HS FOOTBALL: Seamans ignites Lakeland in victory over Old Forge

Sep. 24—OLD FORGE — Lakeland needed a spark.

Jon Seamans provided some lightning bolts.

After trailing for the first time this season, Seamans raced to three long touchdowns in the first half as No. 1 Lakeland raced to a 47-20 win over No. 9 Old Forge on Friday night in a nonleague game at Old Forge Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Lakeland's speedster, who won a pair of PIAA medals in the sprints last spring, had four touches for 189 yards and three scores in the first half, which included an 85-yard kickoff return after Old Forge took a 6-0 lead in the first quarter, a 53-yard run, and a 48-yard reception.

"I just saw an open lane on the right side and tried to use my speed to my advantage," Seamans said of the kickoff return. "I made some cuts and got into the end zone.

"I just wanted to make a play."

Old Forge stunned the Chiefs when Josh Spindler intercepted a pass at midfield. The Blue Devils charged through the Lakeland defense and quarterback James Sobol capped a 10-play, 34-yard drive with a 10-yard run for a 6-0 lead.

Lakeland (5-0) responded to the early deficit with 34 straight points and 255 yards of offense in 19 plays.

First, Seamans quickly put the Chiefs in front with a sprint where he headed for the sideline and made one cut for his second kickoff return for a score in as many weeks.

On Lakeland's next possession, Seamans took a handoff and burst through the center of the line for a 53-yard scoring run and a 14-6 lead.

Dominico Spataro got involved in the big-play offense on the next series. He darted up the middle for a 59-yard run and eventually scored on a 3-yard run to push the lead to 20-6 with 4 seconds left in the first.

Following an Old Forge quick punt, Lacota Dippre alertly returned it to the Lakeland 48. On the next play, Spataro connected with Seamans for a 48-yard touchdown and a 27-6 lead.

"Whenever I get the ball, I want to take advantage of it and make plays," said Seamans, who has scored nine touchdowns in 27 touches this season.

Again, Spataro found room to run on a 49-yard jaunt where he cut back across the field two times. After a timeout, he threw a strike to Dippre for an 8-yard touchdown to push the halftime advantage to 34-6.

Spataro finished with 163 yards rushing and two scores, and 127 yards passing and two touchdowns after throwing the first-quarter interception.

"This team makes it real easy to bounce back," Spataro said. "The whole entire team comes to a player after they mess up and gives them confidence. As long as we do the right things, we are going to make plays and play good football.

"This is a really good team win."

Old Forge (2-3) got going in the third. Spindler broke into the secondary for a 46-yard run on the third play of the second half. He finished with 83 yards rushing on 12 carries.

But Lakeland went back to work.

In the second half, however, the Chiefs were more methodical. Following the powerful blocking of the line, Spataro and Pochas ground out 47 yards in nine carries. Pochas finished the drive with a 10-yard run.

"We made our reads and knew what we were supposed to do and blocked our guys," Lakeland tackle Lyndon Bello said. "We played physical."

Lakeland closed its scoring on another Spataro 1-yard run. Kevin Snyder hauled in a 44-yard pass to the 1, setting it up, and the Chiefs had a 47-13 lead as time expired in the third.

In total, Lakeland had six plays of more than 40 yards in the game.

Old Forge made it 47-20 when Sobol, who threw for 85 yards and ran for 55, hit Casey Holzman for a 4-yard touchdown at 7:50 of the fourth.

The Blue Devils battled and had 174 yards of offense in the second half.

"Lakeland made some big plays," Old Forge coach Michael Schuback said. "We challenged our kids to be resilient and understand the challenges. Lakeland is a very good football team. They are big, strong, and very fast. They are talented kids and respectful kids.

"We told our kids to be resilient, and we played to the end of the game and to the end of the whistle on every play. We kept fighting. There is a lot of room to improve, but I am very proud of our team."

Contact the writer: jbfawcett@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9125; @sportsTT on Twitter