Pittston Area’s Lucas Lopresto turns up field after catching a pass against Lake-Lehman during the first quarter on Friday night. Lopresto caught a 66-yard touchdown and also ripped a ball away from a defender after an interception, taking it for another score.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Pittson Area tight end Cieran Bilbow (7) tries to shake off Lake-Lehman linebacker Bayne Raspen after pulling in a pass in the second quarter Friday night.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Pittston Area wide reciever Matt Walter caught two touchdowns on Friday night from Drew DeLucca.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Lake Lehman’s Jim Mitkowski gets tackled by Pittston Area’s Gerry Groom during the second quarter Friday night.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Pittston Area running back Xzayvier Blachshear is stopped by Lake-Lehman linebackers Bayne Raspin and Benjamin Dowling (11) during the first quarter Friday night.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
YATESVILLE — The Pittston Area passing game clicked to perfection in the second quarter Friday night.
Even when misfiring on the first play of the second half, it still produced.
Freshman Lucas Lopresto stole the ball away following an interception and ran it in for a touchdown that invoked the mercy rule just 16 seconds into the third quarter on the way to a 35-7 Homecoming victory in a Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 football game.
“There were some odd things that happened in that game that I’ve never seen before,” Patriots coach Nick Barbieri said.
Drew DeLucca, coming off a 5-for-5 second quarter that produced 191 yards and two touchdowns through the air, threw deep down the right side to open the second half with Pittston Area in front, 28-0.
Sammuel Plummer intercepted for Lake-Lehman, but his momentum carried him backward. As Plummer tried to turn and reverse field, Lopresto stripped the ball from his arms, holding on while breaking into a 30-yard sprint to the end zone.
“The first play of the second half was unlike anything I’ve ever seen,” Barbieri said, “but Luke is a special kid. The fact that he’s just 14 years old is amazing to me.
“He’s going to be a good one.”
Lopresto already led Division 2 receivers going into the game.
While DeLucca was precise with his second-quarter throws, each of his three receivers added their own special touch to increase the production of the passing game.
Matt Walter finished with four catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns, breaking a short pass into a 58-yard touchdown.
Lopresto caught three passes for 85 yards and a score.
Cieran Bilbow broke multiple tackles on a short pass, turning his only completion into a 37-yard gain in the second quarter.
“It’s good when we can get the ball to more than one kid,” Barbieri said. “Obviously Lucas is impressive, but Matt Walter is one heckuva football player, too.
“Cieran Bilbow has had a couple good catches. When we spread it around, it makes us just that much better.”
Walter had a 74-yard kickoff return for a possible third touchdown wiped out by penalty.
Pittston Area was up 7-0 when it gambled in the first minute of the second quarter.
The Patriots spread the field on fourth-and-two and DeLucca hit Walter with a quick pass as he headed up the left hashmark. Walter sidestepped a defender and took off for a 58-yard touchdown. He had also caught an 11-yarder for the first touchdown.
Lopresto scored on a 66-yard touchdown to make it 21-0 on a play similar to what the Patriots tried to open the second half. On this attempt, however, Lopresto got behind the defense to reel in DeLucca’s pass.
Bilbow’s 37-yard catch and Walter’s 21-yarder on consecutive plays advanced the ball to the 1 where C.J. Pietrzak was able to score for a 28-0 halftime lead.
Lake-Lehman quarterback Hayden Evans broke the shutout late in the third quarter.
The Patriots improved to 2-1 in the division and 3-4 overall. The Black Knights are 1-3 and 1-6.
Pittston Area 35, Lake-Lehman 7
Lake-Lehman`0`0`7`0 — 7
Pittston Area`7`21`7`0 — 35
First quarter
PA – Matt Walter 11 pass from Drew DeLucca (Gavin Wolfe kick), 5:59
Second quarter
PA – Walter 58 pass from DeLucca (Wolfe kick), 11:18
PA – Lucas Lopresto 66 pass from DeLucca (Wolfe kick), 6:40
PA – C.J. Pietrzak 1 run (Wolfe kick), 1:12
Third quarter
PA – Lopresto 30 fumble return (Wolfe kick), 11:44
LL – Hayden Evans 1 run (Reilly Kirkitus kick), 3:23
Team statistics`LL`PA
First downs`11`11
Rushes-yards`30-136`26-78
Passing yards`93`222
Total yards`229`300
Passing`8-14-0`8-15-1
Sacked-yards lost`2-12`0-0
Punts-avg.`5-24.0`1-43.0
Fumbles-lost`3-2`1-0
Penalties-yards`6-60`4-41
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — LL, Gavin Shoemaker 7-42, Jim Mitkowski 2-33, Sammuel Plummer 3-32, Connor Poulos 4-15, HEvans 5-9, Benjamin Dowling 6-4, Justin Pudimott 1-2, Anthony Magnotta 2-minus 1. PA, Xzayvier Blackshear 7-24, DeLucca 2-22, Brody Spindler 3-20, Geno Pugliese 4-10, Walter 1-4, Blake Jaworski 1-1, Jaylen Hart 1-1, Tam 1-minus 1, Ethan Ungareit 1-minus 3.
PASSING — LL, HEvans 7-13-0-94, Magnotta 1-1-0-minus 1. PA, DeLucca 8-13-1-222, Victor Narsavage 0-2-0-0.
RECEIVING – LL, Dowling 3-21, Jake Evans 2-70, Chris Yetter 1-3, Shoemaker 1-0, Hunter Lee 1-minus 1. PA, Walter 4-100, Lopresto 3-85, Cieran Bilbow 1-37.
INTERCEPTIONS — LL, Plummer 1-minus 7.
MISSED FGs – LL, 28 (blocked).
