Written by: Jeric Yurkanin
Moscow, Pennsylvania – Today was a perfect day for football.
Up at North Pocono Stadium, there was no rain to worry about this week. Instead, blue skies stretched over the field, the sun was shining, a slight breeze moved through the stadium, and temperatures sat comfortably in the low 70s.
You really couldn’t ask for a much better day to watch some junior football.
And this wasn’t just another game.
Two very good football teams were about to clash.
Just before kickoff of the C-Team game, I overheard a couple of North Pocono fans talking in the stands. One fan looked at another and said, “This could be a good game, but I’m a little nervous because Honesdale is good, and we may lose this one.”
Sometimes, being a little nervous isn’t a bad thing—even for athletes or fans. It means you understand the challenge standing across from you. Being too confident can sometimes lead to surprises, because in football, you should never take any opponent for granted.
And Honesdale had given North Pocono plenty of reason to respect them.
As more fans started piling into the stadium, you could smell the smoke coming off the concession-stand grill. Fresh hamburgers and hot dogs were cooking, fries were being served, and with football in the background, it almost felt like an early fall cookout.
Then it was time.
The North Pocono Trojans came charging onto the field through the inflatable tunnel, one player after another:
Nathaniel Bowers, Damian Haines, Ryder O’Brien, Logan Fritz, John Cellini, Luke Gaus, Nataniel Fryc, Joseph Richards, Giovanni Cintron, Andrew Hunt, Alijah Bopp, Jordan Edwards, Mason English, Carson Ragin, Knox Shotto, Shane Dutka, Caleb Marquez, Daniel Romanko, Dominick Weaver, Michael Riley III, Andrew Cole, Brayden Hornick, Greylon Harrison, Austin Coalson, Bradley Butler, Travis Orleski, Luke Smith, Jacob Kosik, Logan Whyte, Julian Paramo, Joshua Stowe, Orion Parker, Adrian Martinez and Christian Opiela.
You could see it in their eyes and in their body language.
These kids weren’t walking onto that field just because they wanted to play football.
They came out determined to win.
They came out determined to compete.
And most importantly, they looked like a team determined not to quit, no matter what Honesdale threw at them.
North Pocono entered the game having scored 85 points over its previous three games, an average of more than 28 points per contest.
But perhaps even more impressive was the Trojans’ defense.
North Pocono had allowed just six points during that stretch. Those six points came against Lakeland in Week 1, with only seconds remaining and several of North Pocono’s starters already out of the game.
That kind of defensive dominance had established the Trojans as one of the teams to watch.
But Honesdale was coming to town ready to test them.
For North Pocono, everything was going to start in the trenches. The Trojans needed their offensive and defensive lines to control the line of scrimmage, create running lanes and make life difficult for Honesdale from the opening whistle.
Offensively, North Pocono also needed Daniel Romanko and Nate Fryc to keep doing what they had been doing all season.
Romanko has a way of making defenders disappear behind him.
One second he’s taking the handoff.
The next second he’s bursting through a hole, cutting into open space and racing toward the end zone.
North Pocono was hoping he had a few more of those magic tricks ready.
The fans were in their seats.
The grill was smoking.
The Trojans were on the field.
Honesdale was ready.
And under a beautiful September sky at North Pocono Stadium, it was finally time for football.
North Pocono wasted almost no time giving its fans something to cheer about.
After Romanko opened the game with a four-yard run, a penalty eventually backed the Trojans into a second-and-15 situation.
That didn’t matter to Nate Fryc.
Fryc found a hole, exploded through it and was gone.
Forty-eight yards.
Touchdown, North Pocono.
Just like that, the North Pocono sideline came alive. Fans were screaming and clapping from the stands, and the Trojans had landed the first punch.
But Honesdale immediately showed everyone why this game was expected to be a battle.
On the ensuing kickoff, Brayden Schuman took the ball and raced 63 yards all the way to the end zone with 6:38 remaining in the first quarter.
The extra point was unsuccessful, and suddenly the game was tied, 6-6.
One big play answered by another.
The message was clear early: neither team planned on backing down.
But North Pocono had another response waiting.
After John Cellini picked up a yard, a holding penalty pushed the Trojans backward and created a second-and-17 situation.
Then Romanko took over.
He found an opening, cut to his right, slipped through a missed tackle, accelerated into the open field and changed direction again.
By the time Honesdale had a chance to recover, Romanko was gone.
Fifty-nine yards to the house.
Touchdown, Trojans.
North Pocono was back in front, 12-6.
