Pittston Area senior running back Brody Spindler (0) is shown breaking away from the last Wilkes-Barre Area defender Rajan Watson (5) to score a 44-yard touchdown on a fake punt.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Pittston Area’s Brody Spindler (0) bulls his way forward within the five-yard line against Wilkes-Barre Area.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
The Patriots’ Zak Ridgley (23) nearly picks off a Wilkes-Barre Area Jake Howe pass intended for Davon Underwood (1).
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
The Wolfpack’s Jonathan Otway Kellom (7) hauls in a Jack Howe pass down to the one-yard line against Pittston Area.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
WBA’s Nick Saracino (6) muscles his way to a seven-yard touchdown with Patriot Antonio Lombardo (5) attempting to stop him.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
YATESVILLE — Wilkes-Barre Area had the momentum after cutting the deficit to seven in the fourth quarter Friday night. All the Wolfpack needed was the ball.
Thanks to Pittston Area’s Lucas LoPresto, the Wolfpack never possessed it again.
LoPresto improvised twice to pick up first downs as the Patriots ate up the final 7:27 off the clock for a 31-24 victory in a Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 game.
Pittston Area overcame a strong second-half rally attempt by Wilkes-Barre Area to clinch no worse than a share of the Division 1 championship by improving to 4-0 in the division and 6-1 overall.
Wilkes-Barre Area fell to 1-2 and 4-3.
“I’ve said it all along, he’s the best athlete in District 2,” Pittston Area coach Paul Russick said of LoPresto. “He can do it all. And he needed to kind of do it all tonight. Man, what a dynamic athlete and what a great person.
“It says a lot about his character. Man, he’s a really fun kid to be around.”
The Wolfpack would probably want the chance for a rebuttal about the last statement.
LoPresto ripped the ball out of a receiver’s hands and scored on a 44-yard fumble return with four minutes left in the second quarter. He then beat triple coverage for a 21-yard touchdown catch with one second on the clock before halftime.
Those touchdowns coupled with Brody Spindler’s 44-yard touchdown run on a fake punt gave the Patriots a 24-3 lead at halftime.
Wilkes-Barre Area came roaring back in the third quarter. Jake Howe threw touchdown passes of 17 yards to Kevon Creech and 8 yards to Nick Saracino as the Wolfpack cut the deficit to 24-17 entering the fourth quarter.
Pittston Area did little on offense until late in the third quarter. A 10-play drive ended with Spindler scoring from 10 yards out for a 31-17 lead with 9:45 remaining in the game.
The Wolfpack, though, scored on its third consecutive possession of the second half. Howe’s 12-yard run moved the Wolfpack within 31-24.
Pittston Area then had a first-and-23 situation at its 7-yard line after a couple penalties following the kickoff. The Patriots got it to third-and-18 when LoPresto ran right, faked a pass and sifted through the defense for a first down.
“We had them down there,” Wilkes-Barre Area coach Ciro Cinti said. “We would have had one more shot. I’m very confident we would have scored again like the other three possessions we had.
“I was confident we’d get the ball back and the kid makes a great play.”
LoPresto had no intentions of throwing the ball. In fact, a pass wasn’t part of the play design.
“I just do that to fake because I had three guys coming,” said LoPresto, who normally plays receiver. “I threw a pass out of that play before so it wasn’t called. It was a jet sweep and I did it and I just ran.”
Pittston Area pounded the 220-pound Spindler five consecutive times after that. There was supposed to be a sixth consecutive run, but LoPresto missed the handoff to Spindler on a second-and-10. So he ad-libbed and raced around the left side for a 14-yard gain to seal the victory.
Up next
Pittston Area can complete an unbeaten run through Division 1 of the Wyoming Valley Conference when it hosts last-place Hazleton Area Friday night. The Cougars are 0-3 in the division and 1-6 overall after falling to Crestwood 42-15 Friday night. Hazleton Area has allowed 156 points in a four-game losing streak. Xavier Heck is leading Division 1 in rushing with well over 100 yards per game.
By the numbers
Pittston Area’s Brody Spindler carried 28 times for 155 yards and a touchdown. … Wilkes-Barre Area had statistical leads of 17-12 in first downs, 196-60 in passing yards and 305-268 in total offense. … Jake Howe was 16-for-26 for 196 yards passing for the Wolfpack. … Nick Saracino caught five passes for the Wolfpack and Lucas LoPresto caught four for the Patriots.
