Delaware Valley holds off Hazleton Area rally

Tagged under: District 2, Gameday Hub, News

John Kotsko | October 2, 2021

In a game where both teams had plenty of chances to win, it was Delaware Valley that made the biggest plays when it mattered the most as the Warriors took the road victory at Harman-Geist Stadium 14-9. “Both teams did their best to let the other guys to win. We were just lucky to score 14 points in the first half.” said Delaware Valley Head Coach Keith Olsommer. “I feel like we let this one slip away. We made mistakes where we continued to fall forward once again but our kids continued to fight.”  Hazleton Area head coach Dennis Buchman said.

After the Warriors forced a Cougar three and out, the running game took center stage as Paulie Weinrich went 40 yards on a second and three at their own 40 and got to the Cougar 20 yard line. Delaware Valley faced a fourth and 7 at the Hazleton Area 16 yard line and Joe Sciascia had a 15 yard run to the one. The next play was quite interesting, the ball was fumbled but Justin Kalitsnik jumped on it and scored a touchdown to make it 7-0 Warriors with 7:42 remaining in the first quarter.

The Cougars tried to answer but on the second play on the ensuing drive, Wolfe’s pass was intercepted by Harlem Cook at the Delaware Valley 29 yard line. The ensuing drive resulted in a Warrior punt however. Both teams traded turnover on downs on their ensuing drives as we headed to the second quarter. Delaware Valley forced a Hazleton Area but a roughing the kicker penalty gave the Cougars a fresh set of downs.

The Cougars faced a third and 14 and Wolfe threw the ball to Connor Shamany for 34 yards on a very impressive catch to the Warrior 17 yard line. The drive ended with a 20 yard field goal by Luke Russo to cut the Delaware Valley lead to 7-3 with 3:48 remaining in the second quarter. On the ensuing drive, the Warriors faced a third and 5 at their own 48 yard line and CJ Ross went to Aidan Black for 17 yards to the Cougar 40 yard line. On a second and 10, Ross went to Jayden Ramirez for 25 yards. The drive ended with a one yard touchdown run by Sciascia and a 14-3 lead at halftime.

The Warriors got the ball to start the second half. The Cougars defense answered nicely as Shamany would pick off a Ross pass on another nice grab. Buchman on Shamany. “Connor is a tremendous football player and really proud of him.” Hazleton Area took over at the Delaware Valley 30 yard line. On the second play of the drive, Wolfe goes to Matthew Cusatis for 23 yards to the four yard line and finished the drive up as Matthew Buchman ran in. The PAT would fail to make 14-9 with 9:41 remaining in the third quarter.

The Warriors faced a third and 12 and Ross’s pass ended up being picked off by Treyson Corchado at the Delaware Valley 36 yard line. The Cougars faced a fourth and 1 and Wolfe snuck for 2 yards for a first. However, the Cougars faced another fourth down, a fourth and 11 from the Warrior 26 yard line but Hazleton Area ended up not getting enough and caused a turnover on downs. Delaware Valley continued their drive til the end of the third quarter. The Warriors failed to score however after failing to convert a fourth and 23 at the Cougars 29 yard line.

The Cougars took over at their own 15. They immediately drove down the field. Wolfe found Buchman for six on a second and 5 then two plays later, Wolfe went to Shamany for 17 yards to their own 49 yard line. Hazleton Area got into their own territory after a Ryan Matyas six yard run. Very next play, Wolfe found Matyas for 14 to the Warrior 32 yard line. Wolfe went to Cusatis for 13 to the 19 yard line. The Cougars faced a fourth and 8 at the 15 yard line. The pass fell incomplete in the end zone as the Warriors took over with 4:24 left. The Warriors went three and out and punted the ball away.

Hazleton Area took over with 2:46 left. The Warrior defense got a sack on first down then on second down, Wolfe ended up being intercepted by sophomore Ryder Machado. The Warriors ran out the clock as they took the victory at Harman-Geist Stadium 14-9 over Hazleton Area. “Ryder is gonna be a good player for us. He’s a tremendous athlete, he’s one of those ballhawks in the second and finds where the ball is.” said Olsommer.

Hazleton Area dropped to 3-3 on the season. Delaware Valley is on a three game winning streak after a three game losing streak to start the year. The Cougars travel to Scranton next week. The Warriors will host Williamsport next Friday night.

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