PECKVILLE – Pittston Area had its moments Friday night, particularly late in the first half.
Two long-standing problems came back to haunt the Patriots, however, as they got run out of the game early in the second half of a 58-20, non-league football loss to Valley View.
“I thought we did some great things,” first-year Patriots coach Nick Barbieri said.
There were, however, some “buts” to the rest of that thought.
Valley View overwhelmed Pittston Area up front and the Patriots were outscored 27-0 on points off turnovers.
“In our three losses, we’ve turned the ball over way too many times,” said Barbieri, whose team has lost 13 turnovers and forced just three in those games. “When we stop doing that, we’ll start competing.”
Similarly, the Patriots have been consistent in their troubles up front, which have translated into problems stopping opponent’s ground games and getting their own running attack going.
Valley View outrushed Pittston Area, 360-116, with 87 of the Patriots’ yards coming on one Keemar Woodruff run in the second quarter.
“They’re great up front,” Barbieri said. “They’re big up front and that’s where we’re young.
“We’re a lot of seniors on the skills, but we’re young up front and we’re trying to match them. We had the same problem last week against Dallas and their good O-line.”
Opponents have outrushed the Patriots by an average of 248-79.7 in the three Pittston Area losses.
Pittston Area combined Woodruff’s long run with its passing attack to battle back after Valley View opened a 28-7 lead.
The Cougars scored on all three of their first-quarter possessions, then converted in three plays after recovering a fumble at the Patriots 13 in the second quarter.
Pittston Area closed to within 34-20 at halftime by scoring twice in the last 5:45 of the second quarter.
Woodruff’s 87-yard run up the middle on second-and-18 put the ball at the 1 where Coles took it in two plays later.
Valley View regained its three-touchdown lead with 49.8 seconds left in the half, but Coles brought Pittston Area back down the field with four completions for 72 yards. He hit Bryan Giambra for 43 yards on third-and-six, then found Kevin Krawczyk in the end zone, near the sideline for a 6-yard touchdown with 4.2 seconds left in the half.
“I thought the first half when we got down, we battled,” Barbieri said. “We came back and we kept making big play after big play.”
The Patriots received the ball to start the second half and had a chance to build on their big finish to the first half.
Pittston Area lost two turnovers and gave up two touchdowns before it ran its second offensive play of the half.
“We had momentum coming out of the locker room and then we fumble the kickoff,” Barbieri said. “Then, we make a big play on a kickoff return and we throw a pick six. First down, throw it away, live to play another down.
“Then, we come back and get the ball and fumble it again. To their credit, they took advantage.”
Alex Savkov returned the interception 92 yards for a touchdown and the two fumbles left Valley View needing to go just 25 and 49 yards for its other scores.
The three touchdowns in the first 5:55 of the third quarter turned the 34-20 game into a 35-point lead, invoking the Mercy Rule for the final 18:05.
NUMBERS GAME: Pittston Area has committed nine turnovers in the last two weeks without forcing any. … The Patriots have allowed at least 187 yards rushing in each game and an average of 243.3 per game on the season. … Matt Starinsky led the Pittston Area defense in tackles for the second straight week, finishing with 10, along with four assists and a blocked extra point. … Joe Carey added seven tackles and six assists. … Valley View had six players run for at least 31 yards. … Woodruff, who was over the 100-yard mark before losses pushed him back to 97 on 13 carries, ran 2 yards for a first-quarter touchdown. … Coles finished 10-for-21 for 147 yards. … Valley View outgained Pittston Area, 169-33, in the second half and, 402-263, for the game.
UP NEXT: Pittston Area (1-3) returns home after three straight road games to face GAR (0-4) in a non-league game between Wyoming Valley Conference opponents. The Grenadiers are one of just two winless teams in the WVC and have given up the most points by a conference team while being outscored, 157-24. GAR, which gave up 379 rushing yards to Lake-Lehman in Friday’s 50-12 loss, has used three starting quarterbacks in the first four games.
