Back in Week 2 of last season, Dallas handled Crestwood 35-14. The victory jumped the Mountaineers to the forefront of the District 2 Class 4A football standings.
When the postseason rolled around, Dallas couldn’t survive Valley View in the D2-4A semifinals. And Valley View couldn’t survive Crestwood in the title game as the Comets won the championship and went on to the PIAA state semifinals.
So when Dallas (1-0) travels to Crestwood (0-1) at 7 p.m. Friday for a Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 showdown, the end result might not matter come playoff time in November. Of course, both teams need to qualify for the district playoffs, but with eight of 10 teams making the D2-4A tournament they both should be there.
Friday’s result especially holds true for Crestwood, which enters the game with some key injuries. Standout linebacker Lincoln Bibla and projected starting running back Logan Rolles missed the season-opening 21-14 loss to Valley View. Their ailments are significant enough to probably keep them out of the lineup again Friday.
Crestwood starting quarterback Jaden Shedlock was hurt in the second quarter vs. Valley View and didn’t return. He was on pace to play, but that could have changed considering the nature of the injury.
“At one point Friday we were without three contributors,” Crestwood coach Ryan Arcangeli said. “But we hung in there for a long time and were still one play away. We’re battling. The kids are doing a good job. The kids filling in are doing the best they can. We’re going to try to hold water as long as we can.”
Dallas won its opener 31-28 victory over Abington Heights. Two items in particular stood out. The Mountaineers were able to rally from a 13-0 deficit and new starting running back Dylan Geskey had a huge game to keep a very balanced attack intact.
“We got down 13-zip and I thought the kids did a great job staying together,” Dallas coach Rich Mannello said. “There was no finger pointing. In high school football, that could turn into 20-, 21-0 pretty fast. They stayed together and stayed to the plan and started executing. We overcame an awful lot in a quarter and a half.”
Geskey did a lot of the unseen work for 2,000-yard rusher Parker Bolesta last season. Mannello praised him for his ability to play any skill position — including throwing the ball if needed — and his versatility in the secondary.
Last year’s game featured Bolesta and Crestwood’s Noah Schultz, who also topped 2,000 yards rushing. Dallas led 21-0 at halftime. Schultz never found his groove and the Comets fumbled five times, losing one of them. One of their two TDs came on a punt return by Schultz as the offense managed only 138 yards.
Dallas quarterback Brady Zapoticky threw two touchdown passes as the Mountaineers struck in the air and on the ground. Arcangeli admitted he probably overloaded his defense with too much information to stop Dallas’ versatile attack.
“We were overthinking it. That’s my fault. That starts with me,” Arcangeli said. “We tried to do too much last year in the beginning of the year. We came off a really good win against Valley View and had a hangover from that game and that’s on me.
“You take that and try to solve everything they (Dallas) do. They do all the little things so well, so you extend practices, you do double time, you have so many periods to attack the things they do. In the end, it’s just football.”
Crestwood ran the ball 88% of the time last season and that trend will likely continue. The Comets use a Single-Wing scheme where defenders can take themselves out of a play chasing something that’s not there.
“If we line up in the I (formation) and run a stretch play and if somebody on defense is misaligned a little bit somebody can run that play down and make up for it,” Mannello said. “It’s a little bit different with the Single Wing. You have to stay true to what your job is and what you’ve seen on film all week. It’s a challenge, no doubt about it.”
Dallas held Crestwood to 91 yards rushing on 43 carries last season. Every other Crestwood regular-season opponent was trampled by the running game.
