AJ Sports

By Tom Robinson
Go Lackawanna sports correspondent

SUSQUEHANNA -- Carbondale stopped a pair of potential tying two-point conversions in the third quarter, then found a better way to protect its lead against Susquehanna.

The Chargers had the ball for all but 1:05 of the final 13:11 Saturday to put away the Sabers, 26-18, in a game between teams fighting to remain in contention for a share of the Lackawanna Football Conference Division 3 title.

Carbondale on fourth down four times and third down once during drives that took 6:42 to add to the lead and 5:24 to run out the clock.

"We've had two close games where we felt we had chances to win, but didn't get it done," Carbondale coach Larry Gabriel III said.

The Chargers went 5-for-13 converting third downs and 4-for-5 on fourth downs. They held Susquehanna without a third-down conversion in seven tries. That combination helped Carbondale rack up a 32:16-15:44 advantage in time of possession.

"We're not finishing," Susquehanna coach Dick Bagnall said. "We got close, but had three dropped passes that would have been first downs."

Dominic DeAntonio hit Carm Carachilo with a 23-yard pass on fourth-and-eight  to set up Dylan Cerra's 2-yard touchdown run on the next play with 6:29 left.

After having the previous attempt blocked, a five-yard penalty contributed to Carbondale missing the extra point.

"We were frustrated that we couldn't get a kick through to get up by nine," Gabriel said.

That turned out to be unnecessary when Susquehanna ran just two more plays the rest of the game and gave up the ball in a hurry after a loss-of-down penalty.

Carbondale held Susquehanna's option offense -- averaging more than 30 points per game -- to minus-6 yards rushing in the first half while scoring a defensive touchdown.

Gino Carachilo returned a fumble 19 yards for a touchdown and 14-0 lead with 1:36 left in the half.

Cerra finished with 137 yards on 34 carries to help the Chargers finish with a 244-36 rushing advantage.

DeAntonio ran for two touchdowns and hit five of nine passes for 63 yards.

Susquehanna's Dan Kempa ran one one touchdown and passed 29 yards to Cole Mallery for another.

Brad Weaver returned the second-half kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown.

Carbondale is 3-1 and 5-4. Susquehanna is 2-2 and 6-3.

UPDATED: 6:35 p.m.

Sean Fricke scored three touchdowns and Eric Laytos scored two Saturday afternoon as Lackawanna Trail ended a nine-game losing streak with a 39-29 victory over host Holy Cross.

After beating Holy Cross last year, the Lions lost their season finale against Mid Valley and then dropped eight straight to start this season.

The Crusaders led, 21-10, until Fricke broke off a 73-yard touchdown run with 8:37 left.

Lackawanna Trail is 1-3 in Division 3 of the Lackawanna Football Conference and 1-8 overall. Holy Cross falls to 0-4 and 1-8.

UPDATED: 4:33 p.m.

SUSQUEHANNA -- Carbondale limited Susquehanna's offense to 36 yards rushing Saturday afternoon to keep alive slim hopes of tying for the Lackawanna Football Conference Division 3 title by posting a 26-18 victory.

The teams entered the game tied for second in the division.

The Chargers (3-1 in the division and 5-4 overall) need to win their final game and have Susquehanna upset unbeaten division leader Old Forge. The Blue Devils have already clinched at least a tie.

Dylan Cerra carried 37 times for 134 yards and a touchdown to lead the Carbondale offense. Dominic DeAntonio ran 15 times for 68 yards and two touchdowns while hitting five of nine passes for 63 yards.

Susquehanna cut a 14-0 lead to 14-12 by scoring on the last play of the first half and first play of the second half. Dan KIempa hit Cole Mallery with a 29-yard pass then Brad Weaver returned the second-half kickoff 94 yards.

In another Division 3 game, Lackawanna Trail posted its first win of the season with a 39-29 victory over Holy Cross.

Sean Fricke ran for three touchdowns, including a 73-yarder for the go-ahead score with 8:37 left in the game.

For more details on these games, return to www.scrantonedition.com/sports or see Don McGlynn's Lackawanna Trail-Holy Cross game coverage in this week's Abington Journal.