Dallas continues to roll, shuts out Wyoming Valley West
Tagged under: District 2, Gameday Hub, News, pfn
Jared Samuel | September 22, 2023
The Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 slate is always interesting, with many close games and some upsets usually in store most weeks. The Wyoming Valley West Spartans came into the game 1-3 but with some narrow losses this season. The Dallas Mountaineers arrived at Spartan Stadium with a perfect 4-0 mark, and have historically played some very tight games against the Spartans.
This was not one of those games.
The Mountaineers hit paydirt early and often in the first quarter and never looked back, handing the Spartans a 45-0 shutout loss. For the game, Mounts RB Dylan Geskey had 2 TD runs and QB Brady Zapoticky threw for 3 TD’s and ran for another score himself.
Dallas received the opening kickoff and started at their own 41, and although RB Dylan Geskey had a 3-yard loss on his first carry the Mounts moved downfield very quickly. QB Brady Zapoticky immediately added a 12-yard run and then hit WR Zach Paczewski for a nice 31-yard gain. A run by RB Mike Lewis for 9 was followed by a Zapoticky 2-yard run that made it 1st-and-goal from the Spartan 4. Geskey then rumbled in on the next play and after a missed PAT it was 6-0 with 9:40 still to go in the 1st quarter.
The Spartans took over on their own 20 and immediately it was RB Isiah Cobb with a run up the middle for 12 yards. The momentum was short-lived though, as Cobb was injured on the play and had to be helped off the field. With Cobb out and not able to return, the Spartan offense stalled and had to punt it away. The Mounts took over on their own 40 and struck quickly with an opening run by Geskey for 16 yards and followed by a Zapoticky pass to TE Nick Farrell for 14 more yards. Geskey then hit paydirt again as he broke a long 30-yard run for the score. The PAT was blocked and it was 12-0 in favor of Dallas with 7:09 still left in the 1st quarter.
Wyoming Valley West took over on their own 15 and it was RB Tyler Mattis who gained 9 yards on 2 carries. QB Carson Brown then got the 1st down with a 2-yard keeper, but threw a costly interception to the Mounts DB Gavin Lewis on the next play. Dallas would take over on their own 43, and Zapoticky quickly hit Farrell for 14 yards. On the next play, Zapoticky paid it back to Lewis on a 25-yard catch-and-run for another score. The 2-point conversion from Zapoticky to Geskey was good, and with 4:49 left in the 1st quarter Dallas increased their lead 20-0.
The Spartans again had no luck on offense, and ran 3 plays for a loss of 9 yards before they again punted it away. Dallas took over at the Spartan 42, and after RB Mike Lewis ran for no gain it was Zapoticky through the air again as he hit Paczewski for a 42-yard TD reception. After another 2-point conversion it was Dallas who increased their lead to 28-0 with 2:22 still to play in the 1st quarter.
The Spartans started their next drive at their own 25, and tried to move the ball with 2 runs by WR Jonathan Otway that gained only 3 yards. A false start by the Spartans complicated matters and a nice reception by RB Paul Riggs was stopped short of a first-down as the 1st quarter ended. A punt back to Dallas to start the 2nd quarter gave the Mounts the ball at the 50. Dallas then used a mix of runs and passes and drove down to the 25 yard line, and was Zapoticky to Paczewski again for the score. The PAT was good and Dallas took a 35-0 lead with 9:40 to go before the half.
With the Spartans taking possession at their own 20 again, the Dallas defense came up big. A 1st-down pass was deflected and fell incomplete, and on 2nd down it was sack of Brown by Farrell for a loss of 8 yards. Mattis could only gain 1 yard on 3rd down and the Spartans punted it away yet again. Dallas took it at their own 48 and methodically drove downfield, and it was Zapoticky who scored this time on a 1-yard dive that made it 42-0 Dallas with 6:01 to go in the half.
Another 3-and-out for the Spartans was followed by another methodical drive by the Mounts, who capped the scoring for the half and the game when K Rowan Laubach hit a 12-yard field goal to make it 45-0 for Dallas with only 9 seconds left in the first half.
With the mercy rule invoked for the entire 2nd half, and backups playing on both sides of the ball for both teams, the game ended quickly and Dallas remained undefeated at 5-0. They will head home next Friday night to face the Hazleton Area Cougars. Wyoming Valley West fell to 1-4 on the season and will go on the road next Friday to face the Berwick Bulldogs.
Be sure to check out the complete photo gallery from the game, courtesy of Sherryl Samuel: https://pafootballnews.com/pfn/dallas-at-wyoming-valley-west-photo-gallery/
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