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Delaware Valley tames the Wilkes-Barre Area Wolfpack

Tagged under: District 2, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

| October 7, 2023

Delaware Valley came into this game on an upswing, having won 3 straight after opening the season 0-3. Coach Keith Olsommer’s squad has been finding increasing success on both sides of the ball during their winning streak. Wilkes-Barre Area was fresh off of a big win up at Crestwood and were winners of 4 straight after opening the season 0-2. The Wolfpack had been using their bruising ground game to open up their newly found passing attack in getting some recent big wins.

That bruising ground game ground to a halt in this one.

Delaware Valley swallowed up the Wolfpack ground attack as they scored early and often in the first quarter, opening up a 27-0 lead and cruising to a 41-6 win on the road at Wilkes-Barre Area.

The Wolfpack received the opening kickoff but had trouble initially moving the ball. Starting at his own 27, QB Jake Howe connected with WR Treyvon Gembitski for 6 yards to start the drive, but the Warrior defense came up big and deflected the next 2 passes from Howe to force an early punt. The Warriors took over at their own 30, and on 3rd and 6 from their 34 it was QB Logan Olsommer who hit RB Ryder Machado for a big 17-yard reception to the Wolfpack 49. An incomplete pass and 2 short runs by Olsommer and Machado made it 4th and 3 at the Wolfpack 42, and then it was Olsommer finding TE Aiden Black for a huge 32-yard gain that made it 1st and goal from the 10. Machado then took over, and ran it for 7 yards followed by a 3-yard TD run that opened the scoring. Delaware Valley had the lead 7-0 with 8:29 left in the 1st quarter.

Wilkes-Barre Area then started their 2nd possession at their own 22 and tried again to establish their ground game. RB Howie Shiner had a 5-yard run and then was stopped for no gain. A 3rd and 5 scramble by Howe ended up being a sack for a 9-yard loss by Warrior LB Justin Kalitsnick and forced another Wolfpack punt. The Warriors took over at the Wolfpack 48 and again used a mix of runs and passes to move quickly downfield. WR Jayden Ramirez had a big 22-yard reception down to the Wolfpack 26, and then runs by Machado and Olsommer drove the Warriors into the red zone. A 6-yard TD run by Machado extended the lead for Delaware Valley, who then led it 14-0 with 4:47 still to play in the 1st quarter.

On the next Wolfpack drive, Shiner gained only a yard on 1st down and after an incomplete pass and a short 3-yard reception by WR Davon Underwood, it was 4th and 6 from their own 24. Inexplicably, Wilkes-Barre tried a fake punt and lost 2 yards on the play to give the Warriors great field position at the Wolfpack 22. Machado ran it for 4 yards, and then RB Mike Iuzzulino got in on the action with an 8-yard run to to Wolfpack 10. Machado followed it up with 2 runs for 9 yards, and then RB Justin Estevez hit paydirt with a 1-yard TD run. With 1:10 still to play in the 1st quarter, Delaware Valley upped their lead to 21-0.

Disaster then struck the Wolfpack on their very next play from scrimmage when Machado made a great read on the ball and intercepted a pass from Howe at the Wolfpack 43. Olsommer then cashed in immediately on the very next play when he hit Ramirez for a 43-yard reception for another Warrior TD. The PAT missed but Delaware Valley had scored 4 times in the opening quarter to take a commanding 27-0 lead over the Wolfpack.

At the start of the 2nd quarter, the Wolfpack still could not get anything going on offense, and a quick 3-and-out gave the Warriors another possession starting at their own 41. A 12-play drive consisting of a mix of runs and passes by Delaware Valley drove them deep into Wolfpack territory, but the drive stalled when Kalitsnick was stopped for a loss on a 4th-and-goal from the 1 yard line. The Wolfpack finally got something going on the ground when Shiner broke a tackle and rambled for a 37-yard run to the Wolfpack 39. The Warrior defense then made a statement as they stopped Shiner and Underwood for losses and broke up a 3rd down pass to force another punt.

The Warriors took over on their own 49 and got a big 15-yard reception from Kalitsnick followed by a nice 10-yard grab from Black down to the Wolfpack 19. Machado and Olsommer then used some alternating runs to make it 1st-and-goal at the Wolfpack 6. Olsommer then hit WR Jackson Corrie for a score, but an offensive pass interference penalty negated the score. With only 4 seconds left, Delaware Valley lined up for a field goal attempt. Shiner blocked the kick and the ball bounced down to the 3-yard line where a great individual effort by WR Evan Laybourn-Boddie lit up the crowd as he recovered the ball, reversed field and escaped down the sideline for a 97-yard return for a touchdown as time expired. The 2-point conversion attempt failed, and the halftime score was 27-6 in favor of Delaware Valley.

The Wolfpack momentum seemed to continue into the start of the 3rd quarter, when an Olsommer pass was intercepted by Laybourn-Boddie at the Wolfpack 23. The momentum was short-lived however, as another 3-and-out by the Wolfpack offense gave the ball right back to the Warriors at their own 47. Delaware Valley got a 15-yard run from Kalitsnick to the Wolfpack 39, After Olsommer was stopped for no gain, Machado broke a 39-yard TD run on the very next play to extend the Warrior lead to 34-6.

On the ensuing kickoff, Underwood had difficulty fielding the kick and accidentally kneeled on the reception to give Wolfpack poor field position at their own 9. Laybourn-Boddie had a nice 10-yard grab for a 1st down at the 19, but an incomplete pass followed by a big sack for a loss by Black pushed the Wolfpack back to the 10. A fumbled snap on 3rd down meant another punt for the Wolfpack, and the Warriors hit paydirt on the very next play when Iuzzulino took the pitch at the Wolfpack 42 and ran it in for the score. Delaware Valley increased their lead to 41-6, invoked the mercy rule and closed the scoring all in one play.

The Wolfpack had another 3-and-out, and Delaware Valley took over at their own 36. Using mainly backups, they methodically drained the clock over the next 16 plays spanning the end of the 3rd quarter and practically the entire final quarter. The Warriors got down to the 5 yard line of the Wolfpack but then kneeled on a 4th down there in a classy move to give the ball back to Wilkes-Barre Area. With very little time left, the clock expired and the Warriors prevailed with a final score of 41-6.

After the game I had the privilege of speaking to RB Ryder Machado, and spoke about their early season schedule challenges: “We learned that we could go the whole game….we don’t stop. Those 3 teams that we played were a great challenge for us…and now we’re showing it and we’re playing hard and playing fast.”

I also had the privilege of interviewing TE Aiden Black, a Stanford commit, about the big start for his team in the game: “It’s huge. Personally as a team we know how that feels to get scored on early and get scored on quick…it drains the energy out of you, and when it’s continuous too…we put up 27 in the 1st quarter, it drains the life of another team.”

Delaware Valley improved to 4-3 and will head up to Archbald for a huge matchup next Friday night at Valley View. Wilkes-Barre Area falls to 4-3 and will try to get back in the win column next Friday night against Williamsport.

Be sure to check out the photo gallery from the game, courtesy of Sherryl Samuel:  https://pafootballnews.com/pfn/delaware-valley-at-wilkes-barre-area-photo-gallery/

Follow PA Football News on Twitter @PaFootballNews

 
 
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