Old Forge scored its first two touchdowns on returns, then James Sobol added two scoring runs Friday night at Carbondale when the Blue Devils claimed sole possession of the Lackawanna Football Conference Division 3 title with a 34-14 victory.
The Blue Devils had already clinched at least a tie for first place with last week’s 17-14 victory over Riverside. They finished 5-0 in the division and improved to 7-3 overall heading into Friday’s home game against Lackawanna Trail for the District 2 Class A title.
Following a scoreless first quarter with the Chargers, the Blue Devils broke on top when all-state lineman Cyllel Rose picked off a screen pass and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown with 8:41 left in the second quarter.
Rose’s touchdown was the first of three scores in 44 seconds.
Carbondale’s Vincent DePalma broke a 63-yard run around left end to the Old Forge 5, then scored from there on the next play.
Old Forge’s Ryan Novak appeared to be stopped twice early on the ensuing kickoff before moving into the clear for a 90-yard touchdown and 13-7 lead.
Cael Krushnowski scored on a 5-yard run with 2:49 remaining in the half.
The Blue Devils held a 20-7 halftime lead after Rose forced a fumble that Casey Holzman recovered at the Old Forge 35 with eight seconds left in the second quarter.
Krushnowski ran for more than 100 yards, including helping to set up a 6-yard Sobol touchdown with 22 seconds left in the third quarter.
Jonathan Orta ran 55 yards for a Carbondale touchdown with 7:21 left to cut the deficit to 27-14.
Sobol scored the clincher from the 3 with 3:19 left.
