Dallas junior running back Dylan Geskey (4) breaks free from the line of scrimmage for a 30-yard touchdown run against the Spartans.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Dallas linebacker Jarratt Webb (44) moves in to tackle the Spartans running back Paul Riggs (1) for a loss.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Dallas junior quarterback Brady Zapoticky (11) rolls out to his right looking for an open receiver against Wyoming Valley West. Zapoticky threw for four first half touchdowns.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
The Mountaineers’ Zach Paczewski (3) gets past three Spartan defenders to grab a 25-yard touchdown.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Senior Nick Farrell (85) catches up to a Brady Zapoticky pass for Dallas for a big gain against Wyoming Valley West.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Gavin Lewis (23) gets behind the defense to haul in a 25-yard touchdown pass on Friday night.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
KINGSTON — Statistically, Wyoming Valley West came into Friday with the best defense in the division, allowing just a shade over 10 points per game.
Dallas covered that amount in less than five minutes.
The seemingly impenetrable Wyoming Valley West defense finally met its match in Dallas. The Mountaineers quickly minced the Spartans in a 45-0 shutout to remain undefeated at the midway point of the season.
“The nice thing is there’s a fine line of being able to do the pace that we are at and go fast without losing the physicality,” Dallas coach Rich Mannello said. “It’s Dallas. We’ve got great defense, and we’ve got to be able to run the football.”
Dallas scored easily on its first seven possessions, racking up 45 points before the first half’s expiration.
It was the Dallas defense — specifically its defensive line — that stole the show and quieted Spartan Stadium’s cannons. Wyoming Valley West totaled 29 yards of total offense. It averaged 1.08 yards per carry.
“Before the season, we wanted to get a really tight team,” Dallas senior John Cummings said. “We knew we weren’t going to be very big. So we had to be very fast, very aggressive, very strong. We’ve carried that out very well, I’d say.”
Dylan Geskey and Zach Paczewski exploded for a pair of touchdowns on the ground and through the air, respectively. Geskey scored the first two touchdowns as part of a 72-yard rushing performance on eight carries. Paczewski caught four passes for 114 yards.
Quarterback Brady Zapoticky completed his first five passes for a total of 147 yards. When all was said and done, he finished 8-for-12 with three passing touchdowns and 189 yards. Zapoticky also had a rushing score.
Dallas 45, Wyoming Valley West 0
Dallas`28`17`0`0`—`45
Wyo. Valley West`0`0`0`0`—`0
First quarter
DAL — Dylan Geskey 4 run (kick fail), 9:40
DAL — Geskey 30 run (kick fail), 7:07
DAL — Gavin Lewis 25 pass from Brady Zapoticky (Geskey run), 4:49
DAL — Zach Paczewski 42 pass from Zapoticky (Geskey pass from Zapoticky), 2:22
Second quarter
DAL — Paczewski 25 pass from Zapoticky (Rowan Laubach kick), 9:40
DAL — Zapoticky 1 run (Laubach kick), 6:01
DAL — Laubach 21 field goal, :09
Team statistics`DAL`WVW
First downs`17`3
Rushes-yards`38-176`23-25
Passing yards`189`4
Total yards`365`29
Passing`8-12-0`2-9-1
Sacked-yards lost`2-12`3-27
Punts-avg.`0-0`7-31.29
Fumbles-lost`1-0`0-0
Penalties-yards`2-20`3-35
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — DAL, Geskey 8-72, Zapoticky 4-18, Mike Lewis 6-38, Paczewski 1-2, Jarrett Webb 4-27, Sam Kelley 4-1, Bob Booth 2-7, Brady McCann 4-10, Hunter Pitcavage 3-(minus-2), Kenny Martin 1-8, Jim Youngblood 1-(minus-5). WVW, Isaiah Cobb 1-13, Paul Riggs 7-11, Tyler Mattis 3-8, Bronx Maldonado 1-2, Carson Brown 4-(minus-3), Jonathan Otway 2-3, Chase Meyers 1-(minus-13), William Lebron 2-2, Jacob Stevens 2-2, TEAM 1-(minus-1).
PASSING — DAL, Zapoticky 8-12-0-189. WVW, Carson Brown 1-8-1-2, Chase Meyers 1-1-0-2.
RECEIVING — DAL, Paczewski 4-114, Nick Farrell 3-50, GLewis 1-25. WVW, Riggs 1-2, Kamau Ingram 1-2.
INTERCEPTIONS — DAL MLewis 1-0.
MISSED FGs — None.
