Noah Yates scored three touchdowns Friday night to lead visiting Carbondale past Montrose, 41-21, in a Lackawanna Football Conference Division 3 game.
Yates, a Forest City senior, got two of his touchdowns on plays that began as punts.
Already committed to play for Army at West Point, Yates is on the Chargers after being grandfathered in as part of the team in the former cooperative sponsorship of the sport between the two schools.
Yates got the scoring started just 3:11 into the game.
Steve Martin blocked a punt and Yates returned it 54 yards for a touchdown.
Carbondale built a 28-3 halftime lead with the help of Yates scoring on a 3-yard halfback option pass from Nick Vadella with a second left.
Yates scored the only touchdown of the third quarter for a 34-3 lead.
After a punt snap went over his head, Yates retrieved the ball and broke loose on a 50-yard touchdown run.
Montrose scored the next three touchdowns to close within 34-21.
John Herman, who ran for 224 yards, scored on runs of 20, 8 and 47 yards.
Bryden Jerauld kicked his third field goal in four games, making a 21-yarder for the Meteors in the first quarter.
Carbondale improved to 5-2 in the division and 6-2 overall.
The loss was the fourth straight by the Meteors, one fewer than Susquehanna’s skid since starting 3-0.
Susquehanna moved to the Lackawanna Trail 13 on a 10-play drive on its first possession, but did not produce another first down until the next-to-last play of the game while falling to the Lions, 41-12, in an LFC Division 3 game.
The Sabers gained 59 yards on the first drive and six more on the first play of the second drive. They had just 25 yards the rest of the way, 14 of which came in the final 2 ½ minutes after Lackawanna Trail scored the game’s last touchdown.
Billy Perry’s kickoff return and Mason Deakin’s fumble return accounted for the only scoring by Susquehanna.
Lackawanna Trail controlled the ball throughout. The Lions had statistical leads of 23-4 in first downs, 256-87 in rushing yards, 138-3 in passing yards, 394-90 in total offense, 57-25 in offensive plays and 3-1 in turnovers forced.
Jeffrey Resto, who carried 12 times for 103 yards, scored the game’s first two touchdowns for Lackawanna Trail. He ran 27 yards at the end of the first drive and 14 yards to end the second drive for a 14-0 lead 1:06 into the second quarter.
Nathan Rolka added touchdown runs of 7 and 15 yards as the Lions scored on all four first-half possessions for a 27-0 halftime lead.
Lackawanna Trail pushed the lead to 34-0 before Perry returned the ensuing kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown with 3:10 left in the third quarter.
Deakin returned a fumble 86 yards for a score on the last play of the third quarter, cutting the deficit to 34-12.
Devon Dubanowitz led Susquehanna’s offense with 31 yards on three carries.
Deakin, Garrett Decker, Misael Arzola-Velez, Dubanowitz and Perry led Susquehanna’s defense.
In addition to the fumble return for a touchdown, Deakin had five tackles (one for a loss), three assists and a pass rush.
Decker had a team-high eight tackles and six assists.
Arzola-Velez had five tackles and four assists. He had a sack for an eight-yard loss, another tackle for a seven-yard loss and rushed the passer into an incompletion.
Dubanowitz had five tackles, including one for a loss, and five assists.
Perry had four tackles and seven assists.
WEEK IN REVIEW
Forest City took advantage of a Blue Ridge loss to move back into first place and clinch at least a tie for first place in Lackawanna League Division 3 boys’ soccer.
The Foresters shut out Riverside, 7-0, and defeated Carbondale, 4-1.
Blue Ridge topped Carbondale, 6-2, but lost to Dunmore, 3-2.
In girls’ tennis, both Montrose players were eliminated with losses in their first matches Thursday in the District 2 Class 2A Singles Tournament at Kirby Park.
Honesdale’s Megan Rembish defeated Searra Muller, 6-0, 6-0, in the preliminary round.
Riverside’s Trinity Gable topped MacKenzie Reeves, 6-1, 6-2, in the first full round.
In boys’ cross country, Montrose used its home cluster meet to pick up three wins and improve to 19-1 in the Lackawanna League.
The Meteors defeated West Scranton and Mid Valley, 15-50, along with beating Scranton, 18-45.
In girls’ volleyball, Blue Ridge improved to 14-1 with a pair of wins.
Alexa Stanley and Hunter Heeman each had nine kills in a 25-20, 19-25, 25-12, 25-10 win over Forest City Oct. 10.
Abby Hartman had seven kills in a 25-20, 25-7, 25-17 sweep of Lackawanna Trail Wednesday.
Miranda Woosman had 24 assists against Forest City and 17 against Lackawanna Trail.
LOOKING BACK
Matthew Nebzydoski, David Burnis and Mary Ann Lawrenson all finished in the top six in their age groups in the 22nd annual Steamtown Marathon Oct. 8.
