The Funding Zone
 
SAFR: Safer Through Science
 
 
SAFR: Safer Through Science
 
CoachComm Cobalt Plus
 
Turf Tank
 

Dallas throttles Honesdale to advance to District 2 Class 4A final

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

| November 2, 2024

Sometimes an opening round playoff game can intrigue you a bit. Such was the case with Honesdale paying a visit to the Back Mountain to play Dallas. The Hornets entered at 6-4 having won 4 straight and touting a strong rushing attack led by RB Mason Avery and a stout offensive line. Dallas came in having won 7 straight, after starting out the season 0-3, and seemed to be clicking on all cylinders on both sides of the ball. When it’s playoff time, momentum is everything and when both teams have it prior to the game then sometimes it’s a coin flip to see whose momentum will continue.

I guess it’s prophetic then that the Mountaineers won the coin toss in this one.

Dallas used the hurry-up offense to perfection and dominated offensively, and the Mountaineer defense made some big plays as Dallas won 48-14 to advance to the PIAA District 2 Class 4A final. Dallas QB Brady Zapoticky had 2 rushing TD’s and threw for 3 more scores in the rout.

Dallas did win the coin toss and elected to receive. Starting at their own 30 the Mounts used the hurry-up right away to throw the Honesdale defense off their game, and it worked. QB Brady Zapoticky ran for 8 yards, then RB Dylan Geskey ran for 3. Zapoticky then hit WR Nate Malarkey for 8 yards, then he hit WR Gavin Lewis for 28 yards down to the Honesdale 23. On the next play, WR Nate Malarkey had a short run aided by a facemask penalty on the Hornets so it became 1st-and-3 from the 16. Zapoticky then ran it for 13 yards to the 3, Geskey ran it for 2 yards and then Zapoticky hit paydirt on a 1-yard pile push run to make it 7-0 Dallas with 9:09 left in the 1st quarter.

Honesdale started their initial drive at their own 30. Dallas jumped offsides to make it 1st-and-5 at the 35, and then RB Mason Avery went to work. He took the first handoff and gained 6 yards, breaking several tackles. RB Gabe Duda had a 1-yard run, then after an incomplete pass Avery ran it for 10 to move the chains and into Dallas territory at the 48. Avery ran for 7 yards, and after another incomplete pass he ran for 2 yards to make it 4th-and-1 at the Dallas 39. Avery took the handoff and was hit immediately, and after a measurement it was determined Honesdale got the 1st down by barely 1 link of the chain. The Hornets then changed it up and went to the air as QB Aiden Collins hit WR Kobe White for 4 yards, then hit Avery for 11 yards and a 1st down at the 23. Avery ran for 1 yard, then Collins was hit for a 2-yard loss. A contested 3rd down pass fell incomplete in the endzone, and on 4th down a pass to Duda was bobbled and fell out of bounds incomplete, giving Dallas a turnover on downs.

Taking over at the 24, the Mountaineers went right back to the hurry-up offense. A big run by Zapoticky was called back due an illegal block, so it became 1st-and-7 at the 27. Geskey ran it for 8, then Zapoticky ran it for 12 yards. Zapoticky then used the play-fake and aired it out down the middle to Lewis for 42 yards down to the Honesdale 11. The Mounts ran it 3 straight times but failed to get the 1st down and instead brought on K Rowan Laubach for the 24-yard field goal. It was a perfect kick, and Dallas had a 10-0 lead with 41 seconds to go in the 1st.

Honesdale started their next drive at their own 33. RB Bradley Bibalo had a nice 4-yard run to start things off. On 2nd-and-6 from the 37, Avery took the handoff and was hit immediately by DB Mike Lewis for a loss of 8 yards as the 1st quarter ended. Starting the 2nd quarter, Collins ran it on the keeper and was aided by a personal foul against Dallas to make it 1st-and-10 at the Dallas 41. Avery then took the handoff and was hammered in the backfield again for a loss of 5 yards. Collins then hit Duda in stride for a 6-yard gain to make it 3rd-and-9 at the 40, but on the next play Collins hit WR Conlan Keast on a screen pass and Keast was hit hard in the backfield by Dallas DB Sam Kelley for a loss of 2-yards. The 4th down pass fell incomplete and it was another turnover on downs for the Hornets.

