Scranton Prep’s Noah Krzywiec attempts to intercept a pass during the Class 3A first round playoff game at Milton High School in Milton on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s head coach Terry Gallagher high fives player Mackey Lynett towards the end of the fourth quarter of the Class 3A first round playoff game at Milton High School in Milton on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Noah Krzywiec attempts to evade Mifflinburg’s defense during the Class 3A first round playoff game at Milton High School in Milton on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Braedon McPartland carries the ball during the Class 3A first round playoff game at Milton High School in Milton on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s AJ Croom (4) hugs teammate Jake Conaboy (24) as the leave the field after winning the Class 3A first round playoff game at Milton High School in Milton on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Will McPartland earns a touchdown for the Cavaliers during the Class 3A first round playoff game at Milton High School in Milton on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Kaleb Pagnotti high fives teammate Will McPartland after McPartland scored a touchdown during the Class 3A first round playoff game at Milton High School in Milton on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s head coach Terry Gallagher shouts to his players from the sidelines during the Class 3A first round playoff game at Milton High School in Milton on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Anthony Prince tries to avoid Mifflinburg’s defense during the Class 3A first round playoff game at Milton High School in Milton on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Will McPartland pushes back Mifflinburger’s JP Marr during the Class 3A first round playoff game at Milton High School in Milton on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Mifflinburg’s Chad Martin prepares to make a pass during the Class 3A first round playoff game at Milton High School in Milton on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep cheerleaders rally their team from the sidelines during the Class 3A first round playoff game at Milton High School in Milton on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep players celebrate winning the Class 3A first round playoff game at Milton High School in Milton on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep players huddle for prayer after winning the Class 3A first round playoff game at Milton High School in Milton on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s head coach Terry Gallagher talks to his players after their win over Mifflinburg in the Class 3A first round playoff game at Milton High School in Milton on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Will McPartland tackles Mifflinburg’s Chad Martin during the Class 3A first round playoff game at Milton High School in Milton on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Alfred Atsus (54) helps teammate Scranton Prep’s Elijah Myers get ready for the Class 3A first round playoff game against Mifflinburg at Milton High School in Milton on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s head coach Terry Gallagher talks to his players during the Class 3A first round playoff game at Milton High School in Milton on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Prep’s Mackey Lynett attempts to reach Mifflinburg’s Landen before he catches the ball during the Class 3A first round playoff game at Milton High School in Milton on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Scranton Prep’s Noah Krzywiec attempts to intercept a pass during the Class 3A first round playoff game at Milton High School in Milton on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
MILTON – Kaleb Pagnotti clutched the game ball in his hands. The Scranton Prep senior lineman wouldn’t allow anyone to rip it from his grasp.
It was no surprise, really.
With the way both Scranton Prep lines played in the second half, and the intensity and determination the Cavaliers’ defense came with out of halftime, it’s easy to see why.
The District 2 champion found itself down two touchdowns in the first quarter, but continued to grind back. It was Will McPartland’s third score of the game on a fourth-and-goal in the fourth quarter that gave Scranton Prep its first lead, and the Cavaliers held on for a 28-21 win over District 4 champ Mifflinburg on Friday night at Milton High School in the PIAA Class 3A playoffs.
“I feel like we worked really hard all year, and really hard in practice this week, I feel like a strong line is what you need at the end of the day,” Pagnotti said. “You can get as many stops as you want on defense, but you still need to score the ball. If you keep getting those first downs, and moving the ball down the field, it’s going to lead to touchdowns.”
Scranton Prep (8-5) advances to the state quarterfinals next week to face off with District 11 champion Northwestern Lehigh (13-0), a 35-14 winner over Notre Dame-Green Pond Friday.
“We just have to clean up some of the mental miscues heading into next week,” Scranton Prep coach Terry Gallagher said. “You have to be ready for the physical part of the game. Northwestern Lehigh is a really physical team that gives you a lot of sets and a lot of motions. We can’t come out flat against a really good team like that. Every week, it’s going to get tougher. But we have some tough kids, and we have to grind though it.”
Scranton Prep never got away from its identity.
Not when Mifflinburg’s Chad Martin connected with talented receiver Landen Murray on an 88-yard score after Scranton Prep turned the ball over at the Wildcat 12.