Nebzydoski, a 42-year-old from Montrose, was the top Susquehanna County finisher, placing 39th. Nebzydoski finished in 3:14:11 to place third among men in the 40-44-year-old age group.
Burnis, from Forest City, was third in the Male 60-64 age group in 3:43:07.
Lawrenson, from Thompson, was sixth in the Female 50-54 division in 3:59:48.
COLLEGE CORNER
Hannah Richner, a sophomore midfielder from Mountain View, is the second-leading scorer on the Keystone College women’s soccer team.
Richner was named Colonial States Athletic Conference Player of the Week Sept. 17 following her hat trick against Rosemont. She followed that up with two goals in her next game, a 9-0 win over Clarks Summit.
While starting in all 13 games, Richner has seven goals and four assists.
Keystone is 4-8-1.
THE WEEK AHEAD
Susquehanna and Montrose both have Lackawanna Football Conference Division 3 games Friday night.
The Sabers (2-5 in the division and 3-5 overall) are at Mid Valley (3-4, 4-4). The Meteors (1-6, 1-7) is home against Lakeland (3-4, 3-5).
The two games could go a long way toward determining the final two qualifiers for the four-team District 2 Class 2A playoffs.
With two games remaining, Mid Valley is third, followed by Susquehanna and Lakeland.
Mid Valley has 430 points, Susquehanna 350 and Lakeland 330 in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association playoff points system.
Our high school football predictions last week were 10-0, improving our season record to 64-20 (76.2 percent).
This week’s predictions, with home teams in CAPS: MID VALLEY 29, Susquehanna 26 … Lakeland 25, MONTROSE 19 … DUNMORE 29, Carbondale 3 … Lackawanna Trail 33, RIVERSIDE 19 … OLD FORGE 64, Holy Cross 0 … Scranton Prep 46, WEST SCRANTON 0 … NORTH POCONO 32, Honesdale 18 … Valley View 31, WESTERN WAYNE 27 … DELAWARE VALLEY 33, Wallenpaupack 3 … Scranton 47, ABINGTON HEIGHTS 19.
In girls’ tennis, the District 2 Class 2A Doubles Championships conclude Wednesday at Kirby Park.
The semifinals are scheduled for 1 p.m., followed by the finals.
Earlier rounds of the tournament were scheduled for Tuesday.
In boys’ soccer, the District 2 Class 2A tournament has a Thursday play-in game to get the bracket down to 16.
The first full round, which will include Blue Ridge and Montrose playing opponents that are still to be determined, will be Monday, Oct. 23.
The Class A quarterfinals are set for Monday, Oct. 23. Elk Lake will be on the road in the quarterfinals while Mountain View and Forest City receive byes into the semifinals.
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.
KESELOWSKI WINS WILD ONE AT TALLADEGA
Keselowski Wins Wild One At Talladega
TALLADEGA, Ala.--Brad Keselowski was able to miss all the wrecks and made a last lap pass on Ryan Newman to win Sunday's 188-lap Cup Series race as a crowd of over 150,000 wild fans watched.
It was not a good day for the Chase contenders, as only two of them were running when the race ended.
It wasn't much better for the non-contenders. There were only ten of them left on the track when the checkered flag was given.
Keselowski won Stage One, but had problems with his radio about midway of the race. He pitted for repairs, which put him at the back of the field. A series of cautions and three red flag periods during the last 35 laps allowed him to work his way back to the front of the field.
On the race's last restart, with three laps remaining, he was lined up in the sixth position. Kyle Busch was the leader. Ryan Newman powered his way around Busch and for the next lap Keselowski worked for position. Finally, as the cars entered turn-3, on the last lap, Keselowski made a run on the outside, and before the field reached the finish line, he was leading.
“I don't know how I survived,” said Keselowski. “We had a great car and made the right moves to win. But luck was there too.”
Ryan Newman was second, followed by: Trevor Bayne, Joey Logano, Aric Almirola, Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne, Gray Gaulding, and David Ragan.
There were 11 cautions for 47 laps and three red flags. A total of 47 cars were involved in wrecks, including some that were in two or three different ones.
Jamie McMurray, a Chase contender was the first driver out of the race. He was bumped from behind during lap 25, and knocked into the outside wall.
“That definitely hurt our Chase hopes,” said McMurray. “It means we've got to win next week if we are to make the cut.”
The “big wreck” came during lap 173 and took out 16 cars.
During lap 179 another big one happened involving six cars. Kevin Harvick had been in three previous wrecks, but this one took him out of contention.
“It was a bad weekend,” said Harvick who qualified 22nd. “We were on defense all day. We couldn't make anything happen, couldn't get position, and couldn't do what we needed to do.”
The last wreck and red flag period came on lap 183, and involved Chase Elliott, Daniel Suarez, Kyle Larson and Kasey Kahne.
