AJ Sports

By Tom Robinson
Go Lackawanna sports correspondent

                Rematches highlight the schedule for the first round of District 2 football playoffs this weekend.

                All three classifications in which District 2 conducts its own playoffs have interesting rematches.

                Abington Heights is home Saturday at 1 in a Class AAA semifinal against Berwick, the team it lost to 3-0 in last year’s district final.

                Neighboring schools that opened the season against each other will play in both Class AA and A semifinals Friday at 7.

                Dunmore will try to repeat its 21-0 victory over Mid Valley when the unbeaten and top-seeded Bucks begin pursuit of their third straight Class AA championship.

                Old Forge, another unbeaten top seed, is home against bitter rival Riverside in Class A. The game is not just a rematch of Old Forge’s 43-12 opening night victory. The teams also played in last year’s District 2 final when Riverside, then unbeaten, rolled to a 48-21 win on the way to the state semifinals.

                North Pocono, in Class AAA, and Lakeland, in Class AA, also have district semifinals. Both teams are on the road. North Pocono plays at GAR Friday night in Wilkes-Barre. North Pocono plays at Dallas Saturday.

                Wallenpaupack is the lone Lackawanna Football Conference team in the District 1-2-4 Class AAAA Subregional. The Buckhorns play at Parkland.

                Delaware Valley (Class AAAA), Scranton Prep (AAA) and Carbondale (AA) each qualified for the Eastern Conference, a playoff system for teams that do not have a chance to advance into state play. Delaware Valley is at Emmaus, Scranton Prep is at Northwestern Lehigh and Carbondale is home against Hanover Area.

                Berwick, which has a record six state championships in Class AAA, eliminated Abington Heights last year in a defensive struggle.

                The teams have four common opponents this season.

Abington Heights (9-1) has beaten all four with a 33-18 win over Hazleton Area, a 26-7 win over Wyoming Valley West, a 37-6 win over Tunkhannock and a 48-7 win over West Scranton.

Berwick lost to Hazleton, 28-6, and Wyoming Valley West, 14-7. It handled Tunkhannock, 36-6, but struggled to get past West Scranton, 28-21.

Paul Gallagher of Abington Heights has rushed for more than 1,000 yards this season while Berwick’s Lou Hampton needs just five yards to reach the milestone.

                Dunmore and Mid Valley were scoreless opening night until Frank Santarsiero’s 46-yard run 4:17 before halftime. Michael Perry carried 21 times for 182 yards and a third-quarter touchdown to get started toward his fourth straight 1,000-yard season for the Bucks.

                Dunmore, which won a state title in 1989 in Class A and played in the state championship game in 2007 in Class AA, enters the postseason ranked first in the state in Class AA, according to the Harrisburg Patriot-News.

                Mid Valley went 7-3. The Spartans won six straight, holding four opponents to a touchdown or less, following the Opening Night loss. After stumbling late in the season, Mid Valley prepared for the playoffs with a 50-24 romp over Lackawanna Trail.

                Dunmore ranks third and Mid Valley sixth out of 20 LFC teams in points allowed.

                Only Carbondale (21-20) and Susquehanna (36-22) came within 22 points of Old Forge during a season in which the Blue Devils outscored opponents, 401-87.

                Riverside was on a similar roll when the teams met in last year’s district final. The Vikings piled up 396 yards and 42 points in the first half.

                North Pocono and Lakeland each enter the playoffs on five-game winning streaks.

                The Trojans started their streak with a 29-21 win over Abington Heights that helped make the teams co-champions of Division 1 of the LFC. Since that win, North Pocono has outscored four opponents, 165-14.

                North Pocono and Dallas are both 9-1.

                Lakeland was 2-3 after injuries disrupted its first half of the season. Since then, the Chiefs are 5-0, winning by an average of 20.2 points.

                Lakeland and GAR have two common opponents with very similar results. The Chiefs beat Lackawanna Trail, 35-6, and Meyers, 46-21, while the Grenadiers beat Lackawanna Trail, 34-3, and Meyers, 42-21.

                Return to www.scrantonedition.com/sports throughout the first weekend of the playoffs for updates on LFC teams.

PREDICTIONS

(Home teams in CAPS)

                DUNMORE 32, Mid Valley 6

                OLD FORGE 37, Riverside 13

                Lakeland 25, GAR 24

                Scranton Prep 16, NORTHWESTERN LEHIGH 13

                CARBONDALE 26, Hanover Area 7

                PARKLAND 34, Wallenpaupack 6

                EMMAUS 27, Delaware Valley 0

                ABINGTON HEIGHTS 29, Berwick 12

                North Pocono 20, DALLAS 17

Last Week: 9-1 (90.0 percent)

Season: 98-21 (82.4 percent)