LEHMAN TWP. — The coin flip set the stage, but the execution told the story.
In each half, the team receiving the kickoff dictated the tempo. Lake-Lehman opened with a physical, run-heavy approach, pounding the ball up the middle nearly every play. At halftime, Wyoming Area flipped the script: stretching the field and attacking spaces.
The difference? Wyoming Area finished drives – and stopped Lake-Lehman cold around the 30-yard line on every occasion in the game that decided sole possession of second place in Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 football.
The Warriors shut out Lake-Lehman 28-0 Friday in a game defined by both teams using their ground games to force the other to play to their strengths.
“I thought our kids were resilient in the first half and pushed through,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “In the second half, we were able to get control up front, ran the ball effectively and made a timely throw there.”
Wyoming Area stopped three different Lake-Lehman first-half drives before they could enter the Red Zone. The Black Knights were forced to kick two 40-plus yard field goals – both just short.
A second miss as the half expired kept Wyoming Area’s slim 7-0 lead intact.
“We’re a grind team,” Lake-Lehman coach Jerry Gilsky said. “That’s the way it is. We’re about possession. You can see it in the first quarter – they were on their heels. But if that grind team doesn’t punch it in inside the 30, you’re in trouble.”
Wyoming Area’s six-minute possession produced the first of three second-half touchdowns. Jack Gravine found an open Josh Mruk in the back of the end zone for a 3-yard score that gave the Warriors a 14-0 lead.
On the next Lake-Lehman possession, the Warriors stopped a fourth-and-short opportunity that was the inevitable nail in the coffin. The Black Knights were stopped for a negative gain for the first time in 16 carries.
“We raised our physicality on both sides of the line of scrimmage,” Spencer said. “We needed to work through that, to respond. We were able to finish strong. We played 48 minutes of football.”
Wyoming Area’s Nick Ciampi closed out the game with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns, scoring from 11 yards with 10:56 left and 6 yards with 2:33 to play.
Luke Kopetchny’s 1-yard touchdown gave the Warriors their halftime lead.
The shutout was the third in the last six games by Wyoming Area, which improved to 3-1 in the division and 7-1 overall.
Donavon Miller led the defense with five tackles, three assists and a forced fumble. Max Getzie had four tackles, including one for a loss.
Lake-Lehman, which had won its previous three games by a total of 124-19, fell to 2-2 and 4-4.
By the numbers
Three players, two of them from Wyoming Area, had productive games on the ground. Trustin Johnson carried 24 times for 100 yards for the Warriors while Nick Ciampi’s 11 carries produced 97 yards and two touchdowns. Lake-Lehman’s Jaydon Skipalis finished with 107 yards on 20 carries, but after picking up 88 yards on his first 10 runs, he managed just 19 on his remaining 10. … Wyoming Area held Lake-Lehman without a passing yard on two attempts and one completion. … The Warriors led 227-152 in team rushing and 259-152 in total offense.
Up next
Wyoming Area closes out its Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 schedule Friday night at last-place Nanticoke. The Trojans have lost all eight games, including three in the division, and have been outscored 381-72. Quarterback Ian Walsh had a team-high 227 rushing yards for Nanticoke going into Friday’s 56-21 loss to Honesdale, but had thrown for just 263 yards and one touchdown while being intercepted six times in 78 attempts. The Trojans have given up at least 37 points and lost by at least 26 in every game.
