Gerry Groom (10) drives Nanticoke Area’s Jamie Bush (8) back while trying to haul in a pass from quarterback Mike Stachowiak. The pass was incomplete.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Lucas Lopresto (1) gets high in the air to knock away a pass intended for Trojans receiver James Bush (8).
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Pittston Area quarterback Matt Walter (4) scampers 10 yards for a Patriots touchdown against Nanticoke Area.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Pittston Area sophomore Lucas Lopresto (1) escapes the grasp of a defender before breaking away for a 50-yard touchdown.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Pittston Area quarterback Matt Walter (4) runs a sweep left looking for blockers as he heads down field against Nanticoke Area at Trippi Field on Friday night.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
The Patriots’ CJ Pietrazak hangs on to Nanticoke Area quarterback Mike Stachowiak (9) deep in the Trojans backfield.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
YATESVILLE — Matt Walter. CJ Pietrzak. Lucas Lopresto.
Good luck dealing with that trio of weapons.
Pittston Area used the talents of its three offensive stars to run past Nanticoke Area 55-0 on Friday night at Charley Trippi Stadium. Walter, Pietrzak and Lopresto were collectively responsible for 30 of those points.
“In this conference and district, you’ve got to be able to run the football, so I think we’ve been doing that pretty well the last two weeks,” said Pittston Area coach Joe DeLucca. “We’ve got to continue buttoning some things up on the offensive side of the ball.”
Just about the only blemish on the Patriots’ side of the box score were their seven penalties, which cost them 60 yards.
Pittston Area got off to a hot start, scoring touchdowns on two of its first three drives of the game. Both of those scores came courtesy of quarterback Walter. He scored from 9 and 10 yards out in the first quarter.
CJ Pietrzak took over in the second quarter, which is where Pittston Area’s dominance on the night became stark. The Patriots scored 31 points in the second frame, with Pietrzak scoring on runs of 1 and 50 yards. In between, Walter hooked up with Lopresto for a 40-yard strike. And with a minute left in the quarter, Aidan Brody expanded the Patriot lead to 47-0 on, appropriately, a 47-yard dash to the end zone.
Special teams played a big part in the first half. For one, kicker Gavin Wolfe routinely pinned the Trojan offense inside its own 20-yard line with his booming kickoffs after each score. Wolfe tacked on a 31-yard field goal later in the midst of Pittston Area’s second-quarter onslaught.
The game also featured a safety, which spouted from a broken fourth down play. Punter Chris Julian was swarmed by Patriot special teamers, causing him to run backwards and chuck the ball out of the end zone behind him.
“(Special teams) is something we take pride in. We work on that,” said DeLucca. “We’re very fortunate to have Gavin Wolfe, who’s a soccer kid.”
It wasn’t just a matter of starting field position for the Trojans. Their inability to move the ball on the ground was especially damaging to their offensive output. In total, Nanticoke Area was only able to muster 23 total yards from scrimmage, all while being held in the negatives on their rushing attempts. DeLucca saw the strong defensive effort by his squad on Friday night as the natural successor to their two previous games against Mid Valley and North Pocono.
“I’m very proud of the way the defense stepped up the last couple weeks…,” said DeLucca. “We played very well, very stingy.”
The second half featured just eight points, courtesy of a touchdown run and two-point conversion from backup signal caller Santino Capitano. Otherwise, the opportunities for scoring were minimal. In addition to the running clock, a testament to Pittston Area’s gigantic halftime lead, the third and fourth quarters were shortened from twelve to eight minutes in length.
DeLucca played the final stanza with class, signaling to his team to kneel the ball on each of its eight fourth-quarter plays. On the Nanticoke Area side, the fourth quarter did feature its longest play of the contest, a 17-yard toss from Chet Beggs to James Bush. That play resulted in one of Nanticoke Area’s two total first downs.
DeLucca tipped his cap to the resilience of the Nanticoke Area football program, which continues to mourn the unexpected loss of head coach Scott Dennis, who passed away on August 20. In addition to being his colleague in the coaching realm, DeLucca knew Dennis well, and referred to him as a “phenomenal man” and a “phenomenal coach.”
“There’s more to life than football,” DeLucca said. “My hat’s off to (Nanticoke). I give them all the credit in the world for coming out here and battling week-in and week-out.”
Pittston Area 55, Nanticoke Area 0
Nanticoke Area`0`0`0`0 — 0
Pittston Area`16`31`8`0 — 0
First Quarter
PA — Matt Walter 9 run (Gavin Wolfe kick), 8:41
PA — Walter 10 run (Wolfe kick), 3:14
PA — Safety, fumble through back of the endzone, :48.
Second quarter
PA — CJ Pietrzak 1 run (Wolfe kick), 11:56
PA — Wolfe 31 FG, 8:30
PA — Lucas Lopresto 40 pass from Walter (Wolfe kick), 6:55
PA — Pietrzak 50 run (Wolfe kick), 4:17
PA — Aidan Brody 47 run (Wolfe kick), 1:04
Third quarter
PA — Santino Capitano 7 run (Capitano run), 1:56
Team statistics`NA`PA
First downs`2`7
Rushes-yards`20-(-4)`33-254
Passing yards`27`62
Total yards`23`316
Passing`3-10-0`3-6-1
Sacked-yards lost`1-13`0-0
Punts-avg.`3-21`0-0
Fumbles-lost`4-4`0-0
Penalties-yards`5-25`7-60
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — PA, Walter 8-59-2, Brody 6-47, Capitano 6-2-1, Pietrzak 5-79-2, J. Ferentino 4-42, P. Ferentino 3-(-3), Lopresto 1-30. NA, Allen 8-17, Julian 6-(-17), Sosa 3-(-7), Skordinsky 2-2, Stachowiak 1-1.
PASSING — PA, Walter 3-6-0-62. NA, Stachowiak 2-8-0-10, Beggs 1-1-0-17, Julian 0-1-1-0.
RECEIVING — PA, Lopresto 2-48-1, Blackshear 1-14. NA, Bush 2-27, Allen 1-0.
INTERCEPTIONS — Lopresto, 1-11.
