Susquehanna fullback/linebacker/defensive lineman Adam Roe received the third annual Thomas E. Robinson Memorial Award Saturday for outstanding play while respecting officials and opponents. Terri Robinson presented the awards (Tom Robinson photo)

Sam Cosmello scored three first-half touchdowns and Susquehanna overcame five turnovers Saturday afternoon to defeat visiting Montrose, 32-18, in the sixth annual Battle for the Bluestone.

The result, in a Lackawanna Football Conference Division 3 opener, spoiled the head coaching debut of Steve Miller at Montrose and left Susquehanna tied for the early division lead with Lackawanna Trail. Six of the 10 teams play their division openers in the second week of the season.

Susquehanna’s Adam Roe received the third annual Thomas E. Robinson Memorial Award for outstanding play while showing respect for officials and opponents. Roe made the clinching interception, forced a fumble and was one of the game’s defensive leaders overall with six tackles (two for losses) and seven assists along with contributing offensively as the team’s second-leading rusher while blocking for other backs from his fullback position.

“It’s a rivalry game so I think it pushes us to get off to a fast start,” Roe said after the Sabers won the trophy for the second straight year and fifth time in six tries.

C.J. Stone hit seven of 12 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown for Susquehanna on a day when the teams combined for nine turnovers and both had trouble moving the ball on the ground.

“He threw the ball well,” Susquehanna coach Kyle Cook said. “We knew he could get the fades in. With the press coverage, we knew our receivers could get over the top of them.”

Cosmello made a big contribution to the win despite playing only a few plays in the second half because of a health issue. The junior running back/linebacker was in the middle of a second-quarter flurry that pushed Susquehanna to victory.

The Sabers scored twice in seven seconds and three times in 2:52 to turn a tie game into a 26-6 lead with 4:25 left in the half. Cosmello had two of those three touchdowns.

“He learned on the fly last year, especially on defense,” Cook said of Cosmello. “Now, he’s playing middle linebacker for us and really reads the ball well.

“On the outside, I thought he really set up his blocks well. He stutter-stopped and got back going and that really got him to the edge.”

Each team had scored earlier on a 1-yard touchdown run.

Susquehanna opened the scoring when Montrose went for a fourth-and-one from its 35 and Cosmello and Roe combined to make the stop.

Stone then hit Mason Deakin for a 23-yard pass to the 1 where Cosmello took it in two plays later to open the scoring with 51.4 seconds left in the first quarter.

John Herman’s 25-yard interception return to the 1, set up Tyler Dovin’s touchdown to lift Montrose into a 6-6 tie with 8:49 left in the third quarter.

Susquehanna then put together the game-changing surge.

Stone hit Cosmello for a 50-yard pass, then found Deakin for a 16-yard touchdown. Holder Dan Baker got a low snap placed in time for Deakin to hit the extra point for a 13-6 lead with 7:17 left in the half.

That was just the start.

Montrose failed to cover the ensuing kickoff and Billy Perry pounced on it for Susquehanna at the 4.

Cosmello scored from there on the next play.

The Meteors lost another fumble two plays later and Cosmello recovered at the 18. He scored on a 7-yard touchdown and Deakin added the kick.

Montrose cut into the deficit in the final minute of the half by responding to the third straight Susquehanna touchdown with an eight-play, 60-yard scoring drive.

Herman wrestled the ball away from a Saber in the end zone to pull in a 26-yard touchdown pass from Maverick Tims to make it 26-12.

The score remained that way into the fourth quarter.

Mikyle Fabrizio’s third-quarter interception stopped a Susquehanna threat and Montrose went 62 yards in eight plays.

Makeela Fabrizio got open for a 42-yard touchdown pass from Tims on the second play of the fourth quarter to pull the Meteors within 26-18.

Herman’s fumble recovery put Montrose in Susquehanna territory with a chance to go for the tying score.

Travis Craig then came up with consecutive sacks, helping push Montrose back into a fourth-and-40 situation.

Susquehanna then broke the game open when Stone hit Baker for a 39-yard pass and Perry followed Roe’s block into the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown with 6:52 left.

Craig had eight tackles, including a third one for a loss. He also forced a fumble, rushed the passer into an incompletion and assisted two other tackles.

Billy Perry and freshman Garrett Decker also made big defensive contributions for the Sabers

Perry had five tackles, including one for a loss, assisted on nine others and recovered a fumble.

Decker had a game-high nine tackles along with five assists. One of his tackles was for a loss.

Montrose’s Herman was the game’s leading rusher with 11 carries for 56 yards. He also intercepted a pass, recovered a fumble, made five tackles and assisted on another.

