
Pittston Area QB Matt Walter (4) runs a sweep left looking for blockers as he heads down field against Nanticoke Area at Trippi Field on Friday night.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
YATESVILLE — Matt Walter. CJ Pietrzak. Lucas Lopresto.
Nanticoke had no luck dealing with those three weapons Friday night.
Pittston Area used the talents of its three offensive leaders to run past Nanticoke 55-0 Friday night at Charley Trippi Stadium.
Walter, Pietrzak and Lopresto were collectively responsible for 30 of those points.
“In this conference and district, you’ve got to be able to run the football, so I think we’ve been doing that pretty well the last two weeks,” Pittston Area coach Joe DeLucca said after posting his first football head coaching victory. “We’ve got to continue buttoning some things up on the offensive side of the ball.”
Just about the only blemish on the Patriots’ side of the boxscore was the penalty column, which showed seven for 60 yards.
Pittston Area got off to a hot start, scoring touchdowns on two of its first three drives. Both of those scores came courtesy of quarterback Walter, who scored from 9 and 10 yards out.
Pietrzak took over in the second quarter, which is where Pittston Area’s dominance on the night became stark. The Patriots scored 31 points in the second frame, with Pietrzak scoring on runs of 1 and 50 yards. In between, Walter hooked up with Lopresto for a 40-yard strike. And, with a minute left in the quarter, Aidan Brody expanded the Patriots lead to 47-0 on, appropriately, a 47-yard dash to the end zone.
Special teams played a big part in the first half. Kicker Gavin Wolfe routinely pinned the Trojans offense inside the 20 with his booming kickoffs after each score. Wolfe tacked on a 31-yard field goal later in the midst of Pittston Area’s second-quarter onslaught.
The game also featured a safety, which spouted from a broken fourth-down play. Punter Chris Julian was swarmed by Patriots special teamers, causing him to run backward and chuck the ball out of the end zone behind him.
“(Special teams) is something we take pride in. We work on that,” said DeLucca. “We’re very fortunate to have Gavin Wolfe, who’s a soccer kid.”
It wasn’t just a matter of starting field position for the Trojans. Their inability to move the ball on the ground was especially damaging. They mustered only 23 total yards from scrimmage, all while being held in the negatives on their rushing attempts.
DeLucca saw the strong defensive effort by his squad on Friday night as the natural successor to their two previous games against Mid Valley and North Pocono.
“I’m very proud of the way the defense stepped up the last couple weeks…,” said DeLucca. “We played very well, very stingy.”
The second half featured just eight points, courtesy of a touchdown run and two-point conversion from backup signal caller Santino Capitano. Otherwise, the opportunities for scoring were minimal.
In addition to the running clock, a testament to Pittston Area’s gigantic halftime lead, the third and fourth quarters were shortened from twelve to eight minutes in length.
Pittston Area did not try to score in the fourth quarter. DeLucca signaled his team to kneel the ball on each of its eight fourth-quarter plays.
Nanticoke managed its longest play during the fourth quarter, a 17-yard toss from Chet Beggs to James Bush. That play resulted in one of Nanticoke Area’s two total first downs.
BY THE NUMBERS
Pittston Area’s rushing leaders were: CJ Pietrzak with 79 yards on five carries and Matt Walter with 59 yards on eight carries. … Lucas Lopresto had two catches for 48 yards, gained 30 yards on his only carry and picked off a pass. … Nanticoke lost all four of its fumbles.
THE WEEK AHEAD
Pittston Area opens its Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 schedule Friday night at Wyoming Valley West. The game is the second straight for the Patriots against a winless opponent. The Spartans have dropped 12 straight since winning last season’s opener. Wyoming Valley West has been outscored 92-20 this season and has been shut out or held to a single score eight times during the streak.