Taking over at their own 42, Dallas again moved quickly with the hurry-up. On the first play, it was a razzle dazzle as Dylan Geskey took the snap and threw it downfield to Zapoticky for a 36-yard gain to the Hornets 32. Zapoticky then ran it for 5 yards, followed by a Geskey 2-yard run. On 3rd-and-3 form the 25, Zapoticky hit Malarkey for a nice 16-yard gain to make it 1st-and-goal at the Honesdale 9. Zapoticky then called his own number and ran it in from 9 yards out to make it 17-0 for Dallas with 7:50 left in the first half.

Not wanting to get down any further before the half, Honesdale began an inspired drive at their own 39. Avery found some running room on 1st down and hit for 12 yards to the Dallas 49. After 2 more Avery runs that netted only 1 yard, Collins hit White for 3 yards to make it 4th-and-6 at the Mountaineer 45. Honesdale went for it on 4th down, and Avery got behind the Dallas secondary and Collins threw it to him for a 45-yard score. The PAT was blocked, but Honesdale was on the board to make it 17-6 with 5:24 left in the half.

On the next Dallas drive which started at their own 37, it was all Zapoticky. He had 2 completions for 39 yards including a big 30-yard pass to Lewis down to the Honesdale 30. Zapoticky also ran it 4 times for a total of 10 yards on the drive. On 3rd-and-9 from the 15 Zapoticky hit Lewis in the left corner of the end zone but the ball was never secured and fell incomplete. Laubach then came on and drilled a 32-yard field goal to make it 20-6 for Dallas with 2:15 left in the half.

Honesdale had one more chance to score before half, and started their next drive at their own 38. Unfortunately, the Dallas defense rose to the occasion. After Avery gained 6 yards and an incomplete pass on 2nd down, Collins was sacked for a huge 12-yard loss by LB Hunter Pitcavage to force a punt. Dallas took over at their own 48 and struck quickly. Zapoticky hit WR Logan Geskey for a 21-yard gain, and then he threw it to Lewis who made a ridiculous 1-handed catch for a 31-yard TD that made it 27-6 Dallas with 54 seconds left in the half.

Honesdale actually had one more chance on the ensuing drive. Starting at their own 30, Collins hit White for 5 yards. After an incomplete pass on 2nd down, Collins 3rd down pass was intercepted by Lewis who appeared to return it for a score but a personal foul during the return negated the score and effectively ended the half.

Honesdale took the 2nd half kickoff and started at their own 20. They were determined to get their running game going but the Dallas defense was ready. Avery had 2 runs for 21 yards, then on his 3rd straight run a facemask penalty gave Honesdale 1st-and-10 at the 40. Avery was hit for a loss of 3 yards on the next play and gained only 1 yard on 2nd down. An incomplete pass on 3rd down forced Honesdale to punt it away. Taking over at their own 35, Dallas again struck quickly. Zapoticky ran it for 9 yards, and on the very next play he hit WR Logan Geskey for a 56-yard catch-and-run TD to make it 34-6 Dallas with 8:50 left in the 3rd quarter.

Honesdale took over at their own 21 and tried again to get the running game going. Avery had 5 straight runs but Honesdale actually gained no yards due to a costly holding penalty. The drive stalled at the 21, right where it began, and Honesdale had to punt it away again. Dallas took over at the Honesdale 46 and again struck very quickly. Zapoticky had a 3-yard run out to the 43 and then hit Logan Geskey again for a 43-yard catch-and-run TD to make it 41-6 Dallas with 4:07 left in the 3rd quarter. With the mercy rule invoked, the game was effectively over.

Things did get a bit chippy on the next drive as several personal foul penalties on both teams forced stoppage of play. As the 3rd quarter ended and the final quarter began, Honesdale was driving in Dallas territory but an interception by Lewis halted the drive and Dallas took over. Dallas did get a rushing TD from Dylan Geskey to make it 48-6 with 4:16 to go in the game. On the ensuing drive Honesdale got a great return to the Dallas 40 and capitalized when Avery ran it in for 7 yards out to make it 48-14 for Dallas, which is how the game ended.

Dallas moves on to play at Valley View next Friday night for the District 2 Class 4A championship. After the game, I spoke with Dallas QB Brady Zapoticky and you can see that interview below:

Also, be sure to check out the photo gallery from tonight’s game, courtesy of Sherryl Samuel:  PHOTO GALLERY

Follow PA Football News on Twitter @PaFootballNews

 
 
QwikCut
 
GoRout
 
Sports Paradise
 
Football Legends board game
 
 
x