Williamsport routs Mifflin County

Meyers rallies in second half to top Montrose

HAZLETON &#8212; During the uncertainty of a crucial moment, Chris Melovitz never stopped.And because he didn&#8217;t, a Wyoming Valley West rally had a chance to start.Aaron Austin ran for two touchdowns and threw for three more scores Friday as Valley West scored 33 unanswered points and overcame a 188-yard rushing performance by Hazleton Area&#8217;s Adrian Otero to sting the Cougars, 33-15 at Harman-Geist Stadium.&#8220;We&#8217;re just doing the best we can,&#8221; Melovitz said.His heads-up play may have done in Hazleton Area&#8217;s upset hopes.With the Spartans trailing 15-0 early in the second quarter, Hazleton Area tried to bull across the goal line for more points on a second down from the 1-yard line. But as the Cougars running back attempted to slam across the goal line, the ball was pried free and fell to the ground.Melovitz, playing as a defensive back, alertly scooped it up, thwarting an opportunity for Hazleton Area to go up by at least 21 points.&#8220;At first, I thought he was down,&#8221; Melovitz said of the Cougars ball-carrier. &#8220;I didn&#8217;t hear a whistle, so I just picked the ball up and ran with it.&#8221;From there, the heavily-favored Spartans ran away.Sean Judge took a screen pass from Austin 65 yards for a touchdown to get Valley West on the board and back in the game just 75 seconds before halftime.&#8220;That was huge,&#8221; Valley West coach Pat Keating said, &#8220;to get some points on the board and just a little bit of momentum.&#8221;The Spartans carried their surge into the second half.They opened the third quarter with a 13-play, 73-yard scoring march capped by Austin&#8217;s 1-yard touchdown sneak to pull within 15-13, then took the lead for good, 19-15, when Zach Davies took another Austin screen 14 yards for a score with 11:17 to play.Austin wrapped it up by throwing a 29-yard touchdown pass to Darrian Tyson and scoring on another 1-yard touchdown run in the final four minutes.But it all started with a play that prevented Hazleton Area from going ahead by three scores.&#8220;It definitely gave the team a boost,&#8221; Melovitz said, &#8220;in the context we were able to battle back.&#8221;Otero and the Cougars made it a fierce battle.Kaleb Yahner chased down Austin to make a tackle in the end zone for a safety that gave Hazleton Area a 2-0 lead, then the 6-foot-1, 215-pound Otero broke free for a 34-yard touchdown run with 1:28 to play in the first quarter as the Cougars boosted their advantage to 8-0.&#8220;It&#8217;s hard when they have such a big back,&#8221; Melovitz said. &#8220;And we&#8217;ve got a really young team.&#8221;The Cougars then turned a Valley West fumble into points when Damon Horton scored on a 5-yard run, as Hazleton Area &#8212; coming off a 44-0 loss to Berwick in its season opener &#8212; began thinking upset.Melovitz and the Spartans had other ideas.&#8220;Hazleton always comes out and plays us hard,&#8221; Keating said. &#8220;I&#8217;m just thankful for the way our kids responded.&#8221;Wyoming Valley West 33, Hazleton Area 15Wyo. Valley West`0`6`7`20`&#8212;`33Hazleton Area`8`7`0`0`&#8212;`15First quarterH &#8212; Aaron Austin tackled in end zone for safety, 7:24H &#8212; Adrian Otero 34 run (kick failed), 1:28Second quarterH &#8212; Damon Horton 5 run (Will Barrientos kick), 10:46WVW &#8212; Sean Judge 65 pass from Aaron Austin (kick failed), 1:15Third quarterWVW &#8212; Austin 1 run (Jack Gurtis kick), 5:46Fourth quarterWVW &#8212; Zach Davies 14 pass from Austin (run failed), 11:17WVW &#8212; Darrian Tyson 29 pass from Austin (Gurtis kick), 3:37WVW &#8212; Austin 1 run (Gurtis kick), 0:46Team statistics`WVW`HAFirst downs`16`11Rushes-yards`37-126`40-220Passing yards`185`25Total yards`311`245Passing`12-16-0`6-10-0Sacked-yards lost`3-11`1-7Punts-avg.`3-36.3`5-26.8Fumbles-lost`3-2`3-1Penalties-yards`8-62`5-45INDIVIDUAL STATISTICSRUSHING &#8212; WW, Chris Melovitz 5-58, Judge 13-51, Austin 14-35, Darrian Tyson 1-3, Zach Davies 1-2, Sean Mikovitch 2-2, TEAM 1- (minus 25). HAZ, Otero 26-188, Damon Horton 4-20, Carson Kinney 4-11, Matt Sutton 2-8, Sparky Wolk 4- (minus 7).PASSING &#8212; WVW, Austin 12-16-0-185. HAZ, Wolk 6-10-0-25.RECEIVING &#8212; WVW, Judge 4-84, Tyson 3-40, Melovitz 2-27, Derek Doreskewicz 2-20, Davies 1-14. HAZ, Hunter Vanblargan 4-23, Otero 2-2.<style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Paul Sokoloskipsokoloski@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</shirttailMeta></div>

WVC football: Spartans storm back for victory at Hazleton Area