Lakeland’s Luke McFarland runs after a catch against West Scranton on Friday at Scranton Veterans Memorial Stadium. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Lakeland’s Gavin Roberts runs against West Scranton on Friday at Scranton Veterans Memorial Stadium. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Lakeland’s Caden Cuozzo tackles West Scranton’s Cameron Cole on Friday at Scranton Veterans Memorial Stadium. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Lakeland quarterback David Naniewicz passes during a game against West Scranton on Friday at Scranton Veterans Memorial Stadium. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Lakeland’s Rocco Spataro runs an interception back for a touchdown against West Scranton on at Scranton Veterans Memorial Stadium. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Show Caption
1 of 5
Lakeland’s Luke McFarland runs after a catch against West Scranton on Friday at Scranton Veterans Memorial Stadium. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
SCRANTON — Lakeland led by 14 points, but just couldn’t pull away from West Scranton.
That was until the No. 3 Chiefs scored three touchdowns in 1:16 late in the third quarter on their way to a 35-14 victory over the Invaders in a Lackawanna Football Conference Division II game Friday night at Scranton Veterans Memorial Stadium.
“I think we didn’t come out the best,” Lakeland quarterback David Naniewicz said. “We came out a little sloppy on offense. The players weren’t executing at a high level, and that starts with me as a quarterback. I’ve got to get everybody on the same page. We’ll fix it this week, but I think we came out in the second half and really played our game and it showed.”
After two first-quarter touchdowns, Lakeland struggled to find the end zone. The Chiefs didn’t look like they’d fair any better in the third quarter when a holding penalty and a 2-yard loss set up a second-and-22 at the West Scranton 35. However, Naniewicz hit Jackson Pochas short, and the receiver sprinted for a touchdown to give Lakeland a 21-0 lead with 2:53 left in the third quarter.
“It was a nice little screen pass,” Pochas said. “The blockers in front of me blocked really well. I got to the outside and made a play.”
Two plays later, Rocco Spataro intercepted a Jake DeLuca pass, bolted 40 yards to the end zone and gave the Chiefs a 28-0 advantage with 2:01 left in the third quarter.
On West Scranton’s next play from scrimmage, Pochas pulled in an interception, setting up Naniewicz’s 17-yard touchdown pass to Chase Rosenkrans to give the Chiefs (8-1 overall, 4-0, LFC Division II) a 35-0 lead with 1:37 left in the third quarter.
“Defense as a whole really shifted momentum today,” Pochas said. “We were a little shaky on offense. We came out on defense, really proved a point and we shut them down.”
Gavin Roberts’ run set up the first Lakeland touchdown, as he took a pitch and sprinted 54 yards up the left sideline to the West Scranton 14. Two plays later, Naniewicz bounced off defenders and barreled into the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown run with 1:54 left in the first quarter.
Much like during the third-quarter barrage, the defense set up the second score. The front pressured DeLuca, and one Lakeland player hit the quarterback’s arm as he attempted to throw a pass. Naniewicz leaped to secure the fluttering ball for the interception.
“The defense played amazing tonight,” Naniewicz said. “We take pride in our defense because our offense wasn’t doing the best. So, we fell back on defense to kind of help us out tonight and get back on the same page on offense.”
Two plays later, Naniewicz hit Pochas over the middle, and the receiver sprinted toward the right sideline, cut up field and bolted for a 31-yard touchdown to give the Chiefs a 14-0 advantage with 9 seconds left in the first quarter. Pochas finished with five catches for 88 yards and two touchdowns.
“We really worked hard in the offseason, getting that bond and just getting that chemistry and just working hard together and it really showed. It’s been showing this whole year,” said Naniewicz, who finished with 88 yards rushing and a touchdown on 12 carries, was 10 of 17 passing for 128 yards and three touchdowns and caught his own pass that was batted in the air at the line and corralled for a 5-yard gain.
Roberts finished with 106 yards rushing on 10 carries for Lakeland, which holds the No. 1 spot in the District 2 Class 2A playoffs with a .688 power rating, ahead of Riverside (.664), and can capture its first Division II title since 2022 when it hosts Mid Valley next Friday. In 2023 and 2024, the Chiefs went a combined 1-9 in Division II play.
“It’s a growing process for myself and my coaches,” Lakeland coach David Piwowarczyk said. “In (2022), we had a tremendous team, one of the best teams I’ll probably ever get to coach. And then we got hit hard by graduation in 2023. We took our lumps, and then last year a lot of these younger kids we threw in and we did it with an intent that this year they would be ready for the big time and it’s really paid off.”
Dayron Groves had a 15-yard touchdown run, and Josef Lloyd hit Kaz Colbert down the right sideline for a 32-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter for the Invaders.
“I thought we hung in there tough in the first half. We fought even late into the third quarter there,” West Scranton coach Jake Manetti said. “We were giving a pretty good effort defensively, but at the end of the day, we couldn’t string any offense together, couldn’t really put together a drive with a couple of first downs. We had that one big play in the first half, but outside of that we struggled. And it’s tough for your defense to try to make consistent stops when you’re not really moving the ball offensively.”
In Class 5A where only four teams qualify, West Scranton (2-7, 1-3) is fifth with a .317 power rating behind Wyoming Valley West (1-8, .330). The Invaders close the regular season hosting Honesdale next Friday.
Originally Published: October 18, 2025 at 12:03 AM EDT