Hazleton Area running back Matthew Buchman ran for 89 yards in Friday night’s playoff win over Wilkes-Barre Area.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
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Wilkes-Barre Area defensive back Sincere Williams breaks up a pass intended for Hazleton Area wide receiver Connor Shamany on Friday.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Hazleton Area running back Matthew Buchman is upended by Wilkes-Barre Area defensive back Sincere Williams after pulling in a pass from quarterback Tyler Wolfe in the first quarter.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Wilkes-Barre Area running back Mekhi Nelson hurdles downed players on the turf for yardage aginst Hazleton Area on Friday night.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Wilkes-Barre Area running back Howie Shiner led the Wolfpack offense on Friday night against Hazleton Area.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Wilkes-Barre Area quarterback Javant McClary slips a tackle to run for a first down in the second quarter Friday night.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
HAZLETON — The Cougars didn’t need to reinvent the wheel Friday night to get past Wilkes-Barre Area in the District 2 Class 6A semifinals.
Instead, Hazleton Area stuck to its two best weapons to roll past the Wolfpack 24-3 and punch a ticket into next Friday’s 6A title game — an unshakable defense and the big-play arm of Tyler Wolfe.
Wolfe threw three second-half touchdown passes, and the Cougars defense kept Wilkes-Barre out of the end zone all night, only allowing a fourth-quarter field goal when the game seemed just about out of reach.
“We have that ‘bend, don’t break’ mentality on defense, I’m so proud of those guys,” Hazleton Area head coach Dennis Buchman said after his team’s win. “They never quit the fight, and they made plays when they had to all night.”
Buchman’s philosophy proved true particularly in the first half, in which the Wolfpack controlled the football for much of the half and marched into Cougars territory on their first two possessions.
They ultimately ended up with nothing to show for it. Hazleton Area turned Wilkes-Barre Area over on downs the first time the Wolfpack got into the red zone, and the Cougars forced and recovered a fumble on the second.
The turnover allowed Hazleton Area to move downfield quickly and score the first points of the game right at the halftime whistle as a 35-yard field goal from kicker Luke Russo was right on the money.
“We have a tremendous account of confidence in Luke,” Buchman said. “I told him in practice this week that it was going to be a big play by him that would shift momentum toward us.”
The second half, which featured more stout Hazleton Area defense, ultimately belonged to Wolfe.
After a slow start to the night, the sophomore signal-caller broke the game open on 4th-and-short, throwing it up down the right sideline to receiver Matt Cusatis, who made a tough contested catch for the touchdown.
Wolfe would connect with Cusatis again later in the quarter, and iced the game with a 30-yard score to Connor Kundrat in the fourth quarter.
“I feel fantastic right now,” Wolfe said after the game, in which he finished with 147 yards passing and the three touchdowns while adding 40 yards on the ground. “The job’s not over yet, though.”
In addition to Cusatis’s two touchdown catches, he also had an interception to set the Cougars up in Wolfpack territory late in the third quarter, leading to his second touchdown catch just a few plays later.
Wilkes-Barre Area was led by Howie Shiner on the ground with 50 yards rushing. Quarterback Javant McClary added 42 yards rushing and 60 yards through the air for the Wolfpack, who ended the year with a 4-7 record.
Hazleton Area will advance to take on Delaware Valley in the 6A championship game. The Warriors defeated Scranton 38-7 in Friday night’s other 6A semifinal, and hold a victory over Hazleton Area from earlier this season.
“We’re excited. A goal for us this year was to play a Week 11 home playoff game and we did that,” Buchman said. “Week 12, we’ll play anywhere.”
Wolfe didn’t mince words when asked about a rematch with Delaware Valley.
“It’s revenge week.”
District 2 Class 6A Semifinals
Hazleton Area 24, Wilkes-Barre Area 3
Wilkes-Barre Area`0`0`0`3 — 3
Hazleton Area`0`3`14`7 — 24
Second quarter
HA — Luke Russo 35 field goal 01.9
Third quarter
HA — Matt Cusatis 34 catch from Tyler Wolfe (Russo kick) 7:02
HA — Cusatis 10 catch from Wolfe (Russo kick) 29.5
Fourth quarter
WBA — Tyler Corcoran 35 field goal 10:48
HA — Connor Kundrat 30 pass from Wolfe (Russo kick) 3:30
Team statistics`WBA`HA
First downs`12`11
Rushes-yards`30-150`30-169
Passing yards`60`147
Total yards`210`316
Passing`7-15-1`9-15-0
Sacked-yards lost`2-12`2-11
Punts-avg.`2-15`3-24
Fumbles-lost`2-1`0-0
Penalties-yards`7-45`6-45
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — WBA, Howie Shiner 16-50, Jace John 3-18, Sincere Williams 2-15, Mekhi Nelson 4-25, Javant McClary 5-42. HA, Matthew Buchman 18-89, Kundrat 5-23, Wolfe 6-40, Cusatis 1-17.
PASSING — WBA, McClary 7-15-1-60. HA, Wolfe 9-15-0-147.
RECEIVING — WBA, Michael Andrzejewski 1-3, Williams 1-2, Shiner 1-6, Anthony Nguyen 2-21, John 1-22, Naquan Johnson 1-6. HA, Buchman 2-37, Connor Shamany 1-21, Cusatis 3-48, Christian Price 1-16, Kundrat 2-25.
INTERCEPTIONS — WBA, none. HA, Cusatis 1-0.
MISSED FGs — none.