Dominico Spataro threw three touchdown passes while joining Jake Curcio and Lacota Dippre in leading the defensive effort Friday night when Lakeland shut out visiting Riverside, 34-0, to clinch at least a tie for the Lackawanna Football Conference Division 3 title.
Spataro went 15-for-21 for 210 yards. He threw touchdown passes to three different receivers while building a 20-0 halftime lead.
Jon Seamans caught a 52-yarder to open the scoring, then Kevin Snyder scored from 7 yards and Nick Mancuso from 59.
Lakeland piled up 454 yards of total offense and also got touchdown runs from Jaron Bullick and Mason Ormsby.
Bullick carried 12 times for 84 yards, Spataro 12 times for 54 yards, Evan Pochas 6 times for 51 yards and Jason Ponce 5 times for 45 yards in a balanced ground game that churned out 244 yards.
Dippre, who caught seven passes, and Spataro had strong two-way games.
Curcio was in on the most stops with four tackles and five assists.
Dippre had two sacks and two other tackles for losses. He finished with five tackles and two assists.
Spataro, Snyder and Mancuso all have five tackles. Spataro made three of his tackles for losses and also had an interception. Snyder also added an assist.
Freshman Riley Rovinsky had Lakeland’s other interception.
The Chiefs improved to 8-1, including 3-0 in the division. Dunmore, which faces Lakeland in the regular-season finale, and Mid Valley are each 2-1 in the division with a chance to tie Lakeland for first.
Riverside, which is 2-7 overall, finished last in the division at 0-4.
MORE FRIDAY FOOTBALL COVERAGE
Abington Heights-West Scranton: https://nepasportsnation.com/marzolino-defense-lead-ah-to-win/.
Honesdale-Nanticoke: https://nepasportsnation.com/hornets-rally-past-trojans-12-7/.
Tunkhannock-Towanda: https://nepasportsnation.com/konen-leads-tunkhannock-victory/.
Wyoming Area-Dunmore: https://nepasportsnation.com/pizano-paces-wyoming-area-rout/.
Scoreboard: https://nepasportsnation.com/fridays-football-scoreboard-5/.
