HAZLETON — Any hopes of a second straight shutout for the Dallas defense were dashed on the opening drive, as Hazleton Area turned a good kick return into an early lead.
That was all the scoring the Cougars had in them, however, as the Mountaineers turned in another excellent defensive performance and overwhelmed Hazleton Area the rest of the way.
Sam Kelley had two rushing touchdowns and a punt return for a third score as Dallas won their third straight game with a 37-7 victory on the road against Hazleton Area.
Kelley’s 62-yard house call, which effectively put the game out of reach midway through the second quarter, was arguably only the second most impactful special teams play of the night for the Mountaineers.
After matching Hazleton Area’s opening drive score with a touchdown of their own, a missed extra point sent Dallas out to kick off still trailing 7-6.
Then came a perfectly executed onside kick that caught the Cougars by surprise, handing Dallas the ball right back.
A few plays later, Talan Geskey was calling his own number on a quarterback keeper to put the Mountaineers ahead, where they would remain the rest of the way.
“This program is built on special teams,” Dallas coach Rich Mannello said. “We stole a possession on the onside kick and scored, and the punt return was critical.”
The quick momentum flip took the wind out of Hazleton Area’s sails, and the Cougars couldn’t get the offense back in gear.
Dallas scored the game’s final 37 points, bottling up Hazleton Area’s run game and keeping quarterback J.J. Lantigua on his heels all night.
Lantigua had the opening-drive touchdown for Hazleton Area, turning a fourth-and short situation into a 15-yard rushing touchdown.
He would end the game with just 23 net rushing yards, dropped multiple times in the backfield by Dallas’s pass rush and forced to do most of his throwing on the move without getting his feet set.
“You have to contain him (Lantigua), he’s dangerous,” Mannello said. “Whatever you do, you have to start with that … you have to tackle in the open field well.”
Dallas outscored Hazleton Area 17-0 in the second quarter to break the game open: after Talan Geskey’s legs gave the Mountaineers the lead, the signal-caller connected with Logan Geskey for a 36-yard touchdown pass with just under a minute left in the half.
A quick three-and-out and a good punt return set up Brandon Miller to drill a 28-yard field goal to make it a 23-7 Dallas lead at the half.
Kelley took over after halftime, with his punt return in the third quarter and a second rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Dallas (4-5, 4-1 WVC Div. 1) will wrap up the regular season at home with a rivalry tilt against Lake-Lehman next weekend.
Hazleton Area (1-8, 0-5 Div. 1) will take on Abington Heights in its own regular-season finale.
Dallas 37, Hazleton Area 7
Dallas`6`17`7`7 — 37
Hazleton Area`7`0`0`0 — 7
First quarter
HAZ — J.J. Lantigua 15 run (Gianni Turse kick) 8:11
DAL — Sam Kelley 8 run (kick failed) 2:49
Second quarter
DAL — Talan Geskey 8 run (Brandon Miller kick) 10:53
DAL — Logan Geskey 36 pass from T. Geskey (Miller kick) 51.2
DAL — Miller 28 field goal 0:00
Third quarter
DAL — Kelley 62 punt return (Miller kick) 5:45
Fourth quarter
DAL — Kelley 21 run (Miller kick) 11:12
Team statistics`DAL`HA
First downs`16`6
Rushes-yards`49-227`27-96
Passing yards`71`18
Total yards`298`114
Passing`5-10-0`3-9-0
Sacked-yards lost`0-0`2-14
Punts-avg.`2-33.5`7-25.5
Fumbles-lost`2-0`0-0
Penalties-yards`2-15`4-36
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — DAL, Mark Saracinaj 22-76, T. Geskey 11-97, Kelley 3-41, L. Geskey 1-(minus-5), Nico Wilk 2-9, Trevor Slavinski 5-3, Owen Oldt 3-10. HAZ, Xavier Heck 14-55, Ashton Karlick 5-18, Lantigua 8-23.
PASSING — DAL, T. Geskey 5-10-0-71. HAZ, Lantigua 3-9-0-18.
RECEIVING — DAL, Tyce Mason 2-20, L. Geskey 3-51. HAZ, Jose Lopez 2-26, Logan Gennaro 1-(minus-8).
INTERCEPTIONS — none.
MISSED FGs —none.
