Tunkhannock’s Andrew Lupinski intercepts a pass intended for Holy Redeemer’s Mike Zbierski in front of teammate Jayden Ransom in the second quarter.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
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Holy Redeemer’s Mike Zbierski carries the ball into traffic on Friday.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Tunkhannock wide receiver Andrew Lupinski crosses the goal line in the second quarter to score a touchdown on Friday.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Holy Redeemer quarterback Thomas Dugan tries to fight through a tackle by Tunkhannock’s Caden Simmers (13) and Jayden Thomas.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Tunkhannock’s Andrew Lupinski carries the ball in the second quarter against Holy Redeemer.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
KINGSTON — Last week, Tunkhannock got off to a hot start in its matchup with Lackawanna Trail before eventually giving up over 40 points in a losing effort.
On Friday night, Tunkhannock’s game included a 40-point showing again, but the Tigers were on the winning side this time. They blasted Holy Redeemer in an impressive 42-0 shutout performance at Spartan Stadium.
It didn’t take long for the Tigers to assert their dominance. They forced the Royals to fumble on two of their first three plays from scrimmage. In a game that featured eight fumbles in total, the first two proved especially key.
Tunkhannock recovered both deep in Redeemer territory, and they turned the second into their first score of the game, an 8-yard scamper from Karver Lewis.
Redeemer’s third drive didn’t go much better. It ended with a blocked punt, which Tunkhannock used as momentum on its ensuing drive. Quarterback Zach Latwinski, on his only rushing attempt of the evening, plunged forward for a 1-yard touchdown run.
On the extra point attempt, Tunkhannock turned a broken play into a two-point conversion when holder Randall Paxton tossed a fumbled snap to Mahki Mickels in the back of the end zone.
With a 15-0 lead, Tunkhannock continued to roll in the second quarter. Latwinski hooked up with Andrew Lupinski for a gorgeous, rainbow touchdown pass.
Lupinski torched Redeemer’s man coverage right in front of the Tunkhannock bench to give the Tigers a commanding three-touchdown lead. Later in the quarter, Lupinski showed off his versatility on the defensive end by picking off Redeemer quarterback Thomas Dugan.
Less than six minutes after Lupinski’s score, Tunkhannock continued to pile it on. Lewis scored his second touchdown of the game, this one from five yards out, to put Tunkhannock ahead 29-0. That was the score at halftime.
The highlight play of the game came with Bobby Seidel’s 83-yard kickoff return at the start of the second half. Seidel broke a few tackles in the middle of the field, cut outside, and outran the Redeemer coverage team on his way to a score.
A small silver lining for the Royals came in the form a blocked extra point attempt, halting the count at 35-0 in favor of the Tigers.
But the moment for the Holy Redeemer sideline was brief, as the Tigers hit paydirt once more on their first offensive possession of the second half. Lucas Ciprich carried Tunkhannock down the field, culminating in a 9-yard score that pushed Tunkhannock’s ultimate margin of victory to 42.
The fourth quarter didn’t see any scoring from either team, as Tunkhannock was able to drain eight minutes from the running clock on an 11-play drive.
For the Royals’ part, there were a couple of bright spots on offense. Dugan did break off a few nice runs, and finished with a solid 60 yards on the ground. He also hit Mike Zbierski for a huge chunk play of 44 yards in the first quarter, though that drive petered out sans points, as one can gather from the final score.
Zbierski, like Lupinski on the other sideline, intercepted a pass in the second quarter.
In what might be a sign of things to come, freshman running back Wildy Rodriguez impressed by gashing the otherwise stout Tiger defense in the fourth quarter. He finished with a strong 38 yards on just five carries, good for over seven yards per touch.
Tunkhannock 42, Holy Redeemer 0
Tunkhannock`15`14`13`0 — 42
Holy Redeemer`0`0`0`0 — 0
First quarter
TUN — Karver Lewis 8 run (Jerome kick), 9:39
TUN — Zach Latwinski 1 run (Mahki Mickels pass from Randall Paxton), 6:09
Second quarter
TUN — Andrew Lupinski 40 pass from Latwinski (Jerome kick), 11:46
TUN — Lewis 5 run (Jerome kick), 6:17
Third quarter
TUN — Bobby Seidel 83 kickoff return (kick blocked), 11:46
TUN — Lucas Ciprich 9 run (Jerome kick), 6:24
Team statistics`TUN`HR
First downs`10`6
Rushes-yards`28-187`24-92
Passing yards`67`38
Total yards`254`130
Passing`3-9-1`4-14-1
Sacked-yards lost`0-0`2-12
Punts-avg.`0-0`5-16
Fumbles-lost`3-3`5-2
Penalties-yards`7-59`4-20
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — TUN, Lewis 10-46-2, Dominick 8-48, Ciprich 4-49-1, Hunter 2-3, Parr 1-22, Lupinski 1-18, Latwinski 1-1-1, Montero 1-0. HR, Dugan 10-60, Rodriguez 5-38, Kreidler 5-(-4), Orlando 4-(-2).
PASSING — TUN, Latwinski 3-9-1-67. HR, Dugan, 4-14-0-38.
RECEIVING — TUN, Seidel 2-27, Lupinski 1-40-1. HR, Zbierski 2-44, Nazario 1-1, Latinski 1-(-7).
INTERCEPTIONS — TUN, Lupinski. HR, Zbierski.