MOUNTAIN TOP — Davon Underwood didn’t want his teammate’s first-quarter interception to go to waste. The senior running back from Wilkes-Barre was going to find the end zone after teammate Gene Ardo ended Crestwood’s first possession with an interception.
Did Underwood expect it to happen on the first play of the series? Maybe not, but that’s the sudden nature of an offense that has more weapons than an armory.
Underwood’s 28-yard jaunt less than 2 minutes into Friday night’s WVC-I contest set a tone for the Wolfpack. It put Crestwood defense on its heels, and the Comets never seemed to recover. Wilkes-Barre rattled off 35 consecutive points to start the game in an eventual 35-7 win.
The Wolfpack have all but cemented their spot as the top seed in the District 2-4 Class 6A subregional. It’ll close the regular season against second-seeded Williamsport next week. Crestwood fell to 4-5 overall, but still maintains a slight edge over Wallenpaupack (3-6) for the final district playoff spot in Class 4A. The Comets close the regular season against Wyoming Valley West next week. Wallenpaupack closes with Valley View.
“This is how you want to be playing this time of year,” said Wilkes-Barre coach Ciro Cinti, whose team has won four of its last five games.
The Wolfpack got the job done Friday night in a variety of ways. They were sudden as they showed with Underwood’s first-play touchdown run to kick off the scoring. But it also posted a 13-play scoring drive, as well as touchdown drives of five, seven and seven plays.
Wilkes-Barre ran for more than 200 yards with Underwood leading the way with a season-high 99 yards. A week after setting the Wyoming Valley Conference record for career touchdown passes, quarterback Jake Howe added two more, one on an easy pitch-and-catch to tight end Nick Saracino, and another on an acrobatic catch in the end zone by Jonathan Otway-Kellom.
The Wolfpack had nine different players gain offensive yards last night. Seven of those players had at least one gain of 10 yards, and four had at least one gain of 20 yards.
“As long as we’re scoring, we’re all happy,” said Underwood, who scored multiple touchdowns for the third time this season. “I’ll be honest, we’re all a little selfish and we all want the ball as much as we can. But as long as someone gets the ball and does something with it, we’re all happy.”
Wilkes-Barre’s ability to spread the field with what feels like a hockey line change of a receiving corps, opens up plenty of running lanes for Underwood and his backfield mates. Underwood took advantage on a delayed handoff on that first play to score from outside the red zone. His tenacious running style which belies his 150-pound frame makes him difficult for defenses to bring down.
Underwood appeared to be bottled up in the backfield on a fourth-down run early in the second quarter before retreating, bouncing away from the pile, and sprinting across the field for a 7-yard gain in which he covered more than 60 yards for a first down. Five plays later, Howe plunged into the end zone on a quarterback sneak.
“He’s a different athlete,” Cinti said of Underwood. “If you can just give him a little space, that’s all he needs. He’s very elusive, and when you think he’s down, he’s really not. That’s the type of kid he’s been for us for four years.”
“I gave my offensive line so many compliments today. It’s probably the most I’ve ever given them. They played great,” Underwood said. “I’ve been working on this my whole life. I run fast, I hit the gaps, I’m shifty. I work hard on my footwork. And I don’t like being tackled, so I’m always looking for a way out.”
Otway-Kellom’s touchdown catch in the first quarter was a scintillating finish to an 80-yard scoring drive for the Wolfpack. The transfer from Hanover Area made just his fifth catch of the season — thanks in part to injuries — on a beautiful fade to the end zone from Howe. But it was his third touchdown catch of the season. He outjumped a Crestwood defender to get the ball at its peak, landing hard on the turf, but hanging on for a 26-yard scoring strike.
“Jon’s a very good athlete and he’s very competitive,” Cinti said. “When you throw the ball at him, he’s going to make a play. That’s just his mentality.”
“He’s going to give up his body for the ball,” Underwood said. “If he has to jump and fall and land on his neck, he’s going to do it. That’s just the player he is.”
By the time Wilkes-Barre took a 21-0 halftime lead, it was averaging nearly 7 yards per play while holding Crestwood to just 3 yards per play. The Wolfpack jumped on a Crestwood onside kick to start the second half and needed just five plays for Howe to find Saracino for a score. And Underwood capped his night with a 21-yard scoring run which invoked the mercy rule.
Underwood’s 99 rushing yards were his most since going for 157 in a win over West Scranton on Sept. 20 of last season.
“This time of year, it’s very important to be able to run the ball,” Cinti said. “That was our main concern. We wanted to make sure we could establish the run, and we did. Davon Underwood had a really good game and it shows what kind of difference that can make for our offense.”
Wilkes-Barre 35, Crestwood 7
Wilkes-Barre 14 7 14 0 – 35
Crestwood 0 0 7 0 – 7
First quarter
WB—Davon Underwood 28 run (Jaedyn Sanchez kick), 10:46
WB—Jonathan Otway-Kellom 26 pass from Jake Howe (Sanchez kick), 3:30
Second quarter
WB—Howe 1 run (Sanchez kick), 8:03
Third quarter
WB—Nick Saracino 6 pass from Howe (Sanchez kick), 9:48
WB—Underwood 21 run (Sanchez kick), 3:17
C—Matt Bealla 67 run (Cooper Laubach kick), :43
WBA Cre
First downs 16 12
Rushes-yds 31-205 32-195
Com-att-int 8-16-0 6-13-1
Pass yards 107 37
Total yards 312 232
Fumbles-lost 1-0 2-0
Penalties-yards 3-30 7-57
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing—Wilkes-Barre, Davon Underwood, 12-99, 2 TDs; Jake Howe, 7-31, TD; Jonathan Otway-Kellom, 1-22; Kevon Creech, 1-21; Gene Ardo, 5-19; Khalil Smith, 3-12; Treyvon Gembitski, 1-4; Team, 1-(-1). Crestwood, Matt Bealla, 11-104, TD; Jacob Jeckell, 8-36; Jaden Shedlock, 6-27; Jack Rodgers, 3-12; Nate Walsh, 3-10; Gio Barna, 1-6.
Passing—Wilkes-Barre, Howe, 8-16-0, 107 yds., 2 TDs. Crestwood, Shedlock, 5-11-1, 33 yds.; Rodgers, 1-1-0, 4 yds.; Teddy Taylor, 0-1-0.
Receiving
Wilkes Barre-Jordan Kieselowski, 4-43; Nick Saracino, 2-18, TD; Otway-Kellom, 1-26, TD; Ardo, 1-20.
Crestwood, Barna, 3-9; Rodgers, 2-13; Walsh, 1-15.
INTERCEPTIONS—Wilkes-Barre, Ardo.
RECORDS: Wilkes-Barre (6-3, 3-2 WVC-I); Crestwood (4-5, 1-3 WVC-I).