Sabers stave off Trail comeback to take win

BY JOBY FAWCETT
Times-Shamrock Writer

Austin White couldn’t let his team waste its effort.

Trying to stave off a frantic comeback, the senior quarterback rolled to his left, waited patiently for a block, then sprinted for the clinching touchdown as No. 10 Susquehanna defeated No. 9 Lackawanna Trail, 34-19, on Saturday at William Emminger Memorial Field.

Led by White’s 208 yards rushing and three touchdowns, and an additional 100 yards passing, the Sabers remained unbeaten at 3-0 in the Lackawanna Football Conference Division III and improved to 6-2 overall.

“The seniors know we only have three games, counting this one, and one playoff game promised to us, so we are coming out every week ready to go,” White said. “A lot of people have doubted us all season, but we have things going right now.”

That final dash to the end zone was White’s third run of at least 40 yards as it covered 54 and put the finishing touches on the victory.

For much of the game, Susquehanna had controlled the clock and the tempo, while building a 27-7 advantage. But the Sabers needed that scoring run by White to put the game on ice after Lackawanna Trail had scored a pair of touchdowns within a 2-minute span late in the fourth quarter to pull within 27-19.

“That was huge,” White said. “They fought back and they are a great team — a gutsy team. They were plugging up the middle so we took it outside.

“Once I got in the end zone, I couldn’t believe it.”

Susquehanna took control of the game on the opening possession, chewing up nearly eight minutes on an 11-play drive that totaled 70 yards. White capped it with a 5-yard run on a fourth-and-4 with 4:06 remaining.

As dramatic as that score was, White’s next one also converted a fourth down, only this time he bolted 46 yards straight up the middle for a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter that gave the Sabers a 14-0 lead.

“I was just looking to get the first down and nobody touched me,” White said.

Lackawanna Trail (1-2 in division, 5-3 overall) got on the board when Jared Phillips took a short pass 14 yards for a touchdown with 2:36 to go in the first half.

However, the Lions, who lost in the closing seconds to Old Forge last week, managed 90 yards of offense in the opening 24 minutes.

“We had a very slow start,” Lackawanna Trail coach Steve Jervis said. “You could say it was a hangover of emotion from last week’s game, but I don’t buy into that.”

After the Susquehanna defense thwarted the Lions on their first possession of the second half, White had a pair of completions for 24 yards and added a 21-yard run to set up a 6-yard touchdown run by Austin Felter at 3:21 of the third.

Craig Stanley stopped Lackawanna Trail’s next drive with an interception and White ignited the offense again with a 40-yard run and a 19-yard completion to Felter. Luke Brinton finished the march on a 3-yard run as the Sabers converted another fourth down for a touchdown and had a 27-7 lead with 10:32 to go in the game.

“We played hard and we knew we were playing a good opponent and we got a good start on them,” Susquehanna coach Kyle Cook said.
Again, Lackawanna Trail rallied as it did at the end of the first half.
Vic Mallory had a 25-yard run and Ross Fauquier had a 23-yard run that ended in the end zone to pull the Lions to within 27-13.
Lackawanna Trail recovered the onside kick, then went 50 yards in six plays as Mallory scored on a 15-yard run that made it 27-19 with 2:17 remaining.
But White turned the tide on that final run.
“Number 14 (White) is a very good player,” Jervis said. “We had him corralled several times, but we really didn’t tackle well enough to win.
“Offensively, we did get a little momentum, but every time we got back in the game we couldn’t make a stop.”