Old Forge at Lackawanna Trail

Recap

LACKAWANNA TRAIL 38, OLD FORGE 20

On Sunday afternoon at Tunnel Hill, Lackawanna Trail scored the first 38 points of the contest and then coasted to a convincing 38-20 win over Old Forge. Once again, Isaac Ryon was the bell cow for Trail, scoring 3 touchdowns and contributing a field goal to the Lions’ effort.

After forcing an Old Forge punt on the Blue Devils’ initial possession, Trail made short work of their opening drive. After two running plays, quarterback Tyler Jervis found Ryon with a pass in the left flat and the senior star did the rest, crossing the field from left to right and outracing two Blue Devils’ defenders on his way to a 58-yard touchdown jaunt. Joey Thomas added the point after and Trail led 7-0 with 7:40 to play in the opening quarter.

Old Forge met disaster on their next offensive play as quarterback Rob Solfanelli collided with setback Dante Gonzalez, forcing a fumble that was scooped up by Tyler Jervis who sprinted 25 yards to the end zone. Thomas’s extra point made it 14-0.

Once again, the Lions forced the Devils to punt and took over at the Blue Devil 45. Four plays later, it was Ryon reaching paydirt for the second time on the afternoon, this time on a 4-yard run. Thomas converted again to put the Lions’ advantage at 21-0 with 3:42 still left to play in the opening quarter.

On their very next drive, Trail successfully navigated the Old Forge defense once again. On a drive that measured 50 yards in just 3 plays, Ryon notched his third tally of the ball game, scooting 19 yards down the right sideline. The Trail lead reached 28-0 at the conclusion of the first period.

After an Old Forge punt, Trail took over at their own 24-yard line. The Lions mixed the running of Ryon and fullback Carter Edwards to move the ball inside the Blue Devils’ 5-yard line. Edwards did the honors this time from 4 yards out, and the Lions had stretched their lead to 35-0 with 6:41 left to play before intermission.

Old Forge punted again on their next drive, and Trail began at their own 29. The Devils’ defense was able to stymie the Lions this time as Chris Rasmus stepped in front of a Jervis pass at midfield, returning the ball to the Trail 37. Time ran out on the Devils before they could reach the end zone.

The Lions opened the second half with the football and moved to the Old Forge 15 on 8 plays. There the drive stalled and Coach Steve Jervis sent Ryon onto the field to attempt a 32-yard field goal, which he drilled with plenty of room to spare, putting Trail ahead 38-0 with 5:03 left in the third period.

At that point, Trail substituted liberally as the game had been in the mercy rule situation since the outset of the second half. Old Forge then was able to score touchdowns on their final 3 drives of the contest.

First, the Devils traversed 69 yards in 9 plays on a drive culminated by Rob Solfanelli’s swing pass to Dante Gonzalez down the right sideline. Josh Cistola’s point after was on the money, making the score 38-7 at the conclusion of the third stanza.

The final two scores belonged to receiver Chris Rasmus, who became the leading receiver in Blue Devil history in the first half. Solfanelli hit Rasmus for touchdown passes of 33 and 15 yards, making the final margin 38-20.

Trail, now 5-1, travels to Carbondale Area on Friday in another LFC Division 3 contest against the 4-2 Chargers. Old Forge, winless in 6 tries, returns home to face Susquehanna.

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST QUARTER

LT – Isaac Ryon 58-yd pass from Tyler Jervis (Joey Thomas kick) – Lackawanna Trail 7-0

LT – Jervis 25-yd fumble return (Thomas kick) – Lackawanna Trail 14-0

LT – Ryon 4-yd run (Thomas kick) – Lackawanna Trail 21-0

LT – Ryon 19-yd run (Thomas kick) – Lackawanna Trail 28-0

2ND QUARTER

LT – Carter Edwards 4-yd run (Thomas kick) – Lackawanna Trail 35-0

3RD QUARTER

LT – Ryon 32-yd field goal – Lackawanna Trail 38-0

OF – Dante Gonzalez 25-yd pass from Robbie Solfanelli (Josh Cistola kick) – Lackawanna Trail 38-7

4TH QUARTER

OF – Chris Rasmus 33-yd pass from Solfanelli (Pass failed) – Lackawanna Trail 38-13

OF – Rasmus 15-yd pass from Solfaneli (Cistola kick) – Lackawanna Trail 38-20