WEEK IN REVIEW

Elk Lake’s Jason Mowry had the best score by a Susquehanna County player to finish seventh overall and win the low sophomore title at Thursday’s Jackman Memorial High School Golf Tournament at Scranton Municipal Golf Club.

Mowry shot a 78 then won a three-way playoff for the sophomore title.

Montrose was the only county school to enter a full team and finished last in the 15-team field with a four-player score of 437.

In girls’ golf, Teagan Mills from Elk Lake finished second among freshman at the Jackman Memorial Tournament by shooting a 103 Aug. 22 at Scranton Municipal Golf Club.

Montrose finished seventh of nine teams with a three-player score of 344.

In professional baseball, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders clinched their third straight trip to the International League Governors’ Cup playoffs with Saturday’s 7-1 win over the Syracuse Chiefs.

Donovan Solano hit a three-run homer and an RBI double to help the defending national Triple-A champions improve to 83-49.

In youth sports, Lufkin, Tex. won the U.S. title at the Little League Baseball World Series with a 6-5 win over North State from Greenville, N.C.

The teams split one-run games in the tournament, but Lufkin got the more timely victory by winning Saturday’s rematch with a berth in the World Championship game on the line.

Mark Requena’s two-run homer in the sixth inning capped a comeback from a five-run deficit.

Kitasuna from Tokyo, Japan shut out Reynoso, Mexico, 5-0, to win the International bracket.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Montrose and Susquehanna each play their only non-league football game of the season.

The Meteors are home Friday night at 7 against Wilkes-Barre Meyers in a meeting of teams that lost their openers.

Susquehanna plays Holy Redeemer Saturday at 2 at Lake-Lehman in a game that was moved because Wilkes-Barre Memorial Stadium is not usable. Both teams won their openers.

Cook said it will be important for the Sabers to keep the intensity up after beating their biggest rival in the opener.

“The only thing I worry about in winning a game like this is how it will come out next week,” Cook said.

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

This week’s predictions, with home teams in CAPS: Wilkes-Barre Meyers 36, MONTROSE 30 … HOLY REDEEMER 17, Susquehanna 12 …  MID VALLEY 21, Riverside 0 … Old Forge 33, CARBONDALE 15 … Dunmore 31, LACKAWANNA TRAIL 13 … NORTH POCONO 50, Abington Heights 0 … WEST SCRANTON 27, Wallenpaupack 14 … Scranton 27, HONESDALE 23 … VALLEY VIEW 32, Delaware Valley 28 … WESTERN WAYNE 34, GAR 0 … Lakeland 45, HOLY CROSS 35 … SCRANTON PREP 39, Wilkes-Barre Coughlin 0.

In girls’ volleyball, Blue Ridge begins its title defense at Montrose Friday when the Lackawanna League plays its openers.

In boys’ soccer, defending Division 3 champion Blue Ridge is at Mid Valley when the Lackawanna League season opens Tuesday, Sept. 5

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

JONES IS ONE OF NASCAR'S YOUNG GUNS

Erik Jones after winning the Apr. 22, 2017 Bristol Xfinity race

Very few drivers have climbed up the racing ladder as quickly as Erik Jones of Byron, Michigan. The young star was a virtual unknown until he won the 2012 Snowball Derby. That win gave him national exposure, and provided him with an opportunity to further showcase his driving talents. In just over four years, he's reached the top level of racing; NASCAR's Cup series. Jones has gone from a virtual unknown driver to one of NASCAR's best-known young guns. He signed with Gibbs Racing, and for the 2017 season, is on loan to Furniture Row Racing as driver of the No. 77 Toyota. "This is a really an exciting time in my career," said Jones "For me to make the move back to Joe Gibbs Racing full time in the Cup Series is great. I will always be grateful for the opportunity given to me by Barney Visser and everyone at Furniture Row Racing this year for my first full year in the Cup Series. I've learned a lot this year and I've had a great group of guys around me each week to lean on as I figured out my rookie season and how to make my way in the Cup Series. "The 77 team, from myself, crew chief Chris Gayle and every crew member, we've come a long way since February and we still have a lot to accomplish this season. We've hit our stride the last few weeks with strong finishes and while it's nice to have my plans for 2018 announced, I'm focused on continuing to improve and get this team a win before the season ends."

Three weeks ago, Gibbs announced he will drive the No. 20 Cup Series Camry for the organization beginning in 2018, replacing veteran Matt Kenseth. "It's going to be exciting to have Erik back to run full time with us starting next season," said Gibbs. "When a number of circumstances made it clear over the past few weeks that a second year for the 77 car was probably not viable at this time for Erik, we all agreed that we wanted to keep him in the Toyota racing family and felt it was the right time to make this transition. He is an exciting driver that has already proven to have the ability to compete at the highest level of our sport. He is also shown to be a great representative to our partners and we believe he is at the beginning of a long and successful career."

