WEST PITTSTON — The play call was the exact same, but the position on the field made it look entirely different.
Derek Ambrosino caught one “bootleg pass left” from Dominic DeLuca and headed off on a lengthy sprint. On another, he had to get his feet down in the back of the end zone while he was catching the ball.
Both plays resulted in touchdowns, covering 96 and 14 yards, as Wyoming Area got all but two of its points in the first half of a 45-0 romp that is the biggest blowout in the 55-game history of its rivalry with Pittston Area.
DeLuca also joined Darren Rodney in running for two touchdowns.
By accounting for four of the scores and returning a punt 36 yards to set one of those up, DeLuca earned the 42nd annual Carmelo Falcone Award as the Most Valuable Player in the rivalry game.
After making Wyoming Area 6-for-6 in scoring touchdowns while gaining 382 yards and churning out 15 first downs in six first-half possessions, DeLuca, Ambrosino and Rodney were all done for the night offensively at halftime.
With the entire second half played under the mercy rule, the Warriors held the Patriots to two second-half yards, leaving Ambrosino debating which was his favorite part of the night.
“The 96-yard touchdown and the fact we shut out Pittston two years in a row,” Ambrosino said. “That’s the best part of tonight’s win.”
Last year’s 40-0 shutout had been the largest margin of victory in the series.
The Warriors topped that while completing a 9-1 regular season and earning a week off with a bye as the top seed in the District 2 Class 3A playoffs.
DeLuca went home with an individual trophy after hitting four of nine passes for 142 yards and turning his eight carries into 92 more yards.
“It’s a great honor,” DeLuca said. “ … It’s a big award to achieve, and to follow in that legacy is great.”
DeLuca delivered his longest touchdown pass from the end zone when he floated a deep ball to Ambrosino, who had broken free behind the defense. Ambrosino completed the play in the other end zone after holding off a late Pittston Area chase on a sprint to the end zone.
“Dom hit me with a perfect ball there in stride,” Ambrosino said. “ … I had to bring out the after-burners there around the 30 or 20 yard line.”
The touchdown gave Wyoming Area a 22-0 lead after one quarter.
A different skill set was on display while pushing the lead to 43 points with 1:12 left in the half.
“He’s a 6-4 tight end on a 5-8 corner,” DeLuca said of the overhead catch in tight quarters. “He’s going to use his size and make a play.”
Wyoming Area overcame an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, two holding calls and three personal fouls to dominate the first half. Three of the penalties wiped out big gains, but the Warriors just went back and did it again.
“A big rivalry game, a lot of emotion,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “I think you saw some of that come out. You have to take that into consideration, but I think our guys did a good job working through early emotion and playing strong.”
Rodney ran 21 yards to complete a game-opening, 10-play, 67-yard drive in which the Warriors actually gained 92 yards.
Both Rodney and DeLuca, who had a 42-yarder in the second quarter, ran for one touchdown in each of the first two quarters.
Wyoming Area 45, Pittston Area 0
Pittston Area`0`0`0`0 — 0
Wyoming Area`22`21`2`0 — 45
First quarter
WA – Darren Rodney 21 run (Josh Cumbo kick), 8:16
WA – Dominic DeLuca 1 run (Stanley Moderski kick), 3:30
WA – Derek Ambrosino 96 pass from DeLuca (Rodney run), 0:14.7
Second quarter
WA – DeLuca 42 run (Cumbo kick), 7:35
WA – Rodney 5 run (Moderski kick), 4:56
WA – Ambrosino 14 pass from DeLuca (Jayden Rusyn kick), 1:12
Third quarter
WA – Safety (Rusyn forced fumble out back of end zone), 9:22
Team statistics`PA`WA
First downs`7`20
Rushes-yards`22-61`44-337
Passing yards`66`142
Total yards`118`479
Passing`6-18-0`4-11-0
Sacked-yards lost`1-2`0-0
Punts-avg.`5-30.8`0-0.0
Fumbles-lost`3-0`1-1
Penalties-yards`5-41`8-78
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — PA, Bryheem Patterson 9-40, Franny George 3-18, Dylan Lukachko 5-15, Anthony Thomas 1-minus 2, P.J. Pisano 3-minus 5, Mike Nocito 1-minus 5. WA, Rodney 15-135, DeLuca 8-92, Viecenzo Giambra 11-60, Rich Hizynski 3-27, F.J. Braccini 1-10, Zajquay Williamson 2-6, Nico Sciandra 2-3, James Miller 1-2, Leo Haros 1-2.
PASSING — PA, Nocito 5-13-0-61, Pisano 1-4-0-5, Patterson 0-1-0-0. WA, DeLuca 4-9-0-142, Blaise Sokach-Minnick 0-2-0-0.
RECEIVING — PA, Andrew Krawczyk 2-62, George 2-0, Patterson 1-6, Lukachko 1-minus 2. WA, Ambrosino 2-110, Brian Williams 2-32.
INTERCEPTIONS — None.
MISSED FIELD GOALS – None.
