YATESVILLE – Alex Anastasi waited patiently for a chance to make an impact.
The Pittston Area tight end helped his offense by making blocks but couldn’t get open for more than 47 minutes during Friday night’s Wyoming Valley Conference Class 4A Division game against Crestwood.
Until there was less than a minute remaining.
That’s when the senior somehow escaped a crowd in the front half of the end zone with 35 seconds left and caught a 1-yard pass from P.J. Pisano for the game-winning score that gave the Patriots a 21-20 victory.
“I just know that a big play had to be made. I was patient all night. I waited for my opportunity, and when it came I took advantage of it,” Anastasi said. “There was a lot of confusion in the beginning. Everyone was trying to get set. The play clock was running down. So. I realized that the defender was more to the right and I just ran right in the middle and made the catch. Just like practice.”
The Patriots (4-5) got the ball with 1:56 remaining, trailing by six points and the ball in the hands of Pisano, who was making his first career start playing for injured starter Mike Nocito. But the junior showed poise on the final drive, connecting on three passes for a total of 31 yards in leading his team to a victory that officially clinched a spot in the District 2 Class 4A quarterfinals.
Pisano also called the game-winning play on his own. Patriots coach Nick Barbieri wanted to run a dive up the middle, but with the decisive play coming after a run and the clock still moving, Pisano called the short pass to Anastasi. On the night, Pisano completed eight passes for 99 yards and threw three touchdowns.
“We were playing with a back-up quarterback who didn’t look like a backup tonight. He did a great job,” Barbieri said. “He was a little shaky in the beginning of the game, that’s to be expected. But to lead us down the field with some seconds to go and then call that thing on his own at the end there … that’s a gutsy play by a back-up quarterback.”
Ryan Miller, who ran for 161 yards on 25 carries, electrified the Comets (5-4) on the first play of the game taking a handoff 65 yards for a score and a 7-0 lead 14 seconds into the game.
The Patriots answered with a long first drive going 60 yards on 14 plays with the stanza being capped by a 8-yard TD pass from Pisano to Andrew Krawczyk to tie the game at 7-7.
The Comets took the lead in the second quarter as they gave the Patriots defense a heavy dose of Miller, who carried the ball 11 times on a 14-play scoring drive in which Miller scored for the second time with a 4-yard run that gave his team a 14-7 advantage.
The Comets led 20-7 in the third quarter scoring on their first play of the second half as well, hitting a 63-yard pass from Ryan Petrosky to Garrett Swank.
Pisano hit his second TD pass of the game, finding tailback Dylan Lukachko in the end zone from 10 yards out in the third to pull the team within 20-14.
“I thought our kids battled,” Barbieri said. “They were down a little when Mike wasn’t starting. He came out and gave it a go in pregame, but couldn’t go. But I said, ‘Have faith in our guy.’ And he showed them they should have faith.”
Scranton Prep 17, Pittston Area 3
SCRANTON — Defense did its part to keep Pittston Area within striking distance throughout most of the Oct. 12 game against Scranton Prep.
The offense, though, couldn’t do the same and lost a big piece in the process.
Scranton Prep managed to cobble together a couple scoring drives and keep Pittston Area out of the end zone as the Cavaliers posted a victory in a non-conference game at Scranton Memorial Stadium.
Pittston Area (3-5) had its two-game winning streak snapped. Scranton Prep (6-2) extended its winning streak to four games.
“Our Achilles’ heel all year has been stopping the run and they had a heck of a running back and we did what we needed to do to stop the run,” Pittston Area coach Nick Barbieri said. “We’re getting better in that area.
“I’m very pleased with our defensive effort today. They scored 42 and 49 points the last two weeks, so for us to keep them to 17 is quite an accomplishment for our D.”
Pittston Area trailed 7-3 at halftime, but any hopes for a comeback wavered about five minutes into the third quarter. Pittston Area quarterback Mike Nocito injured his knee in the first half and then aggravated it when he slipped trying to avoid a heavy rush.
Nocito entered the game with 1,338 passing yards, the most in the Wyoming Valley Conference. He was 10-for-22 for 111 yards when he exited for good. Backup P.J. Pisano, who had five attempts all season, replaced him.
Nocito spent the rest of the game with his knee wrapped in ice.
Pittston Area did get to the Scranton Prep 4 on its first possession of the game but had to settle for a 22-yard field goal by Anthony Tomas.
The Patriots recovered the ensuing kickoff after Prep misplayed the ball and moved to the Cavaliers 17 before turning the ball over on downs. It was their last trip into the red zone and they didn’t cross midfield in the second half.
Scranton Prep quarterback Paddy Grady hooked up twice with tight end Vito Gianello for scores. The first was a 3-yard toss at 4:30 of the second quarter and the second a 38-yard pass on a fourth-and-4 at 4:58 of the third quarter. Gianello did most of the work on the second TD, turning a short pass into a 14-3 lead.
“He’s a heck of a football player,” Prep coach Terry Gallagher said of Gianello. “He does a lot of the little things and is getting better and better each day.”
Chase Stephens connected on a 23-yard field goal with 7:07 remaining for Prep’s final points.
