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WVW pounds Abington Heights by 51
Surrounded by Abington Heights defensemen, Eugene Lewis recovers his own fumbled ball.
Aimee Dilger/The Times Leader
Derrick Simms (No. 5) for Wyoming Valley West carries the ball just shy of the end zone during Monday night’s game.
Aimee Dilger/The Times Leader
KINGSTON – Wyoming Valley West just didn’t end its three-game losing streak to Abington Heights on Monday night. The Spartans stomped it into oblivion.
Scoring on its first seven possessions of the first half, Valley West went on to pound its long-distance rival 51-0 at Spartan Stadium in a non-conference game.
“We just had to keep the ball moving, keep scoring and do everything flawlessly,” said Valley West lineman Matt Reams, one of several seniors who never celebrated a victory over the Comets. “And we did. We didn’t commit many penalties at all. We wanted to keep sharp and keep the momentum moving.”
Valley West (2-0) did all that, handing Abington (1-1) its worst loss in the seven years Joe Repshis has coached the two-time defending District 2 Class 3A champion. By halftime, Valley West led 45-0, scoring eight more points than in its last four games combined with the Comets.
“I didn’t imagine it at all,” Valley West quarterback Eugene Lewis said. “We had a lot of things going on this week with the flood. Our whole team stuck together with what happened this week and we came out here and showed we’re a real team.”
The Spartans hadn’t practiced since last Wednesday except for a walk-though Sunday because of the evacuation of several communities which are part of the school district. They didn’t miss a beat.
Lewis had three rushing touchdowns and running back Tashawn Bunch added another as Valley West built a 28-0 lead at 10:03 of the second quarter. Lewis followed with a pair of 18-yard TD passes – one to Derrick Simms and the other to Dylan Flayhart.
Kicker Nick Singer made it 45-0 with a 38-yard field goal at 2:24 of the second quarter. The Spartans took two knees on their final possession of the first half.
“Valley West is very explosive offensively and we knew that coming in,” Repshis said. “They made big plays early on, made some quick scores and did a great job getting us off the field on offense. Credit to them.”
The second half was played exclusively by the reserves, and they added a score – a 13-yard TD pass from Michael Baur to Quincy Patrick. The backups also preserved the shutout – Valley West’s first in the last 40 games – by holding Abington scoreless.
“I know we have a lot of playmakers offensively,” Valley West coach Pat Keating said. “We get a lot of attention there. But you know what? We just played two pretty good football teams and we’ve given up seven points in two weeks. My defensive staff has done a great job putting the game plans together, and the kids have done a tremendous job coming out and executing the game plans.”
Abington had just 2 yards rushing on nine carries in the first half. The passing game had some success late in the second quarter, but for the most part was also limited. Bunch and Ian Labar teamed up for one sack, Trey Cowman had another and defensive end Chris Coleman picked off a pass.
Wyoming Valley West 51, Abington Heights 0
Abington Heights
0
0
0
0
—
0
Wyoming Valley West
20
25
0
6
—
51
First Quarter
WVW – Lewis 1 run (kick failed), 6:51
WVW – Bunch 14 run (kick failed), 4:27
WVW – Lewis 5 run (Good from Lewis), 0:07
Second Quarter
WVW – Lewis 9 run (Lewis run), 10:03
WVW – Flayhart 18 pass from Lewis (Singer kick), 8:53
WVW – Simms 18 pass from Lewis (Singer kick), 5:40
WVW – Singer 38 FG, 2:24
Fourth Quarter
WVW – Patrick 13 pass from Baur (kick failed), 10:14
Team Statistics
Abington
WVW
First downs
9
17
Rushes-yards
20-61
42-169
Passing
91
141
Total Yards
152
310
Comp-Att-Int
11-30-2
Sacked-Yards Lost
2-14
0-0
Punts-Avg.
6-31
2-29
Fumbles-Lost
0-0
3-0
Penalties-Yards
3-22
5-35
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – Abington, Pasqualichio 4-(minus-10), Digilio 2-1, Fox 7-28, Rock 3-8, Karam 2-19, Langan 1-7, S.Kontz 1-8. WVW, Lewis 12-98, Bunch 16-63, Brody 2-1, Bolling 3-14, Baur 4-(minus-7), Yashinski 1-4, team 4-(minus-4).
PASSING – Abington, Pasqualichio 8-24-1-78, Carroll 3-6-1-13. WVW, Lewis 5-5-0-107, Kilhenney 1-2-0-21, Baur 1-1-0-13.
RECEIVING – Abington, Pacyna 1-5, Riggi 1-1, Jam.Henzes 1-3, Sanderson 2-22, Show 2-38, Fiorillo 1-9, D.Kontz 1-9, Karam 1-2, Jak.Henzes 1-2. WVW, Simms 3-60, Flayhart 2-47, Lewis 1-21, Patrick 1-13.
INTS – WVW, Coleman, Mason.
MISSED FGS – none.