Old Forge won a battle of unbeatens at Susquehanna while Montrose won a meeting of winless teams at Holy Cross Saturday afternoon in Lackawanna Football Conference Division 3 games.

OLD FORGE-SUSQUEHANNA FOOTBALL

Old Forge recovered a fumble on the game’s first play, returned a punt for a touchdown and blocked another punt while scoring four first-quarter touchdowns on the way to Saturday’s 42-13 victory at Susquehanna’s William Emminger Memorial Field.

“I don’t understand it,” Susquehanna coach Kyle Cook said. “You expect the other team, traveling, to start like that.”

The Blue Devils led 18-0 just 6:20 into the game, made it 24-0 after one quarter and 30-0 with 7:36 left in the half before the Sabers played on near even terms the rest of the way.

Old Forge knocked Susquehanna out of a tie for the division lead with Dunmore, avenged a 40-13 loss in last year’s Eastern Conference playoff game and ended the Sabers’ five-game winning streak that dated back to late last season.

“We talked about that all week,” Cook said. “Their whole motto is that they’re angry about last year and we’re the last team to beat them.

“They played like it today and we played right into their hands.”

Tommy Souriyavong and Brendan Mozeleski led the win.

Souriyavong scored three touchdowns, one on each of his two pass receptions, and another on a punt return. He also picked off a pass and recovered a fumble.

Mozeleski carried 20 times for 178 yards and 2 touchdowns.

They worked together on the fast start.

Souriyavong recovered a fumble on the game’s first play. Mozeleski then carried three straight times for 40 yards, including the 32-yard touchdown 1:48 into the game.

The Blue Devils were stopped on the two-point try and finished 0-for-7 on conversions. Adam Rockwell had two tackles and a batted down pass to stop three of the four conversion tries in the first quarter.

Old Forge built enough of an advantage that the conversions were no factor in the outcome.

The Blue Devils held the Sabers to minus-1 yard on their first four possessions, with each stop leading to a quick Old Forge score.

Souriyavong’s 51-yard punt return down the left sideline made it 12-0 just 4:19 into the game.

Tyler Carey blocked a punt to set up Old Forge at the 12. Mozeleski ran for 11 yards, then freshman quarterback Dante Lucarelli scored from the 1 for the 18-point lead. Lucarelli later threw a pair of touchdown passes.

Following another Susquehanna punt, Old Forge went 69 yards in 7 plays.

Mozeleski ran 33 yards on a third-down conversion, leading to Kevin Pepsin’s 3-yard touchdown run for a 24-0 lead.

The Blue Devils scored the first five times they touched the ball. They covered 81 yards in 10 plays. Mozeleski carried 4 times for 39 yards, leading to Lucarelli’s 25-yard touchdown pass to Souriyavong for a 30-0 lead with 7:36 left in the half.

Susquehanna tried to get back into the game from there.

The Sabers scored four plays later when C.J. Stone took a hit to get away a pass that Sam Cosmello took 47 yards for a touchdown.

Old Forge drove to first-and-goal at the 7, but Susquehanna made a stand there to make a stop with 25 seconds left in the half.

Travis Craig rushed an incompletion on first down. Adam Roe made a stop for a loss on second down with assistance from Cosmello. Rockwell batted down a third-down pass. Billy Perry broke up the fourth-down attempt.

Carey returned the second-half kickoff 41 yards to the Susquehanna 40. Lucarelli then hit Souriyavong for a 28-yard touchdown 1:13 into the third quarter.

The Blue Devils built the lead to 42-6 with 8:04 left in the third after a bad punt snap by the Sabers set them up at the 17 where Mozeleski ran it in on the next play.

With the game in the Mercy Rule, Susquehanna answered on Roe’s 62-yard run to set up a 1-yard Stone-to-Mason Deakin touchdown pass. The touchdown, with 3:21 left in the third quarter, closed the scoring.

Roe led Susquehanna with 86 yards on 8 carries.

Old Forge led 21-4 in first downs, 263-73 in rushing yards and, 353-121, in total offense.

