Dallas running back Dylan Geskey led Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 in scoring running behind a rebuilt offensive line.
Tony Callaio file photo | For Times Leader
Dallas’ new blockers brought success
DALLAS TWP. — They entered the room on the left, as Dallas coach Rich Mannello often calls it, some as fullbacks and tight ends.
They exited, after countless hours of hard work and dedication, as a cohesive offensive line. An offensive line that played a huge part in Dallas being the only Wyoming Valley Conference football team to win a District 2 championship on the field.
Now comes the final test for the starting five, who will be wearing the Dallas uniform for the final time as the Mountaineers (15-0) play District 7 champion Aliquippa (14-0) for the PIAA Class 4A championship.
Kickoff is 7 p.m. Thursday at Cumberland Valley High School in Mechanicsburg. The game will be televised live by the Pennsylvania Cable Network (PCN).
Construction began a few weeks after the 2022 season ended and the foundation was formed in the room on the left, Mannello’s moniker for the weight room based on its location in the fieldhouse. Center Dan Sabulski had experience and was expected to nail down one starting spot. The rest of the blueprint needed to be drawn up.
“I started playing football when I was 6,” guard AJ Fife said. “This is actually my first year on the line. Me and Archie (Stephens), it’s both our first years. We were fullbacks before this. I thought it would be fun.”
Stephens plays the other guard position. The fullback when Dallas uses an I-formation is essentially an extra lineman, said Mannello.
“Some of it is the same, but it’s different,” Stephens said. “It’s the same guy in a different spot. It’s a good thing. It’s for the team because we were a little thin on the offensive line. We were all making the switch. We’re sacrificing for the team. Instead of it being a me, me, me sport.”
Brady Rosencrans and Emmett Moore locked down the tackle positions. Rosencrans is on the right and Moore on the left.
“We weren’t sure if we were going to have a great big line,” Rosencrans said, “but a lot of guys stepped up, worked hard in the weight room, put on the pounds. We all have the technique. Coach is always preaching it. That’s what’s really helping us.”
The three others who rotate in — senior John Cummings and juniors Jarratt Webb and Zach Williams — also made position changes.
Cummings’ senior picture in the stadium entrance has him wearing his tight end number of 84. He switched to 77. Webb started the season as a fullback but has since been also issued the lineman number of 66. Williams is a former tight end who, through his hard work on special teams, carved out a role on both sides of the line.
“It’s a big deal to have the seniors,” Moore said, “but we have eight guys who can play on the offensive line now. That helps out a lot.”
The weight room has a large chart loaded with numbers showing where the players were, where they are presently and what the future goals will be in the lifting program. Mannello explains it like a chemistry professor explaining the periodic table, although it appears even more complicated.
Those numbers are simple math to the players — a possible factor in victory and defeat every week.
“You know how the commitment to the weight room is here,” Mannello said. “When we finished last season, Dan Sabulski was going to be the only one coming back who had minutes under the lights as an offensive lineman. So we go into the offseason program and get to a point where who are the strongest guys in the building.”
