LEHMAN TWP. — The coin set the stage, but the execution told the story.
In both halves, each team receiving the opening kick dictated the tempo. Lake-Lehman opened with a physical, run-heavy approach, pounding the ball up the middle nearly every play. At halftime, Wyoming Area flipped the script: stretching the field and attacking spaces.
The difference? Wyoming Area finished drives – and stopped Lake-Lehman cold at the 30-yard line on every occasion.
The Warriors shut out Lake-Lehman 28-0 on Friday in a game defined by both teams forcing the other to play to their strengths.
“I thought our kids were resilient in the first half and pushed through,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “In the second half, we were able to get control up front, ran the ball effectively and made a timely throw there.”
Wyoming Area stopped three different Lake-Lehman first-half drives before they could enter the red zone. The Black Knights were forced to kick two 40-plus yard field goals – both just short.
A second miss at the halftime whistle kept Wyoming Area’s slim 7-0 lead intact.
“We’re a grind team,” Lake-Lehman coach Jerry Gilsky said. “That’s the way it is. We’re about possession. You can see it in the first quarter – they were on their heels. But if that grind team doesn’t punch it in inside the 30, you’re in trouble.”
Wyoming Area’s six-minute possession to begin the half led to the first of three second-half touchdowns. Jack Gravine found an open Josh Mruk in the back of the end zone for a 6-yard score that gave the Warriors a 14-0 lead.
On the next Lake-Lehman possession, the Warriors stopped a fourth-and-short opportunity that was the inevitable nail in the coffin. The Black Knights were stopped for a negative gain for the first time in 16 carries.
“We raised our physicality on both sides of the line of scrimmage,” Spencer said. “We needed to work through that, to respond. We were able to finish strong. We played 48 minutes of football.”
Wyoming Area’s Nick Ciampi closed out the game with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns on runs of 11 and 6 yards, finishing with 97 yards on 11 carries.
The Warriors’ Trustin Johnson finished with 100 rushing yards.
Jaydon Skipalis had a game-high 107 rushing yards on 20 carries, although the Warriors’ defense limited the Lake-Lehman running back to just 19 yards on his final 10 carries.
Wyoming Area 28, Lake-Lehman 0
Wyoming Area`0`7`7`14 — 28
Lake-Lehman`0`0`0`0 — 0
Second quarter
WA — Luke Kopetchny 1 run (Ava Musinski kick), :24
Third quarter
WA — Josh Mruk 3 pass from Jack Gravine (Musinski kick), 6:12
Fourth quarter
WA — Nick Ciampi 11 run (Musinski kick), 10:56
WA — Ciampi 6 run (Musinski kick), 2:33
Team statistics`WA`LL
First downs`17`6
Rushes-yards`42-227`31-152
Passing yards`32`0
Total yards`259`152
Passing`3-6-1`1-2-0
Sacked-yards lost`0-0`0-0
Punts-avg.`1-56`1-23
Fumbles-lost`1-0`2-0
Penalties-yards`4-30`6-32
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — WA, Trustin Johnson 24-100, JGravine 3-24, Ciampi 11-97, Luke Kopetchny 2-6, Mruk 1-1, TEAM 1-(minus-1). LL, Jaydon Skipalis 20-107, Anthony Magnotta 4-7, Chris Yetter 7-39, TEAM 1-(minus-1)
PASSING — WA, JGravine 3-6-32-1. LL, Magnotta 1-2-0-0
RECEIVING — WA, Ben Gravine 1-11, Mruk 1-3, Kopetchny 1-18. LL, Yetter 1-0
INTERCEPTIONS — LL, Jake Evans 1-0
MISSED FGs — LL, Hunter Palka 2.
