Crestwood enjoyed a remarkable football season in 2022.
The Comets went 13-2 and advanced all the way to the state semifinals before running into eventual state champion Bishop McDevitt.
Here is a recap of the season game-by-game:
GAME 1
Crestwood 20, Valley View 7
The Comets scored three unanswered touchdowns to defeat Valley View for their first victory of the season, avenging a pair of losses from a year ago.
“It’s one of the biggest wins in Crestwood history, in my opinion,” Comets coach Ryan Arcangeli said. “You can’t beat teams like that unless you’re darn good. The seniors are the difference.”
Noah Schultz rushed for 106 yards on 22 carries. Logan Rolles scored twice on short runs, and Jaden Shedlock put the game away with a 22-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter.
Nick Miscavage came up with an interception on defense.
GAME 2
Dallas 35, Crestwood 14
Crestwood never got on track against a talented Dallas squad, despite some tremendous plays from several Comets.
Aidan Jardine had an interception and returned it 58 yards to set up one Crestwood drive, and Schultz scored on a 70-yard punt return.
Schultz finished the game with 95 yards on 17 carries while Shedlock added 59 yards on 14 carries.
GAME 3
Crestwood 49, Wyoming Area 7
Schultz raced for 193 yards and three touchdowns before taking the second half off and the Comets romped for a team total of 499 rushing yards while trampling Wyoming Area.
“We knew we wanted to come out and run the ball against those guys,” Schultz said after the game.
The Comets certainly did.
They didn’t throw a single pass for the game and never faced a situation where they had to, as Schultz got loose for scoring sprints of 29, 23 and 66 yards within the night’s first 16 minutes. Miscavage added a 63-yard touchdown run, Shedlock went 69 yards for Crestwood’s second touchdown and Brendan Dennis cashed in a Wyoming Area fumble with an 8-yard scoring run.
GAME 4
Crestwood 49, Wyoming Valley West 21
Schultz scored four touchdowns while rushing for 167 yards on 16 carries. Shedlock added 78 yards on the ground, while Dennis had 55 yards rushing on just three carries.
The Comets led 35-0 at halftime.
Also scoring touchdowns for Crestwood were Davis on a 30-yard run, Josh Hilpp on 19 pass from Miscavage and Jason Swank on a 9 yard run.
GAME 5
Crestwood 51, Williamsport 13
The Comets’ defense held Williamsport to just 121 yards and scored nine points – on a Miscavage fumble recovery in the end zone and a safety forced by Lincoln Bibla – in the rout of Williamsport.
Schultz had 94 yards on the ground, Shedlock added 81 and Dennis had 59 as the Comets put up 344 yards rushing.
Shedlock threw only three passes in the game, but he completed all three for 50 yards.
GAME 6
Crestwood 45, Wilkes-Barre Area 14
The Comets ran their record to 5-1 behind another big night from Schultz.
He ran for 353 yards on 21 carries and scored on touchdown runs of 48, 87, 9 and 2 yards.
“We have a fantastic group of seniors buying into running the football,” Arcangeli said after the game. “And a young man buying into the position that he’s made for, and that’s running back Noah Schultz.”
Shedlock added for two touchdowns of his own from 2 yards and 20 yards, while Hilpp pulled in a 20-yard touchdown pass from Miscavage.
GAME 7
Crestwood 35, Hazleton Area 14
While Schultz starred on offense again, Magnus Bibla showed the Comets had plenty of talent on the other side of the ball too.
The Crestwood senior had five sacks and a forced fumble. Not to be outdone, his younger brother Lincoln added a sack of his own as the Comets defense shut down Hazleton Area’s high-powered offense.
Schultz scored three times while rushing for 177 yards on 19 carries. Also scoring for Crestwood were Shedlock on a 26-yard run and Robert Knight on a 7-yard run.
GAME 8
Crestwood 69, Hanover Area 7
The Comets (7-1) led 62-0 at halftime.
Crestwood scored on its second and fourth plays from scrimmage. Noah Schultz scored on a 44-yard run to give the Comets a 6-0 lead 25 seconds into the game. He then scored on a 2-yard run to complete a two-play, 23-yard drive after a Hanover Area punt traveled minus-2 yards after a bad bounce.
Schultz, a 1,000-yard rusher by this point in the season, carried the ball just three times in the game for 95 yards.
GAME 9
Crestwood 56, Berwick 21
Two big defensive plays by the Bibla brothers and a special teams gem by sophomore Colin Lazo set up two scores as Crestwood routed Berwick to clinch the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 football title.
