Lackawanna Trail’s Liam Dougherty makes an over the shoulder catch during the Lions’ win over Meyers on Friday. PHOTO COURTESY OF ALICE STUFFLE

BY BRIAN DANKULICH

Times-Shamrock Writer

WILKES-BARRE – Lackawanna Trail used a balanced running game to defeat Meyers 35-13 on Friday night at Wilkes-Barre Memorial Stadium.

The Lions’ speed offensively overwhelmed the young Mohawks defense as they consistently pounded the ball up the middle. They also mixed in a steady dose of option runs and pitches to confuse the defense even more.

The Lions had their fair share of turnovers but their defense stood tall and didn’t allow Meyers to do much with them.

Jeremy Greenley led all rushers in the game with 139 yards on 13 carries and two touchdowns.

Meyers’ Matt DeMarco had 120 yards receiving, including a 49-yard touchdown reception and Parrish Bennett had 97 yards on the ground for the Mohawks.

Meyers got on the board first with a Bennett 11-yard touchdown run. However that was the end of the scoring until late in the game for Meyers as the Lions offense and the Mohawks sloppiness settled in.

“It was our first away game and we got down early,” coach Steve Jervis said. “But we had a big second quarter that really shifted the momentum of the game.”

All five of the Lions’ touchdowns came on the ground as they scored 32 unanswered points.

The Mohawks turned the ball over six times and had six fumbles, losing four.

“Our defensive line did a nice job,” Jervis said. “Overall we did a real nice job controlling the line of scrimmage.”

The play that really swung the game in the Lions favor was an interception by Cooper Rosiak in the Lions end zone, stopping a very encouraging drive for Meyers.

It took Trail six plays to go 89 yards and get the ball in the end zone.

The drive was capped by a 51-yard TD run from Greenley and the Lions began pulling away.

“Our perimeter running game was great,” Jervis said. “Greenley had some nice runs, and Zach Goodrich did a nice job with play action. Liam Dougherty also came up with some nice catches for us.”

Jervis also said a big play for the Lions came in the second quarter when James ovens sacked Meyers quarterback Teaguen Labatch.

The turnovers continued into the second half as Labatch coughed the ball up twice trying to hand off to Bennett.

The Lions used their balanced ground attack to run the clock and continue to wear down the Meyers defense.

“Our players have to learn how to play a full football game without making crucial mistakes,” Meyers coach Corry Hanson said. “Turnovers, penalties and giving up the big play are the things we have to focus on to get better.”

Looking to next week, the Lions will play Western Wayne at Lions Pride Stadium on Friday night.

“We’ll need to be disciplined on defense against Western Wayne,” Jervis said. “And execute our offense when we have openings.”

Trail              13  19  0  3 – 35

Meyers            7    0   0  6 – 13

LT         MEY

First Downs        16            11

Rushes-yards  47-240   30-90

Comp-Att-Int  7-13-1    7-18-2

Passing               191         137

Total yards        431         227

Fumbles-Lost     4-2         6-4

Penalties-Yds     8-80      6-45

Rushing: LT – J. Greenley 13-139, 2 TDs; P. Murazzi 12-71; J. Zedar 13-30, 1 TD; C. Rosiak 3-11; Z. Goodrich 2-2, 2 TDs; B. Tuft 1-1; J. Brown 1-(-1); V. Malloy 2-(-13). MEY – P. Bennett 20-97, 1 TD; M. DeMarco 4-15; R. Goodwin 1-3; Z. Dunell 1-1; T. Labatch 3-(-24); Team 1-(-2).

Passing: LT – Z. Goodrich 7-12-1, 191; V. Malloy 0-1-0, 0. MEY – T. Labatch 7-17-1, 137, 1 TD; P. Bennett 0-1-1, 0.

Receiving: LT – L. Dougherty 3-101; J. Zedar 2-9; J. Greenley 1-68; P. Murazzi 1-13.

Staff writer Kevin Woodruff also contributed to this story.