From there, the game started becoming exactly what many expected—a physical defensive battle.
Honesdale put together a promising possession behind Schuman and Adriana Mustafaj. Schuman broke loose for a 13-yard first-down run that moved the ball to the North Pocono 36-yard line.
But the Trojans’ defense tightened.
A false start hurt Honesdale, and on fourth-and-14 from the 40-yard line, North Pocono stood tall and forced a turnover on downs.
Honesdale’s defense answered with a stop of its own on North Pocono’s next possession.
Then came another huge play from Romanko.
On Honesdale’s following series, Romanko read the pass, jumped into the air and came down with an interception.
He had already hurt Honesdale with his legs.
Now he made an impact on defense.
North Pocono couldn’t turn the interception into points, as Honesdale stopped the Trojans on fourth down at the 21-yard line.
Honesdale’s offense struggled to gain much ground before halftime, however, and the teams went into the break with North Pocono holding a 12-6 lead.
One touchdown separated two teams that were throwing everything they had at each other.
When the second half began, Honesdale immediately found itself moving in the wrong direction.
A false start made it first-and-15 from its own 35-yard line. Schuman was then tackled for a two-yard loss, eventually creating a third-and-21.
Mustafaj gave the Hornets life with a 15-yard run, but North Pocono’s defense still forced a fourth-down situation.
Schuman gained five yards, but it wasn’t enough.
Turnover on downs.
And that was when North Pocono went back to its biggest weapon.
You could almost call the next possession the Daniel Romanko Show.
Starting at the Honesdale 47-yard line, Romanko opened the drive with a 12-yard run.
Cellini followed with five yards.
Fryc picked up four.
Then Fryc added another four to move the Trojans to the Honesdale 24-yard line.
Cellini added six more.
The offensive line was controlling the trenches, North Pocono was moving downhill, and Honesdale’s defense was being forced to make tackle after tackle.
Then Romanko got the football again.
He took the handoff toward the right side, found another opening and burst through it.
Seventeen yards later, he was standing in the end zone.
Touchdown, North Pocono.
The Trojans had extended their lead late in the third quarter.
But Honesdale wasn’t finished.
The Hornets put together their best sustained drive of the second half, draining the remaining 1:46 of the third quarter and nearly seven more minutes in the fourth.
Little by little, Honesdale kept moving.
Short runs.
First downs.
Another few yards.
And eventually the Hornets reached the North Pocono 10-yard line.
This was the moment.
One score could change everything.
But the North Pocono defense had spent the first three weeks of the season showing what it could do.
Now, with the game on the line, it had to do it again.
On first down, Mustafaj was dropped for a four-yard loss.
Second and goal.
Incomplete pass.
Third and goal from the 14.
Schuman tried to make something happen, but North Pocono brought him down for another six-yard loss.
Now it was fourth down.
One last chance for Honesdale.
The pass went into the air.
Incomplete.
North Pocono football.
The Trojans’ defense had bent.
But it never broke.
With just 1:01 remaining, North Pocono took over and two plays later, the game was over.
Remember those nerves in the stands before kickoff?
By the final whistle, they had turned into celebration.
North Pocono had faced an unbeaten Honesdale team that came into its stadium ready for a fight.
Honesdale answered the Trojans’ opening touchdown immediately.
They challenged North Pocono in the trenches.
They drove deep into Trojans territory late in the fourth quarter with an opportunity to make things very interesting.
But every time Honesdale pushed, North Pocono found an answer.
Sometimes it was Fryc breaking loose for a huge touchdown.
Sometimes it was Romanko changing direction and disappearing into the open field.
Sometimes it was the offensive line opening another hole.
And when North Pocono desperately needed somebody to make a play, its defense slammed the door.
Daniel Romanko finished as North Pocono’s leading rusher with 12 carries for 116 yards and two touchdowns. He also came up with a huge interception on defense.
Nate Fryc added 64 yards on six quarterback runs, including his 48-yard touchdown.
But this victory belonged to more than just one or two players.
It belonged to an offensive line that battled in the trenches.
It belonged to a defense that once again refused to break.
And it belonged to a North Pocono team that continues to find different ways to win.
A few hours earlier, blue skies hung over North Pocono Stadium, smoke rolled off the concession grill and one nervous fan wondered if this might be the afternoon the Trojans finally lost.
Instead, as the players walked off the field and the crowd began heading home, North Pocono was still perfect.
The Trojans are 4-0.
And Honesdale is undefeated no more.
On a beautiful September afternoon made for football, North Pocono didn’t just win another game.
The Trojans made a statement.
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