CLINTON TWP. — Lackawanna Trail found the end zone on all four of its possessions in the first half and rolled to a 41-12 win over Susquehanna in a Lackawanna Football Conference Division 3 game Oct. 13 at Lions Pride Stadium.
Lions running back Jeffrey Resto, who finished with 106 yards on 13 carries, ran 27 yards for a touchdown on a sweep play to give Trail a 7-0 lead with 8:24 left in the first quarter after Nate Rolka tacked on the extra point.
“Susquehanna always plays good defense and I thought we did a good job spreading the ball around,” Lackawanna Trail head coach Steve Jervis said. “You definitely have to do a good job getting the ball to the outside; they’re always tough up the middle, and I thought we did a decent job on the perimeter.”
Susquehanna moved the ball deep in Lackawanna Trail territory on the ensuing drive, but Lions linebacker Owen Hivner recovered a fumble by Sabers running back Devon Dubanowitz at the 12-yard line.
Lackawanna Trail’s defense limited the Sabers to 85 yards of offense and forced three turnovers.
“We made a couple personnel changes after last Friday and we had a little more team speed tonight,” Jervis said.
Lackawanna Trail (6-2, 5-2 Div. 3) cashed in on the turnover when Resto scored his second touchdown of the game, on a 4-yard run, to Lions ahead 14-0 with 10:54 remaining in the second quarter after Rolka’s extra point.
Miguel Ella, who carried the ball three times for 54 yards, broke free for a 32-yard gain to set up the score.
(Miguel) is really special,” Resto said. “He’s really fast and we used his speed on the outside.”
Rolka scored on a 7-yard bootleg to give the Lions a 21-0 lead with 4:35 left in the second quarter.
“I can’t thank my blockers enough, especially Shawn Jones who had a great block on the end of the line,” Rolka said.
The senior quarterback also capped the team’s next drive with a 15-yard run on a draw play and the Lions held a 27-0 advantage at halftime. Rolka connected on 3-4 passes for 48 yards, including a 27-yard connection to Ray Melnikoff, during the possession.
Lackawanna Trail forced Susquehanna into turnover on its first two drives in the second half. First, linebacker Thomas Kohinsky recovered a fumble by Billy Perry. Then, defensive tackle Nick Van Fleet pounced on a fumble by Dubanowitz that led to a 10-yard touchdown run by Jordan Edwards to increase the Lions’ lead to 34-0 after Melnikoff’s extra point.
Susquehanna (3-5, 2-5) scored its first points of the contest when Perry returned the ensuing kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown with 3:10 remaining in the third quarter. Melnikoff stopped Perry short of the goal line on a two-point conversion attempt.
Sabers defensive back returned a fumble by Trail backup quarterback Nico Berrios 86 yards for a touchdown to end the third quarter. Hivner stopped Perry on a two-point conversion attempt and the Lions maintained a 34-12 lead.
Melnikoff scored on a 9-yard run and converted the extra point with 2:30 left in the game.
