WEST PITTSTON – Darren Rodney, Dominic DeLuca and Derek Ambrosino all scored first-quarter touchdowns for Wyoming Area Friday night.
In case there was any doubt remaining about the outcome of the annual rivalry game with visiting Pittston Area, they went back out in the second quarter and did it again.
DeLuca ran for two touchdowns and threw the two touchdown passes to Ambrosino to earn the 42nd annual Carmelo Falcone Award as Most Valuable Player in the game while leading the Warriors to a 45-0 rout.
“Dominic, obviously, had another great game,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said.
DeLuca carried eight times for 92 yards, including touchdowns of 1 yard in the first quarter and 42 yards in the second quarter. He was 4-for-9 passing for 142 yards, including touchdowns to Ambrosino covering 96 yards in the first quarter and 14 yards in time to build the halftime lead to 43-0. He also returned a punt 36 yards to help set up the last touchdown and contributed two tackles and an assist to the defensive effort.
“It’s a great honor,” DeLuca said. “ … It’s a big award to achieve and to follow in that legacy is great.”
DeLuca had plenty of help from his teammates, particularly those who joined him in producing two touchdowns.
Ambrosino was also the team’s defensive leader with a pair of tackles for losses, including one on fourth-and-four from the Wyoming Area 8 early in the second quarter to wipe out Pittston Area’s best scoring chance. He assisted on four other tackles, batted down one pass and rushed the passer into an incompletion on another.
“Very impressive game for Derek on both sides of the ball,” Spencer said. “He made a very athletic catch. He had a big catch-and-run early.
“Defensively, he’s very strong on the edge, athletic, and played a heckuva football game.”
Rodney carried 15 times for 135 yards and two touchdowns while also adding a two-point conversion run. He scored the game’s first touchdown from 21 yards, then added a 5-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter.
“Darren’s been running strong ever since he’s had to step up and take on more of the load,” Spencer said.
None of the three touched the ball in the second half.
There was no need.
The Warriors (9-1) had already taken leads of 22-0 after one quarter and 43-0 at halftime.
Wyoming Area scored on all six first-half possessions.
The highlight came in the final minute of the first quarter when penalties during the punt return and on the first play of the possession backed up Wyoming Area to its 4.
On first-and-12, DeLuca faked into the line, rolled slightly to his left and set up to pass from his end zone. By the time he did, Ambrosino was running free behind the defense, deep down the left side.
“I got in the secondary and I was wide open,” Ambrosino said. “Dom hit me with a perfect ball in stride and I took it to the house.
“I had to dig down to the after-burners there around the 30- or 20-yard line, but I got in the end zone.”
The Warriors found themselves there often in the past two weeks.
