HAZLETON — When a high school football program has been at the level that Dallas has in recent years, there’s never a sense of dread or panic.

Neither during a given season, nor in games for that matter.

Even in the immediate aftermath of the Mountaineers’ blowout loss to unbeaten North Pocono three weeks ago that dropped them to 1-5, coach Rich Mannello sensed a turnaround was close at hand the moment he walked into the team’s weight room the following Sunday.

‘There wasn’t a single curled lip in that building,” he said. “”That was a drubbing; they beat us purple. But after (North Pocono’s) 34th point — it was 34-0 at the the time — they lined up to kick the PAT, and our guys came flying after their (kicker) like it was 0-0. That was the first clip we showed them in our (film session). I just knew we were ready to win and win (then and) now.”

That the Mountaineers did, knocking off Wyoming Valley West and Crestwood in their next two games

Friday, they methodically made it three straight wins with a 37-7 spoiling of Hazleton Area’s homecoming at Harman-Geist Stadium. They spotted Hazleton Area an early 7-0 lead, but their calm resolve swiftly tilted the game in their favor.

Defensively, Dallas limited Hazleton Area to zero points and only three first downs over the final three and a half quarters.

“You’ve got to tackle in the open field, and I thought we did a good job with that,” Mannello said. “We played very well defensively.”

On offense, the Mountaineers used a no-frills running attack led by sophomore quarterback Talan Geskey and bruising back Mark Saracinaj  and Geskey’s short passes to gash the Cougars repeatedly.

Senior Sam Kelley contributed touchdown runs of eight and 21 yards on two of his three carries. He added a 62-yard punt return for another score in the third quarter, which, combined with a tide-turning onside kick, enabled Dallas to showcase its special teams prowess.

“This program is built on special teams,” Mannello said. “We stole a possession on the onside kick and went down and scored (the go-ahead touchdown) after that. … And the punt return was huge.”

Both were huge because the Cougars (1-8, 0-5 Wyoming Valley conference Division 1) came into the game bent on ending their six-game losing streak.

“I challenged our guys before the game,” Scott Sacco, Hazleton Area’s rookie head coach, said. “We basically had been a second-half team all year, so I challenged our guys to take the ball down the field and score.”

Challenge accepted.

The Cougars’ Logan Gennaro returned the opening kickoff 38 yards to the Hazleton Area 47. From there, his team needed only six plays to get on the scoreboard, one a a pretty 23-yard pass from JJ Lantigua to Jose Lopez to the Dallas 24. Four plays later, on fourth and 1, Lantigua kept the ball and sped 15 yards to the end zone to give Hazleton Area a lead for one of the few times this season.

After the teams exchanged punts, Dallas (4-5, 4-1) got a 12-yard run by Geskey, his 17-yard pass to his brother Logan and Talan’s seven-yard run to set up Kelley’s first TD of the night, this one pulling the Mountaineers within 7-6.

Then came Dallas’ successful onside kick that gave the Mountaineers the ball right back at the Hazleton Area 38. With Saracinaj  and Talan Geskey taking turns carrying, Dallas quickly moved into scoring range, with the latter taking in from the 8.

The visitors never trailed again.

Hazleton Area twice ventured back into Dallas territory, but wasted Ashton Karlick’s 14-yard romp and Lantigua’s 17-yard scramble to the Mountaineers 27. A sack and holding penalty pushed the Cougars back, and they eventually punted.

“We had the momentum after that (first) drive and then we just stopped playing,” Sacco said. “We can’t blame our defense when our offense couldn’t score either. We’ve got to be able to continue doing what we did on that first drive”

Dallas followed with a crisp 86-yard scoring march that started with Kelley’s 12-yard run, included Talan Geskey’s 11-yard pass to Tyce Mason and a 15-yard penalty on the Cougars for a late hit and ended with Logan Geskey taking a short pass from his brother and dashing 36 yards to paydirt 51 seconds before halftime.

The Mountaineers still weren’t finished scoring in the first half as they forced Hazleton Area into a three-and-out and got the ball back in excellent field position following Logan Geskey’s punt return to the Cougars’ 21. Two plays later, Brandon Miller kicked a 28-yard field goal to give Dallas a 23-7 halftime lead.

“We knew they were getting the ball to start the second half, so we kept telling them (Hazleton Area players) that we had to get a stop there,” Sacco said. “We weren’t able to do that, they got the momentum and they kept it.”

Hazleton Area’s defense forced Dallas to turn the ball over on downs deep inside Cougar territory to start the second half, but its offense still was stuck in neutral or reverse.

Kelley then dealt Cougars a back-breaker when he fielded  a punt and weaved 62 yards for a touchdown.

“I just grabbed the ball, saw open space and I ran as fast as I could,” Kelley said.

Kelley’s third TD came on a 21-yard run early in the fourth quarter.

By then, memories of the Mountaineers’ lopsided loss to North Pocono had all but faded away.

“We just kept practicing harder and harder and grinding every day,” Kelley said of his team’s midseason renaissance. “Our weight room work definitely helps later in games.”

These Mountaineers also know there’s also a proud tradition at Dallas to uphold.

“”You play hard for everybody who played before you, the seniors, everybody in the program,” Kelley said. “Anybody can beat anybody on any day. That’s why you have to stay dialed in all the time.”

Even when others may panic.

“We’ve still got to play for our seniors,” said Sacco, whose team will close the regular season against Abington Heights next Friday before hitting the road for a District 2/4 Class 6A semifinal game on Halloween night. “It’s going to be our seniors’ last home game. You hope that these younger guys push for our seniors.”

Game Summary

Dallas (4-5, 4-1)……………………6 17 7 7 — 37

Hazleton Area (1-8, 0-5)……………7 0 0 0 — 7

First Quarter

HA — Lantigua 15 run (Turse kick), 8:11

D — Kelley 8 run (kick failed), 2:49

Second Quarter

D — T. Geskey 8 run (Miller kick), 10:53

D — L. Geskey 36 pass from T. Geskey (Miller kick), :51.2

D — Miller FG 28, :00

Third Quarter

D — Kelley 62 punt return (Miller kick), 5:45

Fourth Quarter

D — Kelley 21 run (Miller kick), 11:12

D HA

First Downs 17 9

Rushes-yards 49-227 27-95

Passing 5-10-0 3-10-0

Passing yards 76 17

Total yards 303 112

Penalties-yards 2-15 3-30

Fumbles-lost 2-0 0-0

Punts 2-31.0 7-25.6

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Dallas — T. Geskey 11-97, TD, Saracinaj 22-74, Kelley 3-41, 2 TD, Wilk 3-19, Oldt 3-11, Slavinski 5-4, L. Geskey 1-(-5), Team 1-(-14). Hazleton Area — Heck 14-56, Lantigua 8-22, TD, Karlick 5-17.

PASSING: Dallas — T. Geskey 5-10-0-76, TD. Hazleton Area — Lantigua 3-10-0-17.

RECEIVING: Dallas — L. Geskey 3-51, TD, Mason 2-25. Hazleton Area — Lopez 2-25, Gennaro 1-(-8).

INTERCEPTIONS: None.

Originally Published: October 18, 2025 at 2:20 AM EDT