Janiszewski leading Western Wayne in yet another quest for the District 2 playoffs
VARDEN — Two weeks ago, Western Wayne suffered an absolutely heartbreaking loss at the hands of North Pocono in Lackawanna Football Conference action.
The Wildcats battled the Trojans from opening kickoff right down to the final play, but ultimately dropped a razor-thin 28-27 decision.
On the heels of that setback, Coach Randy Wolff’s squad was laser-focused on getting back on track versus Old Forge Friday night.
“That was definitely a tough one to swallow,” the veteran skipper admitted of the road loss.
“North Pocono is a very good football team, but there are a couple of plays we’d really like to have back. Obviously you never want to lose a game, but I think it was probably a good learning experience.”
Lessons Learned
As it turned out, the ‘Cats must have learned a great deal from the loss because they were nothing short of dominant in Week 3 versus Old Forge.
Led by senior captain Luke Janiszewski, Western Wayne powered its way to a 35-7 Division II-III crossover victory.
“That was a great win for us coming off the tough loss to North Pocono,” Luke said. “We knew what we had to do to prepare and we wanted the win very badly.”
Next up for the ‘Cats is a home game versus Abington Heights. The Comets will arrive in Varden with an overall record of 0-3 after a blowout loss against Berwick.
“That record is deceptive,” Coach Wolff said. “Abington’s a pretty good team. They have some big kids and they’re definitely athletic. It will be a nice test for us.”
Opening kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. Friday night at Sharkey Rosetti Memorial Stadium.
Leading the Way
Janiszewski is coming off a junior year in which he missed significant time due to injury.
A multi-sport star who also excels on the diamond and hardwood, Luke worked hard during the off-season to be back at 100 percent for his senior campaign.
And so far all that work seems to be paying off. Janiszewski leads the team in rushing with 352 yards. He’s also scored seven touchdowns.
Defensively, Luke has notched 26 tackles, six behind the line of scrimmage. He has forced one fumble and recovered another.
Janiszewski rushed for 86 yards and three TDs in Western Wayne’s season opening 41-6 victory over Lake Lehman. He then powered his way to 106 yards and two more scores against North Pocono.
This past weekend, Luke rumbled for 160 on just 14 carries. The highlight of his night was a pair of touchdown runs covering 15 and 74 yards.
“It’s been great,” Luke said. “My teammates, my coaches, and I all have the same mindset. We come in ready to work hard, fix our mistakes at practice and make ourselves better. I’m glad to have a big part as a captain and help keep the energy high.”
For his part, Coach Wolff is very pleased to have Janiszewski back and once again hitting on all cylinders.
“There’s really not much more left to say about Luke as a football player,” he said. “Luke is a very good athlete. He’s strong and extremely physical on both sides of the ball. He’s always flying around the field and his motor never quits.”
Janiszewski is coming off a season in which he piled up 880 yards rushing despite sitting out the final four games. He also led the team with nine touchdowns.
Despite these gaudy numbers, Luke is quick to shrug off any individual praise that comes his way.
“I love blocking for guys like Josh Vinton, Alex Lucke, and Carter Mistishin,” he said.
“Coach Wolff always makes sure we’re mentally prepared. And, Coach Shimkosky has taught me everything I know about playing outside linebacker.”
Total Team Effort
While Janiszewski is the emotional leader of this year’s Wildcat team, he’s far from a one-man show.
Rising stars like Frankie Leyshon, Sean Owens and Josh Vinton are also contributing big plays week-in and week-out
Leyshon is the starting quarterback.
Just a sophomore, Frankie is quickly carving out a spot for himself among the LFC’s elite signal callers. He’s completing more than 50 percent of his passes and has accounted for five touchdowns.
“I’m very proud of the way Frankie bounced back after North Pocono,” Coach Wolff said. “He works really hard and always wants the ball in his hands in big situations. Frankie is becoming a very good leader.”
Owens is Leyshon’s favorite target. The sophomore wideout is Western Wayne’s top receiver with 10 catches for 231 yards and three touchdowns.
Sean is also excelling on defense at free safety and fresh off a two-interception performance against Old Forge.
“The amazing thing about Sean is that he’s still learning,” Coach Wolff said. “He has a lot of natural athletic ability. Sean is very quick and explosive on offense, very physical on defense. He’s developing into a really good all-around player.”
Vinton is yet another member of a talented sophomore class.
Josh plays running back on offense and string safety on defense. He cracked the varsity line-up as a frosh, rushing for more than 300 yards and three scores.
This year, Vinton has already amassed 212 yards and tallied another score. Defensively, has recorded 52 tackles in a total of just 11 total varsity games.
This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Lackawanna Football Conference Western Wayne Wildcats Janiszewski
