Scranton Prep’s Will McPartland carries the ball during the football game at Dunmore High School on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
North Pocono’s Shane Youngblood kicks the ball during the football game at Dunmore High School on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Noah Krzywiec carries the ball during the football game at Dunmore High School on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
North Pocono’s Gabe Descipio snaps the ball to teammate Cole West during the football game at Dunmore High School on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
North Pocono defense closes in on Scranton Prep’s Braedon McPartland during the football game at Dunmore High School on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Will McPartland carries the ball during the football game at Dunmore High School on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
North Pocono’s Henry Wolff kicks the ball during the football game at Dunmore High School on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
North Pocono runs onto the field before the football game against Scranton Prep at Dunmore High School on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
North Pocono’s Jayden Taylor high fives teammates before the football game at Dunmore High School on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep players rally before the football game at Dunmore High School on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Show Caption
1 of 10
Scranton Prep’s Will McPartland carries the ball during the football game at Dunmore High School on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
DUNMORE — Facing fourth-and-7 on the Scranton Prep 11 and trailing by four points late in the fourth quarter, North Pocono turned to its quarterback Chase Zimmerman.
However, the Trojans junior wasn’t under center or in the shotgun. That’s where Cole West stood with North Pocono’s undefeated regular season on the line.
Instead, Zimmerman was lined up at receiver.
West took the snap, tucked the ball away and rolled right before finding a Zimmerman in the back of the end zone to give North Pocono a three-point lead with 4:09 to play.
“Obviously, people weren’t expecting it,” Zimmerman said. “We knew that they would think Cole was going to run the ball, because he’s been doing it so well this whole year.”
Seven plays later, West sealed the victory with an interception, as the No. 1 Trojans defeated the No. 7 Cavaliers, 24-21, in a Lackawanna Football Conference Division I game Friday night at Dunmore Veterans Memorial Stadium.
North Pocono (10-0 overall, 6-0 LFC Division I) completed its third undefeated regular season (1968, 1991) after locking up its first LFC title since 2009 last week in a 28-21 overtime win against Delaware Valley.
“We’re playing the best teams in football, so to come out of here 10-0. I mean, we’re 0-0 now. We’re going into playoffs, but league champs, 10-0, it’s special for us,” West said.
Will McPartland gave Scranton Prep (5-5, 3-3) a 21-17 lead with 8:23 left in the fourth quarter with a 4-yard touchdown run.
However, Zimmerman hit West for 43 yards on the first play after the kickoff. Then, West ran for 4 yards, Zimmerman ran 7 yards for a first down and Josiah Gray ran 3 yards to get the ball to the Scranton Prep 11.
The Cavaliers stood tall on the next two plays, as Sean McCormack made two straight tackles for no gain to force fourth-and-7.
That’s when West hit Zimmerman wide open in the back of the end zone for a 24-21 lead with 4:09 left in the game.
“We’ve had that play written up for a little while,” West said. “Me and the quarterback made that one up actually, because they’re not respecting him out there. They’re coming after me, so I’m going to give it to him. That’s my boy.”
Scranton Prep fought back, as McPartland ran for 8 and 5 yards for a first down. Two plays later, he bought time, rolled right and threw across his body to AJ Croom for 16 yards. Two plays after that, McPartland threw deep to Liam Haggerty, but West tracked down the throw, stepped in front of Haggerty and intercepted the pass with about one minute left in the game.
“I saw him rolling, and we had to latch on. That’s what our coaches teach us, so our boys got there and I was lucky enough to make that play that ultimately won us the game,” West said. “Beating Prep is always special for us. They’ve had our number over the past years.”
The Trojans needed one first down to run out the clock and got it on a Scranton Prep personal foul penalty.
“I’m so proud of our kids, the way they work and what they do every single week,” North Pocono coach Greg Dolhon said. “I can’t say enough about them, I appreciate them, I’m proud of them, I’m so happy for them. They work hard, and they deserve this. 10-0 in our league is a great honor, and to accomplish that is a monumental thing for our kids.”
Shane Youngblood connected on a 25-yard field goal with 11:00 left in the second quarter to give the Trojans a 3-0 lead.
The Cavaliers answered with an 11-play, 80-yard drive, highlighted by Will McPartland’s pass to Braedon McPartland for 26 yards and capped by Will McPartland’s 8-yard run with 4:44 left in the half.
About two minutes later, Zimmerman took off down the right sideline and sprinted 49 yards, as the Trojans reclaimed the lead, 10-7, with 2:55 left in the half.
North Pocono extended the lead, starting the third quarter with a 13-play, 63-yard, 7-minute drive. Zimmerman capped that drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Aidan Maguire to give the Trojans a 17-7 advantage.
Scranton Prep answered with 14 straight points to take the lead. Will McPartland delivered a perfect pass to Mackey Lynett up the middle for 36 yards, and finished off the drive three plays later with an 8-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 17-14 with 3:21 left.
Gray bolted 32 yards on the first play after the kickoff to push the Trojans into Cavaliers territory, but Scranton Prep forced a turnover on downs after Jack Mendola broke up a pass on second down and Elijah Myers tackled Zimmerman for no gain on fourth-and-6.
Scranton Prep took the lead with a 12-play, 68-yard drive, with each play involving a McPartland brother. Braedon McPartland ran for gains of 1, 3 and 7 yards, and Will McPartland threw a 10-yard pass to McCormack and ran for gains of 8, 3, 6, 5, 17 and 4 yards before capping the drive with a 4-yard run to give Scranton Prep a 21-17 lead with 8:23 left in the fourth.
That’s before Zimmerman gave North Pocono the lead with his first catch of the season, and West locked down the victory with his interception.
Zimmerman finished with 106 yards rushing and a touchdown on 10 carries and was 7 for 9 passing with 99 yards and a touchdown. Gray had 114 yards rushing on 21 carries.
“We’re definitely going to go celebrate. We go to McDonald’s after games, but we’re going to celebrate for Saturday and Sunday and then get back to work Monday,” West said. “I believe we’re playing Crestwood, and that’s all we’re focused on right now.”
North Pocono earned the No. 1 seed in the District 2 Class 4A playoffs and will host No. 4 Crestwood in the semifinals next week.
“We’ve got to come in on Monday morning humbly with our feet on the ground like Coach Dolhon said,” Zimmerman said. “We’ve got to watch film, criticize ourselves and just get better every single week.”
Will McPartland led the Cavaliers with 91 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 18 carries and went 9 for 14 passing with 116 yards and an interception.
Scranton Prep is the No. 3 seed in the District 2 Class 3A playoffs, and will travel to No. 2 Wyoming Area in a semifinal matchup next week.