Sports

af2 playoffs

JAMIE A. RAUB jraub@timesleader.com

WILKES-BARRE TWP. — The word ‘defense’ in bold white letters on a blue background flashed on the scoreboard.

As if on cue, Tennessee Valley defensive back Travis Blanchard grabbed an interception off Pioneers quarterback Ryan Vena.

The pick led to the Vipers’ game-winning score in the fourth quarter, a 6-yard pass from signal caller Kevin Eakin to wide out Alonzo Nix, and ended Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s hopes of moving on to the American Conference Championship game for a second straight season.

It also ended the Pioneers’ home game winning streak, one that dated back to 2006.

“The offense blew the game for us,” said Wilkes-Barre/Scranton coach Rich Ingold, whose Pioneers dropped a 34-30 decision to Tennessee Valley on Saturday. “My heart bleeds for the defense, they fought all game, but the offense didn’t play well at all.”

Tennessee Valley moves on to the American Conference Championship game where they’ll play the winner of Saturday night’s other American Conference semifinal.

They’ll play the winner of the No. 7 Manchester (10-7) versus No. 3 Green Bay (12-5) matchup. That game also took place on Saturday, but results were not available by press time.

The game will be played at the home venue of the higher seeded team.

Vena was a mere 16-of-29 passing on the night, throwing for only 158 yards and two touchdowns, his longest coming on an 18-yard touchdown pass to Rich Musinski in the first half.

Larry Kendrick led the wide receivers, pulling in six catches for 67 yards and one of the Pioneers two offensive touchdowns.

Musinski finished with five grabs for 51 yards and the other score.

But it was Barry Drakeford who kept the Pioneers in the game.

Along with defensive back Micheaux Robinson, Drakeford kept a lock on Vipers’ wide outs Nix and Maurice Brown.

Nix finished with 118 yards receiving on 14 catches, but Brown only managed six balls for 50 yards.

The Vipers’ offense only squeezed out four touchdowns of their own – all scored by Nix and Brown, including the game winner.

“You win as a team and you lose as a team,” said Ingold. “We had chances to put them away tonight. We just didn’t.”

Drakeford grabbed an interception off Vipers quarterback Kevin Eakin and ran it back 40 yards to the end zone for a Pioneer defensive touchdown and the first Wilkes-Barre/Scranton lead of the night.

The two-point conversion – a running attempt by fullback Kirby Griffin – failed to net any points for the Pioneers.

At that point, they had what they were looking for all game -- momentum.

But from there on out, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton had a tough time converting turnovers into points and moving the ball down the field.

There were highlights, though.

Larry Kendrick ended the first half with a 52-yard kickoff return as the clock ran down to put the Pioneers ahead, 20-14.

David Davis nailed a 40-yard field goal in the third quarter to put Wilkes-Barre/Scranton up 23-20.

But a last-ditch effort, a hook-and-ladder play with seven seconds left in the game, is the lasting memory of the 2008 season.

Kendrick caught a 10-yard pass from Vena.

Kendrick dished the ball off to J.J. Outlaw, who cut around the left side of the field and was tackled just 2 yards short of the goal line.

“It’s a long season,” said Outlaw. “If you don’t come to play, you get beat. No matter if it’s the second game or the 18th game.

“We lost and it hurts, but we’ve got to go back to the drawing board for next season.”

Jamie A. Raub is a sports writer for The Times Leader. He may be reached at 970-7139.