MONTROSE-HOLY CROSS FOOTBALL

Montrose’s defense came within four seconds of a shutout and the revamped offense produced 289 rushing yards during a 35-8 romp at Holy Cross that gave first-year head coach Steve Miller his first victory on the varsity level.

“Our defense played pretty well stopping the run,” Miller said. “We went back to the 5-3, which we had played in the opener against Susquehanna.”

Seth Bulkley set up in the middle of that defense, at linebacker, and led the way with nine tackles, including one for a loss.

“Seth continues to really dominate on defense,” Miller said.

John Herman led the offense with 148 yards and 3 touchdowns on 14 carries, but the ground game got a boost from converted quarterback Maverick Tims.

Tims ran for 73 yards and 2 touchdowns with all 7 of his carries coming in the first half.

Sophomore Ethan Cina took over at quarterback in the second half of the Week 3 loss at Old Forge and made his first start against Holy Cross.

“Ethan was our quarterback last year on the freshman team,” said Miller, who was the freshman coach in 2016. “He’s a hard worker and he throws the ball real tight.”

Cina went 4-for-9 through the air.

The Meteors scored 22 points in the second quarter for a 29-0 halftime lead and reached the Mercy Rule during the third quarter when they built the advantage to 35-0.

WEEK IN REVIEW

Blue Ridge’s Gwen MacConnell and Elk Lake’s Teagan Mills made it through the Lackawanna League’s qualifier for the District 2 Individual Girls’ Golf Championships.

MacConnell was second among Class 2A girls, shooting a 92 to finish two shots behind Mid Valley’s Mariah Minter Thursday at Scranton Municipal Golf Course.

Mills shot 100 the number needed to make the field. She was one of four qualifiers in Class 2A.

The district title will be decided October 2 at Fox Hill Country Club.

In boys’ cross country, Montrose dominated four opponents in a Sept. 12 cluster meet and is 7-0, the most wins among the three remaining unbeatens in the Lackawanna League.

The Meteors defeated Lakeland, 17-43, while topping Mountain View, Lackawanna Trail and host Susquehanna by the maximum, 15-50.

In boys’ soccer, Blue Ridge edged Forest City, 4-3, Thursday in a game that trimmed the list of Lackawanna League Division 3 unbeatens from three to two.

In girls’ soccer, Montrose defeated Mountain View, 5-1, and Holy Cross, 8-1, to enter the this week tied for the Lackawanna Division 3 lead with Lakeland.

In professional baseball, the Durham Bulls defeated the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, three games to one, in the best-of-five International League Governors’ Cup Championship Series.

Jake Bauers of the Bulls was named Most Valuable Player of the series after going 7-for-17 (.412) with two doubles, two RBI and three runs scored.

Durham wrapped up the series with a 6-4 win Friday.

The Bulls won both games in Moosic, including a 6-2 victory Thursday.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre got its only win in the series in Wednesday’s second game in Durham when Domingo German, Anyelo Gomez and Nick Rumbelow combined on a two-hit shutout in a 4-0 win.

German, the starter, gave up only one hit while striking out eight and walking three in seven innings.

Durham opened the series with a 6-0 shutout when three pitchers combined on a three-hitter.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Both Montrose and Susquehanna are home for Lackawanna Football Conference Division 3 games this week.

Montrose (1-2 in division, 1-3 overall) plays Riverside (0-3, 0-4) Friday night.

Susquehanna (2-1, 3-1) hosts Carbondale (2-1, 2-2) for Homecoming Saturday at 1.

The Sabers and Chargers are in a three-way tie with Lackawanna Trail for third place in the 10-team division.

Susquehanna and Carbondale also rank second and third in the race for four District 2 Class 2A playoff berths, so the game has the potential to have an impact on playoff qualifying, seeding and perhaps the chance for a home playoff game.

Our high school football predictions were 11-2 (84.6 percent) last week, making our season record 37-13 (74.0).