Crestwood led 14-7 entering the second quarter thanks to a 25-yard TD run by running back Noah Schultz, who finished with 263 rushing yards, and a 2-yard touchdown plunge by quarterback Jaden Shedlock, who finished with 104 yards on the ground.
The Bibla brothers then made momentum-swinging plays on Berwick’s next possession. Berwick tried a screen pass to running back Bo Sheptock, who had plenty of open turf in front of him until linebacker Lincoln Bibla came flying in to stop him for a 6-yard loss.
On the next play, Berwick quarterback Matt Lonczynski was about to escape the pocket when Magnus Bibla sacked him, one of four times the Comets recorded a sack.
After a punt, Shedlock completed a couple passes to Schultz and the duo carried the ball on the other plays until Shedlock scored from three yards out.
GAME 10
Crestwood 47, North Pocono 0
The Comets ran the ball 46 times to rout North Pocono and clinch the top seed in the District 2 Class 4A playoffs. It was the eighth consecutive game where the offense scored at least five touchdowns.
Schultz rushed for 159 yards on 22 carries and scored twice. Shedlock added 96 yards on 16 carries and Dennis had 51 on three carries.
Matthew Sklaroski added the defensive play of the game picking off a pass and returning it 86 yards for a touchdown.
GAME 11
DISRTICT 2 CLASS 4A QUARTERFINAL
Crestwood 61, Nanticoke 7
Noah Schultz scored four touchdowns, giving him a total of 29 on the season and breaking the school record of 26.
“It’s a lot of hard work, I’m proud of those guys,” Arcangeli said. “For Noah (Schultz) to get 27 and break a record that’s been around since the 80s is very special.”
Schultz finished with 113 yards on 11 carries and added an interception on defense. Shedlock went over the 1,000 yard mark for the season russhing for 230 yards on just five carries for an eye-popping 46 yard per carry average.
Miscavage had a pair of interceptions.
GAME 12
DISRTICT 2 CLASS 4A SEMIFINAL
Crestwood 56, Berwick 14
Crestwood’s offense was stopped just once in the game as the Comets steamrolled Berwick for the second time this season.
running back Noah Schultz was the crux of Crestwood’s ground assault. He rushed for 251 yards and five touchdown on 15 carries — all in the first half. He went over 2,000 yards on the season.
“I wanted it from the start of the season,” Schultz said. “I had 1,000 rushing yards last year and this year I wanted 2,000 and I did everything I could. The whole offseason, I worked hard.
“I mean, the line, that helps a lot. They are doing really good this year.”
Those interior linemen — tackles Aidan Jardine and Aleks Jaskiewicz, guards John Jones and Chris Smolenak and center Andrew Lenahan — along with tight end Zach Shedlock have helped Crestwood average 368.5 yards per game rushing. The number could have been higher if not for many blowout victories.
GAME 13
DISRTICT 2 CLASS 4A CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Crestwood 12, Valley View 7
Schultz finished with 183 yards and touchdown runs of 6 and 43 yards on 31 carries. He ran the ball eight straight times on a game-clinching drive that took the final 4:07 off the clock on the Comets’ closest game of the season.
Miscavage had an interception in the game.
GAME 14
PIAA STATE CLASS 4A PLAYOFFS
Crestwood 21, Bonner-Prendie 14
Crestwood jumped out to a 21-7 halftime lead then held out with a stout defense in the second half to hold off the District 12 champion.
Crestwood cornerback Matt Sklarosky and Miscavage stopped Bonner-Prendie drives with interceptions in the end zone.
Schultz scored on a 28-yard pass from Shedlock and a 76-yard run, while Shedlock scored on a 53-yard run.
Schultz finished the game with 138 yards on 24 carries.
GAME 15
PIAA STATE CLASS 4A SEMIFINALS
Bishop McDevitt 35, Crestwood 0
The Comets’ season came to an end against talent-laden Bishop McDevitt, the District 3 champion and eventual state champion.
District 2 champion Crestwood ended its season at 13-2, setting the school record for wins and giving the school its first victory in the state playoffs in school history.
Schultz finished the season with 2,388 yards on 255 carries and 35 touchdowns. Shedlock finished with 1,131 on 132 carries and 16 touchdowns.
Kade Werner led the defense with 93 total tackles, including 17.5 tackles for loss. Ty Kephart had 70 total tackles and 10 tackles for a loss. Riley Robell led the team with 22 tackles for a loss. He had 58 total tackles.
