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HERSHEY — Down 14 points and down to the final quarter of the season.
A quarterback with two aching knees from a vicious hit.
A defense that couldn’t corral the opposition’s star running back with any consistency.
It all changed in a flash and a dash Saturday afternoon.
Senior receiver Riley Rusyn’s 80-yard touchdown catch on a pass not intended for him provided the ignition for Wyoming Area’s 21-14 comeback victory against Central Valley in the PIAA Class 3A state championship game at Hersheypark Stadium.
The championship was the first team state title in school history even though Wyoming Area (14-1) appeared headed for defeat.
Then came the play that changed everything.
Faced with a third-and-8 on the second play of the fourth quarter, Wyoming Area quarterback Dominic DeLuca stepped up to avoid two pass rushers and then fired 20 yards down the center of the field to tight end Derek Ambrosino.
Rusyn raced in front of Ambrosino, made the catch on the run and then sped down the right sideline for a touchdown.
“Dom was getting pressured so I had to roll back to him,” said Rusyn, who had just six receptions entering the game but most were for long yardage. “I guess he was throwing the ball to Derek, but I just undercut it.”
The outcome was the same as a successful hook-and-lateral play without the initial catch and pitch. It caught Central Valley’s secondary flatfooted as three defenders converged on Ambrosino. Another Central Valley defensive back made a valiant effort to sprint across the field to tackle Rusyn, who was unsure he was going to make it to the end zone.
“Not until I turned my head and realized no one was there,” Rusyn said. “But when I hit about the 15, I started to gas out.”
Rusyn had just enough fuel to fight off a tackle attempt at the 2-yard line.
DeLuca had enough to finish the game, although things looked bleak near the midway point of the second quarter. DeLuca took a nasty hit to his right kneecap on a running play and laid on the field in pain.
“I got drilled right in the kneecap,” DeLuca said. “I tweaked both knees, but it was the right knee that was the one.”
DeLuca limped through the remainder of the game, but able to throw one more TD passes and run for the eventually game-winner.
After Rusyn’s TD, Wyoming Area tackled Central Valley running back Jaylen Guy a yard short on a fourth-and-2 play from the Wyoming Area 48-yard line. It was a rare stop of Guy, who finished with 164 yards on 30 carries.
Five plays later, DeLuca connected with receiver Brian Williams to place the ball at the Central Valley 8-yard line. Three plays netted just 4 yards and Wyoming Area faced a fourth-and-goal.
DeLuca rolled right while Ambrosino sneaked off the line to the left side of the end zone. Ambrosino’s catch and Josh Cumbo’s extra point tied the score 14-14 at 4:20 of the fourth quarter.
“That was huge. That was the game. If we didn’t get that, our season is over,” Ambrosino said. “I faked like I was blocking the middle linebacker and then I slipped off and caught it in the corner of the end zone.”
Central Valley responded by moving to midfield once again, but Wyoming Area defensive end Caleb Graham batted down a third-down pass to force a punt. The punt got caught up in a relentless end-to-end wind and netted just 8 yards. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty gave Wyoming Area the ball at the Central Valley 42 with 1:43 to play.
After DeLuca ran for 2 yards on first down, he connected with Williams for a 39-yard gain on second down to move to the Central Valley 1. He plowed in from there with the eventual winning TD with 41 seconds left.
Then it was the Wyoming Area defense’s turn to come up big as Central Valley moved to its 46-yard line with under 20 seconds left. But Graham knocked down a pass on third-and-inches.
On fourth down, Central Valley receiver Jawon Hall took a step behind the line of scrimmage and caught a short pass. Wyoming Area freshman linebacker Drew Mruk, playing the spot his older brother Corey manned until a season-ending injury, nailed Hall before he could take a step. Cornerback Leo Haros applied the final hit to drive Hall out of bounds.
Game over … except for a kneel down.
“I not so sure we made enough plays,” said Central Valley coach Mark Lyons, whose District 7 championship team finished 13-2. “They made the plays when they counted. In a game like this, those plays get magnified.”
Wyoming Area brought a state title back to the Wyoming Valley Conference for the first time since Berwick won the Class 3A championship in 1997. District 2 had lost seven consecutive championship games, including Dallas’ setback on Thursday night.
“We were talking coming out at half,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “We faced adversity throughout the course of the year — Lehman, Dunmore, Montoursville. It was about this is our last 24 minutes, let’s make it the best 24 minutes of the season.
“To have our kids come out and show that heart and show that desire to compete at the highest level was just incredible.”
PIAA Class 3A Championship
Wyoming Area 21, Central Valley 14
Central Valley`0`7`7`0 — 14
Wyoming Area`0`0`0`21 — 21
Second quarter
CV — Jaylen Guy 1 run (Ethan Ott kick), 1:25
Third quarter
CV — Stephon Hall 2 run (Ott kick), 9:40
Fourth quarter
WA — Riley Rusyn 80 pass from Dominic DeLuca (Stanley Moderski kick), 11:39
WA — Derek Ambrosino 4 pass from DeLuca (Josh Cumbo kick), 4:02
WA — DeLuca 1 run (Moderski kick), 0:41
Team statistics`CV`WA
First downs`13`11
Rushes-yards`41-154`32-58
Passing yards`93`209
Total yards`247`267
Passing`8-16-1`11-16-1
Sacked-yards lost`3-20`3-18
Punts-avg.`4-23.5`4-25
Fumbles-lost`2-0`3-0
Penalties-yards`7-62`7-65
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Central Valley, Ameer Dudley 7-(minus-29), Guy 30-164, Myles Walker 2-10, S.Hall 2-9. Wyoming Area, Darren Rodney 12-34, DeLuca 17-19, Brian Williams 0-4, Leo Haros 2-2, team 1-(minus-1).
PASSING — Central Valley, Dudley 8-16-1-93. Wyoming Area, DeLuca 11-15-0-209, Jake Williams 0-1-1-0.
RECEIVING — Central Valley, Jawon Hall 4-34, Guy 2-23, Walker 2-36. Wyoming Area, B.Williams 3-70, Ambrosino 4-33, Haros 1-0, Rusyn 3-106.
INTERCEPTIONS — Central Valley, Mike Barbuto 1-0. Wyoming Area, DeLuca 1-0.
MISSED FGs — none.
