Montrose graduate Chris Snee, back middle, was among the family members in attendance Saturday at Lamade Stadium in South Williamsport when his father-in-law, former New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin, was inducted into the Little League Hall of Excellence. (Photo courtesy of Little League Baseball and Softball)

MONTROSE – The Bluestone Trophy is back in Susquehanna.

Kyle Donovan led a versatile ground game and Logan Conrad led a dominant defense while Ian Townend, Sam Cosmello and Jarred Mills were big parts of both Friday night to lead Susquehanna to a 21-7 victory over Montrose in a Lackawanna Football Conference Division 3 opener.

The annual meeting of Susquehanna County’s only two high school football teams also served as the Battle of the Bluestone for the fifth straight year. Susquehanna won the first three games for the trophy before Montrose claimed it last year with a 3-0 victory.

Donovan carried 19 times for 127 yards and completed five of seven passes for 63 yards.

“Kyle’s much improved,” Susquehanna coach Kyle Cook said. “He had a good game tonight. He hit some passes early to open some things up.”

Donovan ran the offense, which produced 17 first downs, 291 yards rushing and 354 yards total offense.

The season opener came less than a month after the death of Donovan’s mother, who was recognized in a pregame moment of silence.

“Everything’s for her,” Donovan said. “Every yard I gain, every pass I throw is for her.”

Donovan was honored after the game as the recipient of the second annual Thomas E. Robinson Memorial Award for outstanding play in the Susquehanna-Montrose game while respecting opponents and officials.

Conrad led a defense that forced three turnovers, produced six sacks and made a total of 13 tackles for 62 yards in losses. From his end position, he had three sacks and another tackle for a loss while finishing with five tackles and two assists.

Townend, a transfer from Scranton, playing his first game in the program, carried seven times for 75 yards and two touchdowns. He also made three tackles, including one for a loss, assisted on two others and recovered a fumble.

“He’s an aggressive kid,” Cook said.

Cosmello, a sophomore, had a big second half. His only carry went for a 6-yard touchdown. He also had a fumble recovery, sack and pass rush during that time.

Mills ran 12 times for 51 yards. He made five tackles, including one for a loss, and assisted on three others.

“You could see tonight that we have some running backs, who can run the ball, which helps,” Cook said.

Susquehanna was in Montrose territory on all 10 of its possessions.

After moving inside the 25, then losing a fumble on the first possession, the Sabers scored the only touchdown of the first half on the second drive.

Susquehanna moved 62 yards on 10 plays. Townend had a 16-yard run during the drive, then scored on a 19-yard run with 24 seconds left in the first quarter.

Townend took an option pitch around the right end and got to the corner.

“On that one, (Donovan), made both reads, made a great pitch and our running back did the rest,” Cook said.

Montrose managed just seven yards in three first-quarter possessions.

The Meteors did not have a first down until their final drive of the first half.

Adam Roe and Logan Conrad quickly put a stop to that drive with sacks.

Donovan completed two passes to move the Sabers to the Meteors 15 with 32 seconds left in the half. Two straight penalties, followed by a sack, stopped that threat.

The Sabers finally got points out of their efforts when they scored twice in 1:19 late in the third quarter to extend the lead to 21-0.

Cosmello capped a six-play, 61-yard drive in which Donovan had carried three times for 28 yards.

After Cosmello got the ball right back with a fumble recovery on the next play, the Sabers needed just four plays to score again on Townend’s 15-yard run.

Mills added the last of his three extra-point kicks.

Montrose came right back to get its only points.

Colin Mondi returned the kickoff 27 yards into Susquehanna territory. He kept the seven-play, 48-yard scoring drive alive by pulling in a 25-yard pass from Maverick Tims by getting his foot in-bounds on the sideline on a fourth-and-17 play.

Shaun Andersen intercepted a pass and returned it 23 yards to the Montrose 18 with 2:06 left.

Cook turned to his second offense, which moved the ball to the 1 before kneeling down there to end the game.

Susquehanna had statistical advantages of 17-6 in first downs, 291-59 in rushing yards, 63-25 in passing yards and 354-84 in total offense.

Roe, Andersen and Chris Graf also made big contributions defensively.

Roe had a team-high six tackles with two assists. He made a sack and assisted another while also making another tackle for a loss.

Anderson added two tackles and two broken-up passes to his interception.

Montrose, playing its first game under new coach Eric Nichols, was led by John Herman’s 42 yards on four carries.

Seth Bulkley, last year’s Robinson Memorial Award winner as a sophomore, had a big second half on defense and wound up leading Montrose with seven tackles and five assists.

Mikyle Fabrizio added six tackles and four assists.

Tyler Dovin scored the only Montrose touchdown on a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter.

WEEK IN REVIEW

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT – Ryan Harlost threw a five-hitter and had one of his team’s three hits Sunday afternoon when Maine-Endwell, N.Y. defeated East Seoul, South Korea, 2-1, to win the Little League Baseball World Series championship game before a crowd of 23,211 at Lamade Stadium.

International teams had won the last four titles.

M-E became the first U.S. champion since 2011, the first champ from the current Mid-Atlantic Region since 1998 and the first from New York State since 1964.

