Wyoming Area surges past rival Pittston Area in second half

WEST PITTSTON — Nick Ciampi spent the season proving he could be more than just a speedy, big-play threat for the Wyoming Area football team.

Ciampi made his case with toughness and durability, leading up to the opportunity to be the featured performer for the Warriors in their 61st meeting with rival Pittston Area.

The Warriors patiently dug out of a 15-point hole with Ciampi powering his way to the Carmelo Falcone Award as the game’s Most Valuable Player in a 41-22 victory Friday night at Anthony “Jake” Sobeski Stadium.

Ciampi carried 25 times for 228 yards and three touchdowns and was also in on six tackles, two of which stopped Pittston Area for losses.

“Throughout the season you saw his playmaking ability grow, you saw his competitive confidence grow,” Warriors coach Randy Spencer said. “It was just a natural arc that we were seeing from Nick and we were just so fortunate that he was able to get stronger and stronger to the point where he was able to have the type of game he had tonight.

“What an outstanding game it was from a playmaking standpoint, from his explosiveness and his durability as well.”

Ciampi’s carries doubled from the first half of the season to the second half. Then, he doubled that workload in the meeting of 8-1 teams.

Combined with the defensive work of Caden Reynolds and a boost from Hudson Sharpe, Ciampi helped the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 runners-up end a seven-game winning streak by the Division 1 champions.

The comeback from a double-figures deficit was the third of the season by the Warriors.

“It’s all mental,” Ciampi said. “It’s on to the next play, every play.

“The next play’s the most important play every time. That’s it.”

Wyoming Area found ways to turn things around offensively, defensively and on special teams.

The Warriors went backward on their first possession, then punted after getting caught in a fourth-and-17 situation on their second possession.

Pittston Area took a 15-0 lead in the first 7:02 on the first of two Brody Spindler touchdowns and a 75-yard run by Lucas LoPresto.

Ciampi started the comeback with runs of 14 and 20 yards to set up his 10-yard touchdown.

That began a stretch in which the Warriors scored on six of nine possessions. When they weren’t scoring, they were holding the ball, keeping it away from the Patriots until it was too late.

Jack Gravine also accounted for three touchdowns, running for two and throwing to Luke Kopetchny for another.

The defense also overcame a slow start.

Pittston Area turned seven offensive plays into 115 yards in the first quarter, then got an 82-yard run from Spindler on the first play of the second quarter.

Spindler’s long run set up his second touchdown, but after scoring 22 points in 14:08, the Patriots did not reach the end zone again over the final 33:52.

Reynolds began slowing the Patriots down after their first three drives produced scores. He made tackles for losses on the next two Pittston Area plays, added another in the third quarter and recovered a fumble on the Patriots 10 after a Josh Mruk sack.

“It feels great,” Reynolds said. “Beating Pittston my senior year is the best thing I could ever ask for.”

The Warriors got help from their kicking game.

After Ciampi’s first touchdown made it 15-6, Hudson Sharpe caught the Patriots by surprise with an on-side kick that he followed and recovered himself. Though his punting average was low, Sharpe, who also had a late-game interception, kept the ball away from LoPresto, who has six touchdowns on defense and special teams this season.

Ava Musinski followed up that effort, going 4-for-5 on extra points and leaving the Patriots return men befuddled with her sideline kickoff placement that pinned the Patriots at the 12, 14, 15 and 23.

“LoPresto is such an impactful player in the return game,” Spencer said. “For her and Hudson Sharpe to not give him an opportunity and for us to execute that was really a great job by those two players.”

Wyoming Area 41, Pittston Area 22

Pittston Area`15`7`0`0 — 22

Wyoming Area`6`13`15`7 — 41

First quarter

PA – Brody Spindler 1 run (Spindler run), 8:52

PA – Lucas LoPresto 75 run (Cole Baldwin kick), 4:58

WA – Nick Ciampi 10 run (pass failed), 1:50

Second quarter

WA – Jack Gravine 15 run (Ava Musinski kick), 1:52

PA – Spindler 1 run (Baldwin kick), 9:52

WA – Luke Kopetchny 15 pass from Jack Gravine (kick failed), 0:42.3

Third quarter

WA – Ciampi 2 run (Musinski kick), 8:45

WA – Ciampi 17 run (Donavon Miller pass from Kopetchny), 4:13

Fourth quarter

WA – JGravine 1 run (Musinski kick), 4:02

Team Statistics`PA`WA

First downs`12`17

Rushes-yards`41-236`47-346

Passing yards`97`54

Total yards`333`400

Passing`3-7-1`3-9-0

Sacked-yards lost`4-29`1-9

Punts-avg.`3-30.7`3-21.0

Fumbles-lost`4-2`0-0

Penalties-yards`5-35`7-32

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — PA, Spindler 20-155, LoPresto 7-75, Santino Capitano 7-22, Jude Ferentino 2-3, Deondre Miller 1-2, Kayden Bailey 1-1, Paulie Ferentino 3-minus 22. WA, Ciampi 25-228, Trustin Johnson 5-59, JGravine 14-52, Donavon Miller 2-8, Team 1-minus 1.

PASSING — PA, Capitano 2-4-1-88, LoPresto 1-2-0-9, PFerentino 0-1-0-0. WA, JGravine 3-9-0-54.

RECEIVING – PA, Billy Dessoye 1-45, LoPresto 1-43, Malkolm Blackshear 1-9. WA, Drew Mruk 1-26, Kopetchny 1-15, Johnson 1-13.

INTERCEPTIONS — WA, Hudson Sharpe 1-19.

MISSED FIELD GOALS – None.