WEST PITTSTON — Garrett Hopkins set the tone on the game’s first play and his UNICO Miners teammates continued it throughout Friday night.
Hopkins returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and the Miners kept rolling, all the way to a 38-0 victory over the Pioneers in the annual UNICO All-Star Football Classic played at Wyoming Area.
“We did one (special teams practice),” said Hopkins, who was a threat as a receiver and runner at Tunkhannock. “It was a walkthrough. No full speed, no nothing. During the season, that’s what I did. They had me back there every game and I took three or four back during the season. I saw it open up and I hit it.”
Five different Miners scored touchdowns in a total team effort. Hazleton Area receiver Jacob Hunsinger, though, stood out just a bit more and was given the George Curry MVP Award. Hunsinger, an all-state selection who will be a preferred walk-on at Pittsburgh, finished with three catches for 70 yards and a touchdown.
“Getting this trophy means a lot,” Hunsinger said. “I was so glad I was picked for this team. Getting to work with my teammates for the past two weeks was a true honor and so was getting this trophy.
Of course, it helped Hunsinger’s quarterback for all his receptions was his high school teammate Sparky Wolk. All four of Wolk’s completions went to former teammates.
“It was nice to have our skills guys, that component,” said Hazleton Area coach Mike Brennan, who coached the Miners. “We were able to throw the ball and do our things.”
Hopkins opened the game by darting up the middle with the opening kickoff for a 87-yard touchdown. The Miners went up 14-0 in the first quarter when Wolk lofted a 15-yard TD pass to Hunsinger in the left corner of the end zone.
One-yard touchdown runs by Lake-Lehman fullback Matt Kurtz and Wyoming Valley West quarterback Jake Shusta bumped the Miners’ advantage to 28-0 by halftime. The first 1-yard TD score was set up by a 47-yard pass from Wolk to Hunsinger.
The Pioneers struggled throughout the game to move the ball. Their best scoring chance came just before halftime.
Coughlin’s Xayvion Proctor of the Pioneers intercepted a tipped pass and returned it 40 yards to the Miners 19-yard line with 1:08 left in the second quarter. The Pioneers moved the ball to the 4, but Northwest quarterback David Piestrak had to scramble on third down and managed just a yard. The clock ran out before the Pioneers could get another play off.
The Miners scored on their first two possession of the second half. Lake-Lehman’s Justin Timonte booted a 24-yard field goal to make it 31-0 at 6:21 of the third quarter. Wyoming Valley West running back Carson Canavan did all the work on a 28-yard drive, covering the final 12 yards for a touchdown.
The game marked the end of an era in Wyoming Valley Conference football as players from Coughlin, GAR and Meyers participated in the UNICO game for the final time. The schools will merge their athletic programs for the 2019-20 school year.
“It’s a great experience getting to know some of these kids you coached against and stuff,” said Pioneers coach Jeff Labatch, who was the final coach in Meyers football history. “Getting to know them personally and kids are kids and it’s a great experience. Hopefully, they made some friends.
“I had a great time. The game wasn’t so great, but the experience of the practices and getting to know the kids were.”
UNICO All-Star Football Classic
Miners 38, Pioneers 0
Miners`14`14`10`0 — 38
Pioneers`0`0`0`0 — 0
First quarter
M — Garrett Hopkins 87 kick return (Justin Timonte kick), 11:46
M — Jacob Hunsinger 15 pass from Sparky Wolk (Timonte kick), 2:00
Second quarter
M — Matt Kurtz 1 run (Timonte kick), 9:36
M — Jake Shusta 1 run (Timonte kick), 5:30
Third quarter
M — Timonte 24 FG, 6:21
M — Carson Canavan 12 run (Timonte kick), 3:18
Team statistics`M`P
First downs`15`7
Rushes-yards`25-161`27-67
Passing yards`127`61
Total yards`288`128
Passing`5-11-1`5-14-0
Sacked-yards lost`0-0`1-8
Punts-avg.`1-50`4-44.8
Fumbles-lost`1-0`2-0
Penalties-yards`6-30`7-42
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Miners, Canavan 6-47, Damon Horton 5-41, Joe Ammons 4-42, Kurtz 3-11, Shusta 1-1, Wolk 3-6, Quaid Braddy 1-7, Matt Rayme 1-4, Dave Wildey 1-2. Pioneers, Kevin Dessoye 5-15, David Piestrak 7-9, Jervone Young 1-3, Aaron Hummer 4-8, Nazir Dunell 8-45, Jacob Busch 1-(minus-12), Reese Patronick 1-(minus-1).
PASSING — Miners, Wolk 4-10-1-95, Shusta 1-1-0-32. Pioneers, Piestrak 3-7-0-33, Hummer 2-4-0-8, Dimitri DePietro 0-1-0-0, Patronick 0-1-0-0, Dessoye 1-1-0-20.
RECEIVING — Miners, Hunsinger 3-70, Horton 1-25, David Smith 1-32. Pioneers, Young 2-20, Najese Hood 1-8, Patronick 2-2, Piestrak 1-20, Michael Horvath 1-14.
INTERCEPTIONS — Pioneers, Xayvion Proctor 1-40.
MISSED FGs — Pioneers 33WL
