
Even though Lidge Kellum (2) was tripped up at the five-yard line, he managed to keep his balance for a 64-yard touchdown against Lake-Lehman on Friday night at Sobeski Field, West Pittston.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
WEST PITTSTON — Wyoming Area ran just 13 plays in the first half Friday night compared to 35 by Lake-Lehman.
The situation was quality over quantity.
The Warriors scored on three of those 13 plays to build a two-touchdown lead on the way to a 35-14 victory in a game to decide first place in Division 2 of the Wyoming Valley Conference football.
“We started fast and the possessions we did have we did execute and make big plays and got off to that kind of start,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “But again, (Lehman) did a good job staying in the game, managing the clock. We just need to do a better job getting off the field in those situations.”
Wyoming Area (4-0 Div. 2, 7-1 overall) used the running of WVC rushing leader Lidge Kellum and a blocked punt to take a 21-7 halftime lead.
“Two drives there we lost 14 points,” Lake-Lehman coach Jerry Gilsky said, “but we had no answer defensively stopping them. (Kellum) runs like crazy. They did a good job up front offensively. Our guys were catching blocks instead of getting by blocks.”
The Warriors’ first two plays from scrimmage were a 23-yard run and a 56-yard touchdown run by Kellum. They came after Lake-Lehman (3-1 Div. 2, 5-3) ate up nearly six minutes of the first quarter, but came up empty.
Wyoming Area needed just one play to score after Ryan Jones scooped up a blocked punt by Drew Keating and returned it 30 yards to the Lake-Lehman 24. Quarterback Anthony DeLucca found Luke Kopetchny down the left sideline for the score.
Lake-Lehman then went on another time-consuming drive to start the second quarter, using 17 plays to cover 83 yards. Running back Jaydon Skipalis finished it off by spinning off a couple tackle attempts for a 17-yard score with 2:41 left until halftime.
The Black Knights used up over nine minutes on the scoring drive. Wyoming Area responded much quicker.
Kellum who finished with 208 yards on 17 carries, rushed for 25 and 5 yards, suffering an injury on the second carry. Running back Trustin Johnson entered and had carries of 19 and 13 yards before scoring from 5 yards out with 34 seconds left until intermission.
Wyoming Area then went on a sustained drive — by the Warriors’ standards — to open the third quarter. Kellum and fullback Michael Crane did the bulk of the running before DeLucca plowed in from a yard out.
An 18-yard pass from Hayden Evans to Skipalis moved Lehman within 28-14 midway through the fourth, but after a failed onside kick Wyoming Area struck again quickly as Kevin Wiedl caught a 14-yard TD pass with 5:07 remaining.
“There are things we have to look at and work on going forward,” Spencer said. “But it was also good to play a four-quarter game.”
BY THE NUMBERS
Lake-Lehman had a 33:05-14:55 advantage in time of possession and ran 64 plays to 33 by Wyoming Area. … The Black Knights used those extra plays to build statistical advantages of 23-15 in first downs and 338-313 in total offense. … The Warriors averaged more than 10 yards per rush with 268 on 26 attempts. … Lake-Lehman’s Hayden Evans was 17-of-32 for 237 yards — all career highs. Ben Dowling caught seven of those passes for 91 yards and Chris Sholtis caught five for 89 yards. … Lake-Lehman’s three losses are to teams with combined records of 23-1. … Kevin Wiedl led the Wyoming Area defense with a sack and another tackle for a loss among his five tackles and seven assists. Trustin Johnson added four tackles, five assists and a fumble recovery.
UP NEXT
Wyoming Area (4-0 in the division and 7-1 overall) can finish another perfect, championship season within Division 2 of the Wyoming Valley Conference Friday night when it hosts Nanticoke (1-2, 1-7). Since posting their only win 14-12 at Tunkhannock, the Trojans have been outscored 187-14 in a four-game losing streak. Nanticoke has the least points scored in District 2 with 35 in eight games and, going into Saturday’s action, the Trojans had allowed a district-high 326 points (40.8 per game).