Metro WEST PITTSTON — Lidge Kellum ran for 219 yards and four touchdowns to lead Wyoming Area to a 42-20 victory over visiting Berwick Friday night in a physical Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 football game.
“Berwick came in, they played very aggressively up front, and they’ve got some strong senior players in that mix,” said Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer of the Bulldogs. “I just think the energy and the effort that (Berwick) is playing with is increasing and improving every week.”
Wyoming Area got the scoring started, with Kellum outracing the Bulldogs defense down the left side of the field for a 35-yard scamper nine minutes into the contest. In the second quarter, Berwick answered back with a long rushing score of its own when Ty’Meere Wilkerson took a carry 53 yards to the house.
A failed extra point following Wilkerson’s touchdown kept Wyoming Area in the lead. The Warriors expanded their advantage when Kellum plunged into the end zone from 1 yard out in the closing seconds of the first half. On that scoring drive, Kellum carried the ball on all 10 of the Warriors’ offensive plays.
He finished the contest with 25 carries in total, tagging Berwick’s defense for about nine yards per tote.
“He’s a special talent, as you can see up to this point in the year,” Spencer said of Kellum, the team’s standout tailback. “He’s a back that, the more carries he gets, the stronger he runs.”
Wyoming Area blew the game open in the third quarter, scoring on a trio of drives. Kellum scored his third and fourth touchdowns of the evening, and Anthony Delucca hit Luke Kopetchny in the corner of the end zone for an additional score to extend Wyoming Area’s lead to 35-6.
The Delucca-Kopetchny connection was rare but efficient on Friday night, with the duo combining for all 79 of the Warriors’ air yards.
“We’re fortunate to have a balanced attack and some outstanding weapons,” Spencer said. “We’ve got all those complementary players, so you kind of have to see how they’re defending you and the opportunities that they’re giving you.”
The Bulldogs showed some fight in the fourth quarter after Wyoming Area running back Trustin Johnson capped his team’s scoring to make the game 42-6 and cause the final 9:36 to be played under the running clock of the Mercy Rule.
On consecutive drives, the Berwick offense tore through the Warriors’ fourth quarter defense, with Alex Estrella’s 59-yard rushing score on an end-around serving as Berwick’s longest play from scrimmage.
Following Estrella’s score, Berwick tacked on a final touchdown with Ashton Smith scoring on a quarterback sneak from 3 yards out.
BY THE NUMBERS
Following Berwick’s two late scores, Wyoming Area had only small statistical advantages. The Warriors led in first downs 11-8, rushing yards 254-230, passing yards 79-49 and total offense 333-269. … Jacob Morgan was in on a team-high six tackles for the Warriors. Kevin Wiedl recovered a fumble, broke up a pass, made a tackle for a loss and assisted on another.
UP NEXT
Wyoming Area (2-0 in the division, 5-1 overall) will play Hanover Area (0-2, 0-6) Friday night in a game that has been moved to Nanticoke because of the unavailability of the Hanover Area home stadium. The Hawkeyes have been outscored 254-47, giving up the most points in District 2. Wyoming Area has scored the most points in the district while outscoring opponents 252-135.
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