The Warriors will win Saturday. It’s inevitable.
The Warriors will lose Saturday. It’s also inevitable.
That’s what happens when two football teams with the same nicknames meet with a common goal — moving a step closer to the PIAA Class 3A state championship game.
The District 2 champion Wyoming Area Warriors (11-1) will try to venture into uncharted territory when it plays the D4 champion Montoursville Warriors (12-1) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Williamsport High School in a Class 3A quarterfinal game.
Wyoming Area is making its third appearance in a state quarterfinal game and certainly is hoping for better results. It was bounced from the 1998 Class 2A playoffs by Mount Carmel 47-6. Then in 2003, Strath Haven ended Wyoming Area’s season with a 49-0 victory in a Class 3A quarterfinal.
Both times, though, Wyoming Area ran into buzzsaws. And while Montoursville is a very strong team, the Mount Carmel and Strath Haven squads were superior opponents.
Speaking of buzzsaws, Wyoming Area and Mountoursville fell victim to the same one in consecutive weeks this season. Wyoming Area lost 42-0 to Southern Columbia in Week 9, and Montoursville lost 35-0 to Southern Columbia the following week.
“They’ve had an excellent season as their lone loss is to Southern Columbia as well,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “They have outstanding skill guys. The quarterback is a three-year starter. They have outstanding receivers, a couple good running backs and up front have some nice size.”
Once noticeable difference in Montoursville this year from last year is quarterback Hunter Shearer’s stats. He has thrown for 1,356 yards and 18 touchdowns, down from 2,241 yards and 30 TDs in 2018. The dropoff is possibly twofold.
First, Montoursville had to break in some new receivers. Secondly, sophomore Rocco Pulizzi emerged as a legitimate running threat. The offense went from running the ball 65 percent of the time in 2018 to 70 percent this year.
Pulizzi is the first Montoursville player to top 1,000 yards rushing since 2016. He took over the main running chores from senior Logan Ott, who rushed 142 times for 727 yards in 2018. Ott, though, remains a viable cog and has rushed for 624 yards and a team-leading 15 TDs compared to 12 by Pulizzi.
Montoursville kicker Ian Plankenhorn, a soccer player by trade, is 8-of-8 on field goal attempts with four from over 40 yards including a 47-yarder that had room to spare.
“They have all the weapons,” Spencer said. “I don’t think we’ve played anyone like them … aside from Southern obviously.”
Senior Cameron Wood leads Montoursville’s defense with 10 sacks and 17 tackles for loss. Dylan Moll and Dillon Young have three interceptions each.
Montoursville hammered Loyalsock Township for the second time this season 42-14 in last Friday’s D4-3A championship game. Shearer was at the forefront, completing 15-of-19 passes for 241 yards and four touchdowns. Young and Jaxon Dalena each had 100-yard receiving games.
When Shearer does pass, he’ll have to know where Wyoming Area defensive tackle Sam Solomon and defensive end Derek Ambrosino are. Solomon, a Division I recruit, leads the team with 7.5 sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss. Ambrosino is right behind with 6.5 sacks and 15 tackles for loss. Only one opponent, Lake-Lehman in Week 6, was able to pass for more than 200 yards against the defense.
Wyoming Area has leaned heavily on its running attack in its two D2-3A playoff wins. It ran the ball 76 percent of the time during the regular season, but the number has jumped to 85 percent in the two playoff games. Quarterback Dominic DeLuca and running back Darren Rodney, who took over for injured Corey Mruk in Week 4, are likely to be the main ball carriers once again.
