DREAM GAME NOTEBOOK: Cougars dazzle home crowd
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Jul. 21—BLAKELY — The ball hit the turf, and the crowd would roar.
The red jerseys worn by the County team in the 88th Scranton Lions Club Dream Game barely worked as a disguise for players at John Henzes/Veterans Memorial Stadium on Wednesday night. When there was a game-changing play, the crowd in Peckville seemed to know a Cougar made it.
Sometimes, two Cougars.
There may have been an announced crowd of 7,469 for the Dream Game, but they still were at their loudest when the hometown Valley View players were in the middle of something big. And, they were in the middle of something big often on the way to a 35-21 win for the County.
Members of the Valley View teams that won 31 games and two District 2 championships the last four seasons were instrumental in the two biggest defensive plays of the game for the county. After City got within a touchdown, 14-7, and were on the hunt for more in the second quarter, Old Forge defensive lineman Nicholas Rasmus knocked the ball loose from the quarterback, and Valley View end Dante Randle fell on the fumble to get the County the ball back.
In the fourth quarter, with the City on the move and hoping to get within a touchdown of the lead, Cougars star Jordan Rebar hustled to the sticks, and knocked a completed catch away from a City receiver. County teammate Colin Skeen, another Valley View teammate, recovered that one.
The defensive effort for the Valley View stars complimented the work done by star Cougars receiver Sean Mackinder, who led all players with four catches for 113 yards for the County, including a 66-yard second-quarter touchdown catch that put his team ahead, 14-0.
"It was great," Rebar said. "Just to play here with these teammates on our home field, one last time, it means everything to me. It's so special to be here with this team and be coached by this coaching staff."
It wasn't a Valley View coaching staff, for sure. Delaware Valley's Keith Olsommer, who coached the County squad, has had his share of clashes with the Cougars over the years though. Enough battles to know these Valley View players are well-versed in the art of competing for big plays and bigger moments.
"You could see why they were so good," Olsommer said. "They had kids making plays all over the field here tonight."
Catching on
He didn't wind up with the gaudiest statistics or the most touchdowns. But the two biggest catches of the game may have belonged to Old Forge's Ethan Tallo.
The 6-foot-3 wideout who will continue his academic and athletic careers at East Stroudsburg had three catches for 73 yards and a score, but two of those catches came in huge moments for the County.
The first: A 24-yard heave from Mid Valley quarterback Cameron Riccardo that Tallo caught at the 1-yard line, setting up a first-and-goal and the game's first touchdown.
The second: A 34-yard pass Delaware Valley quarterback C.J. Ross threw, again, up the right sideline and, again, that Tallo outleaped solid coverage to come down with. Only this time, he wound up in the end zone for a touchdown just 12 seconds before halftime, with his team extending its lead to 21-7.
"I've grown up with my dad around this game since I was a boy, and really, I came here every year," Tallo said. "I've always dreamt of doing this, and I was like, 'Hey, you get one shot in life. Don't mess it up.'"
Emotional connections
Two quarterbacks got to walk off the field for the final time with memorable last throws to longtime teammates.
Delaware Valley quarterback C.J. Ross threw the last of his game-high three touchdowns in the fourth quarter on a swing throw to a fellow Warrior, tight end Tim Kizis, an 8-yard catch and run that put the County ahead, 35-14. It was Kizis' lone catch of the game.
"That meant a lot," Ross smiled. "We ran that play a lot during the season, and it really meant a lot to us to hit that (play) one more time."
The City team had a hometown connection of its own to cap off its scoring, too.
Wallenpaupack quarterback Mabret Levant engineered a 71-yard scoring drive late in the fourth quarter, hitting high school teammate T.J. Schmalzle for a 23-yard score on his last high school throw.
Bringing the heat
There was a steady breeze at John Henzes/Veterans Memorial Stadium, which took some of the sting away from the searing heat that has enveloped the area this week.
Gametime temperatures hovered in the high-80s at kickoff, and it only let up slightly by the final whistle. But that breeze, and a good plan from coaches, helped contribute to the best statistic of all from the Dream Game. There were no heat related issues for players, outside of merely occasional cramps.
"We rotated a ton of kids here tonight," Olsommer said. "Our kids were getting tired at times, but we were able to spell them for five, six plays at a time. I didn't think we had any problems with the heat."
Dream sequences
Scranton High defensive back Arvel Chandler had the game's lone interception, a pick in the third quarter off an attempted flea-flicker by the County. ... Scranton Prep linebacker Michael Golay led all players with 10 tackles for the City. ... The leading rushers for both teams were quarterbacks: North Pocono's Will Soma led the County with 33 yards on seven carries. Mid Valley's Cameron Riccardo had four carries for 36 yards for the County. ... Mid Valley players combined for 54.6 percent of the County's rushing yards. Between them, Riccardo and running back Devin Ayala had 65 of the County's 119 yards.
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