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WEST PITTSTON — After a slow start to the season where Wyoming Area would only score one touchdown against Honesdale and Crestwood, the Warriors will look to a strong finish after generating 512 total yards in their 56-14 victory over Hanover Area on Friday night.
Early in the year Warriors head coach Randy Spencer was trying to find the right fit for his young roster, and he expressed his excitement as the players begin to lock down their position.
“We’re looking to improve, and I think we improved this week,” Spencer said. “You look for younger guys that are sophomores or juniors that were role players now becoming significant players.”
Developing young talent is easier with experienced players leading the way.
“The guys we know about, Aaron Crossley and Joe Marranca, came out and had a strong game tonight,” Spencer said as the tandem combined for 247 rushing yards in the first half.
Behind Crossley and Marranca’s first-half performance, the Warriors were able to take a controlling 21-0 lead in the first quarter before doubling their advantage to 42-0 as both teams headed into halftime.
After the break the Warriors looked to sophomores Michael Crane and Lidge Kellum to seal the victory as both each scored their second touchdown in the second half.
Coming out of the gate Crossley was ready to lead his team as he came up with a sack on the game’s first play and then batted down a pass later in Hanover Area’s opening drive, ultimately leading to a punt.
Crossley was not finished as he ran for ten or more yards on four of his rushing attempts leading to his game-opening touchdown. Crossley would add 35-yard and 36-yard rushes on his way to three touchdowns in the opening half.
Crossley would not get a carry in the second half but still finished with 168 yards on only 12 rushes.
Hanover Area’s offense felt the Warriors’ defensive pressure all game. After moving the chains on a Joe Cronan 28-yard reception, the Hawkeyes would go three-and-out on their next three possessions.
When the Hawkeyes offense struggled, the Warriors’ offense thrived, forcing the Hawkeyes into a 28-0 deficit early in the second quarter.
Headed by quarterback Christian Torres, Hanover Area began to threaten. After consecutive fumbles forced the Hawks into a third-and-16, Torres would connect with Sean Dooner for 31 yards. The drive would not progress any further as Michael Crane would come up with an interception to grab possession for the Warriors.
The second half would be played under a mercy-rule running clock. Hanover Area aired the ball out as Torres and Dooner connected again, but this time Dooner would find plenty of open space on his way to a 77-yard touchdown. Torres would successfully hit Dooner six times in the game as the wide receiver turned in a 127-yard performance.
On Hanover Area’s ensuing possession Torres would throw his second touchdown pass as he found a wide-open Rahmel Currie, who sprinted down the sideline and was just able to cross the goal line with a defensive player on his tail.
The Warriors maintained control throughout the game, scoring all eight of their touchdowns on their first eight drives. Their last two drives did not deliver any points but provided much experience as they were able to spread the ball around and get 13 different players a touch.
Wyoming Area 56, Hanover Area 14
Hanover Area`0`0`7`7 — 14
Wyoming Area`21`21`14`0 — 56
First quarter
WA — Aaron Crossley 3 run (Gage Speece kick), 5:47
WA — Crossley 36 run (Speece kick), 3:38
WA — Michael Crane 23 run (Speece kick), 1:00
Second quarter
WA — Lidge Kellum 6 run (Speece kick), 11:27
WA — Dominic Colavito 24 pass from Brady Jones (Adison Yankovich kick), 3:00
WA —Crossley 7 run (Yankovich kick), 1:06
Third quarter
WA — Crane 32 run (Yankovich kick), 11:01
WA — Kellum 35 run (Yankovich kick), 8:45
HA — Sean Dooner 77 pass from Christian Torres (Ethan Chafin kick), 7:44
Fourth quarter
HA — Rahmel Currie 47 pass from Torres (Chafin kick), 6:23
Team statistics`HA`WA
First downs`8`19
Rushes-yards`9-(-21)`41-478
Passing yards`267`34
Total yards`246`512
Passing`17-267-1`2-34-0
Sacked-yards lost`3-21`0-0
Punts-avg.`4-25`0-0
Fumbles-lost`3-1`1-0
Penalties-yards`2-20`6-35
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — HA, Christian Torres 4-14, Sean Dooner 2-12, Jayden Shortz 3-5. WA, Aaron Crossley 12-168, Michael Crane 7-100, Joe Marranca 2-79, Lidge Kellum 4-67, John Turner 5-23, Savino Sabatini 5-19, Josh Mruk 1-17, Teddy Gilroy 1-10, Braydon Crossley 1-1, Brady Jones 1-0, Jacob Krulick 1-0, Erik Saranchak 1-(-6).
PASSING — HA, Christian Torres 17-31-53-0. WA, Brady Jones 2-3-34-0.
RECEIVING — HA, Joe Cronan 6-83, #10 1-(-6), Rahmel Currie 3-58, Sean Dooner 6-127, Derek Warman 1-5. WA, Dominic Colavito 1-24, Garrett Pocceschi 1-10,
INTERCEPTIONS —WA, Michael Crane 1-0.
MISSED FGs — None.