Dallas kicker Rowan Laubach kicks a 26-yard field goal with Nate Malarkey holding to give the Mountaineers a 26-23 double overtime win against Bishop McDevitt in the PIAA Class 4A state semifinals last Friday. Dallas plays Aliquippa for the state championship at 7 p.m. Thursday at Cumberland Valley High School.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Dallas has won three PIAA Class 4A playoff games by a combined seven points. An underlying factor in all three victories has been special teams.
Often considered the third phase of football — along with offense and defense — special teams are a huge reason Dallas (15-0) will be playing Aliquippa (14-0) for the PIAA Class 4A state championship at 7 p.m. Thursday at Cumberland Valley High School in Mechanicsburg.
Special teams propelled the District 2 champion Mountaineers to a 26-23 double overtime win over defending state champion Bishop McDevitt in the semifinals.
“It was our game plan all week,” said two-way lineman Dan Sabulski, who blocked an extra point. “We knew special teams were what was going to make the difference for us in this game. We knew they didn’t take the time they did on special teams and we knew we had to take advantage of it and I think we did.”
Dallas’ offense was laboring somewhat as McDevitt had a 7-0 lead with under three minutes left in the first half. Three of the Mountaineers’ five first-half possessions had ended with punts after three plays. They managed just one first down in each of the other two.
Enter the special teams to the rescue.
McDevitt was punting from its 44-yard line when Nate Malarkey broke in from the edge to block the kick. Gavin Lewis, who had two blocked punts in the regular-season finale against Lake-Lehman, chased down the football and ran in for a 14-yard touchdown.
The blocked punt also resulted in a lower leg injury to punter Stone Saunders, who was also McDevitt’s quarterback. The University of Kentucky recruit had to test his leg at halftime before playing the second half.
Dallas gambled on the ensuing kickoff as kicker Rowan Laubach hit a pop kick that was recovered by teammate Lucas Tirpak. Seven plays later, Dallas was in the end zone and with a 13-7 lead at halftime. The only special teams gaffe was the extra point was blocked.
The Mountaineers weren’t done with special teams. They opened the third quarter with an onside kick and Tirpak recovered. While it didn’t result in points, it took away a possession from McDevitt’s high-powered offense that featured four Division I college recruits at skill positions.
“We do special teams every day of the week,” Tirpak said. “It’s not a play off for us. We were practicing that onside kick and the squib all week.”
Special teams also won the game in the second overtime. Tied 23-23, McDevitt lined up for a 22-yard field goal for the lead. The kick was blocked. Dallas lineman Brady Rosencrans was credited with the block, but said Monday he was unsure who got it or if the kick’s trajectory was so low it hit into the line.
Either way, it goes down as a blocked field goal.
Two plays later, Dallas sent Laubach out on second down to win the game with a 26-yard field goal. Laubach, a soccer player who led all Wyoming Valley Conference kickers in points during the regular season, had missed from 26 yards earlier.
Yet, Dallas coach Rich Mannello showed the utmost confidence in his first-year kicker. Laubach kicked the game-winning extra point in a 28-27 overtime with against Bonner-Prendie a week earlier. That kick came after Malarkey blocked Bonner-Prendie’s extra point.
Laubach also made three point-after kicks in a 21-18 victory over Valley View in the District 2 Class 4A championship game, which was also considered a state first-round game. Valley View missed its first PAT and chased the point all night.
As Laubach split the uprights, Dallas went into a frenzy celebration on the damp and occassionally rainy night.
“The special teams, the kicking game obviously changed the football game,” Mannello said. “Uncharacteristically, we had a PAT blocked. That doesn’t happen in Dallas. But we were able to overcome that.
“And Rowan, he’s spot-on on PATs. We had that block and he missed the field goal and he came over I said ‘You’re going to win it. You’re going to go back out there’ and he did. He doesn’t drop his head. That’s a lot of courage to do that.”
