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LEHMAN TWP. — North Pocono extended its win streak to six games with a 38-7 victory over Lake-Lehman at Edward H. Edwards Stadium on Friday night.

Greg Dolhan was praising his staff and players, as the Trojans moved to 7-1 on season, saying, “We’re playing the game physical and we’re playing the game the right way.”

North Pocono drew first blood only two minutes into the game. After forcing the Black Knights’ offense into a three-and-out possession, the Trojans’ special teams broke through and block Lehman’s kick with Ashton Smith returning the ball to the end zone to give the Trojans an 7-0 advantage.

On the ensuing Lehman possession, Cole Morio found space and ran the ball 57 yards to North Pocono 21-yard line. The Trojan defense buckled down, forcing the first of five Lehman fumbles off a A.J. Ambrosecchia sack. The ball rolled out of bounds before either team could recover it.

The Lake-Lehman offense fumbled the ball five times on the night, three from misplayed handoffs and one from a bad snap.

“A lot of mistakes, I keep on saying that every week but we have to figure it out,” Lehman coach Jerry Gilsky said.

After forcing an incompletion on fourth down, the Trojans offense finally emerged from the sideline. The drive wouldn’t last long as on the second play Dustin Heinrich jumped on a Michael Blaine fumble, regaining possession for the Black Knights.

Lehman, once again, threatened the Trojans defense, but a miscue on the handoff wound up on the ground where Ambrosecchia recovered the ball.

The Black Knights rebounded from their mistake with their next possession. After a Trojans’ penalty put Lehman in their opponent’s half, Gavin Wallace connected with Dustin Heinrich for a 33-yard pass that set the Black Knights up at the Trojan 5-yard line. Colby Roberts finished the drive by punching the ball in from the 1-yard line to knot the game up at 7-7.

The North Pocono offense struggled in the opening period, generating 15 total yards with a turnover. The unit pulled together in the second quarter and went on a 13-play, 71-yard drive capped off by a 4-yard William Soma touchdown pass to Ty Lafave, to give the Trojans the decisive lead.

With less than a minute remaining in the half, a Soma pass to Dan Smith set the Trojans up at their opponent’s 2-yard line. On the following play Soma scrambled to avoid pressure and eventually ran the ball into the end zone with 32 seconds left on the clock.

North Pocono would not be finished in the quarter as Ambrosecchia recovered a loose ball after the Black Knights misplayed a handoff at the Lehman 8-yard line. Twelve seconds after his first touchdown, Soma scrambled again and found the end zone on the ground to give the Trojans a 28-7 lead heading into the half.

Soma didn’t play in the second as Dolhon cited an ankle injury.

“He could’ve played,” Dolhon said, “but they preferred to play it safe and have Soma ready to go for their next game. “

North Pocono 38, Lake-Lehman 7

North Pocono`7`21`3`7 — 38

Lake-Lehman`0`7`0`0 — 7

First quarter

NP — Ashton Smith 14 yard punt block return (Jordan Carr kick), 10:05

Second quarter

LL — Colby Roberts 1 run (Tanner Manzoni kick), 11:12

NP — Ty Lafave 4 pass from William Soma (Carr kick), 5:18

NP — Soma 2 run (Carr kick), 0:32

NP — Soma 8 run (Carr kick), 0:20

Third quarter

NP — Carr 28 field goal, 4:26

Fourth quarter

NP — Michael Blaine 5 run (Carr kick), 7:09

Team statistics`NP`LL

First downs`17`5

Rushes-yards`46-255`31-147

Passing yards`62`41

Total yards`317`188

Passing`5-9-62`2-3-41

Sacked-yards lost`1-11`2-15

Punts-avg.`1-33`1-22

Fumbles-lost`1-1`5-3

Penalties-yards`3-25`3-15

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — North Pocono, Michael Blaine 21-118, Korry Eisley 12-57, Ayden Beckage 2-31, Kevin Wickizer 1-26, Riley Moore 2-19, Nate Hauenstein 1-6, Evan Jenkins 1-4, William Soma 3—(minus)1. Lake-Lehman, Cole Morio 4-62, Jeremy Scouton 2-29, Colby Roberts 7-19, Santino Diana 4-17, Mason Konigus 1-17, Logan Walsh 2-7, Justin Pudimott 2-2, Gavin Wallace 1-0, Hayden Evans 1-0, Landon Schuckers 4—(minus)4

PASSING — North Pocono, William Soma 4-7-0-39, Noah West 1-2-0-23. Lake Lehman, Gavin Wallace 1-2-0-33, Landon Schuckers 1-1-0-8.

RECEIVING — North Pocono, Dan Smith 2-39, Ashton Smith 1-15, Ty Lafave 1-4, Korry Eisley 1-4. Lake-Lehman Dustin Heinrich 1-33, Logan Walsh 1-8.

INTERCEPTIONS — NONE

MISSED FGs — NONE