Dunmore, PA — By Joe Baress [email protected] DUNMORE — Gabe Duda provided the spark. Mason Avery slammed the door. Duda hauled in two clutch first-half touchdown passes, and Avery scored three touchdowns in 1:09 in the third quarter as Honesdale defeated Dunmore, 49-20, on Friday night in a Lackawanna Football Conference Division II game at Dunmore Veterans Memorial Stadium. It was the Hornets' third straight win and their first over the Bucks since 1997. "We had a great performance tonight," said Avery, who ran for 175 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. "It was amazing to see everyone once again come together. We’ve been really coming together the last couple of weeks, especially after that four-loss streak. It’s just been great. We’ve been playing great. Offense, defense and special teams are all coming together." After Anthony Passaro and Wyatt Rutherford blocked a Dunmore field goal attempt in the first quarter, Honesdale (5-4 overall, 2-2 LFC Division II) faced a fourth-and-goal at the Bucks' 17. Aiden Collins hit Duda over the middle and he sprinted into the end zone to give the Hornets a 7-0 lead with 8:41 in the second quarter. "That play was one of our first installs in the summer. It’s been our go-to," Duda said. "We know it works every time. Our line blocking their butts off every play and they get it done for me. I just catch the ball and get behind them and it’s easy money." On Honesdale's next possession, Collins hit Conlan Keast in stride for a 55-yard touchdown to push the Honesdale lead to 14-0 with 3:41 in the second quarter. Kobe White halted a Dunmore drive with two straight pass breakups to force a turnover on downs at the Honesdale 16. With 55 seconds left in the half, Avery took four carries for 49 yards to set up the Hornets on the Dunmore 30 with one second left in the second quarter. Collins once again turned to Duda, who ran a wheel route, leaped between two defenders and hauled in a 30-yard pass to give Honesdale a 20-0 lead at the half. "Me and Aiden, we have a great connection at practice," Duda said. "He knows that when he throws the ball up, he can trust me. So when we ran that wheel, I saw the ball in the air, jumped and I knew that was mine." Dunmore (4-5, 3-1) started the third quarter strong, as Jack McNeff hit Logan Miller on a screen pass for a 15-yard touchdown. That's when Avery took over. The senior corralled the ensuing kickoff on the left side of the field, cut right and sprinted up the sideline for an 85-yard touchdown return. "I just followed my reads," Avery said. "I saw everyone was blocking and everyone was doing what they were supposed to do and I knew that if that happened I was getting down the field and that’s what happened and it was great." Then, Jakub Randolph jumped on an onside kick. Two plays later, Avery sprinted 65 yards for another score. The Hornets and Bucks traded interceptions, with Keast and Randolph picking off McNeff with a Jackson Harding interception sandwiched in between. Then, Avery ran 30 yards for his third touchdown in 1:09 to give Honesdale a 42-7 advantage with 6:35 in the third. "He’s a big play guy," Honesdale coach Paul Russick said. "He’s hard to tackle. We kind of knew going into this game that they were going to try to take him away, but he battled, he’s a tough kid and he runs hard." A big Ryan Mecca kickoff return set the Bucks up on the Honesdale 20, but Duda capped the night with a 98-yard interception return for a touchdown. "He brings so much," Avery said of Duda, who finished with four catches for 61 yards and two touchdowns and 37 yards rushing on five carries. "He’s a sophomore and he’s great to us. He really helps out a lot defensively, making big plays, tackling. Offensively, just being diverse, catching, running, doing what he needs to do and just coming together. It’s been great." The Honesdale defense came up big in the first half, as Dunmore drove into the red zone twice and came away with nothing. The Hornets also forced a three-and-out and tacked on three interceptions in the second half. "Defensively, we had a great week of practice," Russick said. "The Wing-T is tough, especially when you have a quarterback who you can’t replicate in practice, so you’re nervous going into this game and you saw what Dunmore’s done the last few weeks, beating Mid Valley and beating some other programs. So, our defense, they did their job. They played pretty sound for the most part. The first half was great. The second half, we made some good stops and I couldn’t be more proud of that group." The Hornets are fourth in the District 2 Class 4A power rankings with a .529 rating behind Wallenpaupack (.53) and in front of Crestwood (.526). Dunmore (.448) is in third place in the Class 2A power rankings behind Susquehanna (.483) and in front of Lakeland (.406). Honesdale looks to finish with a winning record for the first time since 2014 when it hosts West Scranton next Friday. Dunmore hosts Western Wayne on Thursday night. Video Recap: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBTGGB5xiO-/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link