DALLAS — Once Vincent Todd rounded the right side of his offensive line, there was nothing but open space and artificial turf ahead.

Seventy-five yards later, Todd and his Coughlin Crusaders teammates were off and running toward an opening-season victory.

Todd scored twice, and Jake Cole rushed for 114 yards and one touchdown as Coughlin held Dallas scoreless in the final three quarters en route to a 20-7 victory at Mountaineer Stadium Friday night.

“It’s been a long time since Coughlin has won at Dallas, so this is a great win for us,” Crusader head coach Ciro Cinti said. “We knew this would be tough, and we knew that their line was going to be very physical. Vincent had an amazing game. He got in the weight room, and he got bigger and stronger from last year. He was always a fast kid. That touchdown to make it 20-7 was amazing. Speed kills.”

Todd touched the football five times, and scored twice. It’s pretty easy to conclude that the athletic junior may have a few more looks his way in the upcoming weeks.

No doubt, he’s explosive.

His 75-yard touchdown on the jet sweep was impressive.

But his 80-yard score provided Coughlin with much-needed momentum.

With the Crusaders backed up on their own 18 and looking at third-and-11, quarterback Kevin Kozerski took the snap and heaved the ball down the left sideline. Todd, facing single coverage, jumped over the defender, snatched the ball in mid-air and took off untouched down the sideline.

What could have been real issues if that pass wasn’t caught turned into pure jubilation on the Crusader sideline.

“God has really blessed me with the ability of having speed, and our line just did one heck of a job,” Todd said. “I can’t thank them enough. It was about everyone doing their job. I did my job, and the line did their job by giving our quarterback enough time. I’m just blessed to be part of this team. We play together and we stick together as brothers.”

It’s not like Dallas didn’t have chances.

The Mountaineers racked up 15 first downs, and tailback Justin Hutchins had a big game – racking up almost 175 yards on 30-plus carries.

It was converting drives into points.

An eight-play second-quarter series that started on their own 37-yard line was stopped in the red zone via a fourth-down fumble on the 12.

Another long Dallas series,12 plays in all, that began with its back near the goal line ended at the Coughlin 30 early in the fourth quarter.

Just two series. But get points in each one, and it’s a different ballgame.

“Coughlin did a great job. They deserved to win because they made some big plays,” Dallas head coach Rich Mannello said. “We had some breakdowns because we have some new kids out there, but it is what it is. We just have to grind and grow quickly. And we will because they are great kids. We did a nice job of driving the ball, but we just have to work on finishing drives. When you play a good team like that, you have to finish.”

Coughlin started the season on the right foot, stringing together an 11-play, five-minute drive that spanned 85 yards and was capped off by Jake Cole’s 3-yard scamper. Cole accounted for 62 of the 85 yards on the series.

Dallas tied the score with three seconds left in the first on Hutchins’ 9-yard dart through the middle, but it was the last time the Mountaineers reached paydirt.

“We knew it would be tough because we both like to run the ball. We were just fortunate to get the stops when we had to,” Cinti said.

Coughlin 20, Dallas 7

Coughlin `7`7`6`0 – 20

Dallas `7`0`0`0 – 7

First Quarter

C — Jake Cole 3 run (Michael Cinti kick), 6:49

D— Justin Hutchins 9 run (Nathan Maransky kick), 0:03

Second Quarter

C — Vincent Todd 80 pass from Kevin Kozerski (Cinti kick), 7:33

Third Quarter

C — Todd 75 run (kick wide), 6:56

Team Statistics `C`D

First Downs `7`15

Rushes-Yards `31-190 `49-220

Passing Yards `106`32

Total Yards `296`252

Passing `2-5-0`5-11-1

Sacked-Yards Lost `0-0`3-15

Punts-Average `5-27.6`5-30.6

Fumbles-Lost `1-1`2-1

Penalties-Yards `2-20`3-20

Individual Statistics

RUSHING — C: Jake Cole 24-113, Vincent Todd 4-84. Jervon Young 2-(-3), Team 4-(-4). D: Justin Hutchins 32-173, David Schuster 3-28, Stone Mannello 14-19.

PASSING — C: Kevin Kozerski 2-5-0, 106 yards. D: Stone Mannello 5-11-1, 32 yards.

RECEIVING — C: Vincent Todd 1-80, Melvin Robinson 1-26. D: Chris Murray 2-18, David Schuster 2-10, Justin Hutchins 1-4.

INTERCEPTIONS — C: Malik Diop.

Winner x, Loser x

Coughlin`0`0`0`0`—`0

Dallas`0`0`0`0`—`0

First quarter

V — scoring play

Second quarter

V — scoring play

Third quarter

V — scoring play

Fourth quarter

V — scoring play

Team statistics`COU`DAL

First downs`x`x

Rushes-yards`x-x`x-x

Passing yards`x`x

Total yards`x`x

Passing`x-x-x`x-x-x

Sacked-yards lost`x-x`x-x

Punts-avg.`x-x`x-x

Fumbles-lost`x-x`x-x

Penalties-yards`x-x`x-x

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — VIS, Name x-x, Name x-x. HOM, Name x-x, Name x-x.

PASSING — VIS, Name x-x-x-x, Name x-x-x-x. HOM, Name x-x-x-x, Name x-x-x-x.

RECEIVING — VIS, Name x-x, Name x-x. HOM, Name x-x, Name x-x.

INTERCEPTIONS — VIS, Name x-x, Name x-x. HOM, Name x-x, Name x-x.

MISSED FGs — VIS, Name x-x, Name x-x. HOM, Name x-x, Name x-x.

Coughlin’s defense included this snag away from Dallas’ Justin Hutchins (31) by Malik Diop (80) on the goal line near the end of the first half at Mmountaineer Stadium in Dallas Friday night.
https://www.mydallaspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL-08272016-Dallas-vs-Coughlin-2-3.jpg.optimal.jpg Coughlin’s defense included this snag away from Dallas’ Justin Hutchins (31) by Malik Diop (80) on the goal line near the end of the first half at Mmountaineer Stadium in Dallas Friday night.

Coughlin’s Jake Cole, left, pulls Dallas’ Justin Hutchins (31) down as quarterback Stone Mannello advances for a first down.
https://www.mydallaspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL-08272016-Dallas-vs-Coughlin-6CMYK-3.jpg.optimal.jpgCoughlin’s Jake Cole, left, pulls Dallas’ Justin Hutchins (31) down as quarterback Stone Mannello advances for a first down. Charlotte Bartizek | For Times Leader

By Tom Fox

For Times Leader

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