By Tom Robinson, NEPASportsNation.com
WEST PITTSTON – As Wyoming Area breaks the huddle and running back Aaron Crossley approaches his position, he takes a look.
“I look at the defense, see where the linebackers and their line is,” Crossley said.
The junior running back is looking for a spot where he can beat the defense and when that isn’t enough to give him a chance to flash his sprinter’s speed, Crossley can create more openings on his own.
Crossley broke tackles on a pair of 69-yard, second-half touchdowns that helped complete Wyoming Area’s rally for a 35-14 victory over visiting Lake-Lehman to protect the Warriors’ lead in Division 2 of Wyoming Valley Conference football.
In a game when Lake-Lehman’s passing controlled the game early before being overcome by Wyoming Area’s running game, the Warriors still trailed when they stopped the Black Knights on downs with 1:11 left in the third quarter.
Crossley started a run off left tackle, immediately bounced it outside, broke a tackle four yards into the run and his teammates cleared a path the rest of the way for him to sprint down the left sideline for the first 69-yard touchdown.
That play began a stretch in which Crossley ran for 211 yards and 3 touchdowns on 6 carries in a span of 8:20.
“Our offensive front is blocking well, our wideouts, our backs,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “Aaron is an outstanding back; one of the premier running backs in our area and the state.
“As you get later in the game, a good ground game hopefully gets stronger. That’s something we certainly rely on.”
Lake-Lehman made it into Wyoming Area territory on its next three possessions and was still within a touchdown on the first two.
Then, Crossley opened some space between the two teams. After his line got Crossley the first nine yards, he slipped two tackles to get into the open field. Along the way to the next 69-yard touchdown, he stiff-armed one other potential tackler to the ground.
“With (six) minutes left in the game, they hit two big plays on us,” Gilsky said. “He just waited for his seams and hit it real hard.
“That’s what speed does.”
The last touchdown in the flurry was a 55-yarder three plays after Damien Lefkoski’s end zone interception.
“We have it all planned; we do it so much in practice,” Crossley said after carrying 25 times for 318 yards and 4 touchdowns in what was his third 300-yard game of the season and second straight. “No matter what I see, I just know exactly where I’m going to go before it happens.”
Sophomore quarterback Michael Crane added 105 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries in his second start.
The Warriors outrushed Lake-Lehman, 433-44, on the way to improving to 5-0 in the division and 5-3 overall.
After playing a non-league game at Southern Columbia next week, Wyoming Area will play for the division title in two weeks at Pittston Area.
Lake-Lehman (2-3, 2-6) took a shot at disrupting that title chase, picking apart the Wyoming Area pass defense early while taking a 14-0 lead.
“We gave them some spaces in zones and they did a good job with crossing routes and found some windows,” Spencer said. “Their quarterback did a good job getting the ball to receivers.
“They played very well early and we had to respond and I think our kids did a good job of doing that.”
Landon Schuckers was 14-for-28 passing for 259 yards and a touchdown. After going 10-for-16 for 151 yards in the first half, Wyoming Area contained him better in a 4-for-12 second half that still produced 108 yards.
“We were able to get some better pressure and we went a little more man coverage as opposed to zone,” Spencer said. “That helped us be a little closer, tighten the space up on receivers and get a little better pressure on their quarterback.”
Gavin Paraschak led five Lake-Lehman receivers with at least two catches. He had 5 catches for 79 yards, including a 7-yard touchdown to open the scoring with 3:40 left in the first quarter.
That touchdown capped a drive in which Schuckers went 4-for-6 for 60 yards.
After Wyoming Area missed a field goal on the first play of the second quarter, Schuckers went to work again.
Schuckers hit three straight passes for 64 yards, then ran 32 yards for a touchdown. He passed to Ben Dowling for the two-pointer and a 14-0 lead.
Wyoming Area immediately started its rally.
Garret Pocceschi returned the ensuing kickoff 32 yards and Crossley ran 14 yards on the first play. That started a five-minute, 56-yard drive of 10 straight runs.
After Crossley carried 6 times for 39 yards, Crane went the final 2 on a third-and-one quarterback sneak.
The Warriors were back in the end zone 1:42 later, but a missed extra point left them trailing, 14-13, at halftime.
Lake-Lehman failed to get a punt away.
Crossley ran 32 yards to the 3 on the second play, then scored from there.
Both Crossley and Lake-Lehman’s Javon Borger were busy early.
Crossley made tackles on the game’s first three plays, twice stopping Borger for no gain. He then carried on Wyoming Area’s first three plays, twice being stopped by Borger.
In addition to his ground game, Crossley added a sack and another tackle for a loss later to lead the Warriors in tackles.
Borger had 6 tackles and an assist on Wyoming Area’s first 11 plays. He finished with nine tackles and four assists.
