BY JOBY FAWCETT
Times-Shamrock Writer

The only thing that was up for debate in Week 10 was where the Susquehanna-Lackawanna Trail game would be played.

When Old Forge (10-0) beat Susquehanna on Saturday, that set up the bracket.

Old Forge, the defending champion and last season’s PIAA runner-up, will host fourth-seeded Holy Cross (1-9) on Friday at 7 p.m.

Susquehanna (6-4) will play at Lackawanna Trail (7-3) on Friday in another rematch. The Sabers beat Lackawanna Trail, 34-19, in Week 8.

“We have a short week,” Susquehanna coach Kyle Cook said. “We have to heal up and watch some film to see what they have been up to the last couple of weeks.

“We watched them play Old Forge on film and they are a different team at home, so we will hopefully go down there Friday night and have a good game.”

No. 3 Old Forge defeated No. 8 Susquehanna, 26-12, on Saturday to complete an undefeated regular season and claim a fourth straight Lackawanna Football Conference Division III championship.

Old Forge bottled up Susquehanna’s running game, limiting it to 81 yards on 25 carries with 49 coming on a touchdown run by quarterback Austin White in the fourth quarter.

Susquehanna (6-4, 3-2), which will play at Lackawanna Trail (7-3, 3-2) on Friday in the other District 2 Class A semifinal, came out with little energy and even less enthusiasm despite having a shot to share the division title with the Blue Devils if it won.

In the first half, the Sabers, who had only six first downs and failed to sustain any long drives. They did piece together a scoring drive that was fueled by a 40-yard reception by Nolan Hausser that led to a touchdown pass from White to Craig Stanley that made it 19-6 with 39 seconds left in the half.

But Susquehanna had two first downs in the second half and failed to convert on a fourth-and-1 at its own 45-yard line.

“We just came out flat and even in warm-ups we just didn’t look good and that is strange, because usually when we are playing at home we really get pumped up,” Susquehanna coach Kyle Cook said. “We just couldn’t get going.

“Old Forge is big and physical up front and that hurt us.”