Lake-Lehman at Mid Valley

Recap

MID VALLEY 35, LAKE-LEHMAN 18

In Throop, Mid Valley defeated Lake-Lehman in the Class 3A quarterfinals by the score of 35-18 behind four touchdowns from stalwart tailback, Jakob Lesher. The Spartans, now 8-3, move on to face Scranton Prep next week while the Black Knights finish their season at 6-5.

After an early Lake-Lehman field goal put the Knights out in front, Quarterback Brett Yanoski was the culprit in grabbing the Spartans’ first score as he hit Mason Vinansky in the right flat, leading to a 7-yard touchdown pass. The extra point put the Spartans ahead 7-3 with 6:09 left in the opening quarter, a lead Mid-Valley would never relinquish.

The remaining touchdowns for the Spartans would be tallied by Lesher, beginning with a 10-yard run to the left sideline. With just 39 seconds remaining in the second quarter, the Spartans had extended their advantage to 14-3, a lead they took to the locker room at halftime.

Lesher sprinted 46 yards to the end zone with 5:27 remaining in the 3^rd quarter, his longest run of the evening. Trailing 21-3, the Knights took to the air, but with dismal results. Once again, it was Lesher who did the damage. From his corner position, Lesher stepped in front of a Hayden Evans pass and sauntered 38 yards for the score. The Spartans led 28-3 as the third period came to a close.

Lake-Lehman was not going to go quietly, however. The Knights scored two fourth quarter touchdowns, courtesy of Benjamin Dowling. Dowling picked off a Brett Yanoski pass with 7:14 remaining in the final period, putting an end to another Spartan drive. Dowling took his interception 68 yards for the score. The successful 2-point conversion made the score 28-11.

After a successful onside kick, the Black Knights struck quickly. Evans found Dowling behind the Spartan secondary for a 30-yard scoring pass to cut the Spartan lead to 28-18 and forcing Mid-Valley to continue to execute offensively.

The Spartans did just that. With 3:30 remaining in the game, Lesher hit paydirt for the fourth time, skirting left end once again from 8 yards out to finally put the game out of reach and providing the final margin of 35-18.

The win by Mid Valley sets up the rematch with the Cavaliers. Prep defeated the Spartans 28-0 at Dunmore High School in Week 8. The winner will advance to play the winner of another rematch, this one between Western Wayne and Wyoming Area, for the District 2 Class 3A championship.

SCORING SUMMARY

1st Quarter

LL – Reilly Kirkutis 21-yd field goal – Lake-Lehman 3-0

MV – Mason Vinansky 7-yd pass from Brett Yanoski (Dylan Henderson kick) – Mid Valley 7-3

2nd Quarter

MV – Jakob Lesher 10-yd run (Henderson kick) – Mid Valley 14-3

3rd Quarter

MV – Lesher 46-yd run (Henderson kick) – Mid Valley 21-3

MV – Lesher 33-yd interception return (Henderson kick) – Mid Valley 28-3

4th Quarter

LL – Benjamin Dowling 66-yd interception return (Hayden Evans run) – Mid Valley 28-11

LL – Dowling 30-yd pass from Evans (Kirkutis kick) – Mid Valley 28-18

MV – Lesher 8-yd run (Henderson kick) – Mid Valley 35-18