DALLAS TWP. – Excitement surrounds the Dallas football team in anticipation of the season that opens Friday night in Tunkhannock.
The Mountaineers are loaded with four-year players.
Joshua Balara, Taylor Bolesta, Lenny Kelley, Matt Maransky, Dylan Schuster and Michael Starbuck have each been in the starting lineup since some point in their freshman season. Luke DelGaudio and Jack Farrell, two more seniors, are going into his third full seasons as starters. Danny Meuser is another senior who made his first appearances in the starting lineup back in his sophomore year.
With all that experience in the senior class for a team that went 11-2 a year ago, Dallas opens the season ranked as one of the best Class 4A football teams in Pennsylvania.
The Mountaineers are ranked ninth in the state by PennLive.com and PaFootballNews.com.
Most of the veteran Mountaineers are two-way players.
Kelley carried 266 times for 1,649 yards and 16 touchdowns and is also one of three starting linebackers who are returning.
Maransky is the most experienced player in the secondary and averaged 27 yards while turning six of his eight regular-season catches into touchdowns last season.
Balara and Bolesta are linemen who started on both sides of the ball last season.
DelGaudio, last year’s receiving leader, plays both wide receiver and as the second tight end in two tight end sets. He has moved around the secondary in the past, but will now be at safety.
Farrell has been a starter at tight end and was the team’s second-leading receiver last season. He also has significant experience as a defensive end and will either starter or be part of the rotation in the defensive line.
Schuster is back at linebacker and provides some depth in the backfield.
“It’s Dallas football,” Dallas coach Rich Mannello said. “We play both ways. Our guys do this.”
Starbuck is back at quarterback after hitting 70 of 132 attempts for 1,444 yards and 20 touchdowns.
The list of experienced players does not end there.
Meuser led the team in rushing two seasons ago, is a returning starter at linebacker. He’ll be the fullback, but can also play tailback.
Ryan Fisher kicked game-winning field goals against Berwick in overtime of the playoffs and in the final four minutes in the regular season.
Xander Shaner is another returning two-way starter in the line.
Andrew Molitoris started on offense and was part of the rotation in the defensive line before an injury last season.
R.J. Wren and returning starters in the defensive backfield.
Michael Lukasvage started the last two playoff games at quarterback when Starbuck and Wren were out with injuries.
Nikolus Gashi saw considerable time at linebacker last season.
Mannello’s preseason concentration was on developing depth to properly rotate the two-way starters out of the game at times, with a particular emphasis being able to do so in the offensive line.
“We have to get to the point where we can roll an offensive guard in and not give up an offensive drive,” he said.
Mannello said discussions about this season began when the team got off the bus following a 49-14 loss at Valley View in last year’s District 2 Class 4A final.
“It doesn’t matter how many kids you have back. There’s still a process that you have to go through every day, every month,” said Mannello, who praised his team’s effort to date in avoiding distractions and continuing to put in the work necessary to take advantage of their opportunities. “It changes a little as you go through the course of the offseason, but it’s still the process and that’s what allows you to have a chance.”
