By Tom Fox

For Times Leader

SCRANTON — Matt Harrison threw the ball where only Ryan Martin could snatch it.

And the senior tight end made sure it didn’t hit the turf of Valor Field at Scranton Memorial Stadium.

Martin made an incredible diving catch for the game-winning, 8-yard score with 2:36 left, and the defense stepped up to hold Scranton’s offense down in the final seconds as Dallas left with a 13-7 victory on a picture-perfect Friday night.

It was the first win for new Mountaineer head coach Rich Mannello.

“The kids bought in when we got there in February,” Mannello said. “We told them the program starts in the weight room, and they listened. They are great kids. Sometimes, football has to be faith without reasoning, and they believed. That’s Dallas football: Great defense and pounding the football.”

And he couldn’t have asked for a better fourth quarter and game-winning drive.

Starting on his own 32 with less than seven minutes left, Harrison navigated through the Scranton defense. He found four different receivers on the 12-play drive. Fullback David Simpson gutted the middle of the line, while tailback Bret Storrs had a beautiful 12-yard run down the left sideline to put Dallas in the Knights’ red zone.

A Harrison sweep on a second-and-4 put the pigskin on the Scranton 9 with three minutes left. On the third-and-goal, the quarterback swept to his left and lofted the ball toward the back-corner by the pylon near Martin. He fully-extended his body, and hauled the pass in for the 8-yard score.

“A few plays before, we ran the same play, and it was open,” Martin said. “We knew we needed that play. When Matt rolled out, he looked me right in the eyes and made a perfect pass. It was in my reach. And when it is in my reach, I do whatever I can to catch the ball.”

The Knights had one final chance, but two great defensive plays — a finger-tip breakup by Christian Roberts and 7-yard sack by lineman Michael Farrell — put the Knights in a third-and-forever. Watts got 11 yards back on a keeper, setting up a fourth-and-11 with one minute left. But Cole Dixon read the pass perfectly and intercepted the pass, clinching the win.

It was the kind of football Mannello wanted.

Dallas physically wore down the Knights, and it was clearly evident in the fourth quarter and on the game-winning drive. Scranton managed just five first downs in the second half and no drive went longer than six plays.

As a matter of fact, the Knights never made it in the Dallas red zone in the final 24 minutes.

“We gave them a short field a few times, especially right before halftime where we gave them the ball around the 50-yard line, and our kids responded,” Mannello said. “That was a game-changer.”

Scranton took the first lead as Watts – who accounted for 184 of the Knights’ 200 yards – found Dylan Granahan at the goal line for a 9-yard score. The extra point put the Lackawanna League school up 7-0 with 1:59 left in the first.

Dallas, though, answered early in the second. Following a blocked punt due to an errant snap, Harrison needed just four plays to guide his team 28 yards as the quarterfinal scored on a keeper from 2 yards out with 9:19 left in the half.

Harrison completed 12 of 18 for 101 yards, hooking up with six different receivers. Simpson finished with 71 total yards (35 rushing, 36 receiving), and Martin grabbed three passes for 34 yards.

Watts ran for 122 on 18 attempts, and threw for another 64.

“We will enjoy this one on the way home, but we will have a short memory,” Mannello said. “We have to start getting ready for the next one. Every win is a big one, because they are all hard. It’s going to be a battle every Friday.”

Dallas 13, Scranton 7

Dallas`0`7`0`6`—`13

Scranton`7`0`0`0`—`7

First quarter

SCR — Jacob Watts 9 pass to Dylan Granahan (Bryan Villanueva kick), 1:59

Second quarter

DAL — Matt Harrison 2 run (Ronald Ostrowski kick), 9:19

Fourth quarter

DAL — Harrison 8 pass to Ryan Martin (kick wide), 2:36

Team statistics`Dal`Scr

First Downs `11`12

Rushes-Yards `32-82 `32-138

Passing Yards `101`62

Total Yards `193`200

Passing `12-18-0`7-18-1

Sacks-Yards Lost `2-9`1-2

Punts-Average `3-36`4-34

Fumbles-Lost `0-0`1-1

Penalties-Yards `2-15`4-25

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — DAL, David Simpson 10-35, Bret Storrs 12-27, Matt Harrison 7-26, Team 3-(-6). SCR, Jacob Watts 18-122, Josh Williams 10-38, Nate Corby 1-4, Zakwane Lawton 2-4, Reggie Dickey 1-(-1), Team 2-(-29).

PASSING — DAL, Matt Harrison 12-18-0, 101 yards. SCR, Jacob Watts 7-18-1, 62 yards.

RECEIVING — DAL, David Simpson 4-36, Ryan Martin 3-34, Tanner Gattuso 2-12, Christian Roberts 1-8, Ray Ostroski 1-6, Stone Mannello 1-5. SCR, Dylan Granahan 2-29, Marcus Pacheco 2-13, John Marichak 1-11, Josh Williams 1-6, Reggie Dickey 1-3.

INTERCEPTIONS — DAL, Cole Dixon.

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