Cavaliers repel the Invaders 42-12

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Jared Samuel | September 2, 2023

Scranton Prep is no stranger to facing local teams who simply want to knock them down a notch. They arrived at today’s game in that position again, fresh off of a lopsided win against Lakeland. The West Scranton Invaders had some success last week in the 2nd half against a good Riverside squad, but ultimately fell just short of an amazing comeback with their narrow 47-39 loss. The Invaders were hoping that their late game success would continue into this week’s game against the Cavaliers.

It didn’t happen.

Scranton Prep once again dominated on both sides of the ball in the 1st half and invoked the mercy rule by halftime, ultimately defeating the Invaders 42-12.

Prep took the opening kickoff at their own 37, a result of a short kick that was intending to keep the Cavalier’s speedy special teams in check. Prep then reeled off 3 consecutive good runs by RB Quinten Palermo (5 yards), WR Tae Weeks (10 yards) and WR Treyvon Dickey (9 yards). TE Reese Tanner capped it as he broke a 36-yard run through the heart of the Invader defense for a touchdown, and with 10:08 still to go in the 1st quarter it was a 7-0 lead for the Cavaliers.

West Scranton looked like they would immediately get things going, as QB Dan Van Dusky hit RB Ryan Evans for a 21-yard gain. The momentum was short-lived though, as the Prep defense stood tall and forced a punt. The teams each traded possessions, and when Prep began their 3rd drive of the game it was QB Louis Paris who threw an interception to the Invaders LB/RB Hunter Baumgardner. With West Scranton taking over at the Prep 34, Van Dusky then threw an interception to Prep’s DB/WR Jack Doughton. Paris then redeemed himself on the very next play by hitting WR Andrew Summa for a 74-yard touchdown. With 2:19 left in the 1st quarter, Prep was on top 14-0.

The Invaders started moving the ball on their next drive, as Van Dusky ran for 10 yards and Baumgardner had 3 runs totaling 15 yards as the quarter ended. As the drive continued at the Prep 35 yard line in the 2nd quarter, Van Dusky was intercepted by Summa. Prep then hit the gas pedal, as runs by Palermo and WR Liam Barrett got the Cavaliers down to the Invader 38 yard line. Paris then hit Summa for his 2nd TD reception of the game, a 38-yard run through traffic for the score. With 9:19 to go before halftime, the Cavaliers led it 21-0.

West Scranton could not get out of their own way on the next drive though, as 3 incomplete passes and a penalty forced a punt. The punt attempt was a disaster, as a fumbled snap and a barrage of Cavalier defenders turned into a recovered fumble at the Invader 28 yard line. After a personal foul penalty on the Cavaliers pushed them back to the 41, Paris broke a run to the 24 but a holding penalty pushed it back to the 33. Paris then hit Weeks for a terrific 33-yard catch and run for another score. With 7:11 to go in the 1st half, it was a 28-0 for the Cavaliers.

After a great kick return into Prep territory, disaster then struck again for the Invaders. Their 2nd play of the next series was another interception for Prep, this time by Weeks who returned it to the Prep 45. On the very next play, Paris hit Barrett for a 55-yard touchdown that made it 35-0 with 6:13 left in the half. The Invaders seemed to still have life left, as they started at their own 42 and drove the Prep 38 over the next 4 plays. But a holding penalty pushed them back to the 48, and on the very next play Van Dusky was sacked by DL Ambrose Rossi who forced a fumble that was recovered by Prep at their own 48. The Cavaliers then had 6 straight runs capped by a RB Will Mc Partland 19-yard touchdown run that made it 42-0 with only 30 seconds left in the half.

With the mercy rule invoked and the clock continuing to run in the 2nd half, the 3rd quarter was scoreless. In the 4th quarter, the Invaders eventually scored on a 6-yard touchdown run by backup QB Caiden Berardi. The PAT was blocked, and it was 42-6 in favor of the Cavaliers. The Invaders would get one more score when RB Shamier Lyons would score a touchdown from 2 yards out, but a bad snap on the PAT attempt meant no extra point. The score was 42-12 with only 2:03 left in the game, and Prep would kneel it out to seal the win.

Scranton Prep Head Coach Terry Gallagher spoke about how he keeps his team focused as a whole, going forward: “We have really good kids, I’ve got great coaches. So, we try to make it as competitive as possible at practice….I’m just lucky to be a part of it.”

My post-game interview with Coach Terry Gallagher of Scranton Prep@ScrPrepSports @PaFootballNews pic.twitter.com/DPzbn0cpma

— Jared Samuel (@jaredsamuelpfn) September 2, 2023

Scranton Prep is on the road next Friday to face the Lake Lehman Knights, while West Scranton will try to get on track next Saturday against the Scranton Knights.

Check out the photo gallery from the game: