Pittston Area running back Harry Pugliese adds to his 1,000-yard season with 42-yard run in the second quarter of Friday night’s District 2 Class 5A semifinal game.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Delaware Valley’s Bradley Coe (17) gets by Pittston Area defensive back Anthony Cencetti (1) for a 23-yard touchdown in the second quarter of Friday night’s District 2 Class 5A semifinal game.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Pittston Area quarterback Drew DeLucca (3) tosses the ball out to the flank to running back Drew Menendez (22) against Delaware Valley in Friday night’s District 2 Class 5A semifinal game.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Delaware Valley’s Bradley Coe (17) and Jackson Corrie (7) break up a pass in the end zone intended for Pittston Area’s Kevin Lockett.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Pittston Area senior Josh Pierre rushes for a 10-yard gain against Delaware Valley in Friday night’s District 2 Class 5A semifinal game.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
YATESVILLE — Pittston Area had Delaware Valley pinned in a third-and-16 situation on the first drive of the game until … running back Paulie Weinrich broke off a 79-yard touchdown run.
The Patriots responded and drove the ball to the Delaware Valley 12-yard line until … Bradley Coe intercepted a pass in the end zone and returned it 60 yards to set up another score.
Those two drives epitomized Friday night’s District 2 Class 5A semifinal football game where Delaware Valley ended Pittston Area’s season with a 41-0 victory.
Delaware Valley (6-5) will go for its seventh consecutive District 2 championship when it plays at Scranton (8-3) at 7 p.m. next Friday. The six other titles came at Class 6A.
Pittston Area ended its season at 7-4.
“We had them where we wanted them,” Pittston Area coach Nick Barbieri said. “They caught us in a nickel package and ran the ball. Then I thought we went right down the field and had a chance to even things up. I thought that would have changed the game. We threw a pick in the end zone and they scored another one.
“Then they blocked a punt and scored another one. That kind of made the game out of touch for us.”
Weinrich, who finished with a game-high 107 yards rushing, slipped through an ankle tackle past the line of scrimmage and regained his speed to finish off his 79-yard touchdown run. It was a needed boost after a 38-13 upset loss to Abington Heights last Friday.
“Paulie is a kid the rest of the team feeds off of,” Delaware Valley coach Keith Olsommer said. “You get a nice run like that right off the bat and it gets us going in the right direction.”
Coe’s interception in the end zone after Pittston Area drove to the Delaware Valley 12 in 10 plays kept the Warriors on the correct path. Quarterback Drew DeLucca and lineman Jaiden Morgans combined for a touchdown-saving tackle on the play at the Patriots 42.
Eight plays later, quarterback Logan Olsommer ran in from 12 yards out and Delaware Valley was up 14-0.
The situation got worse for the Patriots. Aiden Black blocked a punt and the Warriors took over a yard away from the end zone. Weinrich scored on the next play.
Pittston Area kept the Warriors from scoring a fourth touchdown when defensive lineman Charlies Sciandra recovered a fumble at the Patriots’ 2. Delaware Valley got the ball back three plays later when a pass intended for Kevin Lockett was tipped by Coe downfield and Jackson Corrie made a diving interception.
Delaware Valley then needed to go only 36 yards to score as Olsommer threw a dart to Coe, hitting his receiver in stride for a 23-yard touchdown and a 28-0 halftime lead.
The Patriots started the second half well, using mainly the running of Harry Pugliese to get to the Delaware Valley 6. Another end zone interception — this one by Ryder Machado — ended the threat. Machado then picked his way through traffic five plays later and scored from 64 yards out as Delaware Valley reached the 35-point mercy rule at 6:33 of the third quarter.
Luke Brazanskas added a 43-yard touchdown run with 9:41 left to close the scoring.
Pittston Area ended the season with its most wins since the 2003 team won nine times. The Patriots also won the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 championship.
“I think we dressed 32 tonight and 17 of them are seniors,” Barbieri said. “We got a big group to replace and they’ve been through a lot. We’re not going to dwell on this one. When you look at the big picture, we had a pretty good year and we’re happy with that. We won a title which hasn’t been done here in 20 years.
“We’re not going to let this define our year, although it does sting a lot.”
BY THE NUMBERS
Delaware Valley had statistical advantages of 11-8 in first downs, 267-122 in rushing yards, 73-52 in passing yards and 340-174 in total offense. … The Warriors were 5-for-6 passing while the Patriots were 6-for-20. … Harry Pugliese led Pittston Area’s offense with 87 yards on 15 carries. … Anthony Ranieli caught three passes for 32 yards for the Patriots.
