AJ Sports

By Tom Robinson
Go Lackawanna sports correspondent

Adam Goeringer ran for two touchdowns and passed for another Saturday afternoon to lead Dallas to a 21-14 victory over North Pocono in a District 2 Class AAA semifinal game.

Dallas took a 14-0 lead into the fourth quarter, but Nick Reuther's 32-yard interception return for a touchdown closed the gap to a touchdown.

After North Pocono was unable to convert on a fourth down in its own territory, Dallas regained its 14-point lead with 2:28 to play.

The Trojans needed less than a minute to score again.

Matt Smith's 62-yard pass to Frankie DePietro set up Nick Batzel's 1-yard touchdown run.

For more details on this game, see Dave Konopki's coverage in Sunday's Times Leader.

UPDATED: 6:13 p.m.

CLARKS SUMMIT -- Abington Heights struck so quickly Saturday afternoon that Berwick wound up with the ball long enough to run off 83 plays.

That was not nearly enough for the defending champion Bulldogs.

Abington Heights averaged more than eight yards per carry and scored on five possessions that covered 40 yards or less during a 53-19 rout in the District 2 Class AAA semifinals.

The win by the Comets avenged a 3-0 loss in last year's district final.

"The whole focus focus and emphasis of our week wasn't about avenging a loss or losing to Berwick last year," Abington Heights coach Joe Repshis said. "It was about 2009 and what can we do to be better and give ourselves a chance to win today."

The Comets found that formula with two touchdowns in the first 1:22 of the game and four more in the last 7:25 of the third quarter.

Paul Gallagher ran 44 yards on the game's first play to set up James Fruehan's 21-yard touchdown run on the second. After Morgan Craig's sack forced a fumble that Evan Craig recovered, Gallagher went 14 yards for the touchdown on the next play.

Defense also set up the quick combination of scores in the third quarter when Abington Heights stretched a 19-7 advantage to 46-13.

Gallagher recovered a fumble at the 1 and Mike Beamish scored from there. Fruehan then intercepted a pass to set up Gallagher's 2-yard touchdown run 1:35 later.

Fruehan ran 55 yards for a touchdown and broke up a pass on a fake punt to set up Gallagher's 28-yard touchdown run.

Gallagher finished with 19 carries for 188 yards and three touchdowns. Fruehan added five carries for 83 yards and two touchdowns.

Jared Pierce was 17-for-36 passing for 238 yards for Berwick.

For more details on this game, Sunday's Times Leader, next weekend's Scranton Edition of the Times Leader and Don McGlynn's coverage in the next Abington Journal.

UPDATED: 4:26 p.m.

CLARKS SUMMIT -- Abington Heights and Dallas advanced to the District 2 Class AAA football championship game with semifinal victories Saturday afternoon.

The Comets and Mountaineers, both 10-1, will meet for the championship Saturday, November 21 at Scranton Memorial Stadium, tentatively at 1 p.m.

Abington Heights crushed Berwick, 53-19, to avenge a 3-0 loss in last year's district championship game.

Dallas defeated visiting North Pocono, 21-14, in a meeting between teams that went from 2-8 a year ago to 9-1 this regular season.

Abington Heights scored twice in the first two minutes but needed a stretch of four touchdowns in the final 7:25 of the third quarter to break away.

Paul Gallagher had three touchdowns, including two in the third-quarter outburst.

James Fruehan ran for two touchdowns and set up two others with an interception return and a break-up of a pass on a fake punt.

Dallas took a 14-0 lead into the fourth quarter against North Pocono, which rallied to within a touchdown twice.

For more details, return to www.scrantonedition.com/sports and see Sunday's Times Leader.