This week’s predictions with home teams in CAPS: MONTROSE 20, Riverside 7 … SUSQUEHANNA 24, Carbondale 18 … DUNMORE 59, Holy Cross 0 … LACKAWANNA TRAIL 46, Lakeland 19 … Old Forge 52, MID VALLEY 12 … DELAWARE VALLEY 34, North Pocono 22 … Scranton 52, WEST SCRANTON 6 … VALLEY VIEW 59, Abington Heights 6 … Hazleton Area 16, WALLENPAUPACK 14 … Western Wayne 54, TUNKHANNOCK 13 … SCRANTON PREP 32, Wyoming Area 0 … Honesdale 28, COUGHLIN 19.

In high school golf, the Lackawanna League qualifier for the District 2 golf tournament is scheduled for Wednesday, with a morning start at Elmhurst Country Club.

Up to 30 players can qualify for spots in the District 2 Class 2A Tournament October 2 at Fox Hill Country Club.

In girls’ volleyball, Blue Ridge is at Dunmore Friday.

Both teams entered the week tied for the Lackawanna League lead with 5-0 records.

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.

Truex Jr. Cruises To Fifth Win

Martin Truex Jr. Cruises to Fifth Win
Furnished by NASCAR

JOLIET, IL.--Martin Truex Jr. had what it took to win Sunday's 267-lap Cup Series race.

Speed.

He finished 7.17-seconds ahead of the second-place driver Chase Elliott, and 9.06- seconds in front of Kevin Harvick, who finished third. It was the largest margin of victory of any race this season.

It was Truex's fifth win of the season and it locks him into the next round of the Chase, when the field is reduced from 16 to 12 drivers.

“It took everybody to pull this off,” Truex said. “What a win. You wish for days like this. Out of all the things that could have gone wrong, nothing did. We aren't going to let up. I know most of the other races won't be this easy, but we're keeping our heads down and pulling as hard as we can.

“The entire team wants to win, and you better believe it.”

Elliott won Stage Two of the race, but near the end he couldn't match the winner's speed.

“This might have been our best race,” said Elliott. “It shows what our team is made of. We had good pit stops and overall I thought we did good.”

Kevin Harvick's car seemed to be faster during the early and middle stages of the race. He lost the lead to Truex on lap 197, and was not able to regain it.

“Everyone on the team was focused on this race, but we knew near the end that we didn't have the speed needed to win,” said Harvick. “ 

Denny Hamlin was fourth, while Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, and Jamie McMurray rounded out the top-10.

Kyle Busch, winner of the First Stage could only manage a 15th-place finish. He was hit with a pit road penalty after one of his crewmembers climbed over pit wall before Busch entered his pit area. Since he pitted under green, he had to make another pass down pit road, which put him two laps down. It was too much for him to make up.

“Oh well, we'll move on to next week,” said Busch.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. continues to struggle. He was unable to lead a lap in Sunday's race and finished 17th.

Cup Chase field after 1 of 10: 1. Truex-2102, 2. Larson-2075, 3. Harvick-2067, 4. Keselowski-2061, 5. Kyle Busch-2061, 6. Elliott-2059, 7. Hamlin-2058, 8. Johnson-2046, 9. Kenseth-2039, 10. Blaney-2034, 11. McMurray-2031, 12. A. Dillon-2026, 13. Kurt Busch-2026, 14. Stenhouse-2022, 15. Kahne-2021, 16. Newman-2019.

After the Dover race on October 1, the field will be reduced to the top-12 drivers. Any driver that posts a win in the next two races (New Hampshire and Dover), will automatically be guaranteed a spot in the Stage of 12.

Results of the NASCAR Xfinity Series race held Sat., Sept. 16 at Chicagoland Speedway. 1. Justin Allgaier, 2. Kyle Larson, 3. Elliott Sadler, 4. Daniel Hemric, 5. Austin Dillon, 6. Matt Tifft, 7. Cole Custer, 8. Ty Dillon, 9. Blake Koch, 10. Darrell Wallace Jr.

Here are the 12 Xfinity drivers that will be vying for this year's championship: 1. Byron-2025, 2. Allgaier-2-23, 3. Sadler-2020, 4. Hemric-2009, 5. B. Poole-2006, 6. Reed-2005, 7. Clements-2005, 8. Custer-2005, 9. Koch-2005, 10. Tifft-2004, 11. Gaughan-2003, 12. Annett-2001.

