North Pocono at Scranton

Recap

NORTH POCONO 37, SCRANTON 14

Undefeated North Pocono, playing through injuries to some of their biggest offensive stars, scored the first 37 points of the night and then cruised to a 37-14 victory over Scranton at Memorial Stadium. The Trojans won their 8th straight while the Knights lost for the fourth consecutive week.

While the Trojans were still able to manage plenty of offensive fireworks, their first score came courtesy of a special teams mishap by Scranton. A low punt snap went through the legs of the Knights’ punter and rolled into the end zone where the ball was downed, giving North Pocono a 2-0 lead with 9:47 remaining in the first quarter.

The Trojans then took the free kick and scored the first of four rushing touchdowns, even though they played without Joe Briskie, their leading rusher on the season. Josiah Gray burst through from 7 yards out to lengthen the lead to 9-0 with 8:44 left in the opening frame.

Both teams saw their defenses play well for the remainder of the first quarter and into the second. Jayden Taylor, the other portion of the two-headed monster North Pocono employed at running back, pushed into the end zone from 3 yards away to give the Trojans a 16-0 advantage with 5:09 left to play in the first half.

It was then that Coach Greg Dolhon opened the passing section of the playbook and counted on the arm of quarterback Chase Zimmerman. The veteran signal-caller found standout tight end Even Wolff alone along the left sideline and Wolff danced across the goal line, completing a 36-yard pass and run. The extra point made it 23-0 with 3:58 before intermission.

The Trojans had one more score left in them, however, before the teams headed to the locker rooms. Zimmerman called his own number, followed strong blocking in the middle of the Trojans line, and barreled across, covering 8 yards in the process. Youngblood’s extra point made it 30-0 North Pocono at the half.

North Pocono managed to put the game on ice on their first drive of the second half. Josiah Gray notched his second scoring jaunt of the half, sprinting 35 yards for the touchdown that put the game into the mercy rule at 37-0 with 10:11 left in the third period.

The Knights were able to put points on the board against the Trojan reserves in the final period. Nate Duffy scored on a 1-yard run with 4:25 left and then, after the Knights recovered a Trojan fumble on the ensuing kickoff, Duffy took it in one more time, the second being from 10 yards away to make the final score 37-14.

The Trojans face a huge test next weekend when they host Delaware Valley, winners of their last four, in a game that will go a long way in deciding the champion of Division 1 of the Lackawanna Football Conference. Scranton will travel to Abington Heights for a rare Thursday night contest against the Comets.

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST QUARTER

NP – Safety – North Pocono 2-0

NP – Josiah Gray 7-yd run (Shane Youngblood kick) – North Pocono 9-0

2ND QUARTER

NP – Jayden Taylor 3-yd run (Youngblood kick) – North Pocono 16-0

NP – Evan Wolff 36-yd pass from Chase Zimmerman (Youngblood kick) – North Pocono 23-0

NP – Zimmerman 8-yd run (Youngblood kick) – North Pocono 30-0

3RD QUARTER

NP – Gray 35-yd run (Youngblood kick) – North Pocono 37-0

4TH QUARETR

SCR – Nate Duffy 1-yd run (Merci Dieu kick) – North Pocono 37-7

SCR – Duffy 10-yd run (Dieu kick) – North Pocono 37-14