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Dallas gets the best of Crestwood in the Battle of 2 Mountains

Tagged under: District 2, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

| October 12, 2024

After last year’s wild matchup, a lot of hype preceded this year’s version of the Dallas/Crestwood game. Both teams came into the game at 4-3 with some momentum, with Back Mountain’s Dallas having won 4 straight and Mountaintop’s Crestwood winners of 3 straight. The tension during pre-game was very noticeable, and as a mid-fall chill set in up at Crestwood Stadium you knew it was a typical Friday night in District 2. A tense, close matchup seemed about to begin, or so we thought.

The Back Mountain definitely reigned supreme in this one.

The Mountaineers leaned on their passing game as QB Brady Zapoticky connected for 3 TD’s to WR Gavin Lewis, and Dallas beat Crestwood handily 37-14. The Comets hurt themselves badly with 14 penalties on the night, and the Mountaineer defense came up with 2 key interceptions.

Crestwood won the toss and elected to receive and started at their own 20. 3 runs by RB Jacob Jeckell gained 8 yards but the Comets punted it away as they were still deep in their own territory. Dallas took over at their 43 and QB Brady Zapoticky went to work. On the drive, he ran 3 times for 8 yards but showed immediately why he is a dual threat. On 2nd-and-2 from the Crestwood 39, Zapoticky’s pass fell incomplete but a roughing the passer penalty on the Comets meant a 1st-and-10 from the Comet 24. Zapoticky then hit WR Gavin Lewis for a quick 6 yards to the 18. On 3rd-and-4 from there Zapoticky threw it deep into the middle of the end zone where the pass was broken up, but a critical pass interference penalty gave the Mounts another 1st down. On 2nd-and-12 from the 13, Zapoticky hit Lewis for the 13-yard score and it was 7-0 Dallas with 7:58 left in the 1st quarter.

Crestwood started their next drive at their own 22. QB Jack Rodgers ran it for 8 yards, then on the next play RB Nate Walsh was hit in the backfield for a 3-yard loss but a facemask penalty on Dallas gave the Comets a 1st-down at the 34. Unfortunately, the drive stalled at the 42 and Crestwood punted it away. Dallas took over at the 50, and on 1st down Zapoticky gained 9 on the keeper. He then threw it to WR Logan Geskey for 10 yards and another 1st down at the 31 of Crestwood. After 2 straight incomplete passes Zapoticky hit Geskey again down the right seam for a nice gain, but Geskey was hit hard and fumbled and the ball was recovered by the Comets at their own 6.

Crestwood started an inspired drive there, and they were determined to run the ball against the Mountaineer defense. Jeckell and WR Colin Lazo alternated runs early, and they gained a combined 24 yards out to the 30 on 4 straight carries. Unfortunately, that was as far as the Comets could muster as the Mountaineers put pressure on, and the Comets were forced to punt as the 1st quarter ended.

Starting the 2nd quarter, Dallas took over at the Crestwood 46 after a poor punt. This particular drive was penalty filled on both sides. Dallas had 2 touchdowns called back due to penalties, including a spectacular one-handed grab by Lewis. Crestwood also had 3 critical penalties as well that allowed the drive to continue. On 3rd-and-7 from the 13, Zapoticky scrambled 8 yards to the 5 to make it 1st-and-goal. He then called his own number again and gained 1 yard to the 4, and on the very next play he handed it off to RB Dylan Geskey who drove the pile forward and scored to make it 14-0 Dallas with 8:21 left in the 1st half.

Crestwood knew they needed to strike on their next drive, and they did just that. Starting at their own 30, Lazo had a nice 5-yard run to get things going. On the very next play, Rodgers took the snap and rolled right and then ran back left down the left sideline for a 53-yard gain down to the 13 yard line. Confusion then ensued over the next few plays as the chain gang had not marked where Crestwood had the ball, and instead had laid the chains down thinking that it was 1st-and-goal. Lazo ran it for 7 yards, then Rodgers hit for 2 yards on the keeper down to the 4. TE Lincoln Bibla then took the handoff but was stopped for no gain, and it was 4th-and-1 just inside the 5. Rodgers then ran it and appeared to get the 1st down, but since the chain gang had not marked where the ball was on 1st down there could not be a measurement and the referees simply gave the Comets a 1st down (Complete transparency: I felt Rodgers got the 1st down). After lengthy discussion and the 1st down awarded, Bibla took it again on the next play and scored on a 3-yard run to get the Comets on the board. With 5:17 left in the half, Dallas had a 14-7 lead.

