FRANKLIN TWP. — Wyoming Area was 2 yards away from making Friday night’s non-conference game against Southern Columbia a one-score game. Then the Tigers’ Braeden Wisloski struck on back-to-back plays changing the entire complexion of the contest.
The All-State running back and Maryland recruit stripped a Warrior’s ballcarrier on the 2-yard line ending what was looking like a touchdown drive. On the very next snap, the former PIAA 100-meter champion got the corner on a sweep and raced 98 yards for a touchdown.
Wyoming Area, which came in having won four of its last five games, never recovered. The Tigers won a first-half track meet to open a big league before eventually beating the Warriors, 55-28, at Jim Roth Field.
The two-play swing was emblematic of how the night went for both teams. Wyoming Area couldn’t get out of its own way, turning the ball over four times in the first half despite churning out nearly 280 yards of offense. Southern Columbia was opportunistic, turning those four turnovers into 20 points as it opened a 27-point lead at the half.
Wyoming Area wasn’t outclassed by any means. It was just outplayed. Aaron Crossley eclipsed the 300-yard rushing mark for the fourth time this season, running for 312 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 35 carries. It was the most rushing yards against Southern Columbia since Steel Valley’s Nahjier West ran for 288 yards against the Tigers in the 2016 PIAA Class AA championship game.
“We’re not happy with the outcome, but there were some positives,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “There were positives for sure, but you can’t turn it over four times and not tackle well.”
“We tried everything we could, and we played the way a Warrior football team should play,” said Crossley, who went over 1,800 rushing yards this year. “If we don’t win there’s always frustration. But we just have to see what we did wrong and fix those things and move on to Pittston next week.”
Southern Columbia was leading Wyoming Area, 27-14, when the Warriors began a march toward the Tigers’ end zone. On second-and-goal, quarterback Michael Crane was stood up on the 2-yard line, and before officials could blow the play dead, Wisloski ripped the football from Crane’s arms.
On the very next snap, Wisloski took a wing-back sweep (which Southern had already scored on earlier) to the right side. He raced past the Warriors’ secondary and coasted into the end zone. All of a sudden, instead of being down just a score, Wyoming Area stared at a three-score deficit.
“We felt confident that if we go in there, it’s a one-score game, and we’re right there punch for punch,” Spencer said. “That’s a key point in the game where it was a turn of momentum.”
“Those turnovers, maybe that’s a good sign because we just haven’t been getting them this year,” said Southern coach Jim Roth, the state’s career wins leader. “But that’s heads up from Braeden, if you’ve got the guy stood up, see if you can’t rip the ball out of there.”
The three-score cushion which turned into four and then five was enough to save the Tigers from a Wyoming Area run game it never figured out. Crossley’s second run of the game went for an 80-yard touchdown. He was over 100 rushing yards before the end of the first quarter. He was at 200 before the end of the first half. And Crossley averaged nearly 10 yards per carry last night.
He did it by running past defenders, like on his 80-yard score. He did it by bullying his way through arm and shoulder tackles to turn 3-yard runs into 10-yard runs. And he did it by exploiting the gaps his offensive line was able to create for him.
“Our linemen just block tremendously,” Crossley said. “The creases they’re able to find and the work they do has escalated over the season.”
“Our No. 1 concern was our run defense and we struggled at that again,” Roth said. “(Crossley) had something to do with that. He’s a heck of a player. He looked good on film, but until you see him in person, it’s totally different. He was tough to bring down and we didn’t tackle him well.”
But not even Crossley’s huge night could overcome the early mistakes by the Warriors. Jake Toczylousky intercepted the first pass of the game and returned in 24 yards for a touchdown. The first of two lost fumbles by Wyoming Area led to a Jack Biermass 1-yard touchdown run. And Wisloski’s strip led to another score.
In between, Carter Madden ran for a 42-yard touchdown. Louden Murphy scored from 64 yards out on a sweep. And Wisloski, after picking up 10 yards on a run, pitched to Murphy who raced the final 56 yards to the end zone.
Because of the scoring of the lateral play, in which Wisloski gets credit for a carry for 10 yards and Murphy gets no rushing attempt but 56 rushing yards, at one point Murphy had one carry for 120 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
But the Tigers were explosive like that all night. They had just 13 offensive plays in the first half but totaled 309 yards. And that’s despite five of those plays resulting in a total of 0 yards. Southern finished with 405 yards of offense on just 29 offensive plays.
Conversely, Wyoming Area had 445 yards on 65 snaps.
“Braeden had the wheels turning tonight,” Roth said. “Stealing the ball on the 2-yard line, then pitching the ball? We don’t coach pitching the ball like that, but it looked like it was scripted because he pitched it and Louden was right there and he took off with it.”
Southern’s turnover prowess Friday was a sight for sore eyes on the coaching staff. The Tigers entered the game minus-4 in the turnover department this year. They’re now even after Friday’s game.
And it led to an important bounce-back win after Southern lost for the third time this season last week against Mount Carmel.
“This has probably been our worst year for turnovers in quite a while,” Roth said. “Maybe that’s a good sign.”
Southern Columbia 55, Wyoming Area 28
Wyoming Area 14 0 7 7 — 28
Southern Columbia 27 14 7 7 — 55
First Quarter
SCA – Jake Toczylousky 24 interception return (Isaac Mikel Carter kick), 10:25
WA – Aaron Crossley 80 run (Liam Burke kick), 10:12
SCA – Louden Murphy 64 run (run failed), 9:12
WA – Garrett Pocceschi 24 pass from Crossley (Burke kick), 3:55
SCA – Carter Madden 42 run (Braeden Wisloski run), 2:34
SCA – Jack Biermass 1 run (kick blocked), :25
Second Quarter
SCA – Wisloski 98 run (Dominic Fetterolf pass from Blake Wise), 8:50
SCA – Murphy 56 run (kick blocked), 6:16
Third Quarter
SCA – Wisloski 31 run (Carter kick), 9:45
WA – Pocceschi 22 pass from Michael Crane (Burke), 2:43
Fourth Quarter
SCA – Kyle Christman 8 pass from Wise (Carter kick), 11:15
WA – Crossley 5 run (Burke kick), 4:06
WA SCA
First Downs 22 11
Rushes-Yards 60-393 24-386
Comp-Att-Int 3-5-2 2-5-0
Passing 52 19
Total Yards 445 405
Fumbles-Lost 5-2 0-0
Penalties-Yards 4-21 3-20
Individual statistics
Rushing: Wyoming Area — Aaron Crossley, 35-312, 2 TDs; Michael Crane, 21-78; John Mruk, 2-5; Team, 2-(-2). Southern Columbia — Braeden Wisloski, 6-151, 2 TDs; Louden Murphy, 3-131, 2 TDs; Carter Madden, 2-47, TD; Jack Biermass, 8-39, TD; Tyler Arnold, 1-12; CJ Swank-Dworchak, 2-8; Team, 2-(-2).
Passing: Wyoming Area — Michael Crane, 2-4-2, 28 yds., TD; Aaron Crossley, 1-1-0, 24 yds., TD. Southern Columbia — Blake Wise, 2-5-0, 19 yds., TD.
Receiving: Wyoming Area — Garrett Pocceschi, 2-46, 2 TDs; John Mruk, 1-6. Southern Columbia — Kyle Christman, 2-19, TD.
INTERCEPTIONS — Southern Columbia, Jake Toczylousky, Dominic Fetterolf.
Records: Southern Columbia (6-3); Wyoming Area (5-4).
