Aaron Crossley put a stop to Wyoming Area’s slide and vaulted the Warriors to the top of the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 football standings.
Crossley ran for 130 yards and 3 touchdowns while leading the defense Friday night when Wyoming Area defeated host Nanticoke, 26-13, in a Division 2 game.
The Warriors, who had lost two straight games, both outside the division, evened their overall record at 2-2 while becoming the first team to reach 2-0 in Division 2. Pittston Area and Lake-Lehman are both 1-0 after winning their divisional openers Friday night.
Crossley, who carried 19 times in the game, ran 9 and 15 yards for second-quarter touchdowns to build an 18-7 halftime lead.
After Nanticoke closed within five, Crossley ran 21 yards for a score with 9:08 remaining.
Crossley made six tackles and assisted on six more, both team-high totals.
It was the defense that got Wyoming Area started.
Michael Crane returned a fumble 22 yards for a touchdown and 6-0 lead after one quarter.
Between Crossley’s second-quarter touchdowns, Zach Fox broke an 81-yard touchdown for Nanticoke, allowing him to join Crossley in surpassing 100 yards for the game.
Ashton Brozusky scored for Nanticoke in the third quarter on an 11-yard run.
Both teams relied heavily on the ground game. When Nanticoke tried to pass, Wyoming Area shut it down with two sacks by Riley Knaub, another by Joe Marranca and an interception by Matthew Rutkowski.
The Trojans have lost three straight since an opening win. They are 0-1 in the division and 1-3 overall.
