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OLD FORGE FOOTBALL

UNDEFEATED

Blue Devils go 10-0, win LFC Division III title

By Rick Notari rnotari@psdispatch.com
Pittston Sunday Dispatch Staff Writer

Old Forge capped its first undefeated regular-season in 22 years and won its second straight Lackawanna Football Conference Division III title in a 36-22 win over Susquehanna on Senior Parents Night at Old Forge Veterans Memorial Stadium on Friday night.

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Brian Morris (21) tries to avoid teammate AJ Grasso (53) during a big run on Friday night against Susquehanna. Morris rushed for 142 yards and two TDs and is just 133 yards from reaching the 3,000-yard mark for his career.

photo by rick notari

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Pictured above, Old Forge’s Klaus Woodeshick (44) brings down Susquehanna QB Dan Kempa as teammate Brandon Souryavong (58) closes in. Below left, Mark Zambetti sacks Kempa, causing a fumble late in the second quarter. Below right, Mike Tagliaferri picks up a chunk of yardage on one of his two carries.

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The Blue Devils started fast behind a defense that forced four turnovers in the first 18 minutes of play.

After AJ Grasso recovered a Sabers fumble just 1:05 into the game, Old Forge (10-0) marched 43 yards in seven plays as five different players touched the ball.

Brian Morris got things rolling with a 10-yard run before Kenny Paulish carried for three yards and quarterback Mike Mancuso completed a seven-yard pass to Malkolm Blackshear to set the Blue Devils up on the Sabers 18.

Morris carried two straight times for 17 yards and Mancuso capped the drive with a one-yard touchdown run to put Old Forge ahead 6-0 at the 7:41 mark of the first period. Kevin Conze’s PAT was wide left.

Susquehanna responded with seven plays that covered 42 yards into Blue Devils territory to set up second-and-5 from the Old Forge 34. But after Mike Tagliaferri tackled Brad Felter for a five-yard loss on second down, the Blue Devils would get its first defensive touchdown of the year.

On third-and-10 Blackshear stepped in front of a Dan Kempa pass at the 29-yard line for the interception. The junior defensive back then juked in and out of traffic, before breaking two tackles on his way to a 71-yard interception return for an Old Forge touchdown and a 12-0 lead with 3:19 left in the first.

The Blue Devils would get the ball right back when Tagliaferri ripped the ball out of Felter’s hands on a 12-yard gain by the Sabers running back on its next offensive play to give possession to Old Forge.

Susquehanna held the Blue Devils on three downs, but on fourth down and in punt formation, Old Forge went to its bag of tricks.

Punter Mark Zambetti – a lineman by trade – hit a wide open Alex Enciso down the home sidelines for a 24-yard gain and a first down to keep the drive alive.

Two plays later, Blackshear hit Connor Fultz over the middle for a 10-yard scoring toss and an 18-0 Old Forge lead with 1:05 remaining in the opening stanza. The two-point run failed.

“We tried not to look ahead especially with the playoffs coming,” said Brian Morris of his team’s fast start. “So we focused on this game to end the season right.”

The Blue Devils looked to put the game away midway through the second quarter with a seven-play, 85-yard drive after Klaus Woodeshick picked off Kempa with a diving interception to stop a Susquehanna drive.

Morris carried three times for 52 yards during the drive which Blackshear capped with a 30-yard dart to Paulish for a touchdown and a 24-0 left with 5:35 left in the first half.

But Susquehanna did not quit.

The Sabers answered with a 15-yard touchdown run by Kempa on the ensuing drive. The junior quarterback then punched in the two-point conversion and Susquehanna trailed 24-8 headed to intermission.

Old Forge received the second-half kickoff but lost a fumble on an exchange to give the Sabers the ball at their own 49. Nine plays later, Kempa carried in from four-yard out to cut the deficit to 24-14 with 5:35 left in the third quarter.

“The veer is very deceiving and hard to stop,” said Zambetti. “Kempa is a great quarterback. Felter is a good running back. They are a good team.

“This season we haven’t faced too much adversity. But it means a lot knowing that our offense can put up points if our defense isn’t playing that well and we could still pull the win.”

And that’s exactly what happened.

The Old Forge offense responded quickly as Blackshear went to work.

The all-purpose back completed passes to Morris for 16 yards and Mancuso for 21 yards while also rushing for 25 yards to set the Blue Devils up at the Susquehanna 1.

Morris plowed in for the touchdown with 2:05 left in the third and the Blue Devils led 30-14.

The defense gave the ball back to the offense again just three plays later when Woodeshick caused a fumble that Morris recovered to give Old Forge the ball at the 50.

Seven plays later, Morris scored from two-yards out for the 36-14 lead with 10:16 left in the game.

“We mixed a lot of bodies in and sat a couple guys out the second half with some minor injuries,” said Head Coach Mike Schuback. “Defensively, a couple kids didn’t play the correct responsibilities and when Susquehanna got in close some things broke apart. I didn’t think we would have trouble with it, but we worked through it.

“I am extremely proud of our kids. It’s a tough road to haul and go 10-0. In looking at the discrepancy of years it’s a hard thing to do. It’s not easy. I am just very proud of our players.”

“It feels great,” added Grasso of the perfect season. “This is what we set out to do at the beginning of the season. This is what we worked for the whole time. Now we have to put it away and start working for the next season, the post-season.”

Devil Details

Morris rushed for 142 yards and two touchdowns giving him season totals of 1,241 yards and 22 rushing touchdowns. The senior co-captain is within 133 yards of the 3,000-yard mark for his career…. Blackshear completed 12-for-18 passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 62 yards on nine carries…. Fultz led all receivers with three catches for 19 yards and a score…. Morris chipped in with three receptions for 18 yards, and Paulish hauled in two passes for 48 yards and a TD….Mancuso was 3-for-4 passing for 12 yards and also caught two passes for 21 yards…. The Old Forge defense allowed 200 yards rushing for the first time this season as the Sabers collected 220 yards on the ground…. Brandon Souryavong led the defense with nine tackles…. Woodeshick added seven tackles and interception and caused two fumbles…. Tagliaferri added seven tackles and a fumble recovery and Kyle Holland chipped in with five tackles…. Zambetti – a three-year lineman and first-year punter for the Blue Devils – has now rushed and thrown for a first down this season. His 24-yard completion to Enciso on Friday night matched his 24-yard run against Holy Cross earlier in the season.