H.S. Football: Dallas Mountaineers will be sending 17 seniors to college

The Dallas football team had one of the most successful seasons in school history.

The Mountaineers set the school record with 15 wins. They won the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 4A and District 2 Class 4A championships. They made it to the PIAA Class 4A state championship game.

But another accomplishment has coach Rich Mannello equally proud. He’ll have 17 seniors moving on to higher education, with eight of them continuing their football careers. Another will play basketball and another lacrosse.

Here are the 10 Mountaineers who will be continuing their academic and athletic careers:

• Josh Balara: The two-way lineman and Times Leader All-WVC selection will head to Dartmouth to play college. He excelled on both sides of the ball and finished with 29 tackles and a pair of sacks.

• Taylor Bolesta: The two-time Times Leader All-WVC lineman will play football at Division I Long Island University. He was a powerful blocker and led the team with 9.5 sacks and 21 tackles for loss.

• Luke DelGaudio: Originally committed to Bucknell, the Times Leader All-WVC receiver/defensive back changed course and will now be a preferred walk-on for the Pittsburgh football program. He caught 44 passes for 710 yards and eight touchdowns.

• Jack Farrell: Farrell was an excellent tight end/defensive lineman for Dallas, earning Times Leader All-WVC honors. But he also also a standout on the basketball court and will continue in that sport at Division II East Stroudsburg. A Times Leader All-WVC pick in basketball, he led Division II in scoring with a 15.2 average.

• Ryan Fisher: Fisher excelled on the soccer and football fields. He’ll bring his kicking skills to the Misericordia football team. He connected on 78-of-83 extra points and 3-of-4 field goals his senior season and was a Times Leader All-WVC second-team selection.

• Lenny Kelley: Kelley will play football at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, a Division III program in Lancaster. Kelly was the Times Leader Co-Player of the Year and finished the season with 2,688 rushing yards and 41 rushing touchdowns, averaging 8.8 yards per carry. As a linebacker, finished second on the team with 89 tackles.

• Matt Maransky: Although Maransky missed time with an injury, he still led Dallas with nine TD catches on 19 receptions for 486 yards. The receiver/defensive back made 28 tackles and two interceptions and was a Times Leader All-WVC second-team pick.

• Danny Meuser: The Times Leader All-WVC fullback/linebacker will play football at Bucknell. Meuser led Dallas with 90 tackles and also had two interceptions. As a fullback, he ran for 925 yards and 12 touchdowns and caught 29 passes for 343 yards and two TDs.

• Xander Shaner: Shaner will play football at Misericordia. He was one of the top two-way linemen in the WVC and a Times Leader All-WVC selection. He had 83 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and five sacks.

• Michael Starbuck: Although a four-year starter and two-time Times Leader All-WVC selection as a quarterback, Starbuck will be playing lacrosse at Limestone College, a Division II program in South Carolina. Limestone finished 20-1 in 2019 and was 4-1 this season and ranked sixth in the nation when the season ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The other Dallas football players who will move on to college but not play sports are: defensive back Jacob Esposito, West Virginia; running back/linebacker Jacob Fenske and lineman Colin Zeiss, King’s; quarterback/linebacker Michael Lukasavage, Temple; lineman Andrew Molitoris, Penn State; linebacker Dylan Schuster, West Chester; lineman Nate Spare, LCCC.