Sports

By Paul Sokoloski psokoloski@timesleader.com
Times Leader Sports Columnist
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WEST PITTSTON – While giving its punishing ground game a much needed break, Wyoming Valley West decided to have a little fun.

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Wyoming Valley West’s Jack Crossin runs for a touchdown against Wyoming Area Friday night.

Jonathan J. Juka/For The Times Leader

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The Spartans played a game of “Jump Ball.”

Quarterback Jack Crossin tossed up the football. Receiver Ali Muhammad skied high to snag it. And the Spartans used the formula to dunk Wyoming Area.

Muhammad turned two leaping grabs into long touchdowns Friday and nearly scored on another as Valley West whizzed past Wyoming Area, 42-13 in a Wyoming Valley Conference football game.

“Jack showed some confidence in me,” Muhammad said. “The coaches showed some confidence. They told me when the ball’s in the air, it’s mine.”

If Valley West’s game plan seemed more like a lesson from the basketball court, well, it was.

While Crossin wasn’t dribbling the ball, he did resemble a point guard on a fast break while darting 52 yards untouched and into the end zone to give the Spartans a 7-0 lead on their second play from scrimmage.

On Valley West’s next offensive play, tailback George Simms took it to the hole. He, too, found a clear lane to the end zone while blowing through the middle on a 2-yard scoring run that gave Valley West a 14-0 lead.

But the most obvious hoops highlights belonged to Muhammad.

That’s not surprising, since the smooth 6-foot-3 senior is a starter on the Spartans basketball team.

Holding a size advantage of nearly half a foot over the Wyoming Area defensive backs trying to cover him, Muhammad out-jumped a defender for his first catch – a 41-yard touchdown grab that gave the Spartans a 21-0 lead.

“He’s got the name – ‘Ali Oop,’” cracked Valley West coach George Curry. “Just throw it up.”

That’s exactly what the Spartans did, and Muhammad kept jamming it home.

He took a slant for 56 yards, setting up Crossin’s 1-yard touchdown somersault early in the second quarter.

Then Muhammad out-leaped tight coverage and came down with a 46-yard touchdown catch to give Valley West a 35-0 lead before halftime, which kept the clock running through the second half with the mercy rule in effect.

It was almost as easy as going up for rebounds on the court.

“That’s exactly what I thought of,” said Muhammad, who joined the football team last season. “Basketball helped me a lot. When the ball’s in the air, it’s like a rebound.”

And because of it, Valley West just may pull down a playoff spot. Nearly boxed out from that possibility after a 1-3 start, the 6-3 Spartans have rallied for five straight victories to put themselves in position for the postseason entering their regular season finale with Coughlin next week.

“It was a rough start,” Muhammad said. “But we knew we still had a playoff shot.”

“I told them, ‘I’m not giving up on you. Don’t give up on yourself,’” Curry said. “I said, “We’ll be like the (NFL’s) Giants.’ The Giants won the Super Bowl last season. At the beginning of the season, they were ready to fire their coach.”