Patriots standout Lucas LoPresto celebrates a 20-yard touchdown catch during the first quarter on Friday night against Mid Valley.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Pittston Area’s Brody Spindler (0) and Victor Narsavage (14) apply pressure to Mid Valley quarterback Brett Yanoski.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Pittston Area junior running back Jude Ferentino lunges toward the goal line scoring the second Patriots touchdownof the night.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Pittston Area senior Aldan Brody (26) wraps up Mid Valley freshman Nicholas Hricenak at the line of scrimmage Friday night.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
YATESVILLE — In a completely dominant performance by the Pittston Area Patriots, 2007 graduate Paul Russick earned his first win as the head football coach of his alma mater.
“Obviously, it’s a dream come true to come home,” Russick said following his squad’s 46-9 dismantling of visiting Mid Valley on Friday night.
The Patriots set the tone early by scoring on their first possession of the game, which itself came after a blocked punt deep in Mid Valley territory. It was Lucas LoPresto, one of the Wyoming Valley Conference’s most dynamic players, who spun his way into the end zone to give his team an early 7-0 lead. From there, Pittston Area’s offense was a runaway train.
In the second quarter, LoPresto scored his second touchdown of the contest on an 89-yard kickoff return.
“He’s dynamic,” Russick said of LoPresto. “Who would kick him the ball? I have no idea. [Mid Valley] did it.”
Running back Jude Ferentino had two touchdowns of his own, one in the second quarter and another in the third. Sandwiched between Ferentino’s first score and LoPresto’s return touchdown was a field goal from Mid Valley’s Cole Baldwin. That field goal represented the Spartans’ only scoring play of the first half.
Despite a solid yardage output from Mid Valley quarterback Brett Yanoski, the visitors’ passing attack struggled to string together more than two positive plays in a row. In fact, the Pittston Area defense stifled Mid Valley’s offensive attack through the air and on the ground.
“We knew that [Yanoski] was a really good quarterback, and we knew that he’d be able to make checks to put us in pretty bad spots,” Russick said of the opposing signal caller. “We just trusted our kids.”
Even the lone touchdown play for Mid Valley — a 36-yard pass from Yanoski to Nick Hricenak — was followed by an incomplete pass on a failed two point conversion attempt.
LoPresto and Jude Ferentino were joined in the box score by senior wideout Stephen Barnic — who caught a pair of touchdowns from Paulie Ferentino — and backup quarterback Santino Capitano, whose 10-yard rushing score in the game’s final frame cemented the blowout.
Russick pointed to Barnic as an example of his team’s experience, a trait that may come in handy as the campaign continues. Pittston Area features 21 seniors on its roster.
“From our standpoint, the kids responded extremely well. I’m really proud of where they’re at,” Russick said, before looking ahead. “We know we’ve got a tough schedule ahead of us.”
Pittston Area will return to Charlie Trippi Stadium next week for a tilt against North Pocono, who bested Greater Nanticoke 56-0 in their opener on Friday night. Mid Valley will head to Crispin Field for a showdown with the 1-0 Berwick Bulldogs.
Pittston Area 46, Mid Valley 9
Mid Valley`0`3`6`0 — 9
Pittston Area`7`19`7`13 — 46
First quarter
PA — Lucas LoPresto 20 pass from Paulie Ferentino (Cole Baldwin kick), 7:17
Second quarter
PA — Jude Ferentino 9 run (pass failed), 8:41
MV — Paxton Grebb 24 field goal, 6:57
PA — LoPresto 89 kickoff return (kick failed), 6:42
PA — Stephen Barnic 6 pass from P. Ferentino (Baldwin kick), :22
Third quarter
PA — J. Ferentino 1 run (Baldwin kick), 6:10
MV — Nick Hricenak 36 pass from Brett Yanoski (pass failed), 4:29
Fourth quarter
PA — Barnic 32 pass from P. Ferentino (kick blocked), 10:55
PA — Santino Capitano 10 run (Baldwin kick), 7:09
Team statistics`MV`PA
First downs`8`12
Rushes-yards`18-69`31-242
Passing yards`203`62
Total yards`272`304
Passing`16-31-0`5-8-0
Sacked-yards lost`1-3`0-0
Punts-avg.`2-27`2-41
Fumbles-lost`1-0`0-0
Penalties-yards`7-30`7-65
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — MV, Vinansky 13-48, Barnauskas 2-(-3), Pezanowski 1-15, Skotleski 1-8, Yanoski 1-1. PA, J. Ferentino 15-114-2, Spindler 9-54, Bailey 4-59, Capitano 1-10-1, LoPresto 1-5, Ridgley 1-0.
PASSING — MV, Yanoski 13-26-0-169, Skotleski 2-4-0-23, Bondy 1-1-0-11. PA, P. Ferentino 5-7-0-62, LoPresto 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING — MV, Vinansky 3-65, Pinto 3-22, Williams 3-16, Hricenak 2-43-1, Graham 2-23, Pezanowski 1-15, Marcinko 1-11, Willson 1-8. PA, Barnic 3-36-2, LoPresto 2-26-1.
INTERCEPTIONS — None.
MISSED FGs — None.
