Matthew Buchman ran for 203 yards and 3 touchdowns Friday night as the unbeaten Hazleton Area Cougars rolled over host West Scranton, 42-7, in a non-league football game.
Buchman, who averaged more than 15 yards on his 13 carries, ran 13 and 54 yards for touchdowns late in the first quarter to create a 14-0 lead.
Ryan Matyas ran 8 yards for a score and Tyler Wolfe passed 14 yards to Alex Pongrazzi for second-quarter touchdowns and a 27-0 halftime lead.
Buchman added an 11-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
Kevin Guzman’s 3-yard run put the game in the Mercy Rule for the final 10:28. Guzman finished with 87 yards on 7 carries.
West Scranton’s Ethan Frable closed the scoring on a 26-yard run.
Hazleton Area’s defense has allowed the fewest points in District 2 without posting a shutout. The Cougars have held four opponents to seven points each and this was the second time the only score allowed came in the final two minutes with Hazleton Area already leading by more than 40 points.
Qay’von Minor led the defensive effort with 10 tackles, including one for a loss.
Buchman added seven tackles, while Zander Coleman had two of Hazleton Area’s six tackles for losses.
Wolfe finished 10-for-13 for 162 yards as the Cougars racked up 486 yards of total offense.
Connor Shamany caught 4 passes for 92 yards.
Wolfe used six receivers in the game while moving past 1,000 yards for the season. He has 1,086 yards in exactly 100 attempts, 72 of which have been completions.
Pongrazzi is the seventh Cougar to catch a pass and the sixth to catch one for a touchdown this season.
West Scranton has dropped four straight games since winning its season opener.
