YATESVILLE — On Senior Night at Charley Trippi Stadium, it was only fitting that a pair of super seniors did most of the heavy lifting for Pittston Area.
Harry Pugliese rushed for 166 yards and four touchdowns, Josh Pierre had two kickoff return touchdowns and the Patriots celebrated their seniors in style, walloping Tunkhannock, 55-12, to remain unbeaten in Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 games.
“I feel great for the seniors, they’ve been through some tough years and for them to have a night like that on Senior Night … that’s a great win,” Pittston Area coach Nick Barbieri said.
Rolling as of late, the Patriots controlled the game in every phase: six offensive touchdowns, two kickoff returns for scores and a pair of interceptions that, all combined, made it a long night for Tunkhannock.
Pugliese accounted for four of the Patriots’ six first-half touchdowns, getting into the second level of the Tigers defense just about every time he touched the ball, and proving impossible to stop in the Red Zone.
“The gaps were wide open, you could see it from the snap,” Pugliese said. “It’s all about the vision.”
Pugliese also had one of his defense’s interceptions, narrowly missing a second that would have likely gone for another touchdown.
Anthony Cencetti also picked off a pass for the Pittston Area defense, which kept Tunkhannock and quarterback Ben Chilson in check for much of the night.
“We felt like if we could get some pressure, we could make (Chilson’s) job a little harder,” Barbieri said. “Chilson’s an outstanding athlete, a great kid.”
Pittston Area added touchdowns from Anthony Ranieli on a pass from Drew DeLucca, and an 85-yard kickoff return from Pierre to put the finishing touches on a 42-point first half.
Pierre’s first kickoff return saw him initially decide to let the ball roll out of bounds, only for it to come to rest before reaching the sideline. He scooped it up, took it back across the field and all the way in for the score.
Pierre wasn’t done; on the opening kickoff of the second half, he added another long touchdown with a hurdle and a couple of broken tackles.
“(Pierre) does a lot of great things for us,” Barbieri said.
Pittston Area improved to 5-3 overall, reaching five wins for the first time since 2017.
Tunkhannock fell to 1-5 and 1-7.
BY THE NUMBERS
Harry Pugliese’s four touchdowns covered 33 yards – 6 and 10 yards in the first quarter, then 14 and 3 in the second quarter. His other six carries produced 133 yards. … Pittston Area had statistical leads of 10-4 in first downs, 237-25 in rushing yards, 129-81 in passing yards and 366-106 in total offense. … Steven Barnic completed both of his passes for Pittston Area for 30 yards. … Anthony Ranieli was the leading Pittston Area receiver with three catches for 40 yards.
UP NEXT
Pittston Area will try to secure just its second winning season in the last 14 when it plays Holy Redeemer Saturday at 1 p.m. at Wyoming Valley West’s Spartan Stadium. The Royals are 2-3 in the division and 3-5 overall. High-scoring games are the norm for Holy Redeemer, which is led by the passing combination of Jacob Hunter to speedster Zach Perta. The Royals have scored 70, 53 and 48 points in their wins, but have allowed 44, 22, 42, 56 and 64 in their losses.
