DUNMORE — On third-and-3 at midfield, Scranton Prep held a two-score lead, and looked to put the game away in the fourth quarter.
Braedon McPartland ran six straight times out of the Wildcat formation, so it was no secret where the Cavaliers would turn on the seventh play of the drive.
It didn’t matter, as the the Scranton Prep star took the snap, made a cut through the hole in the middle of the line and dragged a Fairfield Prep defender, who barely held on to McPartland’s jersey, for a 17-yard gain and a first down.
McPartland, who finished with 167 yards rushing and one touchdown on 22 carries, compiled 85 yards on 10 carries during the game-clinching touchdown drive.
“Obviously, you have multiple guys who can make plays, but I thought Tato (McPartland) just took over, just dominated the game,” Scranton Prep coach Terry Gallagher said. “I said it to somebody, if people don’t know who he is, they better know who he is because he’s one of the best football players in the state and one of the best football players we’ve ever had in the history of the school.”
Leading, 13-0, Scranton Prep hadn’t crossed midfield in the second half before the start of its final scoring drive at its 11 with 9:17 left in the game. McPartland changed that when we compiled runs of 20, 7, 1, 4, 4, 3 and 17 yards to reach the Fairfield Prep 33. After another 4-yard run, McPartland went to the sideline for one play — a 4-yard run by Owen Jeffers — before tossing his water bottle and sprinting back on the field. He ran for 10 yards for a first down and 4 yards to get the Cavaliers to the 15 before cutting outside and bowling over a Fairfield Prep defender on his way to the end zone for a 20-0 lead with 3:28 left in the game.
“It was great, but I don’t think it was me as much as it was our linemen,” McPartland said. “I wanted to give props to them. They’re the ones blocking for me, making the holes and I’m just going off their backs. If they play good, I’m going to play good. We play as a team. We’re all together.”
Fairfield Prep (0-1) drove into the red zone in the first quarter, but Elijah Myers tackled quarterback Drew Kane for a loss on fourth-and-2 to force a turnover on downs.
After a Brody Sommers interception, the Jesuits had the ball on the Scranton Prep 32, but didn’t gain a yard, as Ricky Dewey forced a hurried throw on second down, and Noah Krzywiec timed his hit perfectly to break up a pass intended for Dakota Newton on fourth down.
Another Sommers interception once again set up Fairfield Prep in Cavaliers territory, Finn Mulligan and Dewey tackled Jackson Gaspar for a 3-yard loss on a first-down play, and Myers pressured Kane and McPartland provided coverage in the secondary to force a punt.
Krzywiec got Scranton Prep (2-1) moving, returning the ensuing punt 42 yards to the Jesuits 46. Twelve plays later, Jeffers’ 7-yard touchdown run gave the Cavaliers a 6-0 lead with 6:52 left in the second quarter.
Then Scranton Prep forced a three-and-out, with Levi Carter pushing back Thomas Mazza before McPartland tackled him for a 9-yard loss on third-and-2. A 21-yard punt set the Cavaliers up at the Fairfield Prep 41. On the first play of the drive, McPartland bounced off a Jesuits lineman before running 15 yards for a first down. After a 6-yard McPartland run, Jeffers faked a handoff to McPartland and threw to Dewey for a 20-yard touchdown to give Scranton Prep a 13-0 lead with 3:09 left in the half.
Two plays after the kickoff, Owen McPartland tipped a pass and Mulligan leaped for the interception to halt another Fairfield Prep drive.
After the third quarter kick, Braedon McPartland went to work on defense. He knocked down Kane’s pass on first down and delivered a blistering hit on Kane on the sideline for no gain on third down to force a punt.
On Fairfield Prep’s next possession, Braedon McPartland again tipped a pass on a third-down play and tackled Kane just short of the first down to force a punt.
After Scranton Prep forced back-to-back three-and-outs, Braedon McPartland and the Cavaliers put the game away with the 89-yard touchdown drive.
Scranton Prep allowed just 122 yards, with 45 coming on the last drive that Kane capped with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Newton with 2:22 left in the game.
“We started off kind of slow, but we knew they were a good team,” Braedon McPartland said. “We play these teams that are good on purpose to prepare us for the end of the season. We came out, we kept battling. Our line stepped up in the second half and we just fought the whole game and it turned out good.”
Next week, the Cavaliers visit Delaware Valley on Sept. 19 at 4 p.m.