Wyoming Area has started three of the last five football seasons with three victories. All that’s standing in front of the Warriors now from going 3-0 is a winless team.
Time to pump the breaks. Crestwood, which will open Wyoming Area’s home schedule at 7 p.m. Friday, isn’t an ordinary winless team.
Wyoming Area knows it. Crestwood knows it. Anyone who doesn’t know it should know it.
Simply put, Crestwood (0-2) will be the best team Wyoming Area (2-0) has faced thus far. Come the end of the regular season, Crestwood will likely be one of the best teams the Warriors face all season.
“They are a few plays from being 2-0,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “They certainly shown they can go the distances against high-quality opponents in Valley View and Dallas. They are certainly going to benefit from the experience of those games and will be able to bring it forward not only into this week but the rest of the season.”
Crestwood quarterback Jaden Shedlock was injured in the second quarter against Valley View, yet the Comets were right there to the end. A Valley View touchdown with 1:19 remaining was the difference in the 21-14 loss.
The Comets battled back to tie Dallas 35-35 with 3:11 left to play, only for Dallas to score 18 seconds later for a 42-35 win. Shedlock demonstrated his value by rushing for 302 yards and two touchdowns, including one to knot the score 35-35.
Shedlock also threw two touchdown passes to Matt Sklarosky, a 6-foot-3 receiver who looks taller than his listed height and definitely plays taller than it.
Crestwood advanced to the PIAA Class 4A state semifinal last year, but two key players — linebacker Lincoln Bibla and linebacker/running back Logan Rolles — have yet to play this season. Both have been out with injuries and could return soon. Their availability for Friday isn’t known.
Crestwood won last year’s matchup 49-7 as its Single-Wing offense rushed for 499 yards on 44 attempts. The Comets didn’t even bother to throw the ball.
Wyoming Area closed out 2022 with three consecutive losses to finish 5-6. A strong group of returning players along with a strong off-season have helped the Warriors win their first two games by wide margins.
“I think overall it’s maturity,” Spencer said. “We had a lot of young players step into roles last year either as sophomores or juniors.
“Their growth and physical maturity over the course of last season — their strength and athletic ability and competitive confidence over the course of the off-season and into the early part of this season — I think it’s a big difference.”
Crestwood was able to bottle up Wyoming Area standout running back Aaron Crossley to 43 yards on 12 carries last year, his worst game in a 2,000-yard rushing season. However, Wyoming Area was rather one-dimensional on offense back then. They had five different players attempt passes vs. Crestwood and the quarterback spot was unstable throughout the year.
The Warriors may have found an answer in new starting signal caller Anthony Delucca, who didn’t play last year but was in the program in junior high. He’s completed just 7-of-14 passes for two touchdowns through two games. Howeverm the Warriors had just five TD passes in all of 2022.
