Drey Wilk (7) grabs a 27-yard pass from Matt Lonczynski for a Berwick touchdown in the first quarter against Pittston Area on Friday night.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
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Pittton Area’s Harry Pugliese runs for a 51-yard touchdown in the third quarter Friday night against Berwick.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Pittston Area’s Zach Karrott (24) tackles Berwick’s Ben Knorr for a loss.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Berwick’s Ben Knorr (17) leaps into the end zone on a 4-yard run for the Dawgs’ first touchdown against Pittston Area on Friday night.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Pittston Area’s Dave Girman (16) breaks up a pass into the end zone intended for Berwick’s Bo Sheptock.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Pittston Area’s Drew DeLucca (3) passes the ball under pressure from Berwick’s Alex Hacker.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
BERWICK — Berwick didn’t have its leading rusher available Friday night but had plenty of talent to make up for the absence.
Four different players rushed for touchdowns and Berwick overcame a brief rally attempt by Pittston Area to post a 34-7 homecoming victory in a Wyoming Valley Conference Division 4A game at Crispin Field.
Berwick won its fourth in a row to improve to 5-3. Pittston Area fell to 2-6.
Running back Ryan Bankes, who rushed for a career-high 133 yards last week vs. Wyoming Valley West, didn’t play for the Dawgs. However, his backfield mate Ben Knorr rushed 18 times for 92 yards and a touchdown for his best game of the season.
Junior Dray Wilk entered the game more of a receiving threat, and he proved that with a 27-yard TD catch in the first quarter. However, he also ran for a 51-yard touchdown to give Berwick a 21-0 lead as he started left and then darted up the middle.
Sophomore Bo Sheptock had one carry all season, but ran seven times for 98 yards, including a 68-yard TD run early in the third quarter. Fullback Trystan English scored Berwick’s final touchdown on only his second rush of the season.
“Our skill players can play multiple positions, and that’s a big advantage for us,” Berwick coach Carmen DeFrancesco said. “We have four of five guys on offense we can plug into three or four different positions. That’s a big advantage for us, but I think our offensive line is getting better each week.”
Both teams had touchdowns negated by penalties in a scoreless second quarter. Pittston Area thought it had a TD when quarterback Drew DeLucca hit tight end Adam Shovlin for a 7-yard touchdown throw. However, a wideout lined up incorrectly, making Shovlin an ineligible receiver. A fourth-down pass was incomplete.
Pittston Area got into position to score on a 70-yard pass from DeLucca to Kevin Lockett. Lockett caught the ball at the Patriots’ 35-yard line, spun out of a tackle and made it to the Berwick 13.
On Berwick’s first play after the turnover on downs, Knorr raced 88 yards only to have his touchdown squashed by a holding penalty.
Pittston Area had 55 yards of offense in the first half but showed some life to start the third quarter. Running back Alex Hoban ran from wildcat formation four times to start a 74-yard scoring drive. Running back Harry Pugliese covered the final 51 yards by bouncing a run outside. His touchdown cut the deficit to 21-7 at 8:34 of the third quarter.
That was the extent of the Patriots’ offense. They crossed midfield just one more time.
“We made a little adjustment at halftime and started running some wildcat stuff, so it worked for us,” Pittston Area coach Nick Barbieri said. “But they adjusted, and then we just started turning the ball over again, giving up punt returns and long runs.
“When they have the ball, we really can’t do much. They did a good job of possessing the ball in the first half and then after our good drive in the second half they possessed the ball. We can do much on offense when we don’t have it and when we did have it we didn’t do much with it.”
Berwick ran 51 plays to Pittston Area’s 35. Pugliese rushed for 66 yards, but as a team Pittston Area finished with 62. Berwick 34, Pittston Area 7
Pittston Area`0`0`7`0 — 7
Berwick`21`0`0`13 — 34
First quarter
BER — Ben Knorr 4 run (Brendan Hinkle kick), 6:28
BER — Dray Wilk 27 pass from Matt Lonczynski (kick failed), 5:01
BER — Wilk 51 run (Knorr run), 0:10
Third quarter
PA — Harry Pugliese 51 run (Robbie Barbieri kick), 8:34
Fourth quarter
BER — Bo Sheptock 68 run (kick failed), 10:23
BER — Trystan English (Hinkle kick), 6:39
Team statistics`PA`BER
First downs`6`12
Rushes-yards`25-62`40-274
Passing yards`69`31
Total yards`131`305
Passing`2-10-0`4-11-1
Sacked-yards lost`2-17`1-4
Punts-avg.`6-31.7`2-27
Fumbles-lost`3-2`1-0
Penalties-yards`3-15`6-54
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — PA, Pugliese 6-66, David Sudo 4-9, Drew DeLucca 2-(minus-17), Drew Menendez 2-8. Xzayvier Blackshear 1-(minus-1), Adam Lazar 2-4, Alex Hoban 7-2, team 1-(minus-9). Berwick, Knorr 18-92, Lonczynski 5-23. Sheptock 7-98, Wilk 2-55, Brayden Boone 1-3, English 1-2, Tyler Winter 2-2, Ethan Lear 2-(minus-4), Braylon Hawkins 2-3.
PASSING — PA, DeLucca 2-10-0-69. Berwick, Lonczynski 4-10-1-31, Lear 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING — PA, Kevin Lockett 1-70, Gino Triboski 1-(minus-1). Boone 2-(minus-2), Wilk 1-27, Knorr 2-6.
INTERCEPTIONS — PA, Pugliese 1-6.
MISSED FGs —none.