DALLAS — As so often seems to be the case, the Wyoming Area ground game only got stronger as the game wore on Friday night.

Rushing for more yards in each new quarter, the Warriors turned a first-quarter deficit into a halftime lead, then another comfortable victory.

Brian Miles led the way with 22 carries for 125 yards and two touchdowns as the Warriors pulled away for a 42-10 Wyoming Valley Conference Class 4A Division victory over the host Dallas Mountaineers.

Dallas (1-6) had a 3-0 lead after one quarter and had the time of possession advantage through halftime.

The Warriors, however, had a 14-3 lead at the break.

They were just warming up.

Wyoming Area used a 79-yard third quarter drive for the first of four straight scoring drives to pull away and improve to 7-1. The Warriors are tied with Williamsport for the best record in the conference. The win total is more than the Warriors produced in the previous two seasons combined.

“I think we’re in good condition and we’re able to play some guys and rotate some people in, especially on the defensive side of the ball,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “That seems to pay dividends at the end of games for us.”

Dallas outgained Wyoming Area in the first half, but a muffed punt and a potential interception that was dropped in Warriors territory kept the Mountaineers from taking advantage.

Wyoming Area managed just 39 rushing yards on 11 first-quarter carries, but increased that to 51 on 7 tries in the second quarter. As they took control, the Warriors ran 15 times for 80 yards in the third quarter and 14 times for 90 in the fourth.

Dallas took the opening kickoff and drove 50 yards in 12 plays. Freshman quarterback Michael Starbuck hit two passes to convert third-and-nine situations and set up a 29-yard field goal by Nathan Maransky.

The Mountaineers then forced a three-and-out, only to muff the punt.

Wyoming Area took over at the Dallas 45 and moved in to score on a 5-yard run by Miles on the first play of the second quarter.

The Warriors made it 14-3 at halftime on the first of two touchdown passes by P.J. Angeli, a 9-yarder to Justin Smith.

Miles appeared to be stopped on a third-and-six run off left tackle, only to bounce out of the pile and go 29 yards for a game-breaking touchdown with 1:29 left in the third quarter.

Justin Joseph helped the Warriors build on their lead from there. He caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Angeli and scored on a 3-yard run 1:34 apart early in the fourth.

After Starbuck scored on a 5-yard run for Dallas, Donovan O’Boyle added a 6-yarder for Wyoming Area to close the scoring.

Wyoming Area 42, Dallas 10

Wyoming Area`0`14`7`21`—`42

Dallas`3`0`0`7`—`10

First quarter

DAL – Nathan Maransky 29 FG, 6:29

Second quarter

WA – Brian Miles 5 run (Brandon Charney kick), 11:57

WA – Justin Smith 9 pass from P.J. Angeli (Charney kick), 8:05

Third quarter

WA – Miles 29 run (Charney kick), 1:29

Fourth quarter

WA – Justin Joseph 4 pass from Angeli (Charney kick), 10:04

WA – Joseph 3 run (Charney kick), 8:30

D – Michael Starbuck 5 run (Maransky kick), 4:21

WA – Donovan O’Boyle 6 run (Jacob Butwin kick), 1:09

Team statistics`WA`DAL

First downs`17`11

Rushes-yards`47-260`36-136

Passing yards`44`68

Total yards`304`204

Passing`5-11-0`7-18-0

Sacked-yards lost`1-4`2-23

Punts-avg.`3-28.3`4-22.8

Fumbles-lost`1-0`2-1

Penalties-yards`2-15`6-49

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — WA, Miles 22-125, O’Boyle 7-48, Angeli 13-48, Joseph 2-29, Brandon Charney 1-7, Smith 1-3, Steve Homza 1-0. DAL, Leonard Kelley 5-64, David Schuster 15-55, Sean Cuba 3-11, Stone Mannello 1-6, Taylor Bolesta 3-5, Starbuck 7-4, Christian Motley 2-minus 9.

PASSING — WA, Angeli 4-8-0-23, Miles 1-2-0-21, Team 0-1-0-0. DAL, Starbuck 7-18-0-68.

RECEIVING — WA, Angeli 1-21, Marc Anthony Minichello 1-13, Smith 1-9, Joseph 1-4, Dante DeLuca 1-minus 3. DAL, Charles Giacometti 4-34, Chris Murray 2-28, Bolesta 1-6.

INTERCEPTIONS — None.

MISSED FIELD GOALS – None.

https://www.mydallaspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_FOOTBALL-1.jpg.optimal.jpg

By Tom Robinson

For Times Leader

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