jack Henzes | The Dunmorean

Jack Henzes, head coach of the Dunmore Bucks, celebrates his 400th win a 46-0 victory over Carbondale Area. (Photo Credit: Rich Banick)

By Steve Svetovich

Dunmore Bucks head football coach Jack Henzes captured his 400th career win with his team’s 46-0 route over Carbondale Area on Friday, Oct. 2, at Dunmore Veterans Memorial Stadium. The Bucks have since then continued to improve their season record to 8-1.

Dunmore defeated Western Wayne, 41-15, on Friday, Oct. 23, at Canaan Township. In their most recent contest, the Bucks earned a big win against Montrose with a score of 54-7. Dunmore is 4-0 in the Lackawanna Football Conference Division III at press time.

In their win over Carbondale Area, the Bucks totaled 338 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. The tight Dunmore defense held Carbondale Area to minus 23 total yards. It was a typical win for Dunmore to get Henzes win No. 400.

Henzes, 79, now has a career record of 403-157-8. He started his coaching career 49 years ago at Wyoming Area, but the bulk of his career has been with the Dunmore Bucks.

The coaching legend is second in the state in high school football wins. He trails only George Curry. Henzes and Curry are the only two coaches with at least 400 career wins. Henzes is only the 16th high school football coach in the country to accomplish the feat.

In the win over Carbondale Area, the Bucks drove from the Chargers 47 to the 11 before Colin Holmes trudged his way 11 yards into the end zone for a touchdown with 7:29 left in the first quarter. The extra point kick attempt failed, but Dunmore had a 6-0 lead.

The Bucks scored again on a Garrett Murray 41-yard run with 7:15 left in the second quarter. The extra point kick attempt failed, but the Bucks had a 12-0 lead.

Murray scored once more on a 15-yard run with 2:42 left in the half. The extra point kick gave Dunmore a 19-0 lead which the team held to the end of the first half.

Photo Credit: Rich Banick

On the second play of the second half, with the pigskin at the Dunmore 46, Carbondale attempted a backwards pass. The play backfired and Murray recovered the ball on the Carbondale one.

Holmes led plunged into the end zone for a touchdown. The extra point kick gave Dunmore a 26-0 lead with 10:45 left in the third quarter.

Kyle Lasher scored on runs of 22 and 20 yards in the third quarter. Joe Galenas added a 66-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.

Following the conclusion of the game, Henzes was congratulated by his players and assistant coaches and Carbondale Area head coach Larry Gabriel III. Following the traditional team handshakes, the Carbondale Area players individually went up to Henzes to congratulate him.

A short ceremony then took place on the football field, and Henzes was presented with a sign to commemorate the milestone. Henzes received a celebratory plaque in the locker room from the Dunmore coaching staff.

Henzes was quick to thank his players, the coaching staff and the Dunmore High School administration, teachers, student body and all other personnel.

Murray rushed for 84 yards and two touchdowns on five carries in the win. Lasher rushed for 76 yards and two touchdowns on six carries. Holmes rushed for 55 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries.

The third-ranked Bucks, coming off a dominant win over Lakeland the previous week, forced two turnovers, blocked a punt and scored four rushing touchdowns in the first half to defeat Western Wayne, 41-15, at Sharkey Rosetti Sports Complex.

Dunmore’s Cory Frick sacked Western Wayne quarterback Scott Walck on a third down play on the Wildcats first possession, forcing a punt. Dunmore’s Michael Dougherty returned the punt 33 yards to the Wildcat 31. Two plays later, Murray galloped 20 yards and then Holmes rambled into the end zone from three yards out. The extra point kick gave Dunmore a 7-0 lead.

Early in the second quarter, the Bucks gained control of the ball on the Wildcat 13 after a bad snap on a punt attempt. On fourth-and-12, Dunmore quarterback Dominic Mesko hit a wide open Murray for a 15-yard touchdown toss. The extra point kick made it 14-0 in favor of the Bucks who never looked back.

Murray added a two-yard touchdown burst with 5:38 left in the half. Then Lasher scored on a nine-yard run with 2:05 left in the half.

Dunmore back Pat Reese scored on a 48-yard run with 11:06 left in the third quarter putting the game out of reach.

Murray led the ground game with 52 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. Reese rushed for 43 yards on three carries.

The Bucks defense held Western Wayne to 67 rushing yards. The Dunmore defense and specialty teams gave the Bucks good field position throughout the contest.

Next up for Dunmore is a home game against Riverside on Nov. 6.

By Steve Svetovich

Dunmore High School student Kyle Lasher doesn’t let his lack of hearing impair his performance on and off the field. (Photo credit: Rich Banick Photography)

Kyle Lasher was born profoundly deaf, but he doesn’t look at himself as having any type of disability. He just has to work longer and harder to succeed, and that he does.

Son of Tony and Rose Lasher, Kyle is entering his third season as a member of the Dunmore High School football team. He is a tailback on offense and nose guard on defense. He also plays basketball and runs track for the Bucks. He is an honor student who loves science.

In his earlier childhood years, he played for the Dunmore Little League, Dunmore Biddy Basketball League and the Dunmore Oilers Midget Football team. He never worried about being deaf. He just wanted to play and succeed.

And he has done both.

The 17-year-old is a member of the Health Careers Club at Dunmore High School and plans on attending college upon his graduation. He wants to go to Gallaudet University, a college for deaf students in Washington, D.C., where he would like to play football there and study education. His goal is to become a teacher and coach.

Kyle is part of a Dunmore backfield that include stalwarts Colin Holmes, Garrett Murray and Pat Reese. Kyle rushed for 500 yards last season while averaging over seven yards per carry. He expects to see more action this season at both the tailback and nose guard positions.

Modest but with a quiet confidence, Kyle’s answers to questions are well thought out. He said his parents taught him to never give up. Kyle said Dunmore’s head football coach Jack Henzes has also been a very positive influence in his life.

“Coach Henzes teaches us so much more than just football. You have to be a good student, well behaved, a good person,” Kyle said. “Coach Henzes tells us how important it is to work hard in the off season to prepare for the season.”

Hard working in nature, Kyle said he never thinks of his handicap when it comes to sports. He never looked at it as an issue and never thought it would stop him. The Dunmore junior is looking forward to the upcoming football season.

“We need to do our best and improve every day. We need to forget about our loss in the state championship game and move on,” said Kyle. “It was a tough loss, but we have to move on from it.”

Kyle has no problem communicating with the Dunmore coaching staff. He has a certified sign language interpreter with him at all times while playing and practicing with the football team and other sports. Nora Foley is his sign language interpreter for sports. David Posner is his educational interpreter for academic subjects.

“He has to work very hard for both sports and academics. He has to work a lot harder than most kids. He has to put in extra time and effort,” said his mom, Rose. “He is very much in tune with what he wants to accomplish in sports and in school. His football coaches go above and beyond every day for Kyle. He would not be able to do it without their help. The coaching staff is great to him. We are so very proud of Kyle and all his accomplishments.”

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Tag Archives: jack Henzes

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