Metro
Scranton Prep navigated District 2’s largest and most demanding playoff field for its fourth straight title, but then had its football season come to an end with its first game outside the district.
Winning the three-round, eight-team District 2 Class 3A playoffs advanced the Cavaliers right into the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state quarterfinals in the classification.
Northwestern Lehigh 34, Scranton Prep 0
Northwestern Lehigh ended a second straight Scranton Prep season with the Nov. 23 victory at Berwick’s Crispin Field in the state quarterfinals.
Scranton Prep trailed the unbeaten District 11 champions just 7-0 at halftime, but played the second half without injured Louis Paris, the only District 2 quarterback to both run and pass for more than 1,000 yards this season.
Paris suffered a knee injury late in the second quarter.
The Cavaliers, who also won Lackawanna Football Conference Division 1, finished 12-2.
Scranton Prep 28, Wyoming Area 6
DUNMORE – Scranton Prep used three big plays to score three times in the third quarter, taking control of a close game for a 28-6 victory over Wyoming Area in the District 2 Class 3A championship game Nov. 15 at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
The Cavaliers scored three times from at least 51 yards and Wyoming Area had a 53-yard touchdown run by 2,000-yard rusher Lidge Kellum wiped out by penalty as a 7-0 halftime lead swelled to 28-0.
Paris ran 75 yards for the first score.
After Kellum’s touchdown was negated and the Cavaliers stopped the Warriors on fourth-and-three, Will McPartland took a pass from Paris 54 yards for a touchdown.
Scranton Prep made another fourth-down stop and Treyvon Dickey raced 51 yards for the score on the next play.
Kellum carried 33 times for 139 yards, but did not have a touchdown that counted until breaking the shutout on a 1-yard run with less than six minutes left.
“(He) is a good football player and obviously they’re physical up front,” Scranton Prep coach Terry Gallagher said. “He’s a pretty patient kid and oftentimes you’re thinking the speed, but he cut it back a lot more than I anticipated.”
Scranton Prep scored on its initial drive of the game with Paris ending the eight-play possession with a 10-yard run at 8:11 of the first quarter.
After fumbling away the ball on its first possession, Wyoming Area moved into Scranton Prep territory the next two times only to turn over the ball on downs.
Scranton Prep held Wyoming Area to season-lows in points and in total offense with 219 yards.
Paris carried 11 times for 161 yards and hit four of seven passes for 99 more yards.
The Cavaliers outrushed the Warriors 307-153 and outgained them 406-219.
Scranton Prep 40, Mid Valley 21
Scranton Prep scored the game’s first 21 points and led 27-7 at halftime in the Nov. 7 District 2 Class 3A semifinal at Dunmore.
Will McPartland ran for 130 yards and three touchdowns while quarterback Louis Paris ran for 132 yards and one score.
