Warriors Defeat Crestwood

30-13

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Times Leader  Wyoming Area’s defense held on until its offense could get started Friday night.
Once the offense got moving, Crestwood could not keep up.
The Warriors did all their scoring in a span of less than 17 minutes during the second half while rallying past the visiting Comets 30-13 in a non-league game between Wyoming Valley Conference football teams at Anthony “Jake” Sobeski Stadium.
“It was probably in the locker room,” Warriors quarterback/defensive back Luke Kopetchny said of the game’s turnaround. “We were not where we want to be. We want to eliminate these slow starts.
“We dialed in, came out and scored three or four touchdowns real fast. That was definitely a great feeling.”
Crestwood scored on the opening drive and had the ball in Wyoming Area on its next three possessions, but could not add to its lead.
The Warriors had 12 yards on their first four possessions and just 56 at halftime before churning out 238 yards and four touchdowns in the second half to overcome a 7-0 deficit at the break.
“Second half, we called on our seniors,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “Credit to Crestwood for what they did, especially defensively and with that first drive then ball control throughout that first half.
“It was really about going in and putting it on our leaders and putting it on our seniors. We were looking for a response from them and they did a great job. They brought the rest of the team with them.”
The change was immediate coming out of halftime.
Luke Kopetchny went up the middle, then stretched the ball over the goal line as he was going down at the end of a 48-yard run for the tying touchdown on the sixth play of the second half.
When Crestwood muffed the kickoff, Michael McKernan recovered and Dominic Bartell covered the 33 yards in two carries – a 13-yard run and a 20-yard touchdown.
Wide receiver Lavell Brock blocked a man all the way into the end zone and Bartell followed him in for the score and a 14-7 lead with 8:27 left in the third quarter.
The Warriors made it 16-7 with 22 seconds left in the third when they swarmed the Crestwood punter after a bad snap and Drew Keating pushed him out of the back of the end zone for a safety.
The Warriors needed just five plays to move 45 yards after the free kick with Nicholas Kondrosky scoring from the 19 for a 23-7 lead early in the fourth quarter.
They were not done yet.
Gavin Feeney intercepted and Kopetchny carried four times for 29 yards in the eight-play scoring drive, which he capped for a 30-7 lead with 4:19 left.
Kopetchny ran for 160 yards on 16 carries and made a brilliant one-handed interception while leading the Warriors (4-2) to their third straight victory.
“Luke hit the big run to put us on the board,” Spencer said. “He ran extremely well.”
Crestwood finished with six first downs, three on the first drive and three on the last.
In between, it had managed just nine yards.
“I’m proud of the defense in the second half, but also when adversity struck in the first half to be able to manage that and get us to halftime to kind of regroup,” Spencer said. “ … The defense collectively I thought was a very strong effort.”
The Warriors held strong after Crestwood recovered a fumble at the Wyoming Area 32 in the first quarter and returned a punt to the Wyoming Area 29 in the second.
Jake Jeckell had a 38-yard run on the third play to set up his 2-yard score that capped the first drive and gave Crestwood a lead it held for almost half the game.
Riley Wojciechowski scored from the 2 on the game’s final play.
The Comets slipped to 1-5.

