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Mistakes lead to a 5-2 loss for WBS Pens in season opener

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Flavor of the Week: It’s time for reinforcements

WILKES-BARRE &#8212; With a tough three-game stretch ahead, Wyoming Area could have easily looked past winless GAR on Saturday night.The Warriors didn&#8217;t, scoring on their first three possessions on the way to a 44-7 rout of the Grenadiers in a Wyoming Valley Conference interdivisional game.Wyoming Area improved to 3-4 as it heads into a three-game homestand with Dallas (5-2), Williamsport (5-2) and cross-river rival Pittston Area (3-4) to conclude the regular season. The Warriors were able to straighten out some offensive issues over the past two games against a pair of winless teams &#8212; Hanover Area and GAR.&#8220;I think it was critical for us to come in and execute and build on some of the plays we were able to make last week,&#8221; Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. &#8220;I think it was important to build that confidence with the players who have that playmaking potential. Not to just do it last week, but do it again this week.&#8221;Mission achieved.A perfectly-run screen pass to Shane Eslick &#8212; where linemen Damon Barhight, Cameron Carr and Stephen Sokach-Minnick all had key blocks &#8212; resulted in a 38-yard touchdown on a fourth-and-2 play at 7:24 of the first quarter.Carr recorded a safety later in the quarter when GAR running back Anthony Blake couldn&#8217;t escape the end zone after a botched handoff exchange. Quarterback Dominic DeLuca hit receiver Marc Minichello in stride down the middle with TD passes of 28 and 30 yards to bump the lead to 23-0 less than a minute into the second quarter.Running back Justin Joseph closed out the first-half scoring with a 1-yard run, giving Wyoming Area a 30-0 lead going into the locker room.Wyoming Area reached the 35-point mercy rule on its first possession of the second half on a 10-yard run by Donovan O&#8217;Boyle. The Warriors had a second-and-32 on the drive, but a 10-yard scramble by DeLuca and a 25-yard pass to Brian Williams.GAR (0-7) had four turnovers and 16 yards of offense in the first half. The Grenadiers finished with 82 yards, but 65 of them came on a late scoring drive capped by Christian Hernandez&#8217;s 9-yard TD run.&#8220;We didn&#8217;t come off the bus ready to play again,&#8221; GAR coach Paul Wiedlich Jr. said. &#8220;What is this now, seven consecutive weeks?&#8221;Wyoming Seminary 34,Poly Prep 6The Blue Knights improved to 3-2 via a dominating defensive performance led by Manny Beals, Dante Shanghie and Nick Martini. Poly Prep&#8217;s only score came on a blocked punt.Seminary piled up over 200 yards rushing. Receivers Ty Chung, Todd Phillips and DeShawn Jupiter-Deane had major contributions.Wyoming Area 44, GAR 7Wyoming Area`16`14`7`7`&#8212;`44GAR`0`0`0`7`&#8212;`7First quarterWA &#8212; Shane Eslick 38 pass from Dominic DeLuca (FJ Braccini kick), 7:24WA &#8212; Safety, Cameron Carr tackles Anthony Blake in end zone, 2:10WA &#8212; Marc Minichello 28 pass from DeLuca (Braccini kick), 0:47Second quarterWA &#8212; Minichello 30 pass from DeLuca (Braccini kick), 11:31WA &#8212; Justin Joseph 1 run (Braccini kick), 1:44Third quarterWA &#8212; Donovan O&#8217;Boyle 10 run (Braccini kick), 8:23Fourth quarterWA &#8212; Blaise Ciampi 1 run (Josh Cumbo kick), 10:04GAR &#8212; Christian Hernandez 9 run (Jose Amigon kick), 5:56Team statistics`WA`GARFirst downs`21`9Rushes-yards`43-251`26-67Passing yards`152`15Total yards`403`82Passing`6-10-0`3-9-2Sacked-yards lost`1-1`1-1Punts-avg.`0-0`4-25Fumbles-lost`3-2`5-2Penalties-yards`4-45`4-33INDIVIDUAL STATISTICSRUSHING &#8212; WA, O&#8217;Boyle 11-80, Joseph 8-57, Minichello 1-0, DeLuca 5-19, Robbie Trottini 1-(minus-4), Zajquay Williamson 7-44, Jake Williams 1-(minus-1), Ciampi 3-42, Anthony Scalzo 4-16, team 2-(minus-2). GAR, Ron Peguero 9-35, Tyrone Qualls 6-3, Blake 9-13, Hernandez 2-16.PASSING &#8212; WA, DeLuca 6-9-0-143, J.Williams 1-1-0-9. GAR, Preguero 3-8-1-15, Qualls 0-1-1-0.RECEIVING &#8212; WA, Eslick 1-38, Minichello 2-58, Steve Yordy 1-12, Trottini 1-10, Brian Williams 1-25, Jake Busch 1-9. GAR, Malachai Williams 2-15, Blake 1-0.INTERCEPTIONS &#8212; Corey Mruk 1-27, Williamson 1-20.MISSED FGs &#8212; none. <style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By John Erzarjerzar@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach John Erzar at 570-991-6394 or on Twitter @TLJohnErzar</shirttailMeta></div>

Wyoming Area football team rolls past winless GAR in 44-7 victory