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Wyoming Area football

Pick-Six does the trick for Tunkhannock Tigers

By Jack Smiles jsmiles@psdispatch.com
Times Leader Staff Writer

The Wyoming Area Warriors and Tunkhannock Tigers were tied 14-14 with 40 second left in their rain-soaked game Friday night in West Pittston. The Warriors were in a 4th-and-3 at the Tunkhannock 32. One play could decide the game and it did, for the Tigers.

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Warrior touchdowns, above, Nick O’Brien finishes off an 18-yard Td. Below Chris Murphy goes in from 25 yards out.

Tony Callaio photos

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Warrior touchdowns, above, Nick O’Brien finishes off an 18-yard Td. Below Chris Murphy goes in from 25 yards out.

Tony Callaio photos

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Tiger cornerback Mike Baldwin jumped a route, picked off a WA pass on the left side near the first down marker and ran 75 yards untouched for the game-winning touchdown with just 32 seconds left.

Before the pick-six, the Warriors had advanced to the Tunkhannock 39 on a 49-yard gain on a pass from quarterback Chris Murphy to wide receiver Sam Eramo. From the WA 20 Murphy made a nice pump fake toward Nick O’Brien in the flat, then fired to Eramo over the middle. Eramo ran off a block by Michael Tomaszewski and turned the corner to the Berwick 39.

After two runs the Warriors were in a 3rd-and-6 from the Tunkhannock 34 with 2:36 left in the game. Then penalties, which have plagued the Warriors all season, made a huge impact. After being moved back five to make it 3rd-and-11 Murphy hit Eramo for an apparent 27-yard gain inside the Tiger 20. But that play was nullified by yet another penalty that moved the Warriors back to the Tiger 44. On 3rd-and-15 Murphy picked up 11 on a run and that set up the Baldwin interception.

The Warriors sideline was flagged for two unsportsmanlike 15 yarders after the pick, which were assessed on the kick off. The Tigers kicked from the WA 30 and booted it out of the endzone for a touchback.

The Warriors had the ball with 29 seconds, but another Baldwin interception, after a WA receiver slipped and fell, ended Warrior hopes.

The Warriors led 14-0 early. On the game’s first possession Eric Eramo recovered a Tiger fumble at the Warrior 49. Three runs picked up a first down at the Tiger 40. From there freshman Nick O’Brien made a leaping catch of a Murphy pass for 15 yards to the 25. On the next play Murphy made a fake to O’Brien and kept the ball himself running in for a touchdown at 7:43 of the first. A rare miss on the PAT by Katie Scalzo made it 6-0.

On the next possession Baldwin picked up 50 yards on a run to the WA 15, but the Warriors red zone defense, on tackles by Matt Chipolis, Matt Kintz and Eric Eramo, stopped the Tigers cold and forced a turnover on downs.

In the second quarter the Warriors went up 14-0, driving 64 yards on eight plays. O’Brien had runs of 11, 13, and 18 for the Td. Murphy hit Aidan Marich for a 25-yard gain after faking a draw to O’Brien. On the Td run, off an option pitch, O’Brien was sprung by a block by Marich. O’Brien ran in for two points to make it 14-0 with 8:07 left in the half.

The Tigers made it 14-7 on a 13-play, 65-yard drive in the second, helped by a pass interference penalty on the Warriors.

After the Warriors Julian Campenni threw Tiger quarterback T.J Jenkins for a minus five putting the Tigers in a 3rd and goal-to-go from the 17, Jenkins, in one of the biggest plays of the game, scrambled around the left side all the way to the WA 1. He snuck in for the score and the PAT made it 14-7 with 2:34 left in the half.

On the first possession of the second half the Warriors started from the WA 40. Runs by Murphy and O’Brien moved them to the Tiger 37. On a 2nd-and-1 a fumbled snap but them in 3rd-and-1. Tunkhannock made a stand there stopping the Warriors by inches on third and fourth down.

The Tigers tied the game with 39 seconds left in the third, driving 54 yards. The Td came on a 4th-and-4 from the WA 6, a pass from Jenkins to Shawn Caines who seemed to come from nowhere to make a leaping catch in the back of the endzone, one of only two completions for the Tigers in the game.

Poor field possession hurt the Warriors in the second half. After starting on their 40 on their first possession they started from their own 19, 19, 18, and 20 on their last four possessions.

The Warriors out gained the Tigers 270 to 190 and had an edge in first downs 11-8. Murphy was the game’s leading rusher with 81 yards on 15 carries. O’Brien had 66 on 14.

Murphy was 7-15 passing. Eramo caught two for 55, O’Brien four for 28 and Marich one for 25.

It rained steadily for the first two quarters, stopped briefly in the third, but picked up again in the fourth. The field held up well until the last few minutes of the game. The Warriors were penalized 10 times for 96 yards.

The Warriors were down to just 29 players in uniform due to injuries, illness and defections. The original roster had 43 players. Among the sick was senior Leo Malsky.

The Warriors, 2-6 after a 2-0 start, are at Valley West on Friday.