DALLAS — Dallas stacked its defense where it knew Pittston was going to run the football in overtime Friday night at Mountaineer Stadium. Patriots coach Paul Russick can’t wait to watch the film to see just how many defenders he sent Brody Spindler into the teeth of during a decisive two-point run.
Truth is, it didn’t so much matter. Russick was going to win or lose last night’s Wyoming Valley Conference Division I matchup with the football in the hands of his 220-pound running back who already had 196 yards to his credit. Russick was right for trusting Spindler.
The light-footed wrecking ball of a running back barreled his way through a Dallas defense which knew exactly what play the Patriots were running. And when the senior crossed the goalline, it set off a wild celebration which saw even the Pittston student body race on to the field.
Call it the Patriots’ “Hello, world” moment. With a 36-35, overtime victory over the defending conference and District 2 champions, Pittston firmly cemented itself as a contender in both Friday night. The Patriots overcame four turnovers and 90 yards in penalties but running for more than 300 yards and trusting Spindler to carry them in the biggest of moments.
“It wasn’t pretty, but we got the job done,” Russick said. “And it continues to build confidence in the program and the team. We’re coming off a pretty tough season last year, but we’re continuing to build, and these guys are seeing it first hand.”
The momentary euphoria which engulfed Spindler’s body in the aftermath of a 1-yard touchdown run on fourth down of overtime, then the subsequent two-point conversion run, faded quickly as he walked toward the sideline.
“Not great,” was how Spindler answered when asked how his body felt.
“Oh absolutely,” was his emphatic answer when asked if it was worth it.
Russick and the Patriots rode Spindler and jack-of-all-trades receiver Lucas LoPresto to last night’s win. LoPresto threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Billy Dessoye on a third-and-15 trick play which got Pittston within two points of Dallas late in the fourth quarter. Spindler converted a two-point conversion run — on the same play the Patriots ran in overtime — to tie the game at 28-28. And somehow that was when the real fun started.
Pittston’s defense forced a punt and drove to midfield where it three its third interception of the night trying to force the ball in LoPresto’s direction. Dallas quarterback Talan Geskey (31 carries, 154 yards) fumbled on the next play and the Patriots appeared to recover on the Dallas 14 with 30 seconds to go. But after initially signaling in Pittston’s direction, the officials got together and awarded the football back to Dallas as one of the Mountaineers escaped the scrum with the football despite an official having already signaled Pittston football. The Patriots defense then dropped an interception on the next snap before Dallas gladly took a knee forcing overtime.
It was a fitting roller coaster of a final 2 minutes for a game which saw the lead change hands six times. The Mountaineers took a 28-20 lead in the fourth quarter thanks to touchdown passes of 4 and 13 yards from Geskey to Tyce Mason (4 catches, 75 yards, 3 TDs).
And when the game was on the line in overtime, the Mountaineers trusted their first-year starting quarterback to carry three consecutive times to score the go-ahead touchdown. Brandon Miller added his fifth PAT for a 35-28 Dallas lead in overtime.
Pittston went to its workhorse, Spindler four consecutive times for runs of 4, 4, 1 and 1 yards to score. On fourth-and-goal from the 1, the Patriots lined up in a big formation with three running backs side-by-side in the backfield. Spindler bulldozed through the Dallas defense for a touchdown run on fourth down giving the Patriots the option to go for the tie or the win.
Pittston had a PAT blocked earlier in the game, but that didn’t much matter. Russick was asked by his players in school earlier this week what he would do if the game came down to a decision of whether or not to go for two points. Without hesitation he said he’d go for two. He held true to his word.
Pittston went back to the same big formation and let Spindler and a veteran offensive line do the rest setting off a raucous celebration. After just two wins a year ago, Pittston is now 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the WVC-I.
“This is like nothing I’ve ever felt before,” Spindler said. “There was no doubt in our mind we were going for two because we had to win, and we had to win right there. This is the game that we had to prove ourselves. This is the game that put Pittston back on the map.”
“There ain’t a whole lot of running backs that look like Brody,” Russick said. “And there ain’t a whole lot of running backs who play like him and are as physical and as strong as he is. So that certainly puts it in our best interest to go for two there.”
Dallas missed an opportunity to dig out of the 0-3 hole it dug itself during a brutal three-week stretch to open the season. The Mountaineers gained some momentum last week with an impressive last-second win over Wilkes-Barre, but it was just never able to put away the Patriots last night. Despite Geskey throwing three touchdowns and running for a career-high 154 yard and another score, the Mountaineers fell to 1-4.
And now they’ll need some help to get back to the top of the WVC-I standings. Russick knows there are many more challenges to come in the next five weeks, but he’s hoping last night’s win instilled the belief that his team is ready to take them on.
“This is about having trust in your teammates, trust in the coaches, trust in the gameplan, trust in your communuity,” Russick said. “Sometimes it’s just going to come down to having that belief that you can do it. And we’re working to get there.”
Pittston 36, Dallas 35, OT
Pittston 0 7 13 8 8 – 36
Dallas 0 14 0 14 7 – 35
Second quarter
D—Tyce Mason 34 pass from Talan Geskey (Brandon Miller kick), 11:44
PA—Brody Spindler 19 run (Cole Baldwin kick), 4:22
D—Sam Kelley 71 punt return (Miller kick), 1:17
Third quarter
PA—Lucas LoPresto 20 run (Baldwin kick), 7:30
PA—LoPresto 57 interception return (kick blocked), 4:26
Fourth quarter
D—Mason 4 pass from Geskey (Miller kick), 11:25
D—Mason 13 pass from Geskey (Miller kick), 9:13
PA—Billy Dessoye 35 pass from LoPresto (Spindler run), 4:18
Overtime
D—Geskey 1 run (Miller kick)
PA—Spindler 1 run (Spindler run)
PA Dal
First downs 19 15
Rushes-yds 53-313 42-208
Com-att-int 5-14-3 6-16-1
Pass yards 57 80
Total yards 370 288
Fumbles-lost 2-1 1-0
Penalties-yards 12-90 5-30
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing—Pittston, Brody Spindler, 33-196, 2 TDs; Kayden Bailey, 13-55; Lucas LoPresto, 5-57, TD; Deondre Miller, 1-11; Paulie Ferentino, 1-(-6). Dallas, Talan Geskey, 31-154, TD; Trevor Slavinski, 2-46; Mark Saracinaj, 6-10; Nico Wilk, 1-3; Team, 1-(-1); Sam Kelley, 1-(-5).
Passing—Pittston, Ferentino, 4-12-3, 22 yds.; LoPresto, 1-1-0, 35 yds., TD; Team, 0-1-0. Dallas, Geskey, 6-16-1, 80 yds., 3 TDs.
Receiving—Pittston, LoPresto, 3-19; Billy Dessoye, 1-35, TD; John Judas, 1-3. Dallas, Tyce Mason, 4-75, 3 TDs; Kelley, 2-5.
INTERCEPTIONS—Pittston 1 (LoPresto). Dallas 3 (Logan Geskey 2, Trevor Slavinski).
RECORDS: Pittston (4-1, 2-0 WVC-I); Dallas (1-4, 1-1 WVC-I).