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H.S. Football Week 5 Preview: Patriots have tough task in Dallas | Dallas Post

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Pittston Area has looked like the football team it hoped to be the past two weeks.

The issue for the Patriots is tonight’s opponent looked like the team it hoped to be last Friday.

So when Pittston Area (1-0 Div. 1, 2-2 overall) hosts Dallas (1-0, 1-3) at 7 p.m. for first place in Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1, the Patriots are going to approach the Mountaineers as if they are as formidable as they’ve been in the recent past.

“Obviously, they were in some battles those first four week against vs. quality, top-ranked opponents,” Pittston Area first-year coach Joe DeLucca said. “They had a couple key injuries in a couple of those losses and all the games were close games.”

Dallas finished the PIAA Class 4A state runner-up last season and could very well be undefeated.

Consider the Mountaineers’ first three games.

• Led Jersey Shore — ranked second in the state in Class 4A at the time — 21-14 with just under eight minutes remaining. Lost 28-21.

• Trailed Wyoming Area 42-35 with under six minutes left. Lost 49-41.

• Trailed Abington Heights 17-13 with nine minutes to play. Lost 30-13.

“Certainly, anybody who knows anything about football can’t look at the record and think this is not an exceptional Dallas football team,” DeLucca said.

Dallas’ early-season issues were twofold. First, there were a couple key injuries to an experienced skill group. The main problem, though, was a rebuilt offensive line from tackle to tackle plus tight end just wasn’t opening holes for the ground game.

Dallas finally had a breakout game running the ball in a 41-33 victory over Wilkes-Barre Area.

“There is a lot going on up front,” Dallas coach Rich Mannello said after the win. “The days of just lining up and knocking people off the ball, that’s part of it and there’s a place for that. Our biggest kid that starts here is 224. We’ve got to combo block, and that takes a lot of time to get all that figured out.”

Running back Dylan Geskey, a 1,000-yard rusher in 2023, had just 139 rushing yards and averaged just 2.9 per carry through three games. He had 139 yards, averaging 5.4 per rush, and four touchdowns against the Wolfpack.

Quarterback Brady Zapoticky rushed for 135 yards and a touchdown. He threw just 18 times after throwing 111 passes through three games, but connected on a 38-yard TD to a wide-open Nate Malarkey.

Pittston Area entered the season with more questions than answers.

DeLucca was moving up from assistant to his first head coaching gig. He was replacing three-year starting quarterback Drew DeLucca, his son, with converted wide receiver Matt Walter. There was a need to improve a running game that barely scratched out 100 yards per game in 2023.

No solutions were found in the opener, a 32-0 loss to a Mid Valley team which has so far lived up to its preseason billing. Things improved in Week 2 in a 23-13 loss to North Pocono where Walter threw a TD pass and running back CJ Pietrzak ran for 109 yards and a score.

The Patriots have dominated their opponents the last two week, although the 55-0 win was against a then-winless Nanticoke Area team and last Friday’s 47-7 victory was against Wyoming Valley West, which has lost 13 in a row.

Lucas Lopresto, a Times Leader All-WVC selection as a freshman last year, played a huge role last Friday with two touchdown catches as well as returning a kick and punt for touchdowns.

“We’re certainly progressing the way we anticipated,” DeLucca said. “It take a while. This is a whole new offensive and defensive system for the kids. They’re picking it up pretty well. I liked our improvement from Week 1 to Week 2 and the way we’ve played over the last couple of week as well.”

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