By: Jeric Yurkanin
MOSCOW, Pa. — Another youth football Sunday arrived at North Pocono Stadium with dark clouds hanging overhead and rain threatening to interrupt the afternoon.
When I arrived around 11:30 a.m., a brief shower had already swept across the field during an earlier game. But by the time the C-Team prepared for kickoff, Mother Nature called an audible. The clouds disappeared, the sun broke through and it remained bright until around 5 p.m., after every game had been completed for the day.
For North Pocono, the early threat of rain was nothing new. Just one week earlier, the C-Team battled through miserable conditions against Lakeland, with the downpour beginning during its game and continuing through the B-Team matchup.
But football offers no shelter and accepts no excuses. Players must be prepared to line up in the heat, cold, wind or pouring rain.
North Pocono running back Daniel Romanko certainly was prepared the previous Sunday. With quick feet, power and breakaway speed, Romanko carved through the Lakeland Jr. Chiefs’ defense—slicing left, cutting right, running through defenders and exploding through holes nearly untouched. Lakeland simply had no answer. On only five first-half carries, Romanko rushed for an incredible 239 yards, turning a wet, chilly afternoon into his personal highlight reel.
But that was last week.
This was a new Sunday, a different game and a tough, physical Old Forge team standing on the opposite sideline. The yards, long touchdown runs and highlights from the previous game no longer mattered.
Longtime Old Forge varsity head coach Michael Schuback has delivered that message to his players throughout the years: Every game is different. On any field, on any day and at any time, anybody can beat anybody. No team can afford to take an opponent lightly.
Few coaches understand that better than Schuback, whose more than two decades on the Old Forge sideline included leading the Blue Devils to the 2013 PIAA Class A state championship game.
On this Sunday, everything started over. It was a new game—and it belonged to anyone willing to take it.
North Pocono received the opening kickoff and immediately went back to its bread and butter, placing the football into Romanko’s hands. On the first play from scrimmage, Romanko burst ahead for 9 yards. Facing second-and-1, he took another handoff and powered forward for 7 more yards and a first down.
North Pocono then turned to its other powerful runner, John Cellini, who gained 2 yards. Romanko received the next two carries, picking up 3 yards before Old Forge pushed him backward for a 3-yard loss.
Suddenly facing fourth-and-9, North Pocono called Romanko’s number again. This time, however, Old Forge’s defense delivered when it mattered most. Avery Harte tracked Romanko down after a 4-yard gain, bringing him to the turf short of the marker and forcing a turnover on downs.
It was the kind of defensive stand that could breathe life into an entire sideline.
Old Forge’s offense stepped onto the field hoping to turn that stop into its first burst of momentum. Waiting for it, however, was North Pocono’s strong and overpowering defense.
Nate Bowers, Romanko, Giovanni Cintron, Dominick Weaver, Nataniel Fryc, Caleb Marquez, Christian Opiela, Andrew Cole, Joseph Richards and Luke Gaus formed a wall that was difficult to run through—and even harder to escape. Every time Old Forge searched for an opening, another North Pocono defender seemed to slam it shut.
The Junior Trojans eventually forced their own turnover on downs and handed the football back to their offense.
Facing second-and-10, Fryc took the ball and exploded for 19 yards, carrying it all the way to the doorstep of the end zone. North Pocono was suddenly in position to strike first against a feisty Old Forge defense.
On the next play, quarterback Nate Bowers charged straight up the middle and powered his way across the goal line for the first touchdown of the afternoon. The conversion attempt was unsuccessful, but North Pocono had broken through and taken a 6–0 lead.
Old Forge then had trouble securing the ensuing kickoff. The ball came loose near the 47-yard line, and North Pocono’s Knox Shotto was in the perfect place at the perfect time to recover it.
The Junior Trojans went back to work, but the football continued to bounce dangerously close to changing hands. Romanko fumbled on the next possession but recovered the ball himself, resulting in a 3-yard loss.
With 6:13 remaining in the first half, an offsides penalty against Old Forge moved the ball forward 5 yards. North Pocono fumbled again shortly afterward but managed to fall on the loose ball and retain possession.
Then Romanko finally found daylight.
The powerful running back broke through the defense for a 27-yard gain, putting North Pocono on the move once again. Old Forge’s defense stiffened after the big play, however, and prevented the Junior Trojans from adding to their lead before halftime.
After one physical half of football, North Pocono carried a narrow 6–0 advantage into the break.
Old Forge received the ball to begin the second half and attempted to establish its running game. Grayson Williams gained 3 yards before Mason Frasier followed with a 1-yard run.
Romanko helped make the tackle on Frasier but came away from the play shaken up. He was forced to leave the field and remained on the sideline for the rest of the third quarter.
With North Pocono’s leading runner and one of its strongest defenders temporarily out of the game, Old Forge tried to take advantage.
Facing third-and-6, Ryder Samson carried the ball for 3 yards. The Blue Devils kept their offense on the field for fourth down, and Samson delivered again—breaking loose for 10 yards and moving the chains.
For a moment, Old Forge appeared to be building something. Its sideline came alive, and the Blue Devils began pushing deeper into North Pocono territory. But just when the drive began showing promise, the Junior Trojans’ defense tightened and shut the door once again.
The third quarter ended exactly as the second had—with North Pocono protecting a 6–0 lead and Old Forge still searching for its first points.
Then Romanko returned for the fourth quarter.
On his first carry back, he powered ahead for 5 yards. He followed with another 2-yard gain before Cellini broke free for 7 yards and a first down. Fryc was held without a gain on the next play, but North Pocono continued pounding away.
That was when Romanko began taking over.
He burst up the middle for 13 yards. On his next carry, he delivered a powerful 26-yard run. Then he added another 13 yards, dragging North Pocono all the way to the Old Forge 21-yard line with only 1:34 remaining.
Three consecutive carries. Fifty-two yards. One exhausted Old Forge defense standing between North Pocono and the victory.
Two plays later, Bowers finished the job.
The North Pocono quarterback took the ball, lowered his shoulders and bullied his way through the defense for a 21-yard touchdown. The ensuing conversion gave the Junior Trojans a 13–0 lead and finally allowed the North Pocono sideline to breathe.
Old Forge had made North Pocono fight for every yard, but the Junior Trojans’ defense never surrendered a point. When the final whistle sounded, North Pocono had earned a hard-fought 13–0 victory.
Romanko once again powered the rushing attack, carrying the ball 15 times for 108 yards. Bowers capped both scoring drives with a pair of rushing touchdowns, while the North Pocono defense delivered a complete-game shutout. John Cellini was a key force for North Pocono’s strong, physical defensive unit, but shutting down a talented Old Forge offense required a complete team effort.
One week earlier, Romanko turned a rainstorm into his personal highlight reel. This time, beneath the afternoon sunshine, it took an entire North Pocono team to put away a physical Old Forge opponent.
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