First Posted: 11/4/2014

Dallas went to the final seconds of the regular season – and beyond – to fight its way into the District 2 football playoffs.

More than the Old Shoe Trophy was at stake when the Mountaineers scored the tying touchdown with no time on the clock and the winning extra in the untimed down that followed for a 27-26 victory over host Lake-Lehman Oct. 31.

When Ryan Martin came down with a 37-yard touchdown pass from Matt Harrison while surrounded by Black Knights in the end zone and Ron Ostrowski added the kick, Dallas landed the final spot in the District 2 Class AAA playoffs.

Defending champion Lake-Lehman had already secured its place in the District 2 Class AA playoffs when it opened a 26-14 halftime lead in the annual season-ending game between Back Mountain rivals.

Dallas cut the gap to 26-20, then made a fourth-down stop with less than a minute remaining.

Harrison’s 27-yard pass to Omar Nijmeh on fourth-and-10 made the winning play possible.

Both teams finished their regular seasons at 6-4 to land fourth seeds in district play and Friday night road semifinals against top seeds. Dallas was scheduled to face unbeaten Crestwood and Lake-Lehman was paired with Lackawanna Football Conference Division 2 champion Dunmore.

Dallas improved to 43-14-2 in the all-time series with Lake-Lehman.

– Tom Robinson