Click here to subscribe today or Login.
By JOHN ERZAR jerzar@leader.net
Sunday, September 22, 2002 Page: 1C
HANOVER TWP. – Ryan Gryskevicz spent a good portion of the second half
Saturday afternoon flat on his back having his legs pushed, pulled and
massaged to exorcise stubborn cramps.
The results were therapeutic, not only for him but Dallas as well.
Gryskevicz returned to intercept two passes, the final one on the Dallas
15-yard line with 35 seconds left, as the Mountaineers hung on for a 14-9
victory against Hanover Area in a Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 game.
“I thought (Jon) Barbose and Gryskevicz in the secondary made some really
good calls,” said Dallas coach Ted Jackson. “Thank God Ryan picked those two
off. They are a good football team, and I wouldn’t want to play them again.”
The latter interception ended a Hanover Area drive that started at its
5-yard line with three minutes to play. Dallas’ Mike Racoski pinned the
Hawkeyes with poor field position by angling a 33-yard punt out of bounds.
Hanover Area (1-1 Div. 2, 3-1 overall) nearly made the most of the
situation. Quarterback Jeff Shook scrambled for the early yardage, then
connected with receiver Joe Cefalo on a fourth-and-10 play for a 26-yard gain.
The ball hit Cefalo’s hands as he attempted to make a diving catch, then he
clutched it about a foot from hitting the ground.
“We made a couple big plays to keep that drive going,” said Hanover Area
coach Dave Fisher. “I told our kids that we put ourselves in position to win
the game, and that’s what we wanted. We wanted to be at a place in the fourth
quarter where we had an opportunity to win.”
But two plays later, Gryskevicz cut in front of a Hanover Area receiver and
intercepted a pass, allowing Dallas to improve to 2-1 in the division and 3-1
overall.
“My legs started tightening up again,” Gryskevicz said, “but when it
comes to the end of the game like that, you have to do whatever you can to get
the `W’.”
Dallas needed to do a lot of things besides intercepting passes. Sophomore
Mike Kelly had to step in for Gryskevicz at quarterback and keep an impromptu
conservative offense moving. Tailback Ryan Bolton was knocked woozy in the
fourth quarter, forcing the Mountaineers to go with an all-sophomore backfield
at times.
“We tried to put the pressure on our defense,” Jackson said. “(Kelly)
runs pretty well and throws pretty well, but we just didn’t want him to make a
mistake. We got enough out of our offense, then Mike punted the ball well a
couple times.”
Dallas led 14-3 at the half as Gryskevicz threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to
Chris Hayes late in the first quarter and a 16-yarder to Racoski late in the
second. Hanover Area squeezed in a 20-yard field goal by Tony Shipula between
the touchdowns.
Unable to generate a consistent running game in the first half, Hanover
Area utilized its passing attack effectively in the third quarter. Shook threw
for 24 yards to Joe Ruane to dig the Hawkeyes out of a deep hole, then hit
Ruane again across the middle for a 54-yard touchdown. The point-after kick
was wide, and Hanover Area trailed 14-9 with 3:37 left in the third.