H.S. Football: Wilkes-Barre Area bounces back to get Ciro Cinti 100th career win

PLAINS TWP. — The first quarter on Friday night looked like the continuation of last week’s game for Wilkes-Barre Area.

The Wolfpack were down 10 points. The offense generated just a single yard. The defense couldn’t stop the run.

Then with some help from Pittston Area, the Wolfpack broke out of their slump and were able to give coach Ciro Cinti his 100th career victory with a 21-10 win in a Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 game.

WBA (1-2 Div. 1, 3-4 overall) entered off a terrible performance in a 26-0 loss to Hazleton Area. The Wolfpack didn’t get a first down until the fourth quarter and were held to 45 yards in that game.

“Last week was a real debacle,” Cinti said. “It was a horror show, it’s the best way I could put it. I know our kids are much better than the way they played.

“We had a hard week of practice and the kids responded.”

Not initially. Pittston Area (1-3 Div. 1, 2-5) used the running of running back CJ Pietrzak and quarterback Matt Walter to eat up over half of the first quarter. The drive bogged down inside the WBA 10-yard line and the Patriots settled for a 25-yard field goal by Gavin Wolfe.

WBA went three-and-out on its next possession which included two dropped passes. The Patriots scored seven plays later when Walters plowed in from a yard out for a 10-0 advantage.

The Patriots, though, helped WBA’s sluggish offense gain some traction.

WBA used a couple Pittston Area penalties — one for a late hit and another for unsportsmanlike conduct — to score its first touchdown in six quarters. Running back Davon Underwood finished off the 45-yard drive with an 8-yard TD run which featured a nifty spin move a few yards from the end zone at 10:24 of the second quarter.

Pittston Area had 137 yards in the first half in building a 10-7 halftime lead. The Patriots had just 53 in the second half.

“We’ve been talking about it for weeks,” Pittston Area coach Joe DeLucca said. “We would be a very good football team if we stop playing to opponents. Week in week out, we have to eliminate mistakes and that’s on me as a head coach. We’ve got to take care of business, though, and we’re not right now.”

WBA gained the lead at 5:29 of the third quarter as Howe rifled a pass to Underwood sprinting down the middle of the field for a 29-yard touchdown.

The Wolfpack increased it lead to 21-10 less than two minutes later on a 75-yard catch-and-run by receiver Rajon Watson. Watson took a short pass in the left flat from Howe, cut off a block by receiver Treyvon Gembitski and the zipped past Patriots closing in for a tackle.

Pittston Area’s comeback attempt was hampered by the loss of Walter, who took a hard hit early in the fourth quarter and didn’t return. The Patriots moved no farther than the WBA 35-yard line in their four second-half possessions.

Cinti also praised his special teams from keeping Pittston Area’s Lucas Lopresto in check. The sophomore has returned two kickoffs and a punt for touchdowns this season.

Wilkes-Barre Area 21, Pittston Area 0

Pittston Area`10`0`0`0 — 10

Wilkes-Barre Area`0`7`14`0 — 21

First Quarter

PA — Gavin Wolfe 25 FG, 5:43

PA — Matt Walter 1 run (Wolfe kick), 0:24

Second quarter

WBA — Davon Underwood 8 run (Jaedyn Sanchez kick), 10:24

Third quarter

WBA — Underwood 29 pass from Jake Howe (Sanchez kick), 5:39

WBA — Rajon Watson 75 pass from Howe (Sanchez kick), 3:34

Team statistics`PA`WBA

First downs`13`11

Rushes-yards`30-166`25-110

Passing yards`24`165

Total yards`190`275

Passing`4-10-0`9-16-0

Sacked-yards lost`0-0`0-0

Punts-avg.`2-32.5`4-35.8

Fumbles-lost`0-0`0-0

Penalties-yards`9-78`8-110

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Pittston Area CJ Pietrzak 23-96, Walter 15-63, Brody Spindler 1-7, Jude Ferentino 1-1. WBA, Underwood 8-27, Howe 6-23, Jordan Kieselowsky 2-14, Khalil Smith 7-48.

PASSING — Pittston Area, Walter 4-10-0-24. WBA, Howe 8-15-0-147, Kieselowsky 1-1-0-18.

RECEIVING — Pittston Area, Lucas Lopresto 3-18, Steven Barnic 1-6. WBA, Treyvon Gembitski 4-38, Howe 1-0, Underwood 2-49, Watson 2-78.

INTERCEPTIONS — none.

MISSED FGs — none.