PLYMOUTH — The annual Wyoming Valley Conference Media Day was held Sunday, Aug. 7 at Wyoming Valley West High School.
Sixteen of the 17 teams in the Wyoming Valley Conference were on hand to answer questions from newspaper, television and online reporters.
Those attending for Wyoming Area were head coach Randy Spencer, senior Dante DeLuca, junior Donovan O’Boyle, junior PJ Angeli, senior Brian Miles and junior Marc Anthony Minichello. For Pittston Area, head coach Jim Norris, senior Chris Dudek, junior Tyler Ferlick, junior Jake Rutkowski, junior Walter Coles and senior Brandon Lucke attended the event.
The players from Wyoming Area, who have played together since youth football, talked mostly about how physical the Warriors will be this year following a 3-7 season. The Warriors lost four games last year by 11 points or less. That physicality will be one of the reasons the squad can get over the top, they said.
The Warriors haven’t had a winning season since their Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association District 2 Class AA championship in 2012.
“Compared to the past two years, I’d say the chemistry is a big factor,” quarterback Angeli said. “We’ve all been playing together since mini football. We’re going to come out ready to play this year.”
Pittston Area, who suffered through its second no-win season in the last seven years, told reporters they are confident heading into this season.
Through two seasons with Norris at the helm, the Patriots are 3-17. This year, however, the culture of the Pittston Area program has changed. Players are buying into the system, Norris said. The Patriots will be looking for their first winning season since 2008.
Quarterback Coles is happy with the way the offseason has gone.
“Last year was definitely a tough season,” Coles said. “We just have a lot more confidence. A lot of younger kids in my grade, upcoming juniors, got a lot of playing time last year — got to see the field.”
The Sunday Dispatch will feature full previews of the Pittston Area and Wyoming Area football teams in the Sunday, Aug. 21 edition. Wyoming Area opens on Friday, Aug. 26 against Wallenpaupack, while Pittston Area travels to Crestwood.