Scranton at Wilkes-Barre

Recap

WILKES-BARRE 35, SCRANTON 7

In Wilkes-Barre, the Wolfpack advanced to the District 2-4 Class 6A subregional final next weekend with a 35-7 victory over Scranton High School. Wilkes-Barre Area will play host to Williamsport in a matchup between two teams that played in Week 10. The Wolfpack improved to 6-5 while the Knights concluded their season at 5-6.

The Wolfpack benefited from an outstanding performance by quarterback Jake Howe, who threw three touchdown passes. Davon Underwood scored three touchdowns, two on scoring tosses from Howe and the other on the ground.

After the defenses and penalties stymied drives by both teams in the opening moments of the contest, the Wolfpack broke the ice when Howe hit Treyvon Gembitski, who broke a tackle and rambled 89 yards for the first score of the game. That was the only score of the first quarter.

As the second quarter began, Howe played pitch and catch with Underwood, who tallied his first score of the evening on this 50-yard pass. The extra point made it 14-0 Wolfpack with 11:16 left to play in the half.

Junior back Gene Ardo finalized the next Wolfpack drive when he burrowed over from 2 yards away. Wilkes-Barre had extended their lead to 21-0 with 3:53 left to play in the half.

Scranton’s only score of the evening came just a few plays later. Quarterback Brody Coyle found speedy Memphis Shotto on a slant and sprint from 66 yards away, cutting the Wolfpack lead to 21-7 with 3:32 before intermission.

Wilkes-Barre quickly moved the ball into scoring range. Howe got his 3^rd touchdown pass of the half with just 32 seconds left before halftime when he found Underwood again on a 19-yard scoring pass. The halftime score was 28-7 in favor of the Wolfpack.

Scranton attempted to make a game of it in the third quarter, marching into the red zone twice, but coming up empty. Their first drive ended with an incomplete pass from the 10-yard line, while the second drive was halted at the 3-yard line when Ardo intercepted a Coyle pass in the end zone.

Underwood put the finishing touches on the dominating win by Wilkes-Barre by scoring on a 16-yard run with just 7:07 left in the game to make the final margin 35-7 in a battle between the two city schools.

The Wolfpack will attempt to gain revenge for the 34-20 loss they suffered against Williamsport in the regular season’s final week in a game played on the Millionaires’ home field. The title game next weekend will be played in Wilkes-Barre as the Wolfpack are the top seed in the tournament.

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Quarter

WB — Treyvon Gembitski 89-yd pass from Jake Howe (Jaedyn Sanchez kick) – Wilkes-Barre 7-0

2nd Quarter

WB — Davon Underwood 50-yd pass from Howe (Sanchez kick) – Wilkes-Barre 14-0

WB — Gene Ardo 2-yd run (Sanchez kick) – Wilkes-Barre 21-0

SCR — Memphis Shotto 66-yd pass from Brody Coyle (Jorge Rodriguez kick) – Wilkes-Barre 21-7

WB — Underwood 19-yd pass from Howe (Sanchez kick) – Wilkes-Barre 28-7

3rd Quarter

None

4th Quarter

WB — Underwood 16-yd run (Sanchez kick) – Wilkes-Barre35-7