WEST PITTSTON — Wyoming Area celebrated Senior Night and another perfect Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 season Friday night at Anthony “Jake” Sobeski Stadium.
Seniors had a hand in all seven touchdowns and a pair of two-point conversions as the Warriors rolled over visiting Nanticoke Area 50-0.
It was the fourth time in their six-game winning streak that the Warriors have scored at least 50 points. With their second straight unbeaten season in the division, the Warriors are now 16-1 in Division 2 play since the WVC returned to its two-division format for the 2022 season.
Lidge Kellum ran for three touchdowns on just six carries while Anthony DeLucca threw for scores on two of his five attempts. Both exceeded 100 yards in their limited opportunities playing only the first half of a game that Wyoming Area led at the break.
“It was important for us tonight on Senior Night with our core guys here, we wanted to come out and execute, but we also wanted to be mindful of having our seniors make significant contributions,” Warriors coach Randy Spencer said. “We gave them some opportunities that maybe they didn’t have over the course of the year, so I think we did a great job of that.
“We did what we had to do and it was important to stay healthy on a night like tonight and we were able to do that as well.”
Wyoming Area finished 5-0 in the division and improved to 8-1 overall with only a game at rival Pittston Area next week left in the regular season before heading into the District 2 Class 3A playoffs where Scranton Prep and Western Wayne are also 8-1.
Kevin Wiedl caught one of DeLucca’s two touchdown passes while Michael Crane and Jacob Morgan each ran for touchdowns. John Turner was on the receiving end of one two-point pass and holder Damian Lefkoski threw another after scooping up an errant snap to complete the scoring from the seniors.
After losing yardage on the game’s first series, Wyoming Area continued its tendency to score quickly.
The Warriors needed just 15 plays to score on their next six possessions. They scored three touchdowns in a span of 6:05 in the first quarter and three more in 5:50 during the second quarter.
Wyoming Area had 10 first downs and a 42-0 lead before Nanticoke picked up its initial first down on the last drive of the first half.
Kellum, who carried six times for 115 yards, ran 40 and 17 yards for the first two touchdowns. He was not touched on either play, breaking through big holes at the line of scrimmage, then making a few minor changes in direction as needed to reach the end zone.
Wiedl, the team’s leading tackler on the season, got in the act offensively when he was wide open over the middle for an 18-yard touchdown. Turner’s two-point catch from DeLucca made it 21-0 at the quarter.
After Kellum ran 35 yards for a score, sophomore Luke Kopetchny scored from 65 yards on another DeLucca pass. Kopetchny had three catches for 110 yards while DeLucca went 4-for-5 for 128 yards.
Crane scored from 33 yards in the second quarter and Morgan from the 1 in the third.
The teams observed a moment of silence for late Nanticoke coach Scott Dennis during pregame, then both team’s starting 11s knelt on the field while the entire 40-second clock counted down prior to setting up for the game’s first play. Dennis, the uncle of former Wyoming Area standouts Dante and Dominic DeLuca, died this summer, days before the start of his first season as Trojans coach.
Wyoming Area 50, Nanticoke Area 0
Nanticoke Area`0`0`0`0 — 0
Wyoming Area`21`21`8`0 — 50
First quarter
WA – Lidge Kellum 40 run (Nick Ciampi kick), 7:16
WA – Kellum 17 run (kick failed), 3:42
WA – Kevin Wiedl 18 pass from Anthony DeLucca (John Turner pass from DeLucca), 1:14
Second quarter
WA – Kellum 35 run (Ciampi kick), 10:34
WA – Kopetchny 65 pass from DeLucca (Ciampi kick), 8:11
WA – Michael Crane 33 run (Ciampi kick), 4:44
Third quarter
WA – Jacob Morgan 1 run (Jamari Yates pass from Damian Lefkoski), 2:01
Team Statistics`NAN`WA
First downs`8`13
Rushes-yards`42-136`22-190
Passing yards`17`135
Total yards`153`325
Passing`3-9-0`5-7-0
Sacked-yards lost`1-3`1-5
Punts-avg.`5-35.0`2-36.0
Fumbles-lost`2-1`1-0
Penalties-yards`6-30`1-5
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — NAN, Treston Allen 26-100, Sarafino Raggi 4-14, Michael Stachowiak 5-14, Christopher Julian 3-6, James Bush 3-5, Team 1-minus 3. WA, Kellum 6-115, Crane 6-49, BJones 2-19, Ryan Jones 1-7, Oliver Bolin 2-7, Morgan 1-1, Gage Speece 1-minus 1, Team 2-minus 2.
PASSING — NAN, Stachowiak 3-9-0-17. WA, DeLucca 4-5-0-128; BJones 1-2-0-7.
RECEIVING – NAN, Nemecio Sosa 1-13, Julian 1-3, Allen 1-1. WA, Kopetchny 3-110, Wiedl 1-18, Morgan 1-7.
INTERCEPTIONS — None.
MISSED FIELD GOAL – None.