Not after the Wildcat duo hooked up on a 76-yard score on Mifflinburg’s second offensive play for a 14-0 lead.
Not even when Murray hauled in his third touchdown right before halftime, snatching the ball over a Cavalier defender near the back pylon.
“Their offense is consistent, and they are committed to what they want to do,” Mifflinburg coach Cody Botts said. “They have some really good athletes. Their quarterback is just unreal. The way he moved his feet as a runner is unreal. Credit to them. We just didn’t make plays when they were there. We had stops in the backfield on third-and-long and fourth-and-short, and we just didn’t finish plays. And our offense just stalled out.”
Instead, the Cavaliers just stuck to their roots.
Trust the boys in the trenches. Put the ball in the hands of McPartland, the reliable senior quarterback. Continue to grind up chunks of yards and drain the clock.
“Obviously, you never plan on being down 14-0, but our coaches made good adjustments in the second half, and we knew that we needed to continue to fight,” Pagnotti said. “We’ve been down this season, but you just learn that you have to come back and keep fighting when things get tough. Our defense, we did a really great job in the second half.”
That — and trust the defense to clutch up and totally wipe out the Wildcats’ offense.
How impressive were they? Scranton Prep held Mifflinburg to just one first down in the second half and that came on hook-and-ladder late in the fourth quarter when the Wildcats were trying to march 80 yards with less than 90 seconds left and no timeouts in their pocket. That drive was stopped when Mackey Lynott broke up a pass on a fourth-and-12 with 28 seconds remaining.
Mifflinburg churned out 285 yards in the first half, while managing just 25 yards after halftime.
“We’ve been down, especially playing these out-of-state games, and we’ve been able to claw back. And that’s a heck of an accomplishment for us,” McPartland said. “I wasn’t worried about being down early because I trust my guys.”
That defense started to set the tone in the second quarter.
After McPartland’s first touchdown trimmed the deficit to 14-7, it was Elijah Myers that made the first big play. On the ensuing Wildcat possession after McPartland’s score, Myers broke through the line and pressured Martin, chasing him backward nearly 12 yards. Before dragging him to the ground for the big sack, Myers was able to pop the ball free – and teammate Ricky Dewey scooped it up at the 50 and rumbled for the touchdown, knotting the game at 14.
“Elijah Myers is an animal. Elijah makes the play there to force that fumble, and Ricky was there to pick it up,” Gallagher said. “That was the change in the game. I felt like that play got us back into it.”
Scranton Prep dominated Mifflinburg (10-3) in the final 24 minutes.
On its first possession of the second half, the Cavaliers put together a 12-play, 86-yard series that chewed up most of the third-quarter clock – 11 of the 12 plays going right behind that big offensive line. Scranton Prep converted a fourth-and-short near midfield to keep the drive alive, and it was capped off by a 1-yard keeper by McPartland to knot the score at 21.
The knockout blow came on the Cavaliers’ second drive of the second half.
Sixteen plays that spanned 59 yards. Scranton Prep converted two third downs and two fourth downs on the possession, including a third-and-8 on the Mifflinburg side of the field where Pagnotti, Owen Dadurka and Anthony De Los Santos literally pushed McPartland through the Wildcat defense for nine yards. McPartland scored the game-winner with 8:01 left on a fourth-and-goal, 1-yard keeper.
“We kind of hurt ourselves in the first half with fumbles, and I threw a pick, which can’t happen. We have to be better than that,” McPartland said. “We ran the ball well in the second half, and we played cleaner football. Every drive, I feel like we ran the ball well, and it opened up our pass game a little bit. I trust my guys up front, and my brother (Braedon McPartland), Noah Krzywiec and Anthony Prince. And when you trust each other and play like that, good things happen.”
Scranton Prep finished with 281 yards on the ground as McPartland ended with 125 yards on 22 carries and three touchdowns.
“I thought we were doing such a good job up front, we just kept running it,” Gallagher said. “I thought we ran it much better in the second half, and defensively, we were better in the second half. The first half, I thought they caught us on our heels a little bit. Credit to them. We knew they were going to take a shot the first play, and they got it. We just have to execute a little better in the first half. You have to put together four quarters, and not two. You won’t win any games going forward by playing just two good quarters.”