LEHMAN TWP. — After the final whistle blew, the Dallas and Lake-Lehman football teams finished shaking hands and the Mountaineers broke apart after posing to take a photo with the Old Shoe Trophy, an emotional Rich Mannello stood in the middle of the black turf field at Lake-Lehman High School, surrounded by teammates, family and friends.
He was one proud coach. Not only did his team take down the Black Knights, 18-15, for just its second win of the season, the victory, coupled with losses by Tunkhannock and Pittston Area Dallas earned a trip to the District 2 Class 4A tournament.
“We’re in? We’ll be back in the weight room (Saturday) morning and we’ll go play and that’s it,” Dallas head coach Rich Mannello said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been more proud of a group of seniors than this group.
“They’ve been through hell and back. They’ve had so many freshmen playing and they closed the gap, and the freshmen grew up. But the harder it got during the season the leadership got better with the captains. I can’t say enough about those kids and the whole senior class,” he said.
Dallas overcame multiple turnovers thanks to the stout play of its defense, which intercepted a pair of passes, blocked two punts and forced a turnover on downs itself. Both of the Mountaineer’s blocked punts led to points – including a Leonard Kelley 18-yard rushing touchdown – along with one of its two interceptions.
While Dallas struggled to punch the ball in, kicking field goals on two separate red-zone trips, the defense stood tall throughout the evening. Lake-Lehman didn’t earn its first, first down until its opening drive of the third quarter.
“We played fast tonight on defense,” Mannello said. “The kids, the coaching staff on that side of the ball did a tremendous job, but it comes down to kids. They made plays on punt block. We put a couple on the ground that we’ll fix.”
However, the Black Knights made things interesting in the second half thanks to the play of quarterback Vincenzo Ferrari. The senior rushed for two touchdowns, including a 6-yard score and successful 2-point conversion carry, with 6:40 remaining in regulation to tie the game at 15.
With the Black Knights taking hold of the momentum, Dallas freshman quarterback Michael Starbuck and the Mountaineers offense were able to take it right back. After having little success through much of the second half, Dallas drove 58 yards to the Lehman 9-yard line. Starbuck threw a 19-yard dart to Chris Murray to start the drive and carried the ball for 22 yards on four carries during the possession.
“He’s got some pins, doesn’t he? He can run,” Mannello said of Starbuck. “He’s so mature. He’s still 14 years old. That group, I think in nine (starting) spots, there are seven ninth graders and two 10th graders.”
Set up with a fourth-and-8 on the 19-yard line it was go time for Dallas junior kicker Nate Maransky, who made a pair of field goals earlier in the game. He drilled it right through the uprights for the game-winning field goal.
“I was nervous. I really was,” Maransky said. “I don’t know, (the credit’s) all to the team. They got me in the position to kick and I knew I would make it.”
Though Lake-Lehman lost Friday, the still advanced to the District 2 3A and will be either the No. 2 or No. 3 seed.
Dallas 18, Lake-Lehman 15
Lake-Lehman`0`0`7`8`—`15
Dallas `9`6`0`3`—`18
First quarter
D — Safety, 3:41
D — Leonard Kelley 18 run (Nate Maransky kick), 0:52
Second quarter
D — Maransky 24 field goal, 6:41
D — Maransky 20 field goal, 1:03
Third quarter
L — Vincenzo Ferrari 1 run (Ian Dawsey kick), 6:40
Fourth quarter
L — Ferrari 6 run (2-point run good), 6:40
D — Maransky 35 field goal, 1:04
