Ryder Machado needed just 5:40 to give Delaware Valley the first three touchdowns it needed to overpower Pittston Area 42-7 in a District 2 Class 5A football semifinal.
The top-seeded Warriors will go after their eighth straight District 2 championship Friday night when they host the Scranton-Abington Heights winner.
Machado gave Delaware Valley an early, 21-0 lead.
The Warriors stretched the advantage to 35-0 at halftime, declining to build the lead higher when they let the second-quarter clock run out while on the Patriots 1.
Pittston Area did not manage a first down in the first half.
With the second half played under the running clock of the Mercy Rule, the Patriots put together a scoring drive on their first possession.
Pittston Area moved 69 yards in 10 plays, taking up 8:22. They broke the shutout on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Drew DeLucca to Matt Walter. Gavin Wolfe added the extra point.
Tyler Bird ran 4 yards for the final Delaware Valley touchdown with less than five minutes left.
The win was the eighth straight for the Lackawanna Football Conference Division 1 champion Warriors, who started the season 0-3 against strong competition outside District 2.
Delaware Valley and Pittston Area had never met before last year’s District 2 Class 5A playoffs when the Warriors came to Charley Trippi Stadium and posted a 41-0 victory.
Patriots coach Nick Barbieri is a former assistant to Warriors head coach Keith Olsommer.
Machado, with some help from the defense and special teams, spoiled Barbieri’s return to the Pike County school.
Delaware Valley scored in less than three minutes on the opening drive.
The Warriors then recovered a fumble at the Patriots 19, leading to the second score in less than two minutes on an 8-yard Machado run.
The next score came about even quicker.
Delaware Valley blocked a punt and took over at the 5. Machado scored from there on the next play to make it 21-0 with 6:20 left in the third quarter.
The Warriors were working on expanding that lead as the first quarter ended with a 40-yard Machado run on the final play to put them inside the 10.
Justin Kalitsnik added a 2-yard touchdown run in the first minute of the second quarter.
By midway through the quarter, the lead was at 35-0 on a Mike Iuzzolino 24-yard touchdown run.
Pittston Area finished the season 5-6 with a team heavy on contributions from sophomores.
