YATESVILLE — The plays which sprung Dylan Geskey on two of the first four snaps for the Dallas offense on Friday were no secret. It’s a sweep play. But it’s a staple of the Mountaineers’ offense and a play they have to be able to run.
Geskey set a tone at Charley Trippi Stadium last night with those first two carries. Behind an offensive line which is starting to find its footing as a brand new group, Geskey ran for 34 yards on his first two carries. Two more touches later he was in the end zone. Geskey found paydirt two more times after it, and Dallas ran for 291 yards as a team in a 30-22 win over Pittston.
Despite a young, inexperienced offensive line which had to replace all five starters from last year’s state finalist, Geskey (118 yards) and quarterback Brady Zapoticky (134 yards) both eclipsed the century mark last night. And the Mountaineers asserted themselves up front to control the football game despite the tight score.
“We’re taking what’s there,” Zapoticky said. “Me, Dylan and Nate (Malarkey) carried the load and those guys were great. Those guys ran the ball excellent and they were physical. Kudos to those guys because they were phenomenal.”
Dallas didn’t just have to replace its entire offensive line, they had to do it against a schedule which started with three teams who are now a combined 11-4. And both Dallas coach Rich Mannello and Zapoticky think that those challenges are eventually going to benefit the group.
Those benefits have shown up the last two weeks as the Mountaineers have won their last two games. And after averaging just 34 rushing yards the first three weeks and just 2.2 yards per carry, Geskey — a 1,500-yard rusher a year ago — has now recorded back-to-back 100-yard games.
He did the bulk of his damage Friday night on not-so-secret sweep play. It’s a play which allows Mannello to utilize an offensive line which may be undersized, but it’s both strong and quick. And they created a seal that Vince Lombardi would have been proud of to spring Geskey early. By the end of the first quarter, the senior had 56 yards and a pair of short touchdown runs.
“It’s not always about what you want to do as coaches, but what can your players do within the scheme. That play fits in well with our personnel,” Mannello said. “There’s no magic there. It’s a sweep play and everyone knows we’re running it, but we have to find a way to run it.”
“We don’t always have the heaviest guys, but we’re strong and we have speed up front,” Zapoticky said. “So we have to use that and get out to the perimeter and let our guys make plays.”
About the only hiccups for Dallas last night was a second-quarter in which it surrendered 15 points to the Patriots. The Mountaineers were called for pass interference on third down which gave the Patriots a second chance to convert. Two plays later CJ Pietrzak plunged into the endzone from the 4 and added a two-point run. On Pittston’s next drive, quarterback Matt
Walter broke a 32-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-2 even as the Dallas coaches were calling out what play the Patriots were running before the snap.
But the Mountaineers’ defense always seemed to find a way to stifle the Patriots outside of those two scores. Pittston had just 145 yards of offense. Patriots leading rusher Pietrzak was held to just 16 yards on 13 carries, and both Malarkey and Gavin Lewis came up with key interceptions.
“That (Lewis) pick in the second half was huge,” Mannello said. “That was a huge statement play because they had the momentum. But he’s a senior and he needs to make that play.”
From there, Dallas’ run game methodically wore down the second half clock. Zapoticky scored on a 6-yard run in the third quarter to put the Mountaineers up two scores, and the defense forced a fourth-quarter turnover on downs when Pittston had a chance to tie the game.
After starting 0-3, the returning state finalists have won a pair of games in a row to take control of first place in Division 1 of the Wyoming Valley Conference. And as the Mountaineers see it, everything they still want to accomplish is in front of them.
“We still gotta take it step by step and game by game,” Zapoticky said. “There’s a lot of things we have our eyes set on. But we still have things we have to fix.”
Dallas 30, Pittston 22
Dallas 14 7 9 0 – 30
Pittston 0 15 0 7 – 22
First quarter
D—Dylan Geskey 4 run (Rowan Laubach kick), 8:43
D—Geskey 3 run (Laubach kick), 3:12
Second quarter
P—CJ Pietrzak 4 run (Pietrzak run), 11:40
P—Matt Walter 32 run (Gavin Wolfe kick), 8:11
D—Geskey 1 run (Laubach kick), 4:36
Third quarter
D—Brady Zapoticky 6 run (Laubach kick), 4:04
D—Safety, punter tackled in the end zone, 2:42
Fourth quarter
P—Lucas Lopresto 12 pass from Walter (Wolfe kick), 7:07
Dal Pit
First downs 23 7
Rushes-yds 56-291 32-65
Com-att-int 6-14-1 5-16-2
Pass yards 64 80
Total yards 355 145
Fumbles-lost 1-0 1-0
Penalties-yards 8-70 8-60
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing—Dallas, Brady Zapoticky, 24-133, TD; Dylan Geskey, 22-118, 3 TDs; Nate Malarkey, 10-40. Pittston, Matt Walter, 15-98, TD; CJ Pietrzak, 13-16, TD; Team, 4-(-49).
Passing—Dallas, Zapoticky, 6-14-1, 64 yds. Pittston, Walter, 5-16-2, 80 yds., TD.
Receiving—Dallas, Malarkey, 2-29; Geskey, 2-5; Logan Geskey, 1-29; Gavin Lewis, 1-1. Pittston, Lucas Lopresto, 4-52, TD; Colten Lis, 1-28.
INTERCEPTIONS—Dallas (2), Malarkey, Lewis; Pittston (1), Victor Narsavage.
RECORDS: Pittston (2-3); Dallas (2-3).
