Sports

By Tom Robinson
Go Lackawanna sports correspondent

TUNKHANNOCK – Paul Gallagher and James Fruehan each bring something to the Abington Heights offense as the team’s two-tailback combination.

Friday night, Gallagher piled up the yards while Fruehan took care of the touchdowns that helped the Comets pull away for a 37-6 victory over host Tunkhannock in a non-league game.

“Every week, our backs do a great job running,” Abington Heights coach Joe Repshis said. “It starts up front. We get a great push.”

Gallagher, who had a 64-yard touchdown run on the first offensive play, ran for 164 yards on 16 carries, all in the first three quarters.

Fruehan scored three touchdowns in a span of 11:41 from late in the second quarter to late in the third quarter to turn a 10-6 game into a 30-6 romp.

When Mike Umerich went untouched 58 yards down the right sideline on a punt on the first play of the fourth quarter, the lead reached 37-6 and the Comets were able to start emptying the bench.

The game took on a familiar look as Abington Heights improved to 8-1 and Tunkhannock slipped to 2-7.

Abington Heights produced its typical domination up front on both sides of the ball. A younger and smaller Tunkhannock team put up a fight early and eventually broke down.

“We’ve been doing that all year,” Tunkhannock coach Frank Berardelli said. “Where we’ve come up short has been the fourth quarter.

“We’ve been failing in the third quarter against state-level teams like Berwick, Towanda and Abington Heights.”

The Comets, who were ranked among the top 10 in the state in Class AAA before a loss to North Pocono, started to break away late in the half.

A 10-yard touchdown pass from T.J. Jenkins to Bubba Felker capped a 10-play, 64-yard Tunkhannock scoring drive to end the first and start the second quarter.

Gallagher’s early touchdown run and Charlie Armetta’s 27-yard, second-quarter field goal left the Comets with just a 10-6 advantage until Morgan Craig made a tackle for a loss on third down to get Abington Heights the ball back with less two minutes remaining in the half.

After Gallagher ran 33 yards on the first play, Fruehan went 14 for a touchdown 1:20 before halftime, pushing the lead to 16-6.

“That was on our offense,” Berardelli said. “We don’t convert there, we put ourselves in that situation.”

Fruehan had touchdown runs of 3 and 11 yards in the third quarter.

“A lot of that has to do with their size and strength and our fatigue,” Berardelli said. “They’re stronger than we are up front.

“That will wear on you.”

Defensively, Abington Heights threw Tunkhannock for 10 losses totaling 36 yards.

“We really rely on our guys up front to set the tone and make plays,” Repshis said. “They put us into situations where with the down and distance, we can be aggressive and make some plays.”

Fruehan also contributed on defense with two tackles for losses while seven teammates had one each.