PITTSTON AREA FOOTBALL: Defensive stops not enough as Patriots fall to Wallenpaupack

YATESVILLE — Wallenpaupack outlasted Pittston Area 22-10 Friday night in a defensive, non-league football battle that rarely seemed as close as Charley Trippi Stadium’s scoreboard indicated.

Although the Buckhorns had five times as many yards as the Patriots on offense, the Pittston Area defense limited Wallenpaupack to just one touchdown through the first 41 minutes.

Pittston Area senior Samuel Hankey’s name was a common refrain on the public announcements with tackle after tackle to keep the Buckhorns at bay.

After finding such trouble to find the end zone, Wallenpaupack scored a pair of touchdowns in a 3:30 span in the final minutes.

Quarterback Drew Kiesendahl took control on a long, run-oriented drive that slowly worked over the Patriots’ rushing defense. Kiesendahl converted two fourth-and-four plays with quarterback sneaks that just barely reached the first-down marker. He capped it with a 5-yard rushing touchdown for a 15-3 lead.

Kiesendahl ran 19 times for 123 yards.

Wallenpaupack’s other two touchdowns came off identical plays from two different quarterbacks. Michael Passenti ran a deep slant for a 37-yard touchdown from Kiesendahl on the first play of the second quarter to take a 7-3 advantage.

Shortly after Kiesendahl’s rushing score, Passenti mimicked the same pattern for a 35-yard receiving touchdown from Jake Rafferty that gave Wallenpaupack a 22-3 lead with 3:06 remaining

Pittston Area took an early 3-0 lead in the opening frame. Wallenpaupack turned it over inside its 20 when Logan Caruso caught a pass and fumbled when colliding with a pair of Pittston Area backs. Gavin Wolfe made a 30-yard field goal after the Patriots were unable to move the chains.

Santino Capitano found a falling Lucas Lopresto in the back of the end zone for a 17-yard pass and Pittston Area’s only touchdown with 1:36 remaining.

BY THE NUMBERS

Pittston Area was held to just 47 yards of total offense during the first 45 minutes. Santino Capitano, the team’s third quarterback, picked up 61 yards of offense in the remaining three minutes. Capitano went 5-for-10 for 49 yards and a touchdown. He also had the Patriots’ longest run of the game on a 12-yard scamper. … Wallenpaupack finished with statistical advantages of 17-9 in first downs, 193-37 in rushing yards, 133-71 in passing yards and 327-108 in total offense. … Lucas Lopresto had four catches for 43 yards for the Patriots.