SCRANTON — With a boost from its special teams, Scranton applied constant pressure on the Wyoming Area defense Friday night.
Once the unbeaten Knights broke through, they steadily increased their lead on the way to a 38-7, non-league football victory Friday night at Scranton Memorial Stadium.
Wyoming Area forced a punt after two apparent Scranton touchdowns were called back on an Opening Drive that got as close as the Warriors 25.
The Warriors then held on downs at the 37 to get through the first quarter in a scoreless tie.
“I think we did a good job in terms of coming out and being competitive initially, but we’re hungry for much more than that,” Warriors coach Randy Spencer said.
Scranton made the most of Chris Chandler’s blocked punt early in the second quarter to start a stretch in which it scored on its last six possessions.
“We blocked a punt that set up our first score,” Scranton coach Steve Shumbres said. “We really stressed going over all of our special teams and making big plays when we’re out there.”
Scranton, which also possesses a dangerous group of return men, combined the strong leg of Keegan Hughes with a speedy coverage team to pin Wyoming Area at its 17, 31, 17, 18, 9, 8 and 25 with kickoffs.
“Our coverage team has been getting better and better,” Shumbres said.
Billy Maloney took it from there.
The junior quarterback/safety passed for two touchdowns, ran for one, picked off a pass and made a touchdown-saving tackle.
Maloney went 5-for-11 for 133 yards and two touchdowns passing. He ran for 94 yards on 11 carries.
Three of Scranton’s scoring possessions started in Wyoming Area territory and another began at the 49.
Maloney went deep, hitting Donato Stepney as he crossed into the end zone for a 33-yard touchdown pass on third-and-eight to open the scoring 9:12 before halftime.
The quarterback sidestepped a sack and then two tacklers in the secondary on a 47-yard scramble for the next score.
Hughes, who went 5-for-5 on extra points, kicked a 25-yard field goal with 16.6 seconds left in the half for a 17-0 lead.
Aaron Crossley, who led the Wyoming Area offense with 108 yards on 18 carries, broke free on the first play of the second half, but Maloney stopped him after 30 yards and the Knights held on downs.
Maloney jumped to get a short pass over the Wyoming Area rush on fourth-and-two and Noah Ardestani turned it into a 32-yard touchdown.
The field position meant the Knights only needed to go 30 yards for their next score, a 5-yard run by Lamaire Saldano.
Wyoming Area stayed on the ground for a 15-play, 93-yard scoring drive that burned 8:24 off the clock before Michael Crane broke the shutout with a 4-yard quarterback keeper on third-and-goal with 5:40 left.
Scranton freshman back-up quarterback Brody Coyle ran 14 yards for the last score.
BY THE NUMBERS
Scranton’s average drive started just across midfield while Wyoming Area was beginning at its 23. … Wyoming Area had just two first downs before getting one on the final play of the third quarter and five more in the continuation of its only scoring drive. … Scranton wound up with leads of 13-8 in first downs, 229-146 in rushing yards, 133-22 in passing yards and 362-168 in total offense. … Aaron Crossley led the Wyoming Area defense with four tackles, including two for losses, two assists and a pass rush. Joe Marranca had three tackles and six assists.
UP NEXT
Wyoming Area, which is 3-3 overall, returns to Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 play where it is 3-0 and holds the lead. The Warriors host Holy Redeemer, which is tied for third at 2-1, and is 3-3 overall, Friday night. The Royals are coming off a 48-0 rout of Hanover Area in which they sacked the Hawkeyes four times while holding them to minus-44 yards rushing. Offensively, Holy Redeemer is led by the dynamic passing combination of Jacob Hunter to Zach Perta. Hunter went over the 1,000-yard passing mark in the fifth game of the season.