Citizens Voice Wyoming Area looked like a different team when it came out of the locker room after halftime Friday night.
Trailing Crestwood by a touchdown at the break, the Warriors had gained some steam on their final drive of the second quarter. While the eight-play drive didn’t yield points, WyomingArea took some confidence into the break.
Getting the ball first to open the second half, the Warriors took little time to tie the game. Senior quarterback Luke Kopetchny capped off a six-play, 69-yard drive with a 48-yard sneak to paydirt. The scamper kicked off a run of 30 unanswered points for the Warriors, en route to a 30-13 win over Crestwood in a Wyoming Valley Conference game.
“Crestwood, credit to them, came out and got the first score on the board,” Wyoming Area head coach Randy Spencer said. “For us, just challenged us all half long and led to mistakes on our part and miscues. And those were things that we needed to clean up.
“Just really about calling on our seniors and the leaders of our team to come out and play the last 24 minutes the way we needed to, to come out with a victory.”
The momentum fully swung to the Wyoming Area (4-2) sidelines on the ensuing kickoff after Kopetchny’s 48-yard score.
The Comets (1-5) had a hard time handling the kick, and the Warriors fell on the free ball at the Crestwood 33.
Two Dominic Bartell carries later, and the Warriors found the end zone again. The sophomore running back took his time and waited for a hole to open over the right side of the Wyoming Area offensive line, and broke off a 20-yard touchdown.
“We had a slow start today,” Kopetchny said. “We started off hot right in the third quarter. Scored like three, four touchdowns in a row and got that win.”
The Warriors scored 14 points in 44 seconds and never looked back, taking the 14-7 lead.
While Kopetchny led the way offensively, running for 160 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries, the senior made an impact at cornerback, too.
On the next drive, Crestwood had a third-and-7 from the Wyoming Area 39. Comets senior quarterback Jack Rodgers rolled out of the pocket to his left and tried to make a throw just past the sticks. But Kopetchny played the ball perfectly and made a leaping one-handed interception to stop the drive.
Kopetchny’s interception was the first of two by the Wyoming Area defense. Warriors senior linebacker Gavin Feeney hauled in the defense’s second interception of the night early in the fourth quarter, helping preserve a 23-7 lead.
“I’m pretty sure it was a bootleg,” Kopetchny said of his interception. “The (quarterback) was running across (the field). I kind of alerted them a little bit. I came out of nowhere and snatched it up.
“It was a little slow, but we definitely started to dial in by the end. Our defense did a great job, especially towards the end, and we got it done.”
Crestwood senior running back Jake Jeckell got the scoring going, capping the opening drive with a two-yard dive into the endzone. It was Jeckell’s sixth carry of the drive. He finished with 13 carries for a team-high 61 yards.
Crestwood freshman running back Riley Wojciechowski closed the scoring, as he fell into the endzone as time expired, 30-13.
Friday night marks three straight wins for the Warriors, who travel to Tunkhannock next week.
Crestwood turns its attention to a home matchup against Pittston Area.
“Playing a lot of young guys,” Spencer said. “Fortunately, we got a few guys back from injury tonight. Got them back into the mix. We’re excited every game that our young guys play. Our goal is just to get a little better every game and a little better every week, and I think we’re on that path – moving in the right direction.
“We’re certainly excited for the rest of the season moving forward.”

Wyoming Area 30, Crestwood 13
Crestwood`7`0`0`6`—`13
Wyoming Area`0`0`16`14`—`30
First quarter
CR – Jake Jeckell 2 run (Nathan Ciocco kick), 8:19
Second quarter
None
Third quarter
WA – Luke Kopetchny 48 run (Ava Musinski kick), 9:07
WA – Dominic Bartell 20 run (Musinski kick), 8:27
WA – Safety (Keating tackled punter in the end zone), 0:22
Fourth quarter
WA – Nicholas Kondrosky 19 run (Musinski kick), 10:14
WA – Kopetchny 7 run (Musinski kick), 4:19
CR – Riley Wojciechowski 2 run (no try), 0:00

Team Statistics`CR`WA
First downs`6`17
Rushes-yards`30-109`44-268
Passing yards`27`26
Total yards`136`294
Passing`4-12-2`4-9-0
Sacked-yards lost`0-0`1-1
Punts-avg.`4-33.3`5-32.0
Fumbles-lost`2-0`2-1
Penalties-yards`5-45`6-35
INDIVIDUAL OFFENSIVE STATISTICS
RUSHING — CR, Jeckell 15-65, Wojciechowski 6-50, Charles Higgs 2-11, Jack Rodgers 4-9, Teddy Taylor 1-1, Team 2-minus 27. WA, Kopetchny 16-160, Kondrosky 11-50, Bartell 11-43, Semaj Morris 2-12, Michael McKernan 2-5, Gavin Feeney 1-3, Jordan Rosario 1-minus 5.
PASSING — CR, Rodgers 3-10-2-17, Taylor 1-2-0-10. WA, Kopetchny 4-9-0-26.
RECEIVING – CR, Braylon Murray 2-16, Logan Lawson 2-11. WA, Keating 2-9, David Favata 1-12, McKernan 1-5.
INTERCEPTIONS — CR, None. WA, Kopetchny 1-2, Feeny 1-0.
MISSED FIELD GOAL – None.

-Max Getzie Named to PSFCA Small School East All Star Team to be played on May 17 -Named to 3A All State Second Team-Mini-Maxwell Award