The Mountaineers started the next drive on their 34. This was another penalty filled drive for both teams that stalled at the Crestwood 47 and Dallas was forced to punt. Crestwood started their next drive at their own 20, but it was a short drive because on 3rd-and-9 from the 21 Rodgers’ pass was intercepted by DB Logan Geskey and returned to the Crestwood 25. On the very next play, Zapoticky hit Lewis for a beautiful 25-yard TD pass to extend the Mountaineer lead to 21-7 with 1:38 left in the half.

The Comets wanted to get another score before the half because Dallas would be receiving the 2nd half kickoff. Starting their next drive at their own 34, Jeckell had a nice 12-yard run to get things started. Lazo then struck for 5 yards into Dallas territory at the 49. On the next play Jeckell had a nice run aided by a Dallas penalty that made it 1st-and-10 at the Mountaineer 25. Jeckell ran it for 6 yards and Crestwood quickly called a timeout with 36 seconds left. On 3rd-and-5 from the 19, Rodgers lateralled it to WR Giovanni Barna who then dropped back to pass but the Dallas defense was on him immediately and forced him to scramble out of bounds for a loss of 1. The Comets’ 4th down pass fell incomplete and Dallas took over and kneeled it out to go to halftime with a 21-7 lead.

The Mountaineers took the 2nd half kickoff and started their initial 2nd half drive at their own 33. This turned out to be the defining drive of the game. Initially, Zapoticky had 2 runs for 14 total yards and Dylan Geskey had 2 runs totaling 8 yards to keep the drive going. Zapoticky also had 2 screen passes to Lewis totaling 18 yards. On 1st-and-10 from the Comet 27, Zapoticky ran it left and was hit but a facemask penalty on the Comets made it 1st-and-10 at the 12 and a sideline warning was issued to Crestwood as well. On the next play, Zapoticky again ran it left and was hit hard at the 1-yard line and fumbled into the endzone where Dallas jumped on the ball for a touchdown. With 8:40 left in the 3rd quarter, Dallas extended their lead at 28-7.

Crestwood started their next drive at their own 37, determined to stay in the game. A facemask penalty on the Comets pushed them back to make it 2nd-and-21 from the 25. On 4th-and-21 from the 25, the Comets lined up to punt but an illegal motion penalty made it 4th-and-26 from the 20. As they tried the punt again, a bad snap went into the endzone and as the punter attempted to recover the ball he stepped out of the endzone for a Dallas safety. The score was then 30-7 Dallas with 6:41 left in the 3rd quarter. Dallas then took the free kick and a nice return gave them great field position at the Crestwood 33. Unfortunately, Dallas gained only 1 yard in 4 plays and turned the ball back over to Crestwood on downs.

The 2 teams then traded quick 3-and-outs, and Crestwood began again at their own 15. Penalties continued to haunt the Comets as 2 more on this drive negated nice gains. On 1st-and-10 at the 14 after a dead ball foul on the Comets, Rodgers broke free again on a nice 41-yard run to the Dallas 40. A holding penalty on Crestwood pushed them back to midfield. Rodgers then had 2 nice runs, the latter of which was aided by a horse-collar tackle on Dallas to make it 1st-and-10 at the 26 as the 3rd quarter ended. Beginning the 4th quarter and facing a 4th-and-8 at the 25, Rodgers was intercepted by Dallas DB Sam Kelley who returned it to the Dallas 26. The Mounts took over there, and 3 plays later Zapoticky threw a screen pass to Lewis who reversed field and outran the Comet defense as he scampered 74 yards to paydirt for the score. With 9:47 left in the game, Dallas now had a 37-7 lead.

On the ensuing kickoff, Walsh broke free for the Comets and ran it back 85 yards for a touchdown. With 9:34 left in the game, it was now 37-14 Dallas. The Mountaineers then took over on their own 24 and controlled the ball and the clock as they drove down inside the Crestwood 20, then kneeled it out for the 37-14 win.

After the game, Dallas Head Coach Rich Manello said to his team “This is a huge win…..until we get home, and then we gotta go.” I spoke with WR Gavin Lewis after the game, and you can see the interview below.

Check the photo gallery from the game, courtesy of Sherryl Samuel:  PHOTO GALLERY

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