Results of the NASCAR Truck Series race held Fri., Sept. 15 at Chicagoland Speedway. 1. Johnny Sauter, 2. Chase Briscoe, 3. Christopher Bell, 4. Ryan Truex, 5. Grant Enfinger, 6. Ben Rhodes, 7. John Nemechek, 8. Noah Gragson, 9. Kaz Grala, 10. Myatt Snider.

 The Truck Series Chase field consisting of eight drivers has been set: 1. Bell-2040, 2. Sauter-2025, 3. John Nemechek-2014, 4. Crafton-2014, 5. Briscoe-2009, 6. Cindric-2007, 7. Rhodes-2007, 8. Grala-2005.

DANICA'S OUT, WHO'S IN

Danica Patrick announced on Facebook last week that she would not return to the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Chevrolet in 2018. The reason given was no sponsor.

“It has been my honor to drive for Tony Stewart, Gene Haas and everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing for the past six seasons,” she said. “Together we earned a Daytona 500 pole, seven top-10 finishes and we also had some exciting racing along the way. My time driving for them, however, has come to an end due to a new sponsorship arrangement in 2018. Sponsorship plays a vital role in our sport, and I have been very fortunate over the course of my career, but this year threw us for a curve. Our amazing partners, such as Aspen Dental and Code 3, stepped up in a big way on short notice this year and I am incredibly grateful.

“I wish SHR the best of luck with their new sponsorship and driver. Thanks for the memories. Right now, my focus is on the remainder of the 2017 season and finishing the year strong. I have the utmost faith in myself and those around me, and feel confident about my future.”

So what's next for her?

It’s unlikely that Patrick, 35, will accept a ride with a lower-level team. She told USA TODAY Sports last month she would consider racing for another team, but would not consider a part-time ride.

A return to IndyCar racing, where she started her major-league motor sports career, seems extremely unlikely.

Perhaps anticipating her departure from driving, Patrick has developed other ventures. Early this year, she began an athletic clothing line called Warrior by Danica Patrick, and has written a book – scheduled for release next year – on health and fitness.

Although Patrick has not been regularly competitive, her departure from NASCAR will eliminate one large and diverse source of star power. And this comes on the heels of the sport losing four-time champion Jeff Gordon, three-time champion Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards and 14-time most popular driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is leaving at the end of this season.

While she might not have set NASCAR racing on fire, she isn't leaving the sport as a poor girl. According to Forbes Inc., her net worth at the end of the 2016 season was in excess of $100-million dollars, which includes a $4.06-million home in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The big question is who, if any current SHR driver will replace her. Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 SHR Chevy has been told he won't be back in 2018, because of lack of sponsorship. The team does not have any sponsors lined up for Clint Bowyer either.

While Patrick and Busch have received their pink slips, another sponsor has signed on with SHR. Smithfield Foods announced they will abandon Richard Petty Motorsports at the end of the 2017 season, and switch their name to one of the SHR cars. Aric Almirola has been the regular season driver at RPM, but it is not known if he will transfer over to SHR with Smithfield.

Weekend Racing: The Cup and Xfinity teams are at the 1.5-mile New Hampshire Speedway, while the Trucks race at the 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway.

Sat., Sept. 23, Truck Series race 17 of 23; Starting time: 1 pm ET; TV: FoxSports1.

Sat., Sept. 23, Xfinity Series race 27 of 33; Starting time: 8 pm ET; TV: NBCSN.

Sun. Sept. 24, Cup Series race 28 of 36; Starting time: 2 pm ET; TV: NBCSN.

Racing Trivia Question: What state was Matt Kenseth born in?

Last Week's Question: What year was the first race held at Chicagoland Speedway? Answer. The first race was run July 15, 2001. It was won by Kevin Harvick.

Gerald Hodges is a syndicated NASCAR writer and author. His books may be viewed and ordered online at Amazon.com. You may contact him by e-mail at: hodges@race500.com.