Dallas’s Dylan Geskey (4) rambles down to the five-yard line setting up a score on the next Mountaineer play against Pittston Area at Trippi Field.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Patriot CJ Pietrzak (25) scores a Pittston Area short yardage touchdown against Dallas on Friday evening.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Patriot Lucas Lopresto (1) catches a Matt Walter slant pass for a 40-yard gain against Dallas Area.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Pittston Area QB Matt Walter scampers 32-yards for a Patriot touchdown on Friday evening at Charley Trippi Stadium against Dallas.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Mountaineer Sam Kelley (29) catches Pittston Area QB Matt Walter (4) in the backfield for a Patriot loss.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
Mountaineer QB Brady Zapoticky rambles down field for extra yardage against Pittston Area at Yatesville.
Tony Callaio | For Times Leader
YATESVILLE — Hanging around all night, never out of the game, Pittston Area had the ball down a score late with a chance to try and make something happen.
Dallas wasn’t interested in any fourth-quarter comeback.
An emphatic defensive stop with time winding down allowed Dallas to get out of Charley Trippi Stadium with a 30-22 win over the Patriots, their second win in a row after an 0-3 start.
After a Lucas Lopresto touchdown and a fourth-down stop in their own territory, the Patriots took over needing to go about 80 yards to give themselves a chance to tie.
They never even got out of the blocks: a 6-yard Matt Walter run was sandwiched between three incompletions, the last on fourth down to give the Mountaineers the ball back, preserving the win in a game that, despite the stats, was always close.
“Our kids rallied around each other, we stayed together and figured how to get it done,” Dallas coach Rich Mannello said. “Hats off to Pittston Area, they played from start to finish.”
Dallas led by just six at the half, 21-15, and needed Dylan Geskey’s third touchdown run of the half to put themselves in the lead.
But the Mountaineers regrouped and came out firing to start the second half. Pittston Area got the ball to start, but the very first play of the drive was a Walter pass that was picked off by Gavin Lewis, getting Dallas going the other way.
Quarterback Brady Zapoticky used his legs to score and extend the lead to two possessions, and then on Pittston Area’s ensuing drive, a bad snap on an attempted punt led to a Dallas safety, pushing the lead to 30-15.
It was a momentum-shifting, game-changing stretch for the Dallas defense, and it took the wind out of the Patriots’ sails.
“One too many mistakes — you can’t make mistakes against a quality opponent and expect to come out on top,” Pittston Area coach Joe DeLucca said.
The Mountaineer run game — which found sustained success for really the first time this season in last week’s win over Wilkes-Barre Area — continued to improve on Friday night.
Geskey ran for 138 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries. He scored twice in the first quarter to put Dallas ahead 14-0 early. Zapoticky added 117 yards rushing and a score for the Mountaineers.
Geskey’s early work, coupled with a Nate Malarkey interception on Pittston Area’s first drive of the game, made it look like Dallas might cruise to a win.
But the Patriots defense figured things out, forcing several stops and coming up with one takeaway in the first half, an interception from Victor Narsavage.
Touchdown runs from CJ Pietrzak and Walter flipped a 14-0 deficit to a 15-14 lead for Pittston Area, with Pietrzak also converting a two-point conversion on his touchdown drive.
But the Patriots would ultimately lose traction on offense, going nearly two full quarters without a point from the second quarter into the fourth.
Dallas (2-3, 2-0 WVC Div. 1) will host North Pocono in a non-league matchup next Friday night. Pittston Area (2-3, 1-1 Div. 1) will be back at home, taking on Crestwood.
Dallas 30, Pittston Area 22
Dallas`14`7`9`0 — 30
Pittston Area`0`15`0`7 — 22
First Quarter
DAL — Dylan Geskey 4 run (Rowan Laubach kick), 8:43
DAL — Geskey 3 run (Laubach kick), 3:12
Second quarter
PA — CJ Pietrzak 4 run (Pietrzak run), 11:40
PA — Matt Walter 32 run (Gavin Wolfe kick), 8:11
DAL — Geskey 1 run (Laubach kick), 4:36
Third quarter
DAL — Brady Zapoticky 6 run (Laubach kick), 4:04
DAL — Gavin Wolfe tackled in end zone, 2:42
Fourth quarter
PA — Lucas Lopresto 12 pass from Walter (Wolfe kick), 7:07
Team statistics`DAL`PA
First downs`20`8
Rushes-yards`55-292`27-112
Passing yards`66`79
Total yards`358`191
Passing`5-13-1`5-16-2
Sacked-yards lost`1-7`0-0
Punts-avg.`4-34`3-37.6
Fumbles-lost`2-1`2-0
Penalties-yards`6-60`6-48
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — DAL, D. Geskey 23-138, Zapoticky 23-117, Nate Malarkey 9-37. PA, Pietrzak 12-11, Walter 15-101.
PASSING — DAL, Zapoticky 5-13-1-66. PA, Walter 5-16-2-79.
RECEIVING — DAL, D. Geskey 2-7, Logan Geskey 1-29, Malarkey 2-30. PA, Lopresto 4-51, Colten Lis 1-28.
INTERCEPTIONS — DAL, Malarkey 1-0, Gavin Lewis 1-0. PA, Victor Narsavage 1-18.
MISSED FGs — none.
