DALLAS — Like he was shot out of a cannon, Tyce Mason came racing forward from his safety position. The Dallas sophomore could see where Crestwood quarterback Jaden Shedlock was looking, and Mason made a beeline for that spot, beating the receiver there, and intercepting the pass.
Once the ball was in his hands, the Mountaineers’ 7-0 win over the Comets on Friday night at Mountaineer Stadium was sealed. It was Mason’s second red zone interception of the night a week after he had two more against Wyoming Valley West.
Mason and the Mountaineers turned away three Crestwood possessions in the end zone last night, the last of which came with fewer than 30 seconds to go in the game with Dallas clinging to a seven-point lead. On a night where it was outgained by more than 130 yards and allowed 10 more first downs than it recorded itself, Dallas found a way to win. It was the Mountaineers’ first win scoring seven or fewer points since beating Berwick in a District 2 semifinal game, 3-0 in overtime, on Nov. 11, 2018.
“He’s been doing that most of the season for us,” Dallas coach Rich Mannello said of Mason. “He just makes plays.”
“The defensive side of the football did an amazing job,” Crestwood coach Ryan Arcangeli said. “The offensive side did a great job between the 20s. But you’ve got to cash in. We didn’t. They did one time on a big play. We controlled the game, but we didn’t control the scoreboard at the end.”
After nearly 40 minutes of scoreless football Friday night, Dallas finally broke through when quarterback Talan Geskey found tight end Sam Kelley free on the seam for a 45-yard catch-and-run. It was only the third play of the night for the Mountaineers to gain at least 10 yards, and it set up the Mounts at the Crestwood 19-yard line.
Dallas needed just three plays to cash in its best offensive opportunity of the night. Geskey sneaked in from 2 yards out for what turned out to be the game’s only score.
The 45 yards on the completion accounted for 30% of the offensive production by Dallas on Friday. An offense which went three-and-out on four of its seven possessions and didn’t have a drive of more than nine plays, needed just one big play to pick up its third win and gain a little confidence in the process.
With the win, Dallas (3-5, 3-1 WVC-I) leap-frogged Crestwood into the three seed in the District 2 Class AAAA playoffs standings with only two weeks remaining.
“They never stopped believing,” Mannello said. “That’s just the way they are. You know, it’s basically a one-play game. And that’s a great way to finish it.”
Crestwood suffered its third loss this season by 11 or fewer points. The Comets (4-4, 1-2 WVC-I) are in the final qualifying spot for the district tournament, but a 3-5 Wallenpaupack team is still on its heels.
Crestwood made three trips into the red zone last night, but two of them ended in interceptions. An illegal chop block penalty wiped a Shedlock touchdown run off the board with 18 seconds to go in the first half. Two plays later, Shedlock was intercepted by Mason the first time on a jump ball thrown into the end zone.
“I knew exactly where I needed to be on every play they ran,” Mason said. “Our defense was amazing tonight. We were on it, and we needed this game.”
“He’s trying to give his guy a chance to make a play,” Arcangeli said of Shedlock’s first interception. “But we can’t turn the ball over in the red zone, and he knows that.”
Crestwood appeared to set itself up to break the scoreless tie in the third quarter when Shedlock hit Gio Barna in the flat from the Dallas 20 and Barna was pushed out of bounds at the 5. But after the ball was spotted and the chains were moved, the official on the Dallas sideline came running to the middle of the field having thrown a flag for an ineligible receiver downfield. After a brief conversation among the officials, the flag was waved off.
But the official from the Dallas sideline again came running back to the middle of the field for another discussion, which resulted in the officials assessing the penalty for the ineligible receiver downfield. And instead of having first-and-goal at the 5, the Comets were moved back to the 24, which was an incorrect spot. Despite the protests of Arcangeli and others, the penalty was assessed. Three plays later, the Comets missed a 37-yard field goal and the game remained tied.
The Comets were hamstrung all night by yellow flags. Their 12 penalties accounted for 81 yards. Dallas was assessed just three penalties for 25 yards. And the Comets’ penalties all seemed to come at brutal times. First it was the chop block that took away a Shedlock TD run, then it was the ineligible receiver which took away a goal-to-go situation. And just before Mason’s final interception, Shedlock again ran into the end zone from 12 yards out only to see a flag for holding negate that score with just under 2 minutes to go.
After the penalty, the Comets moved only as far as the Dallas 10 before Mason jumped in front of Shedlock’s fourth-down pass for his second interception.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of explanations on the multitude of touchdowns and big plays that were taken away,” Arcangeli said. “They threw the flag and we have to live with the results of their decisions.”
Dallas 7, Crestwood 0
Crestwood 0 0 0 0 – 0
Dallas 0 0 0 7 – 7
Fourth quarter
D—Talan Geskey 2 run (Brandon Miller kick), 8:00
Cre Dal
First downs 17 7
Rushes-yds 40-149 27-100
Com-att-int 9-20-2 4-7-0
Pass yards 134 50
Total yards 283 150
Fumbles-lost 1-0 0-0
Penalties-yards 12-81 3-25
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing—Crestwood, Jaden Shedlock, 27-120; Jacob Jeckell, 6-16; Jack Rodgers, 1-6; Nate Walsh, 2-5; Matt Bealla, 4-2. Dallas, Talan Geskey, 12-45, TD; Mark Saracinaj, 8-29; Sam Kelley, 6-27; Team, 1-(-1).
Passing—Crestwood, Shedlock, 9-19-2, 134 yds.; Teddy Taylor, 0-1-0. Dallas, T. Geskey, 4-7-0, 50 yds.
Receiving—Crestwood, Rodgers, 4-83; Gio Barna, 3-28; Logan Lawson, 2-23. Dallas, Kelley, 1-45; Tyce Mason, 1-8; L. Geskey, 1-1; T. Geskey, 1-(-4).
INTERCEPTIONS—Dallas, Tyce Mason (2).
RECORDS: Crestwood (4-4, 1-2 WVC-I); Dallas (3-5, 3-1 WVC-I).