Lakeland scored on its first three possessions and turned away several Susquehanna threats Friday night on the way to a 27-6 Lackawanna Football Conference Division 3 victory at William Emminger Memorial Field.
The game, which was played under temporary lights at the field, finished in the rain.
Giovanni Spataro led the Chiefs by running for 207 yards and 3 touchdowns on 23 carries.
Spataro’s steady running combined with a 70-yard, Nico PIraino-to-Thomas Pidgeon touchdown pass to make the difference on a night when the Sabers moved the ball, but did not convert their opportunities.
Lakeland had statistical leads of 16-13 in first downs, 277-198 in rushing yards, 139-127 in passing yards and 416-325 in total offense.
Susquehanna had drives that reached the Lakeland 31 in the first quarter, 37 in the second quarter, 12 in the third quarter and 11 in the fourth quarter without producing scores.
The Sabers appeared to recover a fumble on the opening kickoff, but officials ruled that the Chiefs maintained possession.
Lakeland drove 66 yards in 7 plays to score on Spataro’s 15-yard run in which he took a pitch to the right and cut up field for a 7-0 lead with 8:55 left in the first quarter.
The Sabers chose to play for field possession and punt on fourth-and-1 at the Chiefs 31.
Lakeland managed to drive 97 yards in 12 plays in a drive that carried into the first play of the second quarter.
Spataro went 8 yards on an inside run to score on a fourth-and-five play.
After making a stop with the help of a penalty that erased a 32-yard Sam Cosmello run, Lakeland scored in one play.
Piraino found Pidgeon with a fly pass down the left sideline for the 70-yard touchdown and a 21-0 lead with 8:28 left in the half.
C.J. Stone led the Sabers back down the field, covering 80 yards in 5 plays. He ran 3 times for 42 yards and hit Adam Rockwell with a 22-yard pass before Cosmello scored on a 16-yard run.
The touchdown, with 6:16 left in the second quarter, allowed Susquehanna to close within 21-6 at halftime.
The Sabers crossed midfield later in the half when Cosmello ran 12 yards and caught a 14-yard pass from Stone to move inside the Lakeland 40. Two penalties in three plays spoiled the threat.
Susquehanna again threatened to open the second half with the help of a 51-yard pass from Stone to Mason Deakin. Stone’s fourth-and-five run from the 16 came up one yard short.
The Sabers ended the third quarter in Chiefs territory and started the fourth with a 23-yard pass from Stone to Devon Dubanowitz. They again came up just short of a first down on foruth-and-one from the 11.
Lakeland moved 89 yards in 7 plays to put the game away. A roughing-the-punter penalty kept the drive moving. Spataro went 48 yards on the next play to set up his 2-yard touchdown.
Stone had what may have been his most effective game as quarterback. He ran for a career-high 106 yards on 14 carries while hitting 5 of 10 passes for 127 yards.
Cosmello added 52 yards on 9 carries.
The Sabers played without Adam Roe, their second-leading rusher and second-leading tackler, because of injury.
Evan Aldrich and Cosmello each had five tackles and five assists to lead the defense. One of Aldrich’s tackles was for a loss.
Garrett Decker had five tackles and three assists while Deakin added five tackles and an assist. Travis Craig added four tackles and three assists.
In another LFC Division 3 game, Unbeaten Dunmore held host Montrose to five first downs in a 41-0 romp Friday night.
The shutout was the third straight by the Bucks.
WEEK IN REVIEW
Montrose went 5-0 in a Lackawanna League boys’ cross country cluster meet Sept. 26 at Blue Ridge.
The Meteors handed Abington Heights its first loss, 27-34, while improving to 13-1 to move into second place.
Montrose also beat Elk Lake, 21-40, along with 15-50 wins over North Pocono, Valley View and Blue Ridge.
In golf, the five Susquehanna County teams finished in the bottom five spots in the 15-team Lackawanna League Class 2A Division.
The final standings: Scranton Prep 14-0, Dunmore 13-1, Carbondale 12-2, Riverside 10-4, Lakeland 8-5-1, Lackawanna Trail 7-5-2, Mid Valley 7-6-1, Western Wayne 7-6-1, Holy Cross 6-7-1, Old Forge 5-8-1, Montrose 4-10, Blue Ridge 3-10-1, Elk Lake 3-10-1, Mountain View 1-12-1, Forest City 0-14.
In professional baseball, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders president/general manager John Olerud has been named the Dave Rosenfield International League Executive of the Year.
The RailRiders opened the season with a crowd of 11,515 for a game against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. It was the largest crowd since PNC Field was reconstructed in time for the 2012 season. The team’s attendance climbed six percent to 439.412, an average of 6,071.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre won the North Division for the third straight year and went to the IL’s Governors Cup championship series.
