Pittston Area defeats Wyoming Area, 5-0

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First Posted: 11/4/2013 Lake-Lehman had all sorts of difficulties in its regular-season finale, but fighting through a 48-41 victory over Dallas on Nov. 1 left the Black Knights with all types of rewards.
Possession of the Old Shoe Trophy that goes to the winner of the rivalry was just part of what Lehman gained from the win.
The Black Knights also captured the Wyoming Valley Conference Class AA/A Division title, which is based on a point system for results of all games, and locked up the top seed for the District 2 Class AA playoffs in another points race.
Perhaps most importantly, Lake-Lehman faced a needed test. The Black Knights were challenged to rally from two touchdowns behind, pushed to their limits as the playoffs approached and reminded of what they need to work on to continue the nine-game winning streak they take into the playoffs.
The top seed means Lake-Lehman gets to host both rounds of the playoffs. The Black Knights will be home Nov. 15 in the championship game against Carbondale or Lakeland, as long as they managed to avoid an upset by fourth-seeded Susquehanna in a game scheduled for Friday night.
&#8220;Having a game like this going into the playoffs is a championship-caliber level game,&#8221; Lake-Lehman coach Jerry Gilsky said following the Old Shoe Game. &#8220;It gave our kids a lot of experience. We only played four full games with our starting kids all season and having that tough a game going into the playoffs was a great advantage.
&#8220;And, having a win with momentum is a nice thing to have.&#8221;
Gilsky was not surprised to get a tough game from Dallas, which was winless until breaking out a week earlier in a 35-0 rout of Tunkhannock. The Mountaineers had won the game, 51-6, a year ago and had taken the Old Shoe Trophy in 11 of the previous 12 meetings between the Back Mountain rivals.
&#8220;Dallas plays a respectable schedule,&#8221; Gilsky said. &#8220;You&#8217;re looking at Triple-A football and Dallas lost a lot of close games.&#8221;
Dallas jumped to a 20-7 lead in the first 9:19 and had a 26-14 lead a little over three minutes into the second quarter.
&#8220;The first quarter, giving up 20, 26 points, our kids were going, &#8216;Wow&#8217;,&#8221; said Gilsky, who will work on the team&#8217;s pass coverage after seeing some of the situations in which Dallas was able to exploit. &#8220;It took a little while to calm them down and get settled in.
&#8220;Defensively, we were missing tackles and they were playing great and it was an emotional game.&#8221;
Lake-Lehman&#8217;s offense eventually prevailed with what has carried the Black Knights all season, a punishing and versatile ground attack.
Despite the deficit, the Black Knights threw just one pass while piling up 553 yards rushing. Dustin Jones pounded away, carrying 31 times for 289 yards and two touchdowns while Joey Vigil added 161 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries. Brady Butler and Bobby Wright each averaged 10 yards or better per carry while adding touchdowns.
Lake-Lehman produced gaudy rushing numbers all season with the help of consistent blocking.
Left-to-right from tackle-to-tackle, the Black Knights feature 6-foot-7, 315-pound Pete Borum, Cory Hoyt, Conner McGovern, Phil Hettes and Luke Hummel.
The blocking does not stop there. Gilsky said 6-4, 265-pound sophomore tight end Zach Brucher &#8220;loves blocking more than catching the football.&#8221; Jones and Butler are good blockers, as well as runners, in the backfield and Vigil and Wright will do their part when called upon.
It has all added up to some impressive rushing numbers.
Jones passed the 1,000-yard mark for the second straight season. He entered the playoffs with 1,474 yards and 21 touchdowns on 172 carries.
Vigil averaged a WVC-leading 12.7 yards and also passed the milestone. He has 1,128 yards and 12 touchdowns on just 89 carries.
Butler chipped in 482 yards.
After playing well defensively but struggling to score just 45 points in the first eight games, Dallas managed to put 76 points on the scoreboard in its last two games while finishing 1-9.
Sophomore Matt Harrison, who took over the quarterback job during the season, passed for 231 yards and four touchdowns while running for 95 more yards against Lake-Lehman.

Old Shoe Trophy goes to Lake-Lehman