BY: JERIC YURKANIN
Junior football returned today, but the sunshine did not.
As North Pocono and Lakeland’s C-Teams took the field around 12:30 p.m., the rain began to fall. The grass grew slick, the football became harder to handle, and the miserable weather settled over the field.
North Pocono running back No. 26 Daniel Romanko hardly seemed to notice.
On the Jr. Trojans’ first offensive play of the season, Romanko found a hole, exploded through Lakeland’s defensive line and raced 57 yards to the house. Before the Jr. Chiefs could settle into the game, Romanko was already standing in the end zone.
No. 5 John Cellini ran in the one-point conversion, giving North Pocono a 7–0 lead with 7:33 remaining in the first quarter.
When Lakeland got the ball, North Pocono’s defense immediately began swallowing up the Jr. Chiefs’ running backs. Logan Lonzinski was dropped for a six-yard loss, and Roman Chopko was tackled behind the line for another four-yard loss.
Lakeland wasn’t just being stopped—it was being pushed backward.
North Pocono’s defense forced the ball back into the hands of its offense. More importantly, it put the ball back into Romanko’s hands.
That was the last thing Lakeland wanted.
Romanko found another opening and sprinted 36 yards for his second touchdown. By then, the rain was falling even harder, but it didn’t affect his speed or slow his cuts. Following the conversion, North Pocono held a 14–0 lead with 4:44 remaining in the first quarter.
Lakeland showed a little life on its next possession. Lonzinski broke free for eight yards before adding runs of one and two yards to move the chains. A North Pocono offsides penalty helped the drive, and Lakeland even recovered its own fumble while gaining a few extra yards.
The first quarter ended with North Pocono leading 14–0, but the Jr. Trojans’ defense quickly tightened again. Lakeland was stopped short of another first down, and North Pocono took possession.
Guess who got the football?
Romanko gained five yards on his first carry of the drive. On the next play, he found daylight again and raced 65 yards to the end zone.
Three touchdowns. Three long-distance sprints through the Lakeland defense.
North Pocono led 20–0 with 3:56 remaining in the first half.
Lakeland attempted to answer. Lonzinski ran for six yards and then four more as the Jr. Chiefs drove to the North Pocono 16-yard line. For a moment, it appeared Lakeland might finally break through.
Then the drive began moving in the wrong direction.
On second-and-10, quarterback Roman Chopko was hit in the backfield for a five-yard loss. On third-and-15, Kaesen Wagner was tackled behind the line for another seven-yard loss. North Pocono’s defensive front overwhelmed Lakeland’s offensive line, and the Jr. Chiefs eventually fumbled, with North Pocono recovering.
Only 39 seconds remained in the half.
For Romanko, that was plenty of time.
He took the handoff up the middle, broke a tackle, made his cut and burst into the open field. Seventy-six yards later, he was standing in the end zone for the fourth time.
It had officially become the Daniel Romanko Show.
North Pocono entered halftime leading 26–0, while Romanko’s first-half numbers looked like something from a video game:
Five carries.
239 rushing yards.
Four touchdowns.
An average of 47.8 yards per carry.
North Pocono continued controlling the game in the second half. Dominick Weaver added a 28-yard touchdown run with 7:34 remaining in the third quarter.
Lakeland continued fighting and managed to score a touchdown in the final seconds, but opening day belonged to North Pocono’s defense—and to No. 26 Daniel Romanko.
The rain soaked the field, made every step more difficult and turned the season opener into a miserable afternoon.
But it never caught Daniel Romanko.
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