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District 2 soccer playoffs: Colin Sung propels Wyoming Seminary into semis

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Stelma leads Valley West to 3rd straight district field hockey title game

HAZLETON &#8212; Good thing for Hazleton Area that Jacob Hunsinger puts a high priority on special teams play.Looks like he puts a high priority on the passing game, too.Hunsinger scored three touchdowns of 70 or more yards Friday, ending with his 87-yard kickoff return that sealed Hazleton Area&#8217;s 42-39 victory over Crestwood, spoiling the final game for Comets coach Greg Myers.&#8220;I love being on kickoff return,&#8221; Hunsinger said. &#8220;Special teams means a lot during football games.&#8221;The regular-season finale at Harman-Geist Field proved a perfect case in point.Crestwood matched Hazleton Area touchdown for touchdown, but wound up three points short following two bad snaps on point-after attempts and an incomplete conversion pass following three scores for the Comets, along with a blocked punt that Cougars running back Damon Horton cashed in with a 25-yard touchdown run.And because of Hunsinger.His most electrifying play on a night full of them came right after Crestwood closed within 35-32 on Chase Passman&#8217;s 10-yard quarterback keeper for a touchdown with 9:44 to play.Just 13 seconds later, Hazleton Area had a 10-point lead again.Hunsinger collected the ensuing kickoff at his own 13-yard line, broke through a line of defenders, then outran everyone down the right sideline for an 87-yard return to paydirt and a return of control for his Cougars.&#8220;I saw an open hole that was blocked great,&#8221; Hunsinger said. &#8220;That allowed me to score.&#8221;It wasn&#8217;t the first time.On the game&#8217;s second play, Hunsinger snared a screen pass from Sparky Wolk, and speedy Cougars receiver raced 70 yards to the end zone for a quick 7-0 Hazleton Area lead.And with the Cougars nursing a one-point advantage later in the first quarter, Hunsinger turned a 10-yard pass into a 77-yard touchdown reception by blazing past three Crestwood defenders who gave a gritty chase but never caught up.&#8220;It&#8217;s just practice, especially with my teammates,&#8221; Hunsinger shrugged. &#8220;The linemen and the coaches put me in the right spot to get big plays.&#8221;It turned out Hazleton Area needed every one of them.A determined Crestwood team, driven by knowledge Myers tendered his resignation for the end of this season to spend more time with his children and that the Comets needed a victory to extend this season to the playoffs, gave a gallant effort.Anthony Caporuscio ran for 131 yards and three touchdowns, Garrett Swank and Passman added scoring runs and the undermanned Comets hung around to the very end.A crafty hook-and-lateral play &#8212; or was it a fumble that popped into the air? &#8212; turned into a 47-yard play when Ryan Petrosky grabbed the ball and scooted 41 yards to set up Caporuscio&#8217;s 2-yard touchdown run that pulled Crestwood within 42-39 with 4:33 remaining.&#8220;We weren&#8217;t really expecting it,&#8221; Hunsinger said. &#8220;But we&#8217;re ready for anything, no matter what.&#8221;And when the Comets regained possession, they moved 26 yards in 38 seconds to Hazleton Area&#8217;s 36-yard line before a final pass to the end zone that had a chance fell incomplete on the game&#8217;s final play.&#8220;We had a chance at the end,&#8221; Myers said. &#8220;It wasn&#8217;t the outcome we wanted, but I&#8217;m proud of the way the kids played. It was fun. I really enjoyed myself. I enjoyed being around the kids. I&#8217;m going to miss gamedays, the relationships that were formed along the way &#8212; with players, coaches, my own staff, opponents, just being around the guys in the locker room.&#8220;That&#8217;s what I&#8217;m going to miss.&#8221;Meanwhile, Hazleton Area doesn&#8217;t want to miss a chance to win a District 2 Class 6A title when the four-team tournament opens next week.&#8220;Maybe this was good for us,&#8221; Hazleton Area coach Mike Brennan said, shaking his head over a defense that couldn&#8217;t put Crestwood away. &#8220;We talked about defense. The bottom line is, the kids made enough plays to win. All that will go away if we do what we set out to do.&#8221;<ins>Hazleton Area 42, Crestwood 39 </ins><ins>Crestwood`13`6`7`13 &#8212; 39 </ins><ins>Hazleton Area`21`7`7`7 &#8212; 42 </ins><ins>First quarter </ins><ins>H &#8212; Jacob Hunsinger 70 pass from Sparky Wolk (Will Garcia kick), 11:11 </ins><ins>C &#8212; Ryan Petrosky 23 run (Garrett Swank kick), 8:32 </ins><ins>H &#8212; Damon Horton 13 run (Garcia kick), 6:04 </ins><ins>C &#8212; Anthony Caporuscio 5 run (Kick failed), 2:34 </ins><ins>H &#8212; Hunsinger 77 pass from Wolk (Garcia kick), 2:09 </ins><ins>Second quarter </ins><ins>C &#8212; Swank 9 run (Conversion pass failed), 8:51 </ins><ins>H &#8212; Matt Fisher 24 pass from Wolk (Garcia kick), 1:06 </ins><ins>Third quarter </ins><ins>C &#8212; Caporuscio 4 run (Swank kick), 9:29 </ins><ins>H &#8212; Horton 25 run (Garcia kick), 4:57 </ins><ins>Fourth quarter </ins><ins>C &#8212; Chase Passman 10 run (Kick failed), 9:44 </ins><ins>H &#8212; Hunsinger 87 kick return (Garcia kick), 9:31 </ins><ins>C &#8212; Caporuscio 2 run (Swank kick), 4:33 </ins><ins>Team statistics`CRE`HA </ins><ins>First downs`24`12 </ins><ins>Rushes-yards`47-321`24-122 </ins><ins>Passing yards`92`209 </ins><ins>Total yards`413`331 </ins><ins>Passing`9-21-0`8-13-1 </ins><ins>Sacked-yards lost`1-11`0-0 </ins><ins>Punts-avg.`2-11`2-32.5 </ins><ins>Fumbles-lost`1-0`1-0 </ins><ins>Penalties-yards`5-61`6-45 </ins><ins>INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS </ins><ins>RUSHING &#8212; CRE, Anthony Caporuscio 21-131, Ryan Petrosky 8-99, Garrett Swank 8-42, Chase Passman 9-35, Brandon Nieminski 1-14. HAZ, Damon Horton 17-96, Lance Johnson 1-11, Sparky Wolk 5-10, Dallas Solomon 1-5. </ins><ins>PASSING &#8212; CRE, Passman 9-20-0-92, Rob Figmic 0-1-0-0. HAZ, Wolk, 8-13-1-209. </ins><ins>RECEIVING &#8212; CRE, Nieminski 5-44, Petrosky 2-26, Figmic Jr. 1-12, Swank 1-10. HAZ, Hunsinger 2-147, Horton 2-14, Evan Matyas 2-14, Matt Fisher 1-24, Nolan Schneider 1-10. </ins><ins>INTERCEPTIONS &#8212; CRE, Figmic, 1-0. </ins><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: Hunsinger, Hazleton Area holds off Crestwood in Greg Myers’ finale