COLLEGE CORNER
Giovanni Amato has broken into the starting lineup on the Marywood University men’s soccer team as a freshman.
The Montrose graduate has appeared in all eight games, making five starts.
Amato has taken five shots.
The Pacers are 0-2 in the Colonial States Athletic Conference and 2-3 overall.
THE WEEK AHEAD
Forest City is at Blue Ridge Wednesday in a boys’ soccer game between teams that entered the week tied for the Lackawanna League Division 3 lead with 7-1 records.
In football, Susquehanna and Montrose are each on the road Friday night in Lackawanna Football Conference Division 3 games.
The Sabers (2-3 in the division, 3-3 overall) are at state-ranked Dunmore, which is 5-0 and 6-0 and looking for its 40th straight divisional victory. The Bucks, who have won six straight division titles, share first place in the division with Old Forge.
The Meteors (1-4, 1-5) are at Mid Valley (2-3, 3-3).
Our high school football predictions were 8-4 (66.7 percent) last week, dropping our season record to 54-20 (73.0). This week’s picks, with home teams in CAPS: DUNMORE 35, Susquehanna 6 … MID VALLEY 31, Montrose 13 … OLD FORGE 40, Lackawanna Trail 12 … Riverside 25, LAKELAND 24 … CARBONDALE 43, Holy Cross 0 … Valley View 43, WEST SCRANTON 12 … Western Wayne 30, NORTH POCONO 20 … Scranton Prep 39, HONESDALE 0 … HAZLETON AREA 30, Scranton 26 … Delaware Valley 41, WILLIAMSPORT 35 … WYOMING VALLEY WEST 54, Abington Heights 14 … DALLAS 36, Wallenpaupack 7.
In road racing, the 22nd annual Steamtown Marathon will be held Sunday.
The race begins at 8 a.m. at Forest City High School and finishes in downtown Scranton.
In girls tennis, the District 2 team championships move to the quarterfinals Thursday, but will do so without a Susquehanna County team.
Montrose fell short of qualifying.
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.
“Rowdy” Kyle Gets Fourth Win
"Rowdy" Kyle Gets Fourth Win (Furnished by NASCAR)
DOVER, Del.--Chase Elliott appeared to be on the way to his first Cup win in 69 starts, but Kyle Busch thought otherwise. He ended Elliott's hopes one and one-half laps from the finish line, in Sunday's 400-lap Dover race.
Elliott took the lead during lap 247 and led until he pitted for four fresh tires and fuel on lap 324. He regained the lead on lap 340, and appeared to have the dominant car. Busch had moved into the second position, and very gradually began to whittle away at Elliott's two-second lead. Busch closed the gap until he was able to get by for his fourth win of the season.
“I know Chase wanted to get that first win real bad, but that's the way racing is sometimes,” said Busch. “The way Chase was driving I don't know how I did it. That was a hard fought win. It was an awesome win for us, but I had to give it all we had.”
Losing the race after leading the most laps (138) near the finish was especially hard on Elliott.
“Kyle had a fast car, but I'm disappointed in myself,” said Elliott. “I might could have done better if I had adjusted my driving line. You always feel bad when you lose a race like this.”
Elliott's teammate Jimmie Johnson was third. Martin Truex Jr. was fourth, with Kyle Larson and Clint Bowyer finishing fifth and sixth.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., making his final appearance as a full-time driver at the Monster Mile, finished seventh, his best finish since fifth at Texas earlier this season. Junior has yet to win a race in his final season and will look to next Sunday's race at Charlotte to end the streak.
Daniel Suarez, Jamie McMurray and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top-10.
Brad Keselowski was the winner of Stage One, while Kyle Larson won Stage Two.
THE CHASE MOVES ON
NASCAR's 2017 Chase for The Cup moves into the second, or Contender Round. Four drivers, Ryan Newman, Austin Dillon, Kasey Kahne, and Kurt Busch were eliminated after Sunday's Dover race. The field now consists of 12 drivers.
The 12 Chase drivers that remain are: 1. Truex-3059, 2. Kyle Busch-3041, 3. Larson-3034, 4. Keselowski-3020, 5. Johnson-3017, 6. Harvick-3015, 7. Hamlin-3013, 8. Stenhouse-3010, 9. Blaney-3008, 10. Elliott-3006, 11. Kenseth-3005, 12. McMurray-3003.
While other teams have worried from race to race, as to whether they would make the playoff, it has been a different picture for Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch. Each one has a win in the playoffs, which guarantees them a spot in the next round.
Even more surprising is the fact they combined to lead 299 of 300 laps two weeks ago at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
“I think the biggest thing for us is to just keep focusing on what we’ve done all year long, just keep trying to go out there and run hard, run smooth and be good at what we do,” Busch said. “Obviously fast race cars helps us being able to stay out front.”
Busch now has four wins to Truex's five.
