Metro
Rematches and possible revenge are on the agenda for the District 2 football playoffs.
Wyoming Area earned a home field; Pittston Area landed a playoff berth; and both set themselves up for another shot at tough opponents.
The Warriors are 9-1 and the third seed in the eight-team, three-round District 2 Class 3A playoffs. Wyoming Area will open the playoffs Friday night at home against sixth-seeded Carbondale (6-4) and, as long as there are no major upsets, is in position to get a shot at avenging its only loss in the Nov. 8 semifinals at second-seeded Western Wayne.
The Patriots are 2-8 and seeded third in the four-team, two-round District 2 Class 5A playoffs. They will hit the road to face the team that ended the last two Pittston Area seasons, second-seeded Delaware Valley.
Wyoming Area won its second straight Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 title. Western Wayne finished as co-champion of Lackawanna Football Conference Division 2 after a late-season loss to Mid Valley, the Class 3A tournament’s fourth seed. Both are 9-1.
Before they can negotiate a rematch of Western Wayne’s 34-23 victory in Week Three, both teams have to get past improving opponents.
Carbondale tripled its win total from two to six this season behind a big, strong run defense. The Chargers held a second-half lead on Class 2A top-seed Riverside and rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Class 2A second-seed Susquehanna in the eighth and ninth games of the season.
Western Wayne faces Berwick, which is 4-6 after starting 0-4 and 1-5. The Bulldogs averaged more than 38 points per game and got 1,108 rushing yards from Ty’Meere Wilkerson in the last four weeks while winning three times.
If the Warriors and Wildcats advance, Wyoming Area will be trying to make up for allowing two touchdowns in the last two minutes of the first half to give up a lead before falling at Western Wayne.
Western Wayne’s Josh Vinton and Wyoming Area’s Lidge Kellum, the top rushers and scorers in their respective conferences, each carried 29 times and for two touchdowns in the first meeting. Vinton had the edge in yardage 184-164 and also helped secure the win with a fourth-quarter interception return for a touchdown.
Wyoming Area played the first meeting without starters Josh Mruk and Michael Crane.
Pittston Area reached the Class 5A playoffs two years ago after winning a WVC Division 2 title and even earned the home-field advantage against Delaware Valley.
It did not matter.
Delaware Valley rolled to a 41-0 victory.
They met in the semifinals last year with Delaware Valley winning 42-7 at home in a game that was in the running clock of the Mercy Rule for the entire second half.
Scranton Prep is the top seed in Class 3A while Abington Heights is the No. 1 team going into the Class 5A playoffs.
