Pittston Area’s Drew Menendez scores on a 7-yard pass from Drew DeLucca the third quarter. It was the Patriots’ first second-half score of the season and lifted the team to the win.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Pittston Area quarterback Drew DeLucca (3) threw for a pair of touchdowns on Friday. Harry Pugliese (6) rushed for 79 yards.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Pittston Area’s Kevin Lockett (2) hauls in a 31-yard touchdown from Drew DeLucca to open the scoring against Wyoming Valley West on Friday.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Pittston Area pass rushers Dave Sudo (34) and John Barchi-Crich (40) put pressure on Spartans quarterback Lucas Zdancewicz (15).
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Junior Robby Barbieri (4) hauls in a pass in the flat as Wyoming Valley West defender Erick Munoz (3) moves in for the tackle.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
YATESVILLE — For the second week Pittston Area took a lead into the halftime break. It was this time, though, that the Patriots would not only score in the second half, but their defense would maintain their dominance in a 22-0 shutout of Wyoming Valley West.
“For us it was huge,” said Pittston Area coach Nick Barberi, whose team entered the game getting outscored 54-0 in the second half. “That’s been our problem the first two games, not coming out of the second half.”
Last week, Pittston Area (1-2) came into the third quarter with a 12-0 advantage over Williamsport but quickly saw it erased as the Millionaires scored 29 unanswered points for the victory. The week prior, after trailing Hazleton Area by one score, the Cougars would outscore the Patriots 25-0 in the second half.
On Friday, it would only take the Patriots six plays to end their second-half woes as Drew DeLucca found Drew Menendez on a screen pass for a 7-yard touchdown.
“When we come out and put a drive together and put a score in the first drive of the second half, that’s huge for us,” Barberi said. “If we can continue to do that, I like our chances.”
The Patriots would keep the pressure on the Spartans (0-3), forcing their second turnover of the game as Valley West approached the Patriots red zone. Pittston Area could not add to its total as a holding penalty caused the ensuing drive to stall near midfield.
Pittston Area’s defense would come through again, forcing Valley West into another three-and-out possession and allowing the offense to take over with excellent field position inside the Spartans’ 35.
With another six-play possession the Patriots would find their way to the end zone again with Dave Sudo punching the ball in from the 2-yard line.
After starting the season at tight end, Sudo was moved to his more natural position in the backfield and helped his team to the win on the night with 86 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, one reception and a two-point conversion.
“Him in the backfield gives us another dimension,” Barbieri said.
The contest began as a defensive struggle with both teams only able to move the chains one time.
As the game headed into the second quarter, the Spartans began threatening in Patriots territory, but Pittston Area’s stalwart defense pushed Isiah Cobb back on a fourth-and-2 run.
Sudo was quick to reverse the field for his team, rushing for 22 yards on the Patriots’ first four plays of the next drive. And DeLucca would find his rhythm, completing five passes in the quarter, leading to a 31-yard touchdown to Kevin Lockett for the game’s opening score.
Wyoming Valley West’s offense would come up short afterward, failing to secure a first down and punting the ball back.
Two plays later, DeLucca would find Lockett for a 37-yard pass to put the Patriots deep into Spartans territory.
With halftime approaching, Pittston Area would move the ball to the Valley West 21-yard line, but three consecutive penalties would see the next play come from the 49-yard line, keeping the score at 8-0 heading into the locker room.
Menendez added a pair of interceptions for Pittston Area, which held the Spartans to 110 total yards.
Paul Riggs rushed for 54 yards for Valley West.
Pittston Area 22, Wyoming Valley West 0
Valley West`0`0`0`0 — 0
Pittston`0`8`7`7 — 22
Second quarter
PA — Kevin Locket 31 pass from Drew DeLucca (Dave Sudo pass from DeLucca), 7:27
Third quarter
PA — Drew Menendez 7 pass from DeLucca (Robby Barbieri kick), 9:17
Fourth quarter
PA — Sudo 2 run (Barbieri kick), 10:21
Team statistics`WVW`PA
First downs`5`15
Rushes-yards`24-80`36-197
Passing yards`30`130
Total yards`110`327
Passing`3-12-2`11-16-0
Sacked-yards lost`2-10`0-0
Punts-avg.`4-33`3-23
Fumbles-lost`0-0`0-0
Penalties-yards`6-60`9-115
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — WVW, Paul Riggs 11-54, Isaiah Cobb 5-26, Tyler Mattis 1-8, Jake Dubaskas 1-0, Lucas Zdancewicz 5-(-2), Devon Suda 1-(-6). PA, Dave Sudo 12-86, Harry Pugliese 17-79, Jake Carden 2-18, Drew Menendez 2-6, Drew DeLucca 2-5, Chris Pietrzak 1-3.
PASSING — WVW, Lucas Zdancewicz 3-11-30-2, Devon Suda 0-1-0-0. PA, Drew DeLucca 11-16-130-0.
RECEIVING — WVW, Nick Giza 1-20, Isiah Cobb 2-10. PA, Kevin Lockett 2-68, Robby Barbieri 6-42, AJ Scialpi 1-8, Drew Menendez 1-7, Dave Sudo 1-5.
INTERCEPTIONS —PA, Drew Menendez 2-39.
MISSED FGs — None.
