PALMYRA TWP. — Pittston Area reached 8-1 in football for the first time since 1982.
Wallenpaupack made sure the Patriots did not arrive at that point easily.
John Jadus blocked the potential tying extra point and Brody Spindler turned in another tireless effort to help Pittston Area come out of the non-league, road game with a 14-13 victory.
The seventh straight win came on the night of a long bus ride in a dangerous spot on the schedule. It was tucked between a victory that clinched just the second championship season in more than two decades and Friday night’s meeting of 8-1 rivals at Wyoming Area.
“I was sick to my stomach all week thinking about this one,” Pittston Area coach Paul Russick said.
With that in mind, he may have needed to locate antacids after the game’s opening drive.
Wallenpaupack moved 73 yards to score on a 29-yard reverse by Izael Rodriguez to put Pittston Area into a 7-0 hole.
In doing so, they started a process that increased Spindler’s workload.
Spindler carried eight times for 46 yards, converting a third-and-five and then scoring from the 2 on fourth-and-one with 25 seconds left in the first quarter.
The game remained tied 7-7 through halftime.
Spindler then carried 10 times, fighting for 39 difficult yards, in a scoring drive that overcame four penalties and took more than 10 minutes to complete after the Patriots received the second-half kickoff.
“Those guys had a great plan and we had way too many mistakes,” Russick said.
The drive nearly ended before the first of the five first downs it produced.
Spindler’s fourth-and-three run on a fake punt wound up being measured, even though officials had already signaled first down before agreeing to bring out the chains and take what turned out to be a very close look to determine he got just enough. Spindler ran for three more yards on fourth-and-one, then picked up 11 on the unlikely off tackle run on third-and-nine.
Lucas LoPresto went around right end for the 4-yard touchdown and Cole Baldwin added what wound up being the deciding extra point.
“You have to put the ball in the hands of Brody Spindler and Lucas LoPresto there,” Russick said. “We felt good up front. We just had to continue to find ways to get the big guys the ball.”
Wallenpaupack immediately countered with an 85-yard pass from Jake Rafferty to Mason Gonzalez.
Enter Jadus.
The 6-foot-3 junior reached up from in the middle of the line and was able to knock down the extra-point attempt.
Wallenpaupack moved to the 20 before turning the ball over on downs with a fourth-down incompletion with 5:02 left.
Seven straight runs, five of them by Spindler, drained the remaining time off the clock.
On the game’s next-to-last play, Spindler chose clinching the win over padding his own statistics. He appeared to be on his way to a 40-yard touchdown, when he slowed and then sat down at the 19. In doing so, he prevented the potential scenario where Wallenpaupack could have tied the game with a late touchdown and two-pointer.
By the numbers
Brody Spindler finished with 27 carries for 140 yards and a 15-yard reception. He was responsible for 13 of the first downs as Pittston Area finished with a 17-11 lead in that category after being even 7-7 in the first half. … The Patriots went 3-for-4 on fourth-down conversions and 4-for-10 on third downs with Spindler producing all seven conversions. … Victor Narsavage led the Patriots defense with six tackles and four assists. Stephen Barnic added four tackles and two assists. … Wallenpaupack outgained Pittston Area by one yard, 272-271. … Pittston Area held the ball for 11:37 of the 12 minutes in the third quarter to help it lead in time of possession 29:18-18:42.
