Raiders clinch Div. III title

Axel Mejia had two goals and an assist as Blue Ridge clinched the Lackawanna League Division III boys soccer title with a 7-0 victory over Old Forge on Monday.
The Raiders carried a 12-0 record for the season in Division III.
Jonathan Blewett had a goal and two assists for the Raiders and Tyrell Cheeseboro scored two goals.
Corbin French was first on the board for Blue Ridge.
At Elk Lake, Johnny Amato scored two goals to lead Montrose, 3-1, over the Warriors.
Tom Vaccaro added a point for the Meteors.
Blake Chew scored for Elk Lake.
At Western Wayne, Jesse Gerfin had 16 saves for Mountain View in a scoreless tie.
Forest City took a 3-1 win over Lakeland in a crossover game.

Montrose boys take tough loss
BY SHANE HENNIGAN
Times-Shamrock Writer
Coming in with a perfect record, Scranton Prep knew it was going to get Montrose’s best shot.
A one-goal deficit five minutes into the matchup of the top two Division II teams further solidified that. Thing is, the early hole didn’t last long.
Once the Cavaliers got one on the board, it swung the momentum on their side for the rest of the match on the way to a division title.
Alec Buttner recorded a hat trick and Cullen Myers had two goals and two assists as Scranton Prep rolled to a 7-3 victory in a Lackawanna League boys soccer match Wednesday.
The Cavaliers (13-0) secured the Division II championship with one regular-season match remaining Monday and put themselves in position to claim one of the top two seeds in the District 2 Class 2A playoffs, which begin Oct. 24.
Just three weeks ago, Scranton Prep held on for a 1-0 win over the Meteors (10-3), despite the goal coming in just the eighth minute. Wednesday proved to be slightly different, as Montrose took the early lead when Zach Dieck took a pass from reigning Times-Tribune Player of the Year Johnny Amato and scored in the fifth minute.
From that point, the Cavaliers controlled the rest of the first half. Four minutes after the goal, the Meteors were whistled for a foul, setting up a free kick for Scranton Prep. Corbin White tapped a pass to Myers, who was nearly 40 yards away from the goal but blasted a shot into the back of the net to tie the game.
Six minutes later, Buttner got behind the defense inside the 18-yard box and chipped a shot in before White converted on a penalty kick in the 21st minute to give the Cavaliers a 3-1 advantage, one they carried into halftime.
There was no time for rest in the second half, however, as Montrose continued to battle. Dieck scored less than two minutes in to cut the deficit to one.
But Scranton Prep quickly countered, yet again. White lined up for another free kick in the 45th minute, sent a shot toward the left post and Myers was there to finish.
The Meteors got to within 5-3 when Riley Birchard headed a throw-in but couldn’t get closer, as Scranton Prep tacked on two more goals in the final five minutes.
EL, BR, FC take wins
In other boys’ soccer action last week, Elk Lake took a 1-0 win over Mountain View.
Griffin Arnold scored the only point for the Warriors, assisted by Blake Chew.
Blue Ridge logged a 6-2 win over Dunmore on the Raiders home field.
Corbin French had a hat trick to lead the Raiders to the Division III win.
Axel Mejia, John Blewett, and Tyrell Cheeseboro also added points to the board for Blue Ridge.
At Forest City, Jared Paulin scored two goals to lead the Foresters, 3-0, over Carbondale.
Christopher Karwan also scored for Forest City.
Paulin scores 50th career goal
Jared Paulin scored two goals, including the 50th of his career as Forest City defeated Lakeland, 3-1, in a Lackawanna League boys soccer game Friday at Forest City.
Jay Lipko added a goal and an assist for the Foresters.