avery run, Crossley answered with touchdowns of 7 and 60 yards on the ground.

Delucca threw his second score of the game in the third quarter, connecting with Josh Mruk from 19 yards out.

Aiden Collins scored for Honesdale (0-2) before Crossley found the end zone for the fourth time on a 28-yard rush that made it 41-12.

Oliver Bolin closed out the scoring with a 13-yard run in the fourth.

Times Tribune/Citizens Voice

PALMYRA TWP. — Balance. That’s what Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer was looking for this week.
He got it.
For the second straight week, Aaron Crossley scored four touchdowns, quarterback Anthony Delucca hooked up with Kevin Wiedl for a pair of long pass plays, and the Warriors defense forced four turnovers to give Spencer his 100th coaching win, a 47-12 nonleague victory over Honesdale on Friday at Wallenpaupack Area High School.
“It’s exciting to get those back-to-back wins,” said Crossley, who carried 13 times for 153 yards, scoring on runs of 5, 7, 60 and 28 yards. “It means so much for us, coach Spencer and the entire program. He’s one of the best coaches you can ever have, in the state, in the nation. He definitely makes us young men, not just football players, so it’s really exciting.
Congratulations to him and to the program.”
Spencer, in his 16th season, was more excited about strong overall play.
“I think we played a little better complementary football, especially initially offensively, aside from the defensive pressure,” Spencer said. “Anthony Delucca a couple big throws down the field, Kevin Wiedl with some nice receptions. It’s important for us to be able to play complementary football.
“Everyone knows Aaron Crossley is going to have outstanding games week in and week out. I can’t say enough about Aaron and his ability, but our ability to be versatile tonight was important for us going forward.”
It didn’t take long for the Warriors (2-0) to put that on display.
Delucca hit Wiedl in stride for a 40-yard score, the first of his two TD passes, just over 3 minutes into the game.
Wyoming Area took advantage of a bad snap in point formation, taking over at the Honesdale 5 and scoring on the final play of the quarter on Crossley’s first touchdown.
“We can’t afford any mistakes and we’ve made plenty of them at times, and that was costly,” Honesdale coach Paul Russick said. “You can’t give good teams any more opportunities than they already get.
“I think our inexperience at times showed, especially on the defensive side of the ball. But I saw a lot of good things out of our kids and we’ve got to keep fighting and keep moving forward. It’s a long season and they’re a good, quality team. We’ve got a bunch of good quality teams we’re going to face in the next couple weeks to get us ready for our division.”
Mason Avery got Honesdale on the board after a series of three turnovers – two by Wyoming Area – in as many plays, his punishing 14-yard run cutting it to 14-6 with 3:43 left in the half.
Crossley showed his own fight, scoring on a 7-yard run with 1:30 left, then broke the game open with a 60-yard sprint with 3.1 seconds left.
“With one play left in the half, I hear coach (Michael) Fanti make the call,” Crossley said. “People think we’re passing so we spread it out and hit it up the middle. Once I get to the second level, I don’t think any defensive back is going to be able to tackle me in the whole district.”
Delucca hit Josh Mruk for a 19-yard TD to start the third after after another Honesdale turnover, but Cam Hegelon’s 79-yard kickoff return set up Aiden Collins’s 7-yard, fourth-down TD scramble, but Crossley’s 28-yard score and another by Oliver Bolin capped the win.

(Times Leader)

Wyoming Area 49, Tunkhannock 0
Wyoming Area`7`21`14`7 — 49
Tunkhannock`0`0`0`0 — 0
First quarter
WA – Aaron Crossley 2 run (Liam Burke kick), 7:44
Second quarter
WA – Crossley 69 run (Burke kick), 9:23
WA – Anthony Delucca 6 run (Burke kick), 3:12
WA – Crossley 19 run (Burke kick), 0:53
Third quarter
WA – Crossley 25 run (Burke kick), 9:05
WA – Lidge Kellum 45 run (Addison Yankovich kick), 1:31
Fourth quarter
WA – Luke Kopetchny 1 run (Yankovich kick), 3:27

Team statistics`WA`TUNK
First downs`18`5
Rushes-yards`37-344`28-49
Passing yards`35`31
Total yards`379`80
Passing`3-9-1`5-8-0
Sacked-yards lost`0-0`0-0
Punts-avg.`0-0`6-23.8
Fumbles-lost`0-0`1-0
Penalties-yards`2-15`2-20
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — WA, Crossley 17-194, Kellum 3-62, Oliver Bolin 6-35, Delucca 4-30, Michael Crane 4-13, Koptechny 2-6, Aidan Allardyce 1-4. TUNK, David Hoff 3-20, Joey Ross 11-17, Caden Simmers 2-8, Evan Montross 9-8, Randall Paxton 1-0, Ethan Dominick 1-minus 1, Team 1-minus 3.
PASSING — WA, Delucca 2-7-1-23, Kopetchny 1-1-0-12, Brady Jones 0-1-0-0. TUNK, Jross 5-8-0-31.
RECEIVING – WA, Kevin Wiedl 1-12, Ryan Jones 1-12, Crossley 1-11. TUNK, Paxton 2-10, Logan Ross 1-13, Simmers 1-6, Austin Holliday 1-2.
INTERCEPTIONS — WA, None. TUNK, Holliday 1-2.
MISSED FIELD GOALS – None.