Currently competing full time in the Cup Series for Furniture Row Racing, Jones sits 14th in the point standings and leads the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings. Jones made his Cup Series debut in 2015 filling in for the injured Kyle Busch at Kansas Speedway where he led one lap before a mid-race accident derailed a strong finish in his first-career start. With 21 Cup Series career starts, Jones has led 32 laps and earned one top-five finish and five top-ten finishes.

Jones's driving skills were first noticed after he out dueled Kyle Busch in the closing laps of the Snowball Derby to secure the victory. "That has to be one of the highlights of my life," said Jones. "To be able to win over someone like Kyle is a great accomplishment."

The following year, he won his first ARCA Racing Series victory at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Mich. (8/10/13) and registered two top-five and three top-10 finishes across four starts. He also started a Truck series race at Martinsville at the age of 16.

In addition to his strong start in the Cup Series, Jones has made a name for himself with the success he has notched in both the Truck Series and Xfinity Series. Making his truck debut in 2013 at Martinsville Speedway, Jones wasted no time finding his way to Victory Lane, earning his first-career victory at Phoenix International Raceway in just his fifth series start.

Following his solid start in the Truck Series, Jones competed full-time in the series in 2015. With three wins, 11 top-five finishes, 20 top-10 finishes, five poles and 925 laps led, Jones finished the 2015 season as the Sunoco Rookie of the Year and the Youngest Truck Series Champion in History at the age of 19 years, 5 months and 21 days.

Making the step up to the Xfinity Series, Jones made his series debut at Chicagoland Speedway in 2014 and earned his first series win in 2015 at Texas Motor Speedway in just his eighth series start.
Joining the Xfinity Series full-time in 2016, Jones earned the Rookie of the Year title and made it to the final round of the Championship battle at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but came up short finishing fourth in the series standings with four wins, 15 top-five finishes, 20 top-10 finishes, nine poles and 627 laps led.

Jones also holds the title as the youngest driver to complete triple duty, a feat he completed in November 2015 at Texas Motor Speedway where he won the Truck race, finished fourth in the Xfinity Series race and 12th in the Cup Series race.
Jones, who was born May 30, 1996, began his racing career at the age of seven, in quarter-midgets. He began racing stock cars at age 13, and began competing in the ASA Late Model Series in 2010, becoming the youngest-ever winner of the Oktoberfest race at LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway. He moved to the CRA All-Star Tour in 2011, winning the series championship in his rookie year; Jones also was the winner of that year's Governor's Cup 200 late model race at New Smyrna Speedway, leading every lap of the event.

He is part of the new youth movement in NASCAR. There are many other young drivers that are either racing in the Cup Series, or getting ready for it. Instead of bringing in older seasoned veterans that have driven in other series, car owners are preferring the "young guns".

"I think you see it more and more now that we're getting more and more competitive each week," Jones said. "Obviously, Kyle Larson - he's on fire. He's winning a ton of races and running up front every week and then you see Ryan (Blaney) getting his first win. I think as young guys we want to all get to that level where we're running well, running up front, contending for wins each week and then taking that role of those top guys in the sport and having a voice in the sport and having a say in how things go.

"We're all trying to get there. I really have looked at this year as a learning year, for me at least. It's been a big learning year for myself. I look at hopefully next year as really trying to go out and beat that guy that's contending for wins more and more each week. I think we're all, like I said, just trying to get to that point and be those top guys in the sport, have a voice and then figure out what we need to do to bring those younger fans in." While this is Jones first full season behind the wheel of a Cup car, there is a good possibility that his team might make the Chase. "We've mapped it all out," said Jones of the Chase. "We know exactly what we need to do. "For me, I try to run the best I can every weekend. It's hard when you look back on the season and look at certain races and it's like, 'Man, you know that day should've went better or this finish should've been better' and it's like all those points, if you add them together, we're in there. So hopefully we can run well enough to get back in it. And then if it gets down to it, we really - if we just win a race, we don't have to talk about it at all. That'd be nice to do, but you know we know what we need to do and we're going to try and do it every week."

Jones has been fortunate to live some of his dreams already, but with that, comes great responsibility, and he has accepted his role in life. He moved out on his own at 16, bought a condo, started paying bills, making investments, toying with hobbies and making life-altering decisions. Though Erik's destination is still to be determined, it's clear that the young man has got his head screwed on straight.

Gerald Hodges is a syndicated NASCAR writer and author. You may contact him by e-mail at: hodges@race500.com.