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WILKES-BARRE — On a hot, steamy afternoon, the ice bath Meyers players gave head coach Jeff Labatch after the game probably felt pretty good.

The play on the field for Labatch’s Mohawks, though, probably could be characterized more as sluggish.

Junior Kevin Dessoye found the end zone three times, and Kenny Macko knocked a 47-yard field goal through the uprights as the Meyers continually built on a lead to pull away from Holy Redeemer 30-9 on Saturday at Wilkes-Barre Memorial Stadium.

Meyers improved to 4-1 but had to fight through numerous fumbles and 11 penalties.

“A win is a win, and you take it any way you can get it,” Labatch said. “You know they are hard to come by. This is when you want to start to peak, and this was not a peak performance. We played sloppy, and give Holy Redeemer credit for that. Their kids fought the entire time.

“We have to play better going down the stretch.”

While the Mohawks’ offense racked up more than 300 yards, and the defense held Redeemer out of the end zone until two minutes left in the ballgame, it was a sluggish performance.

Seven fumbles, many of those on bad snaps in the shotgun. Eleven penalties for almost 90 yards.

“Give credit to Holy Redeemer for stepping up and taking advantage of some opportunities on a hot day,” Labatch said. “They gave us everything they had. We can’t make any excuses.”

Up 13-3 at the half, Meyers regained some of its footing at the break.

The Mohawks scored on all three possessions in the third quarter — a 24-yard touchdown pass from Janssen Wilborn to Najese Hood, who jumped over two defenders, Dessoye’s third TD of the game and Macko’s 47-yard kick — for a 30-3 lead heading into the fourth.

Redeemer, which had been held out of the end zone for 11 straight quarters, did punch one in with 1:55 left on JD Turosky’s 1-yard keeper. The Royals’ quarterback had a nice game, completing 12 passes for 136 yards – six of those to Colin Conway.

Turosky accounted for 146 of the Royals’ 158 yards.

“We were right there, but we had a few guys banged up and you can see that Meyers picked it up a little bit in the second half,” Redeemer coach Dwayne Downing said. “It was a better effort from our guys, but we have to keep working. I think it was an improvement. I thought JD played a good game.

“We are starting to get better. For some of these kids, it’s their first year. As long as they keep working, we’ll keep improving.”

Meyers, which sat five players in the opening quarter due to disciplinary reasons, grabbed an early lead on its first possession when Wilborn found a streaking Dessoye across the middle. The junior did the rest, spinning out of a tackle and running 60 yards down the sideline for the early, 7-0 lead.

Dessoye’s short plunge on the opening play of the second quarter increased the edge to 13-0 before Redeemer’s Nate Roppelt connected on a 27-yard field goal to trim the deficit to 13-3 at halftime.

Dessoye finished with 152 all-purpose yards (82 rushing, 73 receiving), while Hood had two receptions for 67 yards.

Meyers 30, Holy Redeemer 9

Meyers`7`6`17`0 – 30

Holy Redeemer`0`3`0`6 – 9

First Quarter

MEY — Kevin Dessoye 60 pass from Janssen Wilborn (Kenny Macko kick), 5:01

Second Quarter

MEY — Dessoye 3 run (kick failed), 11:56

HR — Nate Roppelt 26 field goal, 5:44

Third Quarter

MEY — Najese Hood 24 pass from Wilborn (Macko kick), 8:50

MEY — Dessoye 19 run (Macko kick), 4:21

MEY — Macko 47 field goal, 1:20

Fourth Quarter

HR — JD Turosky 1 run (kick failed), 1:55

Team Statistics`MEY`HR

First Downs`11`12

Rushes-Yards`29-159 `28-22

Passing Yards`152`136

Total Yards`311`158

Passing`6-13-1`12-30-1

Sacked-Yards Lost`0-0`5-39

Punts-Average`1-28`6-19

Fumbles-Lost`7-1`1-0

Penalties-Yards`11-83`7-42

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — MEY, Kevin Dessoye 8-82, Janssen Wilborn 8-38, Rajhan Woodson 2-27, Watkeem Gumbs 2-26, Corey Brown 1-14, Maleek Robinson 1-10, Nazir Dunell 3-0, Najese Hood 1-(minus-2), Team 3-(minus-36). HR, JD Turosky 17-12, Ryan Williams 6-11, James Cunningham 4-1, Team 1-(-2).

PASSING — MEY, Wilborn 6-13-1-152. HR, Turosky 12-30-1-136.

RECEIVING — MEY, Dessoye 2-73, Najese Hood 2-67, Reese Patronick 1-12, Corey Brown 1-0. HR, Colin Conway 6-98, Matt Piontkowski 3-30, Cunningham 2-5, Zach Walker 1-3.

INTERCEPTIONS: MEY, Jose Rivera. HR, Colin Conway 1.

MISSED FG: None.

Holy Redeemer’s Matt Piontkowski (87) celebrates with teammate John Sartin after making a play against Meyers on Saturday.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_TTL092317HSFMeyersRedeemer2.jpg.optimal.jpgHoly Redeemer’s Matt Piontkowski (87) celebrates with teammate John Sartin after making a play against Meyers on Saturday. Sean McKeag | Times Leader

Meyers running back Kevin Dessoye scored three touchdowns on Satruday and finished with 155 yards from scrimmage.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_TTL092317HSFMeyersRedeemer1.jpg.optimal.jpgMeyers running back Kevin Dessoye scored three touchdowns on Satruday and finished with 155 yards from scrimmage. Sean McKeag | Times Leader

By Tom Fox

For Times Leader

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