Lake Ariel, PA — S. CANAAN TWP. — Western Wayne coach Shane Grodack is running out of words to describe Josh Vinton. But on Friday night, after the annual Wayne-Pike Shrine Bowl against Honesdale, Grodack had no trouble finding the perfect word for his junior running back’s performance: gritty. Vinton used his speed and power to rack up 205 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries and added a punt return for a touchdown as the seventh-ranked Wildcats rolled to a 35-20 victory at the Sharkey Rosetti Sports Complex. Western Wayne (7-3 overall, 4-1 in Division II) locked down the No. 2 seed for the District 2 Class 3A playoffs. Vinton scored on runs of 1 and 6 yards in the first half and added a 47-yard punt return for a score as the Wildcats rolled to a 21-0 halftime lead. He had 98 yards on 13 carries before the break, then came out and outdid himself with 107 yards on 18 carries in the second half. For the season, Vinton now has 1,493 yards and 21 touchdowns on the ground and 23 touchdowns overall. “I told him we had to lean on him,” Grodack said of Vinton. “I give the offensive line a lot of credit. There are 10 guys out there blocking for him, including the quarterback at times. It’s gritty. He played well.” The Wildcats also received a 6-yard touchdown run from Carter Mistishin and a 1-yard score by James Jimenez, both in the second half, while compiling 324 yards on 55 rushes. They amassed 25 first downs while holding the ball for nearly 31 minutes. Most importantly, they scored on their first five trips into the red zone. “There have been times this season when we didn’t finish drives,” Grodack said. “I felt that was a big key to our success tonight, to be able to drive the length of the field.” Honesdale (3-7, 1-4 LFC Division 2) found some offensive rhythm in the second half, scoring three times. Aiden Collins, who threw for 114 yards, scored from 10 and 6 yards out on quarterback keepers, and Mason Avery added a 6-yard score. But the Hornets, who managed just 45 yards on the ground, were never able to get closer than 14 points. “Our mission is obviously to run the ball, and in the first half we were struggling,” Honesdale coach Paul Russick said. “Western Wayne had a great plan, and they had a lot of guys in the box. We should’ve made a few more adjustments as a coaching staff. We talked about it at halftime, and we found it a little bit in the second half, but it was just a little too late to make things happen.”