Click here to subscribe today or Login.
LEHIGHTON — Seven seconds, 24 yards and one play.
Make the stop and make it to the semifinals.
Dallas did so, stopping a desperation scramble by quarterback Jalen Sutton-Christian and hanging on for a 43-36 victory over Imhotep Charter in a PIAA Class 4A quarterfinal game at Lehighton High School.
Up next for Dallas (14-0), which tied the school record for wins in season set in 1993, is Jersey Shore (11-3). Jersey Shore defeated Pottsville 42-35 in triple overtime.
Dallas took the 43-36 lead with an 11-play, 65-yard drive capped by running back Lenny Kelley’s 2-yard run with 1:47 left. The Mountaineers overcame a first-and-25 situation after an offensive pass interference penalty. Tight end Jack Farrell’s grab on a two-point pass extended the lead to seven.
But Imhotep, which played for a state title the past four years, was able to drive from its 14-yard line to the Dallas 14-yard line with under 20 seconds left. An intentional grounding penalty followed by an incompletion put the Panthers in a second-and-20 at the 24 with seven seconds left.
Sutton-Christian scrambled, made a few moves and was stopped at the 9-yard line as time expired.
“We were expecting a pass deep into the end zone,” said Farrell, who also plays defensive end. “The quarterback tucked and ran. I had one eye on the quarterback and the other eye on the clock. When I saw the triple zeroes go up it didn’t matter where he ends up.”
Imhotep hit on some big plays, including a 40-yard TD run by DShaun Seals on a read-option that helped give the Panthers their first lead 22-21 at 4:22 of the third quarter.
And when Dallas went up 35-28 at 6:44 of the fourth quarter, Imhotep struck 13 seconds later on a 65-yard run by Saint McLeod. They regained the lead, 36-35, on a two-point run by Kenyatta Kirkland.
But overall, the big plays were too sporadic to cause significant damage.
“The speed out there, man,” Dallas coach Rich Mannello said. “Every time you turned around it was another guy. We did a great job considering. That’s a fast football team across the board.
“They say you can’t defend speed. We hit it with some power tonight.”
As expected, Dallas ran 2,000-yard back Kelley 27 times for 127 yards. Fullback Danny Meuser added 74 yards on 10 carries, but his contribution to the passing game was also huge.
Meuser caught five passes for a team-high 74 yards as Dallas used quick hitters to move the chains. Meuser caught the first of three touchdown passes by quarterback Michael Starbuck, a 54-yard catch-and-run to put the Mountaineers on the board first.
“It was part of our game plan,” Starbuck said. “Get the ball moving, spread it around and get them off their toes.”
Farrell plucked a pass over a defender for a 16-yard touchdown grab as Dallas opened a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
PIAA Class 4A Quarterfinals
Dallas 43, Imhotep Charter 36
Dallas`14`7`7`15 — 43
Imhotep Charter`8`6`14`8 — 36
First quarter
DAL — Danny Meuser 54 pass from Michael Starbuck (Ryan Fisher kick), 9:20
DAL — Jack Farrell 16 pass from Starbuck (Fisher kick), 5:35
IM — Kenyatta Kirkland 12 run (DShaun Seals run), 1:32
Second quarter
DAL — Kelley 3 run (Fisher kick), 2:07
IM — Kirkland 2 run (kick failed), 1:31
Third quarter
IM — Seals 40 run (Kirkland run), 4:22
IM — Kirkland 5 run (run failed), 1:57
DAL — Luke DelGaudio 31 pass from Starbuck (Fisher kick), 0:18
Fourth quarter
DAL — Kelley 2 run (Fisher kick), 6:44
IM — Saint McLeod 65 run (Kirkland run), 6:29
DAL — Kelley 6 run (Farrell from Starbuck), 1:47
Team statistics`DAL`IM
First downs`21`16
Rushes-yards`40-198`36-307
Passing yards`212`141
Total yards`410`448
Passing`14-16-0`5-10-1
Sacked-yards lost`1-8`1-7
Punts-avg.`2-33`3-25
Fumbles-lost`1-1`1-0
Penalties-yards`4-43`11-92
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Dallas, Kelley 27-127, Meuser 10-74, Michael Starbuck 3-(minus-3). Imhotep, Jalen Sutton-Christian 10-49, McLeod 12-148, Seals 4-52, Kirkland 6-35, Will Robinson 2-10, Maurice Beverly 2-13,.
PASSING — Dallas, Starbuck 14-16-0-212. Imhotep, Sutton-Christian 5-9-0-141, Seals 0-1-1-0.
RECEIVING — Dallas, Jacob Esposito 1-10, DelGaudio 4-77, Farrell 4-51, Meuser 5-74. Imhotep, Seals 4-122, Kirkland 1-19.
INTERCEPTIONS — Dallas, DelGaudio 1-0.
MISSED FGs — none.