Despite his fast start, Busch still thinks Truex has the car to beat. Truex rebounded from a speeding penalty at Chicagoland to win the race. He also was involved in mid-race crash last week, but he bounced back to finish fifth with a crumpled left-rear fender.
Truex had a fast car this past weekend at Dover, where he started on the pole, but he lacked speed near the end.
After winning four regular season races, Kyle Larson now is focusing on points to stay alive.
“Well, I think if I can keep up these top-five runs and good stage finishes, I mean, you could probably point your way to them,” he said after finishing a distant fifth last Sunday to Busch. “But I would prefer to get a win in each of these rounds. If we can keep the good runs going, we should be all right.”
Based on points from the first two races, Larson and Brad Keselowski also earned a spot in the second round. But Keselowski admits he will need some luck to keep pace with Truex and Busch.
“A little bit of luck helps and of course you want to be the fastest car,” he said. “That’s not the scenario with rules the way they are now, so we’ve got to make the most of it and hope to catch a few breaks and make sure we do our part.”
Jimmie Johnson's third-place finish was his best in several races, and his team needs to pull some of that late-season racing magic.
Kevin Harvick has only one win and needs to step up the pace.
Denny Hamlin has two wins, but finished 35th, eight laps down at Dover.
Meanwhile Ricky Stenhouse Jr. survived the cut and sits 49 points behind series leader Martin Truex Jr., despite hitting the wall in the first two races of the playoffs. Still, he’s found a way to recover, finish 25th at Chicagoland and 15th at Loudon and is currently above the cutline, thanks to a tiebreaker he earned by winning twice in the regular season.
Stenhouse's No. 17 Roush-Fenway Racing team cannot afford any more mistakes.
He has won the last two restrictor-plate races, and with Talladega coming up, he stands a good chance to punch his ticket into round three.
The four remaining drivers, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Matt Kenseth, and Jamie McMurray must find a way to win if they are to remain in contention.
Blaney has one win while the others have not visited victory lane this season.
Young Chase Elliott almost pulled off an upset win this past Sunday at Dover. He has finished as runner-up several times, but needs to clinch his first victory in order to move forward.
Matt Kenseth is a winner, having won the 2003 Cup title. He drives the same type car (Toyota) as his teammate Kyle Busch. If he is to get that elusive second championship, he needs a win within the next three races.
Jamie McMurray has been consistent, but nothing spectacular. For him it's win or wait until next season.
The 12-driver field will be reduced to eight after the Oct. 22 Kansas race. It will then be reduced to four drivers after the Nov. 12 Phoenix race. Those four drivers will battle it out for the 2017 championship at Miami-Homestead, Fla. On Nov. 19. The highest finish driver will win the championship.
Here are the results of the Xfinity Series race, held Sat., Sept. 30 at Dover: 1. Ryan Blaney, 2. Justin Allgaier, 3. William Byron, 4. Daniel Hemric, 5. Brennan Poole, 6. Matt Tifft, 7. Daniel Suarez, 8. Cole Custer, 9. Elliott Sadler, 10. Brendan Gaughan.
Top-12 Xfinity Series Chase leaders: 1. Allgaier-2107, 2. Byron-2104, 3. Sadler-2094, 4. Custer-2093, 5. Hemric-2090, 6. B. Poole-2082, 7. Tifft-2067, 8. Reed-2055, 9. Gaughan-2053, 10. Annett-2048, 11. Koch-2043, 12. Clements-2035.
Here are the results of the Truck Series race, held Sat., Sept. 30 at Las Vegas: 1. Ben Rhodes, 2. Christopher Bell, 3. Chase Briscoe, 4. Austin Cindric, 5. Kaz Grala, 6. Cody Coughlin, 7. Matt Crafton, 8. John Nemechek, 9. Grant Enfinger, 10. Johnny Sauter.
Top-8 Truck Series Chase leaders: 1. Bell-2152, 2. Rhodes-2105, 3. Crafton-2101, 4. Sauter-2098, 5. Briscoe-2084, 6. Cindric-2082, 7. Grala-2074, 8. Nemechek-2068.
Weekend Racing: The Cup and Xfinity teams will be at the 1.5-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway for two night races. The trucks have an off week.
Fri., Oct. 6, Xfinity Series race 29 of 33; Starting time: 8 pm ET; TV: NBCSN.
Sat., Oct. 7, Cup Series race 30 of 36; Starting time: 7 pm ET; TV: NBCSN.
Racing Trivia Question: Whatever happened to Cale Gale, winner of the 2012 Truck Series race at Homestead, after he pushed Kyle Busch into the wall?
Last Week's Question: Brett Moffitt drives in both the Xfinity and Cup Series. Which car does he drive in the Cup Series? Answer. He drives the No. 83 Toyota for BK Racing.
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.