East Seoul’s Junho Jeong was perfect through 3 1/3 innings, including seven straight strikeouts at one point, before Maine-Endwell got its only three hits, in succession, to score twice.

M-E right fielder James Fellows robbed East Seoul of a home run in the second inning when the game was still scoreless.

“I was going for the ball,” said Fellows, who made an overhead catch just before he reached the fence. “I didn’t know where the fence was.”

Yoomin Lee hit a pinch-hit home run with one out in the top of the fifth for the game’s final run.

East Seoul had the tying and go-ahead runs on base in the sixth when Harlost got his eighth strikeout to end the game.

Former New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin, a two-time Super Bowl champion, was inducted into the Little League Hall of Excellence Saturday.

Montrose graduate Chris Snee, the starting guard on both Super Bowl winning teams and Coughlin’s son-in-law, was among the 17 family members in attendance during Coughlin’s induction.

In professional baseball, Jonathan Holder struck out 11 straight and 12 of the 13 batters he faced in relief as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders clinched an International League playoff berth with a 3-1 win over the Rochester Red Wings.

The RailRiders, who lead the IL North Division, locked up the franchise’s seventh playoff appearance in 10 years.

RailRiders pitchers combined to strike out 22 in the win.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Montrose and Susquehanna each play their only non-league football games of the season during the second week of the season.

Montrose is at Wilkes-Barre Meyers Friday night in a meeting of 0-1 teams.

Holy Redeemer is at Susquehanna Saturday afternoon in a game between teams that won their openers.

Our high school football predictions for the first week of the season were 9-4 (69.2 percent).

This week’s predictions, with home teams in CAPS:  … MEYERS 34, Montrose 6 … SUSQUEHANNA 28, Holy Redeemer 20 … GAR 23, Western Wayne 6 … OLD FORGE 17, Carbondale 0 … LAKELAND 36, Holy Cross 8 … SCRANTON 49, Honesdale 12 … DUNMORE 28, Lackawanna Trail 7 … RIVERSIDE 26, Mid Valley 15 … DELAWARE VALLEY 41, Valley View 13 … West Scranton 30, WALLENPAUPACK 0 … ABINGTON HEIGHTS 16, North Pocono 10 … COUGHLIN 14, Scranton Prep 10.

In boys soccer, the Lackawanna League season gets underway Tuesday, Sept. 6.

Mountain View at Scranton Prep in a game between teams that had two of the best three records in the league last season.

Other openers include: Holy Cross at Montrose, Old Forge at Forest City, Elk Lake at Lakeland and Mid Valley at Blue Ridge.

TOM ROBINSON writes a weekly local sports column for the Susquehanna County Transcript. He can be reached online at RobbyTR@aol.com.

LARSON GETS FIRST CUP VICTORY

Kyle Larson Gets First Cup Win (Furnished by NASCAR)

BROOKLYN, Mich.--Kyle Larson, driver of the No 42 Chip Ganassi Chevrolet got his first career Cup Series win this past Sunday at Michigan.

Larson, who led twice for 41 laps, had a slow pit stop during a caution on lap 181 of the 200-lap race. Chase Elliott was able to get out of the pits first and led until another caution with 11 to go.

On the race's last restart, Larson and Elliott were lined up 1-2 on the front row. Both drivers spun their tires. Brad Keselowski, who was behind Larson gave him a push, sending him into the lead which he never relinquished for the remainder of the race.

“Oh boy, I was feeling things build up in my stomach during those last laps,” said Larson. “We messed up on that last pit stop, but fortunately, we had a good enough car to win. We both spun our tires on that last start, but Brad really pushed me out front and allowed me to get the lead.”

Elliott led 31 laps, and appeared to be headed to the first victory of his career before the last restart cost him the lead, and circumstances intervened to relegate him to a runner-up finish.

“I saw the opportunity to get back out front and lead the race, but I spun my tires and didn't do what I should have done,” said Elliott. “It was my fault and I really hate it for all the team.”

Brad Keselowski was third, followed by Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Jamie McMurray, Denny Hamlin, and Joey Logano.

Kyle Busch struggled for most of the race, but managed to finish 19th. His car did not handle well at the start and he had a right front tire blow out during lap 27, putting him a lap down.

Martin Truex Jr. was another loser. He started 14th and by lap 58 of 200 had taken the lead. He went on to lead seven consecutive laps before coming down pit road for a routine four-tire green flag stop.

Unfortunately for Truex, the pit stop didn’t turn out to be routine. When it came to replacing the left side tires, the jack dropped before the the left-rear tire was stabilized. The incident caused major damage to the rear quarter panel section on Truex’s No. 78 Toyota.

“We were never the same after that pit stop,” said Truex, who was credited with a 20th-place finish. “We made a number of unscheduled stops to try to fix the problem, but the damage was just too severe to overcome.”

The No. 88 team with Alex Bowman subbing for Dale Earnhardt Jr. had engine problems. He wound up finishing 30th.

