Wyoming Area’s Aaron Crossley (5) is off to the races as he clears the last Patriots defender for an 86-yard touchdown on Friday night in the annual rivalry game.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
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Wyoming Area defensive back Gage Speece (12) breaks up a pass from the Patriots’ Drew DeLucca to Matt Walter (4).
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Pittston Area quarterback Drew DeLucca (3) tosses a pass to an open Lucas LoPresto (1) for extra yardage.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Warrior senior running back Aaron Crossley hurdles through tackl attempts to score Wyoming Area’s first touchdown on a six-yard run.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Pittston Area’s Matt Walter (4) catches a 44-yard touchdown to score the Patriots’ first touchdown.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Wyoming Area senior running back Aaron Crossley took home the Carmelo Falcone game MVP award against cross town rivals Pittston Area. The trophy was presented by Carmelo’s grandson Carmen Falcone, left, and Sammy Falcone, Carmelo’s great grandson.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
WEST PITTSTON — Aaron Crossley reminded Friday night that when it comes to piling up rushing yards, he is very capable of taking the fast-and-furious or the slow-and-steady approach.
Against rival Pittston Area, he did both in an award-winning performance.
Crossley raced to 86- and 77-yard touchdowns and also plodded his way to another 186 yards while leading host Wyoming Area to a 35-14 victory, dethroning Pittston Area to claim the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 football title.
The Carmelo Falcone Award winner as game MVP finished with 29 carries for 349 yards and four touchdowns rushing.
In his spare time, Crossley made five tackles, had a kickoff return that was reduced to 24 yards by a teammate’s penalty and attempted one of Wyoming Area’s two passes.
Crossley made sure it was not necessary for the Warriors to look to the air often while finishing 6-0 in the division, closing the regular season at 9-1 and advancing into a quarterfinal home game in the District 2 Class 4A playoffs.
Pittston Area dropped to 4-2 and 5-5 overall while preparing to hit the road for the District 2 Class 5A semifinals.
“We had nine guys in the box,” Pittston Area coach Nick Barbieri said of the Patriots’ all-out effort to contain the Lehigh University-bound senior running back. “The first one, he got free.
“The second long touchdown, in the second half, we must have hit him 10 times and we still couldn’t bring him down. He’s a man. That’s why he’s a Division I football player.”
The five Wyoming Area possessions that produced scores featured Crossley carrying on 15 of 18 plays.
Luke Barhight’s sack forced a fumble that Jacob Gustitus recovered at the Pittston Area 27 midway through the first quarter.
Crossley took it from there, carrying for 10 and 12 yards then a 5-yard touchdown, all off left tackle.
A mix-up that led to Wyoming Area being overcharged on a penalty led to the Warriors starting their next possession from the 10.
No problem.
Crossley’s third straight run, a simple pitch to the left on third-and-six, turned into an 86-yard touchdown when he used an early burst to get between two defenders. He then showed his sprinting speed while separating from the pack to make it 14-0 in the first minute of the second quarter.
The touchdown that left Barbieri shaking his head came two plays into the second half.
In addition to the hits the Pittston Area coach described, the Patriots twice seemed to have Crossley pinned in along the sideline before he broke away for the 77-yard touchdown.
“It’s just how it is,” Crossley said. “You don’t really think. You just keep doing what you’re doing.
“I see the sideline, you try not to get knocked out, stay in and just run to the end zone.”
Crossley made it look that easy until Pittston Area scored twice in the last 2:38 of the third quarter, then got the ball back with the deficit at just 21-14.
Drew DeLucca hit Matt Walter for a 44-yard touchdown on a double-reverse pass. Victor Narsavage forced a fumble that Brody Spindler recovered and DeLucca quickly hit Lucas Lopresto with a perfect strike deep down the right sideline for a 38-yard score.
Wyoming Area got the ball back with 9:15 left and Crossley went to work with runs of 9 and 8 yards. When he took a needed rest, Michael Crane ripped off a 37-yard run to the 1 and quarterback Anthony DeLucca took it in from there.
The Warriors stopped the Patriots short on downs, then Crossley carried seven straight times, four of them for at least 8 yards, which was the length of the final touchdown with 1:40 left.
Wyoming Area 35, Pittston Area 14
Pittston Area`0`0`14`0 — 14
Wyoming Area`7`7`7`14 — 35
First quarter
WA — Aaron Crossley 5 run (Liam Burke kick), 5:12
Second quarter
WA — Crossley 86 run (Burke kick), 11:11
Third quarter
WA — Crossley 77 run (Burke kick), 11:05
PA — Matt Walter 44 pass from Drew DeLucca (kick blocked), 2:38
PA — Lucas Lopresto 38 pass from DDeLucca (Brody Spindler pass from DDeLucca), 0:19.7
Fourth quarter
WA — Anthony DeLucca 1 run (Burke kick), 8:19
WA — Crossley 8 run (Burke kick), 1:40
Team statistics`PA`WA
First downs`13`12
Rushes-yards`35-106`38-406
Passing yards`166`0
Total yards`272`406
Passing`14-27-0`0-2-1
Sacked-yards lost`5-37`1-6
Punts-avg.`4-35.5`2-27.0
Fumbles-lost`2-1`2-2
Penalties-yards`5-48`7-63
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — PA, Spindler 9-34, Xzayvier Blackshear 6-30, Chris Pietrzak 4-22, DDeLucca 14-18, Lopresto 2-2. WA, Crossley 29-349, Michael Crane 5-53, Lidge Kellum 1-3, ADeLucca 3-1. 1.
PASSING — PA, DDeLucca 14-26-0-166, Lopresto 0-1-0-0. WA, Crossley 0-1-0-0, ADeLucca 0-1-1-0.
RECEIVING – PA, Lopresto 4-76, Walter 4-62, Ciaran Bilbow 1-9, Colten Lis 1-7, Malkolm Blackshear 1-7, Spindler 1-5. WA, None.
INTERCEPTIONS — PA, DDeLucca 1-0.
MISSED FGs – None.