WEST PITTSTON — The momentum changed on the opening drive.
Pittston Area forced Wyoming Area to punt on its opening possession of the game Friday night at Anthony “Jake” Sobeski Stadium.
Unfortunately for the Patriots, that punt landed back in the hands of Wyoming Area’s Dylan Kostak. The botched punt led to a Brian Miles touchdown on the opening drive.
From there, it was all Miles and the Wyoming Area offense.
Miles rushed for 169 yards and three touchdowns as the Warriors beat the Patriots, 42-10, in the 51st meeting between the two schools. Wyoming Area finishes the season 3-7, while Pittston Area fell to 0-10 and remained the only team in District 2 without a win in 2015.
“Getting that loose ball gave us the opportunity,” Wyoming Area head coach Randy Spencer said. “It was a game changer early on for sure.”
The scoring margin of 32 points was eclipsed just three other times in the 51 meetings between the schools. Wyoming Area improves to 27-24 in the series. It was the final game of the season for both teams as neither made the playoffs.
“This game means so much and it’s genuine,” Spencer said. “We talk about the past, present and future of our program. That really resonated with our kids tonight. We did a good job finishing.”
Miles, for his prowess on Friday night, was named the 38th Carmello Falcone Memorial Most Valuable Player. The Warriors finished with 465 yards of total offense.
Wyoming Area rushed for 321 yards behind Miles, Donovan O’Boyle and Brandon Charney. O’Boyle finished with 71 yards and a touchdown, while Charney had 81 yards and a score. Quarterback PJ Angeli was 5 for 8 with 144 yards and a touchdown.
The offensive line, Miles said, was the reason for the success the team had on offense.
“None of it was possible without my teammates and the lineman,” Miles said. “This means so much. The history of this rivalry and how big it is, it’s a great honor.”
Following the opening possession, Wyoming Area continued to go back to the run often, and Pittston Area struggled to get things moved on offense.
The Patriots finished with just 81 yards of total offense and had only 12 rushing yards. Pittston Area finished winless for the first time since 2011.
“We’re at the point in the program where we’re waiting for bad things to happen and we have trouble overcoming it,” Pittston Area head coach Jim Norris said. “You have to learn from these type of things. You have to think about them and not let them happen next year. Unfortunately the seniors don’t get that shot again.”
Miles scored his second touchdown in late in the first quarter. He then gave way to fellow running back O’Boyle on the Warriors next score midway through the second quarter. Miles would cap of the Wyoming Area first-half scoring with another 1-yard touchdown run with three seconds remaining.
Late in the third quarter, Pittston Area got on the board to nullify the shutout. There have been eight shutouts in the history of the rivalry.
Pittston Area was forced to punt late in the third quarter, however, Wyoming Area muffed the punt and Pittston Area recovered. Three plays later, Pittston Area settled for a 26-yard field goal from Michael Mikitish, which split the uprights in line-drive fashion.
On Wyoming Area’s opening possession of the fourth quarter, O’Boyle took a screen pass from Angeli and went 75 yards for a touchdown.
Wyoming Area 42, Pittston Area 10
Pittston Area`0`0`3`7`—`10
Wyoming Area`14`14`0`14`—`42
First quarter
WA — Brian Miles 6 run (David Klaproth kick), 6:53
WA — Miles 1 run (Klaproth kick), 1:23
Second quarter
WA — Donovan O’Boyle 1 run (Klaproth kick), 3:19
WA — Miles 1 run (Klaproth kick), 0:03
Third quarter
PA — Michael Mikitish 26 field goal, 1:59
Fourth quarter
WA — O’Boyle 75 pass from PJ Angeli (Klaproth kick), 10:28
PA — Ryan Davis 1 run (Mikitish kick), 8:54
WA — Brandon Charney 8 run (Klaproth kick), 2:00
Team statistics`PA`WA
First downs`5`17
Rushes-yards`20-12`49-321
Passing yards`69`144
Total yards`81`465
Passing`6-17-0`5-8-0
Sacked-yards lost`1-6`1-7
Punts-avg.`5-40.4`2-36
Fumbles-lost`1-1`1-1
Penalties-yards`7-43`8-75
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — PA, Kyle Petroski 5-12, Davis 7-7, Niko Cinquegrani 1-4, Trevor Tigue 1-0, Keemar Woodruff 2-(-5), Walter Coles 4-(-6). WA, Miles 20-167, Charney 12-81, O’Boyle 17-71, Angeli 3-2.
PASSING — PA, Coles 6-17-69-0. WA, PJ Angeli 5-8-144-0.
RECEIVING — PA, Paul Brady 4-48, Davis 1-15, Cinquegrani 1-6. WA, O’Boyle 2-105, Miles 2-20, Dylan Kostak 1-19.
INTERCEPTIONS — None.
MISSED FGs — None.
