Wyoming Area junior Jack Gravine (6) scampers past Crestwood Area’s Emmett Seyer for a long gain.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Trustin Johnson blasts through a five-yard Warrior touchdown run against Crestwood Area at Wyoming Area on Friday night.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Warrior Trustin Johnson (0) stops Crestwood QB Jaden Shedlock (13) in his tracks in second half action on Friday evening at West Pittston.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Comet Jack Rodgers (12) celebrates as he scores a 48-yard touchdown reception from QB Jaden Shedlock against Wyoming Area at Sobeski Stadium on Friday night.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
WEST PITTSTON — Wyoming Area’s offense did its job in the fourth quarter in Friday night’s opener against Crestwood.
Now it was the defense’s turn and, despite surrendering a touchdown, it came up big when needed.
Linebacker Ben Gravine forced an errant pass on third down with a hit on Crestwood quarterback Jaden Shedlock and defensive end Josh Mruk wrapped up the victory with a fourth-down sack as Wyoming Area held on for a 24-21 victory.
“Ben and Josh throughout the game and especially at the end,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “I think Donovan Miller had a heck of a game from an effort standpoint all over the field.
“Certainly timely plays when we needed them, especially at the end of the game to close it out.”
The win was the fifth time in the last seven meetings the game finished a one-score game.
Wyoming Area took a 24-14 lead with 5:35 to play when quarterback Jack Gravine threw a short dart to Nick Ciampi, who turned it into a 42-yard catch-and-run TD.
Crestwood answered right back. Shedlock hit wideout Giovanni Barna for 45 yards and tight end Logan Lawson for 13 more on the Comets’ two plays after the Wyoming Area score.
Shedlock eventually plunged in from one yard out to move Crestwood within 24-21 with 3:28 remaining.
Wyoming Area went three-and-out, giving the ball to Crestwood at its 48-yard line with 1:18 to play.
A holding penalty backed up the Comets, but Shedlock found Barna for a 17-yard gain for a second-and-3. An incompletion followed by Ben Gravine and Mruk making defensive plays ended Crestwood’s hopes.
Shedlock, known more for his running, had a strong game throwing the ball. He finished 13-for-21 for 237 yards, including a 48-yard touchdown pass to an incredibly wide open Jack Rodgers with 4:33 left in the third quarter to give Crestwood its only lead, 14-10.
“I’m really proud of him maturing as a passer for sure,” Crestwood coach Ryan Arcangeli said. “We just haven’t been able to get a surrounding cast around him in a while.”
Trustin Johnson and Jack Gravine had solid starting debuts replacing two key graduation losses.
Johnson finished with 24 carries for 138 yards, most of which came in the second half. He fought his way into the end zone on a 5-yard run to give the Warriors a 17-14 lead with three seconds left in the third quarter.
The new tailback in place of 2,000-yard rusher Lidge Kellum, Johnson remains a starter on defense where he was in on a team-high six tackles with three tackles and three assists. He also had a 34-yard kickoff return.
Jack Gravine won the right to replace Anthony DeLucca, the Wyoming Valley Conference’s most efficient passer in 2024, during the preseason. In his first start at quarterback, he carried 12 times for 106 yards, including a 53-yard touchdown to open the scoring. He also completed seven of 17 passes for 90 yards.
After Jack Gravine gave Wyoming Area a 7-0 lead at the end of the quarter, Jacob Jeckel scored from the one with 3:11 remaining before halftime for a 7-7 tie.
Gavin Feeney’s 27-yard field goal with 14 seconds remaining gave the Warriors a 10-7 halftime lead.
BY THE NUMBERS
Donovan Miller had a team-high four tackles and added an assist for Wyoming Area. Josh Mruk made three tackles, two of which were sacks and the other was also for a loss, along with hurrying the passer into two other incompletions. … Wyoming Area had statistical advantages of 18-11 in first downs, 271-37 in rushing yards and 361-274 in total offense. … Crestwood quarterback Jaden Shedlock carried 22 times for 163 yards in last year’s opener. This time, three sacks for 24 yards in losses helped put his final totals at 10 carries for minus-8 yards. … Luke Kopetchny was Wyoming Area’s top receiver with three catches for 29 yards.
UP NEXT
Wyoming Area heads to Dallas Friday night for a meeting of the two-time defending champions in each division of the Wyoming Valley Conference. Dallas opened with a 27-7 loss at Jersey Shore, a state-ranked Class 4A team from District 4. Like Wyoming Area, the Mountaineers are trying to make up for major graduation losses at the skill positions. Dallas fell behind 20-0 at halftime and got its only touchdown on a 3-yard run by Hunter Pitcavage. The Warriors won last year’s meeting 49-41.
