WEST PITTSTON — Josh Mruk walked off Jake Sobeski Field by himself Friday night, but he wasn’t really alone. With every couple steps the sophomore from Wyoming Area took, someone shouted his name. They wanted to get the attention of the player who swung the momentum of the District 2 Class AAAA quarterfinal game permanently in the Warriors’ favor.
If the smile stripped across Mruk’s face following Wyoming Area’s 31-19 win over North Pocono isn’t permanent, it’s going to take a while to be wiped away. One play after dropping a critical fourth-down pass, Mruk intercepted a screen pass and returned it for a touchdown giving the Warriors a two-score lead. He added a touchdown reception with about 8 minutes to play which all but sealed Wyoming Area’s spot in the 4A semifinals next week where it will travel to face Valley View.
“It’s definitely a big moment,” Mruk said.
And more importantly, it was his moment. Mruk admitted after his career night, which included a pair of interceptions, that it’s hard as a young player to live up to the standard his older brothers have set before him. Corey was a four-year letterwinner for the Warriors who was on the state title team in 2019. Drew is a state and national javelin champion who was also a significant contributor on the Warriors’ football team.
But Friday night was Josh’s opportunity to show just what he’s capable of. Sure, he had that hiccup on a fourth-down pass in which he was wide open which could have extended a drive deep in North Pocono territory. But all of that was washed away with his other contributions.
And on a night where Division I recruit Aaron Crossley injured his ankle and barely played in the fourth quarter, Wyoming Area had to have someone provide answers to a handful of second-half big plays by North Pocono. Mruk just happened to be that guy.
“Josh has done an outstanding job all year. He’s an outstanding young player,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “He’s made big plays all year and significant contributions on both sides of the ball. We’re very excited for him. That was a big momentum swing that we were able to hold on to throughout the game.”
Wyoming Area was leading North Pocono, 17-12, with about 2 minutes to play in the third quarter when Crossley (35 carries, 192 yards, 2 touchdowns) was pulled down backwards on a third-down run which caused his ankle to bend awkwardly and forced him off the field. Facing fourth-and-3 from the Trojans’ 37-yard line, Spencer chose to go for the first down.
He ran a play-action pass with two criss-crossing receivers. Mruk was one of them and broke wide open on the left side of the field. Quarterback Anthony DeLucca’s pass hit Mruk in stride, but he couldn’t haul it in, turning the ball over on downs to North Pocono.
On the very next play, the Trojans ran a screen play to the left. Mruk, after hitting the tight end, sniffed out the play. North Pocono quarterback Noah West’s pass hit Mruk in the hands and he hauled it in. Mruk shrugged off a pair of tacklers before breaking free and racing 35 yards for momentum-shifting touchdown.
“Big swing. Big emotional swing,” North Pocono coach Greg Dolhon said. “We get that stop and we thought we had a play there that we really liked. But big credit to them for making the play.”
It was the second time Mruk intercepted a short pass. In the first half from his edge rusher position, he jumped up to intercept a swing pass from West. Six plays after that interception, Crossley scored the first of his two touchdowns.
“It’s about understanding where the football is,” Mruk said. “I had to shake off (the dropped pass) because when your energy goes down, everyone’s goes down. So you have to make a big play and get it back.”
But not even Mruk could have anticipated getting that emotion and energy back on the very next play. And it proved to be pivotal.
Each time Wyoming Area scored in the second half to push its lead to two scores, North Pocono found a way to answer quickly to get right back in the game. First it was a 33-yard pass from Noah West to Cole West to set up a 10-yard scoring strike to Ryan Marsh. Then it was a 48-yard connection between the West brothers to set up a 4-yard touchdown pass to Evan Wolff.
“We have some good wideouts, and we think we have a special one in in Cole,” Dolhon said. “Noah did a great job of putting the football on him in some big spots. We had to do something to stay with them.”
The final blow for Wyoming Area was one North Pocono couldn’t answer. Thirty-eight rushing yards from Lidge Kellum and a personal foul penalty on the Trojans defense led the path to DeLucca’s 14-yard scoring pass to Mruk on the same exact play in which he dropped that fourth-down pass earlier in the half.
“What a way to make up for a tough play,” Spencer said. “It tells you what type of player he is at a young age.”
Wyoming Area 31, North Pocono 19
North Pocono 3 5 7 7 – 19
Wyoming Area 3 8 13 7 – 31
First quarter
NP—Brady Mapes 37 FG, 8:14
WA—Liam Burke 26 FG, :16
Second quarter
NP—Safety, punter tackled in end zone, 7:21
WA—Aaron Crossley 5 run (Crossley run), :39
Third quarter
WA—Crossley 3 run (run failed), 6:14
NP—Ryan Marsh 10 pass from Noah West (Mapes kick), 3:56
WA—Josh Mruk 35 interception return (Burke kick), 1:18
Fourth quarter
NP—Evan Wolff 4 pass from Noah West (Mapes kick), 11:55
WA—Mruk 14 pass from Anthony DeLucca (Burke kick), 8:30
NP WA
First downs 10 20
Rushes-yds 18-72 56-281
Com-att-int 9-20-2 2-9-0
Pass yards 169 36
Total yards 241 317
Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-0
Penalties-yards 4-44 7-54
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing—North Pocono, Kevin Wickizer, 9-42; Noah West, 5-23; Ryan Marsh, 1-7; Brady Lavery, 1-2; Riley Moore, 1-(-1); Team, 1-(-1). Wyoming Area, Aaron Crossley, 35-192, 2 TDs; Lidge Kellum, 5-54; Michael Crane, 8-38; Anthony DeLucca, 6-19; Team, 2-(-22).
Passing—North Pocono, Noah West, 9-20-2, 169 yds., 2 TDs. Wyoming Area, Anthony DeLucca, 2-9-0, 36 yds., TD.
Receiving—North Pocono, Ryan Marsh, 3-53, TD; Evan Wolff, 3-25, TD; Cole West, 2-81; Riley Moore, 1-10. Wyoming Area, Michael Crane, 1-22; Josh Mruk, 1-14, TD.
INTERCEPTIONS—Wyoming Area, Josh Mruk 2.
RECORDS: Wyoming Area (10-1); North Pocono (4-7).
