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WEST PITTSTON — Just when Lake-Lehman finally worked its way back into Friday night’s District 2 Class 3A semifinal game, Wyoming Area senior Dominic DeLuca struck like he has throughout his career.
DeLuca fetched the ensuing kickoff at the 18-yard line that got by everyone. He turned, dashed down the left sideline and scored.
And like that, Wyoming Area was back in control and on its way to a 48-12 victory, sending the Warriors to a district championship game for the first time since winning it all in 2012.
Wyoming Area (10-1) will host four-time defending D2-3A champion Scranton Prep (9-2) for the title next Friday night. Prep defeated Western Wayne 30-14 in the other semifinal and lost 34-0 to Wyoming Area in Week 2.
“We were very motivated coming into this week coming off of last year’s disappointing loss in the semifinals,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “To get to the district championship and get the opportunity to play on our home field is a great opportunity for us.”
Lehman ended its season at 8-4.
Wyoming Area dominated from the onset, going on scoring drives of 52, 70 and 72 yards on its first three possessions. Running back Darren Rodney, who finished with a game-high 154 yards on 23 carries, capped the Warriors’ first possession with a 2-yard run. DeLuca ended the second with a 10-yard TD pass to 295-pound Sam Solomon on a tackle-eligible play. A 1-yard run by DeLuca made it 21-0 with 7:33 left until halftime.
Up to that point, Wyoming Area had run 29 plays to six by Lehman. The Black Knights, though, showed some life on their next possession.
Helped by 40 yards in Wyoming Area penalties, Lehman cut the deficit to 21-6 on a 1-yard plunge by quarterback Ethan Adams.
Lehman’s momentum ended 13 seconds later when DeLuca returned a kickoff for TD for the second time this season and the third time in his career.
“I wasn’t expecting any kicks at all to me today when I was back there,” DeLuca said. “But that one got to me on the squib kick and I took it to the house. We got great blocks up front. That’s what helped.”
Lehman coach Jerry Gilsky agreed the return drained the Black Knights’ momentum.
“It really deflated us,” Gilsky said.
The final play of the first half might have sapped it completely.
“I thought we had a score here at the end (of the half),” Gilsky continued. “I don’t know what the hell happened. We’ll see it on film. It really hurts you. You take that scenario and score at the end, it’s a different ball game. It is what it is.”
Adams survived four sacks on Lehman’s final possession of the first half, including three in a row where Drew Mruk, Caleb Graham and Solomon got to him to set up a fourth-and-22 from the Wyoming Area 32-yard line. Adams threw over the middle to tight end Danny Kutz, who fought to get into the end zone.
But after the officiating crew conferred, Kutz was ruled short of the goal line as the team went into the locker room.
Touchdown runs by Rodney and Leo Haros late in the third quarter put the game out of reach at 42-6.
Adams was 18 of 27 for 158 yards. Unlike the first meeting where he threw TD passes of 66 and 52 yards, he had to settle for short gains for the most part. He was also sacked six times compared to once when Wyoming Area defeated the Black Knights 35-30 in Week 2.
Lehman’s running game was shut down completely. The Black Knights finished with 68 yards on 26 carries, but most came when the game was turned over to the reserves. When the starters were on the field, they managed 13 yards on 16 rushes.
District 2 Class 3A Semifinals
Wyoming Area 48, Lake-Lehman 12
Lake-Lehman`0`6`0`6 — 12
Wyoming Area`6`22`14`6 — 48
First quarter
WA — Darren Rodney 2 run (kick blocked), 7:52
Second quarter
WA — Sam Solomon 10 pass from Dominic DeLuca (Rodney run), 11:03
WA — DeLuca 1 run (Josh Cumbo kick), 7:33
LL — Ethan Adams 1 run (bad snap), 4:16
WA — DeLucca 82 kick return (Stanley Moderski kick), 4:03
Third quarter
WA — Rodney 4 run (Cumbo kick), 3:26
WA — Leo Haros 14 run (Moderski kick), 0:13
Fourth quarter
WA — Vincenzo Giambra 76 run (kick failed), 6:26
LL — Jeremy Scouton 5 run (run failed), 1:33
Team statistics`LL`WA
First downs`17`16
Rushes-yards`26-68`41-364
Passing yards`158`32
Total yards`226`386
Passing`18-27-0`2-5-0
Sacked-yards lost`6-29`0-0
Punts-avg.`3-31`0-0
Fumbles-lost`1-1`0-0
Penalties-yards`6-37`11-100
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Lehman, Zack Kojadinovich 5-28, Adams 9-(minus-18), Ryan Eiden 2-5, Scouton 7-35, Jacob Monko 3-18. Wyoming Area, Rodney 23-154, DeLuca 11-100, Derek Ambrosino 1-3, Haros 3-25, Giambra 2-75, Richie Hyzinski 1-7.
PASSING — Lehman, Adams 18-27-0-158. Wyoming Area, DeLuca 2-5-0-32.
RECEIVING — Lehman, Eiden 4-45, Danny Kutz 4-43, Casey Kaminski 8-68, Kojadinovich 2-2. Wyoming Area, Brian Williams 1-22, Solomon 1-10.
INTERCEPTIONS —none.
MISSED FGs — none.
