LEHMAN TWP. — Offense, defense, special teams. Take your pick. Dallas excelled in all three phases Saturday morning in a 56-8 victory over Lake-Lehman in the Old Shoe Game.
The offense scored four touchdowns in the first half, the defense was dominant and special teams added two more scores as the Mountaineers built a 42-0 halftime lead.
The game was scheduled for Friday night, but moved after both schools received threats. Dallas also had its Week 4 home game with West Scranton moved from Friday to Saturday.
“They’ve handled it. They’re a resilient bunch,” Dallas coach Rich Mannello said. “I don’t want to say it’s normal business, but I hate to say it but they’re starting to get used to it.”
Dallas (10-0) set the record for the most points scored in the Back Mountain rivalry game, topping the 51 the Mountaineers scored in a 51-6 win in 2002. They will host Wallenpaupack in a District 2 Class 4A quarterfinal game next Friday. Lehman (2-8) will be the third seed in Class 3A and play at Western Wayne.
Dallas’ Gavin Lewis was selected the game MVP after blocking two punts that resulted in touchdowns. His first block came in the first quarter and he scooped up the ball and ran 27 yards to the end zone. His second came in the second quarter, resulting in lineman Zach Williams picking up the ball and scoring from 8 yards out.
“The one definitely wasn’t supposed to happen,” Lewis said. “I was supposed to block down. No one was blocking me and I had the option and I was going. When I ran in, Coach laughed and agreed with it and said ‘All right, we’re going again.’ And there goes the second one and Zach Williams gets a touchdown. It’s pretty awesome.”
Lewis nearly had a third block in the third quarter, but Lehman punter Chris Sholtis dodged him. Sholtis then tried to run for the first down, but was well short and Dallas took over at the Lehman 15-yard line. Backup quarterback Travis Cheskiewicz scored seven plays later for a 49-0 lead.
The Mountaineers scored on all four of their first-half possessions. Mike Lewis had a 9-yard TD run on their initial drive. Dylan Geskey added scoring runs of 3, 12 and 5 yards.
The defense played a big part as well, giving Dallas good field position throughout the first half. One scoring drive was just 12 yards as defensive back Nate Malarkey made a diving interception on a Lehman attempted screen pass. Archie Stephens had two sacks and Brady Rosencrans added one as the Black Knights were limited to 86 yards in the first two quarters.
Lehman avoided a shutout when a pair of freshmen — quarterback Anthony Magnotta and running back Keagan Bennett — hooked up on an 18-yard TD pass with 1:24 to play. Jake Daum sprung Bennett with a block that wiped out three Mountaineers.
Dallas 56, Lake-Lehman 8
Dallas`14`28`7`7 — 56
Lake-Lehman`0`0`0`8 — 8
First quarter
DAL — Mike Lewis 9 run (Rowan Laubach kick), 10:33
DAL — Gavin Lewis 27 blocked punt return (Laubach kick), 7:52
Second quarter
DAL — Dylan Geskey 3 run (Laubach kick), 11:56
DAL — D.Geskey 12 run (Laubach kick), 10:56
DAL — Zach Williams 8 blocked punt return (Laubach kick), 8:24
DAL — Dylan Geskey 5 run (Laubach kick), 4:22
Third quarter
DAL — Travis Cheskiewitz 1 run (Brandon Miller kick), 4:22
Fourth quarter
DAL — Hunter Pitcavage 18 run (Miller kick), 2:20
LL — Keagan Bennett 32 pass from Anthony Magnotta (Justin Pudimott run), 1:24
Team statistics`DAL`LL
First downs`14`6
Rushes-yards`37-231`30-44
Passing yards`10`81
Total yards`241`125
Passing`2-4-0`4-10-1
Sacked-yards lost`1-5`4-28
Punts-avg.`0-0`3-21.3
Fumbles-lost`0-0`1-0
Penalties-yards`2-18`5-32
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Dallas, D.Geskey 8-62, M.Lewis 4-59, Zach Paczewski 1-14, Brady Zapoticky 5-6, Logan Geskey 4-12, Cheskiewitz 2-(minus-3), Bob Booth 1-0, Kenny Martin 3-(minus-1), Sam Kelley 4-46, Jim Youngblood 1-3, Pitcavage 3-34, team 1-(minus-1). Lehman, Ben Dowling 5-13, Gavin Shoemaker 5-11, Hayden Evans 9-(minus-6), Sam Plummer 3-4, Chris Yetter 5-26, Chris Sholtis 1-0, Kegan Bennett 1-0, Justin Pudimont 1-(minus-4).
PASSING — Dallas, Zapoticky 2-4-0-10. Lehman, Evans 3-9-1-49, Magnotta 0-1-0-32.
RECEIVING — Dallas, Nick Farrell 2-10. Lehman, Sholtis 1-35, Dowling 1-6, Shoemaker 1-8, Bennett 1-32.
INTERCEPTIONS — Dallas, Nate Malarkey 1-0.
MISSED FGs — none.
