Jersey Shore Rolls Past Dallas (PA) In Home Opener
Tagged under: District 2, District 4, Gameday Hub, News, pfn
Ryan States | August 23, 2025
Jersey Shore, PA. – Last season was full of successes for Jersey Shore Football, an 8-4 record and a birth in the District Title game capped off a great 2024. But many questions arose on how the Bulldogs would look in the 2025 season, as much of their talent from the previous year had graduated.
Shore head coach Tom Gravish was faced with the hard task of a complete roster turnover, and trying to get many kids who had never seen the field before into game shape. Well it seems that there was no issue in that department, as the Bulldog roster that took the field on Friday, Aug. 22 looked composed and experienced, completely shutting down the Dallas (PA) Mountaineers in all facets of play. Winning their season and home opener 27-7.
Dallas is a very similar story to Jersey Shore, another perennial contender in the state of Pennsylvania, who also was forced to replace many of last year’s key players. But unlike the Shore, the Mountaineers inexperience showed, as at many times they seemed a bit overwhelmed in key situations, which led to some costly mistakes.
The game started out uneventful enough, with both teams stalling out on their first drives, but it was Bulldogs RB/LB Bo Sechrist getting the party started, picking off a pass from Dallas QB Brady McCann, and taking it all the way inside the 5-yard line. Just a few plays later Shore QB Nolan Pauling ran the ball across the goal line to give the Bulldogs an early 7-0 lead midway through the first.
Sechrist and Pauling were the catalysts for the Bulldogs offense for the majority of the night, especially on the ground. The pair combined for a total of 27 carries, for 120 yards and two scores (both from Pauling). Through the air Pauling was just as effective, completing nine passes for 160 yards and two more TDs.
Pauling’s performance was a surprise to say the least, as the sophomore QB rose to the occasion in his first career high school start. While he did appear in a few games last season, it was unknown how he would look in his first start against a really tough opponent, but needless to say Pauling far exceeded any expectations.
For Dallas the QB position was much less stable in Friday’s game, as throughout the game they rotated between two QB’s. McCann started out the game as the starter, but after the first few drives Dallas head coach Rich Mannello decided to make a switch to his backup Talon Geskey. Geskey and McCann traded off drives throughout the night, with neither finding any kind of rhythm or consistency.
Through most of the game the Bulldog defense completely erased the Mountaineers, with standout performances from Luke Thompson, Kash Herrit, and Connor Yingling. This defensive masterclass set up the Shore offense in many favorable positions, and never allowed Dallas to gain any momentum.
In the second quarter Bulldogs receiver, and one of the few key returning pieces in senior Carson Watkins began to catch fire. Watkins made a spectacular 30+ yard contested catch midway through the second, and only kept going from there, ending up with five catches for 124-yards and two scores. One of those scores being the dagger TD catch midway through the fourth quarter.
After the game coach Gravish sounded very pleased with his teams performance, saying “[I am] just happy. We had such a great turnout, Jersey Shore is the best place to play in the world. It was a packed house, and good hard fought football game between two proud teams.”
Next up Jersey Shore will take a long road trip, traveling three hours to match up against Delaware Valley. That game will take place next Friday, Aug. 29th, with a 7 P.M kickoff.
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