YATESVILLE — Before Jace Chopyak lined up to try a game-winning field goal for the first time, he was called upon to make his first tackle.
Chopyak came through both times, allowing Dallas to withstand a comeback by host Pittston Area and post a 31-28 Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1 football victory.
Just two years ago, as an eighth-grader, Chopyak was facing treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a form of cancer that attacks the immune system.
After being physically ready to land a starting spot on the Dallas soccer team as a freshman, Chopyak decided to add football to his hectic schedule this season. He was ready when his new teammates needed him.
“He’s just such a resilient young man,” Dallas coach Rich Mannello said. “ … I tell him when, he’s done with special teams, he can go home, to give him a break because he’s involved in soccer, too, but he just won’t leave.”
Chopyak kicked a 32-yard field goal from a tough angle with five seconds left to decide the game and allow last year’s state Class 4A finalists to improve to 3-1.
“I kicked it, then I just kept, looking and looking,” said Chopyak, one of the WVC’s top soccer scorers, who had just enough to get the kick over the crossbar. “ … (Holder) Ben Fife started slapping my head and I was till trying to look because I wasn’t sure, but he said, ‘it’s in baby’.”
Pittston Area rallied from a 28-7 deficit to force the late-game heroics from Chopyak.
The kicker, however, first slowed the Patriots as they were trying to get the rally started.
Dallas scored on the opening possession of the second half for its 21-point lead, but Rob Barbieri broke free after originally having trouble fielding the kick at his 7. Barbieri wound up with just one man to beat, but Chopyak was able to take him down in the open field with a touchdown-saving tackle at his 46.
The Mountaineers forced a turnover and kept the lead at three touchdowns until the fourth quarter.
Pittston Area produced the comeback behind David Sudo’s running and P.J. Pisano’s passing.
Instead of coming up with their first win, however, the Patriots simply put Chopyak in a position to enjoy another special moment with friends and teammates.
“If I didn’t have all 11 of those friends shave their heads for me and the whole community behind me, it would have been totally different,” Chopyak said of a group of friends who provided support during treatment.
That group included Parker Bolesta and A.J. Fife, two of his teammates Friday night.
“I’m just so happy for him,” Mannello said. “That ball’s on the right hash, out there pretty good and obviously the ball game’s on the line and he just came through.
“He had us won over anyway, because his is such a great story and he’s such a great young man.”
The Mountaineers wound up shining the spotlight on Chopyak’s story on a night when they were outgained by 122 yards while the Patriots were building a 20-11 advantage in first downs.
Rocco Ormando opened the scoring with a 64-yard run on the first play of the second quarter and Ben Fife went up over two defenders to pull in a 29-yard touchdown pass on the last play of the quarter for a 22-7 halftime lead.
With tailback Bryheem Patterson injured, Pittston Area coach Nick Barbieri juggled his offensive lineup and moved Sudo from fullback to tailback.
Sudo responded with 28 carries for 148 yards and three touchdowns, helping to open things up for P.J. Pisano to go 13-for-16 for 180 yards and a touchdown. Pisano was 7-for-8 for 132 yards and a touchdown during the fourth-quarter comeback.
“There’s a lot of pride what we did, but then there’s the disappointment of coming up short again,” Nick Barbieri said. “But, if we keep working, we’ll get one.”
Dallas 31, Pittston Area 28
Dallas`0`22`6`3 — 31
Pittston Area`0`7`0`21 — 28
Second quarter
DAL – Rocco Ormando 64 run (Matt Lukasavage pass from Ben Fife), 11:48
PA – David Sudo 13 run (Matt Soy kick), 7:07
DAL – Parker Bolesta 12 pass from R.J. Wren (Jace Chopyak kick), 4:24
DAL – Fife 29 pass from Jackson Wydra (Chopyak kick), 0:00
Third quarter
DAL – Wydra 1 run (kick failed), 7:18
Fourth quarter
PA – David Behm 50 pass from P.J. Pisano (Soy kick), 11:51
PA – Sudo 2 run (Soy kick), 7:44
PA – Sudo 8 run (Soy kick), 1:54
DAL – Chopyak 32 FG, 0:05
Team statistics`DAL`PA
First downs`11`20
Rushes-yards`23-137`43-200
Passing yards`121`180
Total yards`258`380
Passing`9-16-1`13-16-1
Sacked-yards lost`2-15`0-0
Punts-avg.`4-24.5`4-30.5
Fumbles-lost`1-0`2-1
Penalties-yards`1-5`5-38
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — DAL, Ormando 17-146, Bolesta 1-9, Team 1-minus 3, Wydra 4-minus 15. PA, Sudo 28-148, Alex Hoban 8-36, Jimmy Spindler 1-6, Pisano 4-6, John Symons 2-4.
PASSING — DAL, Wydra 8-15-1-109, Wren 1-1-0-12. PA, Pisano 13-16-1-180.
RECEIVING — DAL, Fife 3-67, Bolesta 3-38, Ormando 2-4, Lukasavage 1-12. PA, Behm 6-95, Rob Barbieri 3-16, Gino Triboski 1-31, Kevin Lockett 1-26, Sudo 1-9, Symons 1-3.
INTERCEPTIONS — DAL, Tyler Dezinski 1-25. PA, Barbieri 1-0.
MISSED FIELD GOALS – None.
