H.S. Football: Abington Heights outslugs Dallas with big first half

CLARKS SUMMIT — The Dallas football team has been down this road before.

Just last season, the Mountaineers went from a team with an 0-3 overall record to repeating as Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 champions.

Abington Heights made sure Saturday afternoon that any extension of the Dallas title streak will require following a similar path.

Quarterback Nick Bradley accounted for 277 yards and three touchdowns while getting plenty of help from a well-rounded offense as the unbeaten Comets kept the Mountaineers winless with a 40-28 victory.

Dallas lost to Jersey Shore, Wyoming Area and Abington Heights by a total of 32 points in the first three weeks last season, then went 5-0 in WVC Division 1 over the next six weeks, beginning with a 41-33 victory over Wilkes-Barre Area.

This time, the Mountaineers have lost by a total of 39 points and have to hit the road to play the Wolfpack, which is 2-1 and quite possibly the top threat to another Mountaineers title.

Week 4 represented the start of an eight-game winning streak by the 2024 Mountaineers.

“We talked about the effort that was shown today and the heart that was shown,” Mannello said of his team being down two touchdowns early and in danger of falling behind by three only to rally into the lead. “You don’t have a chance if you don’t have that.

“We’ll go in there tomorrow and we’ll start all over. The process continues.”

Abington Heights knows all about turnarounds.

The Comets were a 3-4 team last season, but have won eight out of nine, including a District 2 Class 5A championship, since with the only loss coming by one point to unbeaten Hollidaysburg in the state playoffs.

Abington Heights did not stop between the end of the 2024 season and the start of 2025 despite replacing its entire offensive line and a prolific 1-2 receiving punch.

“Their backs ran hard; I’m really impressed by the line and that skill group is really something,” Mannello said. “Our kids played hard. I’m really proud of our effort.”

The game developed into a match between steady marches by Abington Heights and big plays by Dallas. Strong offensive efforts were supplemented by the Abington Heights defense and the Dallas special teams.

Logan Geskey scored three touchdowns, including two on passes from his brother, Talan Geskey, who threw for 208 yards on just 12 attempts.

The Mountaineers also scored on a 94-yard kickoff return by Tyce Mason.

Abington Heights countered with 23 first downs, 480 yards of total offense and a pair of interception returns for touchdowns.

Bradley, the Auburn-bound pitcher who was named Player of the Year in Pennsylvania high school baseball as a junior last spring, went 16-for-22 for 226 yards and two touchdowns. He carried seven times for 51 yards and another score.

“That’s a really good football team,” Mannello said. “That quarterback, I know he’s going to play baseball, but he can sling the football.”

Dallas fell behind 13-0, but led 14-13 after one quarter. The Mountaineers trailed 26-14 before Mason’s kickoff return brought them within five. They pulled within five again in the third quarter and drove to the Abington Heights 3, trying to do it one more time, before being stopped with 4:50 left.

The Comets ran the rest of the time off the clock with the help of Bradley hitting Gavin Anders on a deep fade for 32 yards with his team facing third-and-two from its 11.

“Our line is really stepping up,” Bradley said. “The backs in the backfield are making huge runs for us. We don’t really have to rely on the pass.”

Jayden Anglin ran for 163 yards and caught four passes.

The Comets had five receivers with multiple catches. For as accurate and strong-armed as Bradley is, he also benefited from outstanding plays by that group, up in the air and along the sidelines.

Abington Heights was up 13-0 and at the Dallas 32 looking for more after just 6:35 when Mason intercepted and raced 47 yards the other way. Logan Geskey took a reverse 25 yards on the next play.

Joey Slavinski recovered the ensuing kickoff and the Geskey brothers connected on a fourth-down pass to give Dallas its only lead.

Abington Heights 40, Dallas 28

Dallas`14`7`7`0 — 28

Abington Heights`13`20`0`7 — 40

First quarter

AH — Jayden Anglin 13 run (Jack Hartshorn kick), 7:50

AH — Thomas Reese 22 interception return (pass failed after bad snap), 7:34

DAL — Logan Geskey 25 run (David Worth kick), 5:27

DAL — LGeskey 11 pass from Talan Geskey (Worth kick), 4:11

Second quarter

AH — Rodman Azar 13 pass from Nick Bradley (Hartshorn kick), 11:18

AH — Anglin 31 interception return (pass failed), 1:31

DAL — Tyce Mason 94 kickoff return (Worth kick), 1:17

AH — Noah Kayal 8 pass from Bradley (Hartshorn kick), 0:21.3

Third quarter

DAL – LGeskey 70 pass from TGeskey (Worth kick), 2:44

Fourth quarter

AH – Bradley 2 run (Hartshorn kick), 7:28

Team Statistics`DAL`AH

First downs`8`23

Rushes-yards`18-33`42-254

Passing yards`208`226

Total yards`241`480

Passing`7-12-2`16-22-1

Sacked-yards lost`1-8`0-0

Punts-avg.`1-30.0`4-27.8

Fumbles-lost`1-0`2-2

Penalties-yards`3-27`6-52

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — DAL, LGeskey 2-27, Nico Wilk 4-20, Hunter Pitcavage 5-7, Mark Sarcinaj 2-6, TGeskey 2-minus 7, Joey Slavinski 2-minus 7, Team 1-minus 13. AH, Anglin 27-163, Bradley 7-51, Thatcher 6-31, Anthony Severs 1-10, Team 1-minus 1.

PASSING — DAL, TGeskey 7-12-2-208. AH, Bradley 16-22-1-226.

RECEIVING – DAL, LGeskey 5-118, Sam Kelley 2-90. AH, Gavin Anders 4-89, Anglin 4-38, Kayal 3-45, Cayd Sespico 3-40, Azar 2-14.

INTERCEPTIONS — DAL, Mason 1-47. AH, Anglin 1-31, Reese 1-22.

MISSED FIELD GOALS – AH, Hartshorn 43 (short).