Dallas wide receiver Zach Paczewski picks up yardage on a screen pass against Valley View in the first quarter.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Valley View kicker Zach Cwalinski attempts an extra point as Dallas’ Lucas Tirpak goes for the block in the first quarter.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Dallas wide receiver Zach Paczewski takes the ball to the 7-yard line on a pass in the second quarter as Valley View defensive back Nick Kucharski makes the stop.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Dallas running back Dylan Geskey picks up a first down against Valley View in the first quarter.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Dallas wide receiver Lucas Tirpak pull in a pass in front of Valley View linebacker Robert Sabastianelli during the first quarter.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
DALLAS TWP. — As the football descended, Dallas’ Gavin Lewis knew the District 2 Class 4A championship was within his grasp.
And it was.
Lewis’ interception with 1:40 remaining ended Valley View’s last chance and sent Dallas to a 21-18 victory Friday night.
Dallas (13-0) won its fifth district championship. The Mountaineers were also D2-4A champions in 2019, the year they went to the state finals. They won the D2-3A title in 1999 and posted consecutive D2-2A titles in 1993 and 1994. The 1993 season resulted in a state championship.
Valley View (10-3) lost in the D2-4A championship game for a second consecutive season.
Lewis’ interception came on a third-and-8 from the Dallas 36-yard line. Valley View quarterback Dom Memo launched a long pass down the right sideline, and Lewis jumped high to spear the ball.
“I mean, the opportunity is there,” Lewis said. “You catch it, they have no timeouts left, it’s game. You’re going to win that game right there.”
Three knees by quarterback Brady Zapoticky and Dallas advanced to a home state quarterfinal game next Friday against either District 12 champ Bonner-Prendie or District 1 champ Pope John Paul II. Those teams play Saturday.
Dallas took a 21-18 lead with 4:42 remaining on a 3-yard touchdown run by running back Dylan Geskey. The huge play in the six-play, 44-yard drive came on third-and-4 from the Valley View 38-yard line. Zapoticky found Nick Farrell across the middle, and the senior tight end battled for a 25-yard gain.
“Farrell’s catch, that made the game at the end,” Dallas coach Rich Mannello said.
Valley View then took control of the ball for a final time at its 35. Dallas had the Cougars in trouble twice, the last time when defensive linemen Brady Rosencrans and Zach Williams forced an incompletion on a second-and-16 play. But a dead-ball unsportsmanlike conduct penalty gave Valley View a third-and-1. After getting the first down, Lewis ended the threat three plays later.
Valley View featured a run-heavy attack but had to resort to passing more than usual. Memo, one of three quarterbacks used this season, had just 31 attempts coming into the game. He finished with 24 Friday night.
Lewis said he was a bit surprised how much Valley View passed, but Mannello thought the flow of the game dictated it.
“You got to play how the game was going,” Mannello said. “We were defending the run pretty well and there was a little chess match going on there. You’ve got to execute when it’s all said and done.”
Dallas scored on its opening drive as Geskey capped it with a 2-yard run. The Mountaineers moved to the Valley View 3-yard line on their next possession but were stopped on downs at the 1. On the next play, Valley View tight end Kyle Rupp ran straight down the field and Memo hit him for a 99-yard touchdown. The point after banged off the right upright as Dallas remained ahead 7-6.
“That was a 14-point swing when we didn’t get in,” Mannello said. “And they popped it, literally it was a pop pass. And then we sputtered and couldn’t get field position to get in place. That’s credit to them.”
A 39-yard reception by Dallas wide receiver Zach Paczewski set up the Mountaineers at the Valley View 7. Geskey’s 1-yard run made it 14-6 with 11:03 left in the second quarter.
Valley View pulled within 14-12 just before halftime on a 2-yard run by Preston Reed and pulled ahead 18-14 on a 1-yard plunge by Memo with two seconds left in the third quarter. One official signaled Memo down short of the goal line, but he was awarded the TD a few seconds later.
“Our kids fought to the end,” Valley View coach Scot Wasilchak said, “but Dallas came out and they’re a 12-0 team for a reason and took it to us early.”
District 2 Class 4A Championship
Dallas 21, Valley View 18
Valley View`6`6`6`0 — 18
Dallas`7`7`0`7 — 21
First quarter
DAL — Dylan Geskey 2 run (Rowan Laubach kick), 8:58
VV — Kyle Rupp 99 pass from Dom Memo (kick failed), 1:31
Second quarter
DAL — Geskey 1 run (Laubach kick), 11:03
VV — Preston Reed 2 run (pass failed), 2:37
Third quarter
VV — Memo 1 run (pass failed), 0:02
Fourth quarter
DAL — Geskey 3 run (Laubach kick), 4:42
Team statistics`VV`DAL
First downs`15`16
Rushes-yards`36-91`44-174
Passing yards`215`133
Total yards`306`307
Passing`12-26-2`6-17-0
Sacked-yards lost`1-2`2-6
Punts-avg.`3-31.3`3-30.3
Fumbles-lost`1-0`1-1
Penalties-yards`6-55`10-95
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Valley View, Camryn Higgins 7-18, Preston Reed 9-35, Nick Kucharski 10-27, Memo 10-11. Dallas, Geskey 24-94, Brady Zapoticky 10-34, Zach Paczewski 6-44, Nate Malarkey 1-5. team 3-(minus-3).
PASSING — Valley View, Memo 12-24-2-215. Kucharski 0-1-0-0, team 0-1-0-0. Dallas, Zapoticky 6-17-0-133.
RECEIVING — Valley View, Reed 4-28, Rupp 3-115, Chris Savkov 2-33, Kucharski 3-39. Dallas, Lucas Tirpak 1-29, Gavin Lewis 1-21, Paczewski 3-58, Nick Farrell 1-25.
INTERCEPTIONS — Dallas, Paczewski 1-0, G.Lewis 1-0.
MISSED FGs — none.