Suarez was leading and got into the No 24 of Chase Elliott as he attempted to pass. Both cars hit the wall. Larson, who was running the bottom line was also out of it.
“I had a run and I guess he (Suarez) didn't see me coming,” said Elliott. “Our car was good, the team did a good job, and I just wish we could have been there at the end.”
Clint Bowyer got tangled up twice. After the second one, he had a problem with his car and parked it on pit road. He climbed out, exchanged words with his crew chief, and went to his motor home, leaving his No. 14 car sitting in the team's pit area. He wound up 35th.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. had one of his better races of the season. Even though he only managed a seventh-place finish, he started on the pole and led seven laps. Kay Ivey, the Alabama Governor, proclaimed October 15, 2017 as “Dale Earnhardt Jr. Day”.
Top-12 Chase leaders: 1. Truex-3120, 2. Keselowski-3101, 3. Larson-3096, 4. Harvick-3089, 5. Hamlin-3088, 6.Elliott-3087, 7. Blaney-3076, 8. Johnson-3074, 9. Kyle Busch-3067, 10. Kenseth-3066, 11. Stenhouse-3052, 12. McMurray-3045.
These 12 drivers will have their points reset next week after the Kansas race, and the field will be reduced to eight drivers.
KLIGERMAN GETS DEGA TRUCK RACE
Parker Kligerman got his second career Truck Series victory, leading the final two laps on an overtime restart at Talladega Superspeedway.
“Every move worked perfectly,” said Kligerman. “When I go back and look at it, I’ll look at those moves, some of the hardest to make are when you are in the bottom and you’re running the top five and you don’t really have a partner and you’re trying to stop or block that top lane or get that momentum of that top lane. All I think about these speedway races is literally the last three laps and what I’m going to see out of the right rear of my truck because the move that you make to win these races 90 percent of the time is that.”
The remaining top-10: Christopher Bell, Myatt Snider, Grant Enfinger, Austin Cindric, John Nemechek, Vinnie Miller, Clay Greenfield, Matt Crafton, and Tyler Young.
The Truck Series Chase field has been reset to six drivers with four to go: 1. Bell-3047, 2. Sauter-3027, 3. Crafton-3014, 4. Nemechek-3014, 5. Rhodes-3013, 6. Cindric-3007.
The field will be reset again after the November 10th Phoenix race to four drivers. The highest finishing driver at Homestead on November 17th will win the championship.
SIX TIMES A BRIDESMAID
Chase Elliott has yet to win a Cup Series race after almost two years. He's come close six different times, and each week his first visit to victory lane gets closer. He led 28 laps in last Sunday's Talladega race, and appeared to have the fastest car near the end, before being taken out by a wreck.
Many of his racing fans thought a win was right around the corner, but that hasn't been the case. He's still seeking that elusive number one. He started off his inaugural season in 2016 in the No. 24 car previously driven by four-time champion Jeff Gordon, who retired following the 2015 season. Elliott took the pole at the Daytona 500 and then raced his way into the Chase for the Cup Series championship, becoming only the third rookie to ever make the series playoffs.
He started the first race of the Cup Series Playoffs at Chicagoland Speedway in eighth and quickly broke into the top-five during the opening 80-lap stage. He took the Stage 1 green-checkered flag in third.
“It’s been a solid start,” said Elliott. “Obviously we’d like to pick up one spot, but overall just the way we’ve been running since the playoffs started has been refreshing, and definitely makes it a lot of fun to come to the track and know that our car is going to drive pretty good, our pit stops have been really nice, and now is definitely the time of year to do that. So hopefully we can carry it forward, what, five or six more weeks and see what it’s got to offer.”
His last and sixth runner-up finish came at Charlotte two weeks ago and was his 19th top-five finish in 71 Cup Series starts.
“The way we've run over the past two weeks is definitely refreshing,” he said. “We hope that we can keep running like we are, and like I said a minute ago, if we can, then opportunities will definitely be there.”
He isn’t entirely at fault for his lack of Cup victories, because Chevrolet teams and Rick Hendrick Motorsports in particular, haven't been setting the world on fire with their performances.
Winning a race during this round of the Chase is still the goal and if he can pull it off, he’d automatically advance to the next round.
Weekend Racing: The Cup and Xfinity teams will be at the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway. The trucks have an off week.
Sat., Oct. 21, Xfinity Series race 30 of 33; Starting time: 3 pm ET; TV: NBC.
Sun., Sept. 22, Cup Series race 31 of 36; Starting time: 3 pm ET; TV: NBCSN.
Racing Trivia Question: Which is the smallest track on the NASCAR Cup circuit?
Last Week's Question: Which Cup team does Ryan Blaney drive for? Answer. The Wood Brothers No. 21 Ford.
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.