With only two races left before the 10-race Chase for the 2016 Sprint Cup begins, here is the official Chase Outlook, showing each driver's wins: 1. Keselowski-774 (4), 2. Kyle Busch-696 (4), 3. Harvick-709 (2), 4. Edwards-724 (2), 5. Hamlin-691 (1), 6. Johnson-648 (2), 7. Kenseth-633 (2), 8. Kurt Busch-721 (1), 9. Logano-716 (1), 10. Truex-652 (1), 11. Larson-582 (1), 12. Buescher-334 (1), 13. Elliott-628 (0), 14. A. Dillon-622 (0), 15. McMurray-616 (0), 16. Newman-601 (0). Note: The number of wins supersede the actual points in determining each driver's Chase position.

MCDOWELL FINALLY GETS A WIN

Michael McDowell had been chasing a NASCAR victory for nine years. He finally succeeded this past Saturday at Road America road course, on his 297th try.

And it was a convincing win. 

He led 24 of 48 laps to beat Brendan Gaughan to the checkered flag by just over half a second (0.534).

“The team called all the right shots, and we were  in the right position there at the end” said McDowell. “This is huge. I’ve got to thank all of my guys back in Michigan; Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing for letting me be here. They know how bad I wanted this victory at Road America. So thankful to do it.

Gaughan led once during the early stages of the race, but was unable to mount a serious challenge to the leader as the laps wound down.

“Well, we gave it all we had,” said Gaughan. “We came on strong, but just couldn't get to the front in time.”

Remaining top-10finishers: 3. Brennan Poole, 4. Daniel Suarez, 5. Ryan Reed, 6. Justin Allgaier, 7. Alex Tagliani, 8. Elliott Sadler, 9. Darrell Wallace Jr., 10. J. J. Yeley.

Top-10 leaders after 23 of 33: 1. Sadler-770, 2. Suarez-723, 3. Allgaier-770, 4. T. Dillon-713, 5. Gaughan-707, 6. E. Jones-678, 7. Poole-667, 8. B. Jones-652, 9. Wallace Jr.-606, 10. Reed-568.

Note: We would like to apologize for the error in last week's column. We mistakenly reported that the Xfinity Series had the weekend off.

MOFFITT TAKES MICHIGAN TRUCK RACE

Here are the results of Saturday's Michigan Truck Series Race: 1. Brett Moffitt, 2, Timothy Peters, 3. Daniel Hemric, 4. William Byron, 5. Cameron Hayley, 6. Ben Rhodes, 7. Matt Crafton, 8. Grant Enfinger, 9. Johnny Sauter, 10. Tyler Young.

Top-10 leaders after 14 of 23: 1. Byron-379, 2. Hemric-343, 3. Peters-335, 4. Sauter-335, 5. Crafton-322, 6. Kennedy-309, 7. Bell-305, 8. Nemechek-288, 9. Hayley-288, 10. Custer-285.

EARNHARDT'S RACING FUTURE STILL CLOUDY

Dale Earnhardt hasn't raced in more than a month, and Hendrick Motorsports announced last week that he will miss the Michigan and Darlington races.

In an article by WSOC-TV in Charlotte, Earnhardt said he still struggles with his ability to keep his eyes on an object while moving.

As he's recovering, he's giving fans an inside look at treatment for a concussion, an issue for athletes at every level.

Earnhardt's routine includes ball exercises, basketball and the most intriguing, walking backwards through a dark room with disco lights.

He has not indicated he wants to retire, but conversation about NASCAR's most popular driver and his future is unavoidable.

Former Charlotte racing promoter Humpy Wheeler said Earnhardt has no reason to risk coming back.

“He doesn't need any more money. He doesn't need to race anymore and he's at an age where a driver really ought to think about retirement anyway,” Wheeler said.

The television reporters spoke to race fans at Hendrick Motorsports and they said they are optimistic he will return. But they also said if Earnhardt does retire, racing will live on.

“You know, like NFL losing Peyton Manning. Yeah it stinks for a while, but it'll come back,” race fan Will Dewese said.

As NASCAR's favorite driver takes even more time away to recover, some believe he might never return, even though he hasn't called it quits yet.

“I think this is a very pressing situation for him,” said fan Walt Edwards. “Whether there is something physical going on within him, or if it's all in his mind, it's very real and I think he's smart to pay attention to it.”

No official announcement has been made by Hendrick or Earnhardt about his future plans.

What is your opinion of Earnhardt's future racing plans? Send us an e-mail expressing your views and we'll send you a photo of him.

Weekend Racing: The Sprint Cup and Xfinity teams will be at Darlington, while the Trucks travel to Montreal Canada for a road race.

Sat., Sept. 3, Xfinity Series race 24 of 33; Starting time: 3:30 pm ET; TV: NBC.

Sun., Sept. 4, Truck Series race 15 of 23; Starting time: 2:30 pm ET; TV: Foxsports1.

Sun., Sept. 4, Sprint Cup race 25 of 36; Starting time: 6 pm ET; TV: NBC.

Racing Trivia Question: Who has the most Cup wins at Darlington?

Last Week's Question? Which team did Carl Edwards drive for before moving to Joe Gibbs Racing? Answer. Roush Fenway Racing.

You may contact the Racing Reporter by e-mail at: hodges@race500.com