LEHMAN TWP. — Wyoming Area’s first-team defense hadn’t allowed a point all season. By halftime Friday night, the unit had surrendered 24.
But the defense made a play in the third quarter that flipped the momentum as the Warriors rallied to defeat Lake-Lehman 35-30 in a game between the top two Wyoming Valley Conference Class 3A-A Division teams.
Wyoming Area improved to 6-0 with its 16th straight regular-season victory. Lake-Lehman, which had won four straight since an opening loss, fell to 4-2.
The Warriors cut the deficit to 24-21 on a 1-yard TD run by Darren Rodney with 5:13 left in the third quarter. The Black Knights, though, drove to the Wyoming Area 20 on their ensuing possession with the help of a 41-yard run by quarterback Ethan Adams.
From there, misfortune struck for the Black Knights. They fumbled in the backfield and as a few Warriors tried to pick up the loose ball it kept rolling and rolling. Linebacker F.J. Braccini finally flopped on the ball at midfield, giving Wyoming Area excellent field position.
Rodney ran for an 8-yard score four plays later, putting Wyoming Area up for good 28-24 with 20 seconds left in the third quarter.
Wyoming Area’s defense also came up big late in the second quarter, holding Lake-Lehman to a field goal after the Black Knights had a first-and-goal from the Warriors 5.
“Any stop is a big stop,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “But making that there going into the half, making it a 10-point deficit instead of a two-touchdown lead; that hopefully starts you going the other way. But you still have to answer the bell in the second half.”
Rodney certainly did. He ran eight times for 28 yards in the first half, but finished with 21 carries for 145 yards. Rodney, who is replacing injured starter Corey Mruk, added his third TD of the game with 2:16 left in the fourth quarter to bump the lead to 35-24. He and quarterback Dominic DeLuca, who finished with 167 yards on 14 rushes, carried the ball on all but one play in the second half. The Warriors threw just one pass after halftime.
“Just went that way,” Rodney said. “One play at a time. Stepping up. Next man up and keep it going.”
Lake-Lehman couldn’t keep its offensive output going in the second half.
Adams torched the Wyoming Area secondary twice in the first half, hitting on TD passes of 52 yards to Casey Kaminski and 66 yards to Luke Spencer. Both came on fly patterns where the Lake-Lehman receivers just ran past their defenders.
But after gaining 259 yards in the first half, the Black Knights had 86 more in the final two quarters. Many came on a scoring drive with Kaminski catching his second touchdown pass of the game with 24 seconds remain.
DeLuca, whose offense had kept the Warriors in the game in the first half, then fielded an on-side kick attempt to seal the win.
Brian Williams took a DeLuca pass 38 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter and DeLuca also ran 24 yards for a score 4 ½ minutes later.
Rodney started the second-half scoring with a 1-yard touchdown with 5:13 remaining in the third.
“Our kids fought to the end,” Lake-Lehman coach Jerry Gilsky said. “We played a state-ranked team and of all the teams they’ve played we’re the ones who gave them a show.”
