Carbondale Finds a Statement Win, Holds Off Crestwood 14-7 on Salute to Service Night
By: Justin Bradley | SportzWire | September 11, 2026 | Photo courtesy Justin Focus
CARBONDALE — There was a different feeling inside the Andrew J. Cerra Sports Complex Friday night.
Before Carbondale Area and Crestwood collided under the lights, football took a back seat.
Local first responders walked onto the field and were recognized as part of Carbondale’s Salute to Service night. They joined the captains for the coin toss, and the stadium then went quiet for 25 seconds in remembrance of the lives lost on September 11, 2001.
Service. Sacrifice. Community.
Then the ball was kicked off, and for the next four quarters, two 1-1 football teams gave the crowd a fight.
When it was over, Carbondale Area had the kind of win head coach Jeff Arthur has been waiting for.
The Chargers knocked off Crestwood, 14-7, improving to 2-1 and bouncing back from a Week 2 loss to West Scranton.
It wasn’t flashy. It didn’t need to be.
Carbondale ran the football, controlled stretches of the game and made the plays that mattered most when the game was hanging in the balance.
Caedon Voglino led that effort with 115 yards on the ground, setting the tone for a Chargers offense committed to moving the chains and keeping Crestwood’s offense watching from the sideline.
Roman added 44 yards on 17 carries, while quarterback Nick Zaccone completed three passes for 37 yards. Cole Balderas hauled in two of them for 26.
But this game was going to be won by the Chargers’ defense.
And senior Chayse Roche was everywhere.
With points at a premium, Roche broke through and blocked a Crestwood punt, then recovered it himself in the end zone for a touchdown.
For a senior offensive and defensive lineman accustomed to doing the work in the trenches, there was something pretty special waiting underneath that pile.
His first varsity touchdown.
“This is my first touchdown in high school,” Roche said afterward. “First one senior year. I’m so happy.”
Crestwood wasn’t going away.