DALLAS TWP. — On a warm, early November Friday night under the lights, the Dallas Mountaineers controlled the game from start to finish in a 49-28 victory over the visiting Wyoming Area Warriors in a District 2 Class 4A quarterfinal matchup.
Dallas was once again led by a stellar performance from senior team captain Parker Bolesta, as he ran for a game-high 187 yards and four touchdowns on just 14 carries.
In a matchup of two of the Wyoming Valley Conference’s top rushers, Wyoming Area’s Aaron Crossley finished with 150 yards and a score.
Mountaineers quarterback Brady Zapoticky went 7-for-10 passing for 107 yards a touchdown and an interception.
Dallas coach Rich Mannello was proud of his team’s solid effort on the night, which put the Mountaineers (9-2) into next week’s semifinals on the road against reigning district champion Valley View. The Cougars beat Honesdale 54-7 on Friday.
“The kids hung in there,” Mannello said. “That back we faced tonight is as good as we’ve seen there, (Crossley). He ran hard and we had a hard time tackling him, obviously, and you could see that.
“But our kids stayed with it, and we were opportunistic offensively. I think the drive right before the half was huge, I think with 40 seconds left to go, we went the length of the field and scored, that made a big difference in the game.”
Dallas had opened a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter, but the Warriors added a pair of touchdowns afterward and cut the deficit to 28-14 with 44 seconds left before halftime.
But that was enough time for the Mounts to score one more touchdown of their own as Bolesta found the end zone as time expired to make it a 35-14 at the break.
Both teams were coming off rivalry games as Dallas beat Lake-Lehman to reclaim the Old Shoe while Wyoming Area fell to Pittston Area in a battle for the WVC Division 2 title.
That carried over into Friday’s playoff opener as Dallas scored just 33 seconds in after the Warriors opened the game with a surprise onside kick. Dallas recovered, and Bolesta scored from 33 yards out on just the second play from scrimmage to give the Mounts a lead for the rest of the night.
Bolesta capped a 75-yard drive late in the first quarter with a 22-yard touchdown and then ripped off a 51-yard score to make it 21-0 a minute into the second quarter.
Wyoming Area would find its first answer after that as Michael Crane barreled into the end zone from the 1 with 6:51 left in the half.
Dallas would grab the momentum right back with 4:56 left in the half, as Zapoticky connected with junior wide out Zach Paczewski on a highlight reel 23-yard jump ball catch over a defender in the back of the end zone to increase the Mounts’ lead to 28-7.
The Warriors would show resiliency of their own when they came right back and scored again, this time completing an impressive 77-yard scoring drive. Quarterback Damian Lefkoski found senior tight end Justin Francis open for a 17-yard touchdown on a crucial 3rd-and-12.
Bolesta’s back-breaking score came from 3 yards out with no time left in the half.
And Bolesta wasn’t finished after the break, this time coming through on special teams to block a punt that was scooped up by junior Lucas Tirpak for a 36-yard touchdown and a 41-14 lead.
Dylan Geskey put the game away with 4:10 left in the third, scoring a 3-yard touchdown to make it 49-14.
Crossley got on the board before the quarter ended, breaking loose for a 44-yard touchdown scamper to cut the Mountaineers lead to 49-21.
Speedy Wyoming Area sophomore Lidge Kellum closed out the scoring in the fourth quarter with a 63-yard touchdown run as the Warriors closed the season at 5-6.
District 2 Class 4A quarterfinals
Dallas 49, Wyoming Area 28
Wyoming Area`0`14`7`7 — 28
Dallas`14`21`14`0 — 49
First Quarter
DAL — Parker Bolesta 33 run (Jace Chopyak kick), 11:27
DAL — Bolesta 22 run (Chopyak kick), 1:13
Second Quarter
DAL — Bolesta 51 run (Chopyak kick), 10:57
WA — Michael Crane 1 run (Liam Burke kick), 6:51
DAL — Zach Paczewski 23 pass from Brady Zapoticky (Chopyak kick), 4:56
WA — Justin Francis 17 pass from Damian Lefkoski (Burke kick), 0:44
DAL — Bolesta 3 run (Chopyak kick), 0:00
Third Quarter
DAL — Lucas Tirpak 36 punt block return (kick failed), 8:59
DAL — Dylan Geskey 3 run (Geskey run), 4:10
WA — Aaron Crossley 44 run (Burke kick), 1:27
Fourth Quarter
WA — Lidge Kellum 63 run (Adison Yankovich kick), 7:19
Team statistics`WA`DAL
First downs`19`21
Rushes-yards`47-361`27-273
Passing yards`62`107
Total yards`423`380
Passing`6-9-0`7-10-1
Sacked-yards lost`3-30`2-9
Punts-avg.`3-30`2-33
Fumbles-lost`2-0`1-0
Penalties-yards`7-55`3-30
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — WA, Aaron Crossley 18-150, Lidge Kellum 9-129, Michael Crane 9-45, Luke Barhight 3-8, Keegan Rusyn 2-5, Josh Mruk 1-3, Oliver Bolin 3-13, Teddy Gilroy 1-10, Damian Lefkoski 1-(minus-2). DAL, Parker Bolesta 14-187, Dylan Geskey 2-31, Zach Paczewski 1-18, Jarratt Webb 9-39, AJ Fife 1-(minus-2).
PASSING — WA, Damian Lefkoski 6-9-0-62. DAL, Brady Zapoticky 7-10-1-107.
RECEIVING — WA, Aaron Crossley 1-25, Lidge Kellum 1-11, Garrett Pocceschi 1-5, Joe Marranca 2-4, Justin Francis 1-17. DAL, Zach Paczewski 3-49, Dylan Geskey 2-29, Joe Peters 2-29.
INTERCEPTIONS — WA, Joe Marranca 1.
MISSED FGs — None.
