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TUNKHANNOCK — On Friday night under the lights, the visiting Wyoming Area Warriors dominated from start to finish with their commanding 54-13 road victory over the Tunkhannock Tigers in a Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 game.
Wyoming Area (1-0 Div. 2, 4-1 overall) kicked off it scoring barrage less than three minutes into the contest when quarterback Anthony DeLucca connected with fellow senior Kevin Wiedl for a 65-yard scoring strike for a 7-0 advantage with 9:32 left in the first quarter.
For the Warriors next points, senior tailback Lidge Kellum sprinted down the left sideline for a lightning quick 40-yard rushing touchdown with 4:57 remaining in the first period to extend his team’s lead to 14-0.
For Wyoming Area’s third score of the night, sophomore wideout Luke Kopetchny made a terrific 26-yard touchdown catch from DeLucca for a 21-0 advantage with 2:58 left in the opening quarter.
Kellum scored his second rushing touchdown of the ball game, this one from 50-yards out, to give Wyoming Area a 28-0 lead with just 56 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Wyoming Area would continue its scoring prowess, outscoring the Tigers 20-0 in the 12 minute period.
Running back Trustin Johnson sprinted into the end zone from 51 yards out to stretch his team’s advantage to 35-0 with 10:40 left in the first half. Johnson would score just a few minutes later when he returned Tunkhannock’s punt for a 48-yard touchdown to up the Warriors’ lead to 42-0 with 7:52 remaining in the second period.
For the Warriors final points of the first half, senior tailback Michael Crane found paydirt from just 8-yards.
“Lidge Kellum got off to a fast start, outstanding running game for him and to see his potential and he really ran hard tonight with his opportunities he had,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “Amazing catch by Luke Kopetchny for that passing touchdown. Anthony DeLucca putting the ball in a nice spot.
“Again our other running backs ran hard behind an outstanding effort by our offensive line tonight. I think we were physical and really throughout that first half did what we needed to do and played very well.”
Tunkhannock freshman tailback Lucas Ciprich got the Tigers on the board by plunging into the end zone from 2 yards out to cut the deficit to 48-7 with 3:18 remaining in the third period.
The Warriors scored to close out the third quarter when senior running back Oliver Bolin barreled in from 4 yards out with just eight seconds left in the period.
Ciprich picked up his own team’s fumble and scampered into the end zone for the 12-yard score with 1:16 left in the game.
Wyoming Area will host Berwick next Friday night. Tunkhannock (0-2 Div. 2, 1-4) will play Hanover Area in a game that will be played at Wilkes-Barre Area due to an ongoing issue with lead paint at Hanover Area’s stadium.
Wyoming Area 54, Tunkhannock 13
Wyoming Area`28`20`6`0 — 54
Tunkhannock`0`0`7`6 — 13
First Quarter
WA — Kevin Wiedl 65 pass from Anthony DeLucca (Nick Ciampi kick), 9:32
WA — Lidge Kellum 40 run (Ciampi kick), 4:57
WA — Luke Kopetchny 26 pass from DeLucca (Ciampi kick), 2:58
WA — Lidge Kellum 50 run (Ciampi kick), 0:56
Second Quarter
WA — Trustin Johnson 51 run (Ciampi kick), 10:40
WA — Trustin Johnson 48 punt return (Ciampi kick), 7:52
WA — Michael Crane 8 run (kick failed), 2:43
Third Quarter
TUN — Lucas Ciprich 2 run (Jerome Callum kick), 3:18
WA — Oliver Bolin 4 run (kick failed), 0:08
Fourth Quarter
TUN — Ciprich 12 run (kick failed), 1:16
Team statistics`Wyo. Area`Tunkhannock
First downs`14`13
Rushes-yards`13-256`39-158
Passing yards`91`30
Total yards`347`188
Passing`2-2-2-0`4-6-0-0
Sacked-yards lost`0-0`3-30
Punts-avg.`0-0`5-32
Fumbles-lost`0-0`4-1
Penalties-yards`3-15`1-15
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — WA, Lidge Kellum 3-103, Michael Crane 4-23, Trustin Johnson 1-51, Anthony DeLucca 1-25, Oliver Bolin 4-54. TUN, Karver Lewis 9-25, Zach Latwinski 1-0, Lucas Ciprich 17-108, Ethan Dominick 4-4, Randall Paxton 4-10, Mahkil Mickels 1-neg.1, Josiah Parr 1-0, Landon Bolcavage 2-12.
PASSING — WA, Anthony DeLucca 2-2-91-2-0. TUN, Zach Latwinski 4-6-30-0-0.
RECEIVING — WA, Kevin Wiedl 1-65, Luke Kopetchny 1-26. TUN, Mahkil Mickels 4-30.
INTERCEPTIONS — None.
MISSED FIELD GOALS — None.