Tired of ads? Subscribers enjoy a distraction-free reading experience.
Click here to subscribe today or Login.

DALLAS – Despite the fact that it was the day after Halloween, Dallas still managed to hand Abington Heights quite a fright on the football field Friday.

Danny Meuser ran for 119 yards and four touchdowns on just seven carries and Lenny Kelley added 11 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries as Dallas won the District 2 Class 4A quarterfinal matchup 56-14.

“I thought we did a nice job running the football, and we were opportunistic with the throwing game too,” Dallas coach Rich Mannello said. “That kick cover unit is still a concern.

“You know it’s never as good or as bad. You put that film on later on, you’re going to find some stuff you need to improve on, and they’ll do it.”

Kelly got Dallas on the board less than two minutes into the first quarter, capping a 54-yard scoring drive with a 3-yard touchdown run. He made it 14-0 with an electrifying 40-yard touchdown run with 7:18 left to play in the first quarter.

Meuser then made it 21-0 on a 58-yard sprint to the end zone with 3:18 left in the first.

An Abington Heights fumble and a 35-yard touchdown pass from Michael Starbuck to Matt Maransky made it 28-0 before the quarter was over.

Abington Heights finally got on the scoreboard with 10:37 left in the second quarter when quarterback Corey Perkins found wide receiver Dante DeRiggi for a 15-yard touchdown pass with 10:37 remaining in the half.

However, Dallas would score 28 unanswered points to send the Mountaineers into the half time break leading 56-7.

Meuser scored three of those touchdowns. He had touchdown runs of 6, 5 and 22, the last being Dallas’ final points of the night.

The Mountaineers other score came from the defense. Senior Xander Shaner recovered a fumble in the end zone after a fumbled snap.

Abington Heights final score of the game came when Michael Pusateri barreled his way into the end zone on a 1-yard touchdown run with 6:48 left to play in the third quarter.

“They’ll get back into the weight room and start power cleaning Sunday morning and move on,” Mannello said. “We will look at the film and grade it and move on to the next one.”

That next one will come next Friday night when the Mountaineers (11-0) host Crestwood (7-4) in the District 2 semifinals. Crestwood defeated North Pocono 34-0 Friday.

https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/web1_american-football-on-field-near-260nw-216420412.jpg.optimal.jpg

By Ross Turetsky

For Times Leader