Patterson
Lackawanna Trail rolls into the playoffs coming off the most successful football regular season in school history.
The Lions went 10-0 for the first time ever, surpassing the 1969 and 1974 teams that reached 9-0, and climbed to No. 2 in the state during the regular season for the first time ever. PennLive.com has Lackawanna Trail ranked second among Class A teams behind only Steelton-Highspire.
The last time the Lions reached No. 2 was in 2018 when they made their only state championship game appearance.
Lackawanna Trail has overwhelmed many opponents while leading District 2 in both most points scored (43.0 per game) and least allowed (10.9).
“I think what really separates this team is that they really play well together,” Lions coach Steve Jervis said in a phone interview. “Even though we have a strong senior class, we do have a lot of mixed underclassmen playing as well.
“They’ve developed some really good team chemistry and we have quality depth. Even when we did incur some injuries throughout the season, we could always rebound.”
Lukas Gumble leads a multi-faceted offense with 1,108 yards and 18 of his 20 touchdowns on just 82 carries, an average of 13.4 yards per attempt.
The Lions don’t throw often, but when they do, Stephen Jervis, Max Kimmel and Gumble and have been highly effective.
Jervis hits just over 50 percent of his throws (20-for-39), but for an average gain of 15.5 yards per attempt to go along with a 10-1, touchdown-to-interception ratio.
Kimmel’s 11 catches have produced 352 yards (32.0 per catch) and six touchdowns while Gumble has four catches for 159 yards (39.8) and two touchdowns.
Linebackers Hunter Patterson and Kolbee Soltis lead the defense in tackles.
The Lions host Old Forge Nov. 3 in search of their third straight District 2 Class A title, to try advance to the District 1-2 Class A Subregional final on the way to the state tournament.
“The nice thing about our group this year is they have been through big games,” Jervis said. “They’re defending back-to-back district champs. They understand what’s at stake.
“I think our kids will come ready to play.”
Lackawanna Trail 46, Susquehanna 0
Lackawanna Trail secured the Lackawanna Football Conference Division 3 title Oct. 27 with the home-field rout of Susquehanna to complete the 10-0 regular season.
The Lions scored two touchdowns in each of the first three quarters, with one coming from Gumble each time.
Gumble carried seven times for 143 yards and ran for two first-half touchdowns. He caught a 41-yard touchdown pass from Stephen Jervis in the third quarter.
Lackawanna Trail 66, Holy Cross 0
The Lions averaged more than 20 yards per carry and got touchdowns from nine different players in the Oct. 20 rout of Holy Cross.
Gumble ran for two scores in the first half and Brayden Martinez finished up the scoring, running for 130 yards and two touchdowns on five carries.
Lackawanna Trail led 25-0 after one quarter and 45-0 at halftime.
Lackawanna Trail 41, Carbondale 14
Lackawanna Trail scored 28 points in the first quarter and led 41-0 at Carbondale Oct. 13 in its final road game of the regular season.
The Lions scored before running an offensive play when Alex Castellanos recovered a fumble in the end zone.
Kimmel took a short Jervis pass 33 yards for a touchdown on the first play.
Cooper Patterson blocked a punt to set up the Lions at the Chargers 11 and Demetrius Douglas scored from there for a 21-0 lead less than seven minutes in.
Gumble, who had a touchdown wiped out by penalty on the play before the Douglas touchdown, ran 40 yards to make it 28-0.
Jervis passed 36 yards to Douglas to the 13, then Gumble scored on third-and-one from the 4. Another Jervis completion produced a 62-yard Gumble touchdown for the last score.
Lackawanna Trail 28, Riverside 21
Lukas Gumble’s 27-yard, fourth-quarter run produced the winning score in the Oct. 6 road game that ultimately decided the LFC Division 3 title.
Gumble carried 12 times for 148 yards and two touchdowns in the game, which was tied at 7-7, 14-14 and 21-21.
Douglas also scored twice, including an 89-yard touchdown run the only time the Lions fell behind.
