WEST PITTSTON — Wyoming Area struggled on both sides of the ball early Friday night.

Nick Ciampi sped up the offense while Caden Reynolds led the way in slowing down Pittston Area’s attack as the Warriors put together their latest and greatest comeback.

Ciampi earned the Carmelo Falcone Award as the game’s Most Valuable Player after scoring three touchdowns to help the Warriors down the visiting Patriots 41-22 in a battle between teams that entered the game with 8-1 records.

Wyoming Area stopped Pittston Area’s seven-game overall winning streak and continued its own dominance in the series. The Warriors have won 10 of the last 12 meetings between the rivals and now lead 35-26 in a series that was dead even through 40 games.

“It feels great,” said Reynolds, who made three tackles for losses, assisted on two sacks, provided the pressure that resulted in another and recovered a fumble. “Beating Pittston my senior year is the best thing I could ever ask for.”

The Warriors had comebacks from 13- and 14-point deficits in the first half of the season.

Friday, they found themselves down 15-0 before Ciampi got loose.

Ciampi finished with 25 carries for 228 yards and three touchdowns. He was in on six tackles, including two for losses.

All the rushing numbers were career-highs for Ciampi, who carried just twice as a junior and gradually built into a bigger role for the second half of this season.

“It was just a natural arc that we were seeing from Nick and we were just so fortunate that he was able to get stronger and stronger to the point where he was able to have the type of game he had tonight,” Warriors coach Randy Spencer said.

Ciampi started the comeback with runs of 14 and 20 yards to set up his 10-yard touchdown after Pittston Area went up 15-0 in the first 7:02.

“It’s all mental,” Ciampi said. “It’s on to the next play, every play.

“The next play’s the most important play every time. That’s it.”

Wyoming Area missed the two-point try after Ciampi’s first score, but kept possession and the momentum with a successful on-side kick.

They needed just four plays to go 43 yards and score on the first play of the second quarter on Jack Gravine’s 15-yard run.

Gravine finished with two touchdown runs and one touchdown pass.

At that point, however, the Warriors still had not found a way to stop Pittston Area’s offense.

Brody Spindler, who ran for 154 yards, broke loose on an 82-yard run to set up his own 1-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal for a 22-13 lead with 9:52 left in the half.

The Patriots did not score again.

Wyoming Area won going away by scoring the final 28 points, 22 of them in the second half.

Ciampi’s 22-yard run started a 48-yard scoring drive that resulted in a 15-yard Gravine touchdown pass to Luke Kopetchny 42 seconds before halftime.

The Warriors scored on their first second-half possession with Ciampi carrying all four plays for 59 yards. His 42-yard run set up a 2-yard touchdown for a 26-22 lead with 8:45 left in the third.

Ciampi ran 17 yards for another score before the quarter was over.

“This was the biggest game of my life and I knew I had to perform,” Ciampi said.

Gravine scored from the 1 with 4:02 remaining one play after Trustin Johnson ran 45 yards.

Pittston Area, the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 champion, was sharp early against the WVC Division 2 runners-up.

The Patriots forced a three-and-out, setting up good field position and covered 40 yards in six plays, five of them Spindler runs. Spindler went 24 yards to the 2, then scored from the 1 on third-and-goal.

Following a Wyoming Area penalty, Pittston Area chose to go for the two-pointer and Spindler converted.

Lucas LoPresto broke a 75-yard touchdown run on the first play of the next possession.

The Wyoming Area offense took over from there, producing 346 yards on the ground with Ciampi averaging 9.1 yards per carry.

“It was just a great effort and really supported by a great job up front,” Spencer said. “I think our line really set the tone physically and was able to maintain it throughout the game along with our tight ends and backs blocking out of the backfield as well.”