HANOVER TWP. — It didn’t take very long for Pittston Area to establish its dominance on both sides of the field.
Case in point: Harry Pugliese took the first four carries of the game. His first three were each for 14 yards. The fourth was a 6-yard touchdown that set the tone for the rest of the opening half.
Pittston Area scored six unanswered touchdowns in a 40-12 victory over Hanover Area on Friday. All of the Patriots’ points were scored in the first half, and Pittston Area accumulate 475 total yards.
“We wanted to come out and set the tone of the game,” Pittston Area coach Nick Barbieri said. “I thought we ran the ball well in the first half, which is something we haven’t done very well.”
Kevin Lockett scored on two receiving touchdowns to cap off a big night for the Patriots’ receiver. Lockett caught five passes for 93 yards.
Receiving the ball with less than a minute remaining in the first half, Pittston Area showcased its two-minute offense to set the mercy rule into effect. Lockett caught a 44-yard touchdown pass down the middle of the field to take a 40-0 lead into the break.
“We had to work on our two-minute offense,” Barbieri said. “We took advantage of that there. He’s a big-time kid. When we need a big play, we know we can look to him.”
Pugliese matched his teammate with a pair of touchdowns. He finished with 133 yards on 10 carries.
Two Pittston Area big plays blew the game open in the second quarter. A mere 24 seconds into the period, Anthony Cencetti returned a punt 44 yards down the sidelines for a score. Robby Barbieri hauled in a 65-yard pass and outran Hawkeyes’ defenders with 9:11 remaining in the half.
Quarterback Drew DeLucca threw for two touchdowns. He was 9-for-15 with 187 yards.
Barbieri credited the line for its performance.
“They’re getting better every week,” he said. “We have some experience and then some youth. They’re starting to come together pretty well. I’m pleased they protected well.”
Hanover Area found the end zone twice in the second half. Luis McCoy picked up a fumble and returned it 87 yards as the third quarter siren blared to end the shutout threat. The Hawkeyes replaced Sean Dooner as the quarterback in the fourth quarter with positive results. He found Christian Torres for a 12-yard touchdown and finished with 80 yards in the air.
Pittston Area 40, Hanover Area 12
Pittston Area`12`28`0`0 — 40
Hanover Area`0`0`6`6 — 12
First quarter
PA — Harry Pugliese 6 run (kick fail), 11:00
PA — Kevin Lockett 14 pass from Drew DeLucca (run fail), 6:39
Second quarter
PA — Anthony Cencetti 44 punt return (kick block), 11:36
PA — Robby Barbieri 65 pass from DeLucca (David Sudo pass from DeLucca), 9:11
PA — Pugliese 34 run (Barbieri kick), 4:45
PA — Lockett 44 pass from DeLucca (Barbieri kick), :04
Third quarter
HAN — Luis McCoy 87 fumble return (kick fail), :00
Fourth quarter
HAN — Christian Torres 12 pass from Sean Dooner (kick fail), 5:30
Team statistics`PA`HAN
First downs`19`7
Rushes-yards`33-258`12-(minus-10)
Passing yards`217`143
Total yards`475`133
Passing`10-17-1`14-27-2
Sacked-yards lost`0-0`3-16
Punts-avg.`1-42`6-30
Fumbles-lost`4-2`0-1
Penalties-yards`5-25`3-15
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — PA, Pugliese 10-133, Drew Menendez 1-7, Cencetti 1-14, Steven Barnic 2-(minus-3), DeLucca 1-1, Sudo 2-26, Bobby Spindler 1-7, Xzavyier Blackshear 8-54, Kyle Breymeier 5-16, Chris Pietrzak 2-3. HAN, Christian Torres 4-(minus-4), Jayden Shortz 2-7, Jayden Skipalis 3-(minus-1), Dooner 3-(minus-12).
PASSING — PA, DeLucca 9-15-1-187, Steven Barnic 1-1-0-30, TEAM 0-1-0-0. HAN, Torres 10-20-2-63, Dooner 4-7-0-80
RECEIVING — PA, Lockett 5-93, Menendez 1-8, Cencetti 1-15, Barbieri 2-8, Breyermeier 1-30. HAN, Rahmel Currie 4-55, Joseph Cronan 5-51, Luis Cintron 1-5, Sedrick Beasley 3-15, Dooner 2-5, Torres 1-13.
INTERCEPTIONS — PA, Menendez 1-8, Steven Barnic 1-0. HAN, Jayden Skipallis 1-13.
MISSED FGs — None
