BANGOR – You had the two top teams in the Colonial League facing off Friday night. On this night it was like Ali vs. Frazier, two great teams throwing everything they had at each other. Wilson Area (9-0) erased a 10-point halftime deficit to capture the Colonial League title with a 50-40 win over Bangor (7-2). This was the second title in three years for the Warriors.
In the first half both teams combined for 56 points as Bangor held a 33-23 lead at halftime. Bangor sophomore Scott LaValva put on a clinic last night in front of a packed crowd on senior night. In the second quarter, LaValva had three touchdown runs for six, 34 and three yards). He also threw a 70-yard touchdown pass to Brian Smith to give the Slater’s a 10-point lead at halftime. Head Coach Frank Scagliotta said, “LaValva is unbelievable. There aren’t too many sophomores who could do what he did.”
Head Coach Brett Comp of Wilson seemed to settle his team down at halftime. Comp said, “I told my players at halftime to loosen up …they were too tight in the first half.”
The Warriors got a nice punt return to start the second half. AJ Parker got the running game going by ripping off both a 23-yard and 24-yard run. Ray Mosby finished the drive with a 9-yard touchdown run. The extra point failed, but the Warriors pulled within 4 points 33-29 with 7:49 left in the quarter.
Shane Yetter of Bangor fumbled away the kickoff and it was recovered by the Warriors at Bangor’s 33 yard line.
All it took was one play for the Warriors to score. Smith faked the handoff and went right up the middle for the 33-yard touchdown run. Chris Rodriguez’s extra point gave the Warriors a 36-33 lead.
The Warriors defense forced a three-and-out on the Slaters’ next possession. The Warriors started their next drive on their 25 yard line. After three straight run plays Smith threw a dart to Kowan Scott for a 41-yard touchdown pass. With the extra point being good the Warriors enjoyed a 10-point lead 43-33.
The final score of the game came with 4:28 to go in the game. The Warriors drove 80 yards for the score. Two big passes by Smith for 38 and 34 yards helped setup the score. Parker would go in for the one-yard run giving the Warriors a 50-40 lead.
Scagliotta said, “We did some things in the first half to get excited about but the third quarter killed us. Turning the ball over too many times hurt.”
Tyler Smith finished with 380 yards passing and three touchdowns. He also had one touchdown run. Scott LaValva had 209 yards rushing and 225 yards passing to go with his four touchdowns (3 rushing and 1 passing). Both quarterbacks combined for 833 total yards of offense in the game.
One Response
Great game. Both teams will be in District 11 finals. The one that finds a defense is going on. Warriors looked like champs, coming back and holding on to the leade the entire 4th period. Trivia: more fans came to this 3A game than the Liberty/Easton game.