TimesLeader.com

h.s. footballJohn Erzar

November 6, 2008

Brighter days ahead for WA, Comets John Erzar Notebook

Wyoming Area has been accustomed to playing beyond the regular season for a long time. Crestwood has just recently tasted what it’s like not to pack up the equipment after 10 games.

Yet the two teams will be absent from the District 2 football playoffs, but their time away shouldn’t last too long. Look for both of them to rebound in a year or two.

Wyoming Area finished 4-6 under first-year coach Randy Spencer, snapping a streak of seven consecutive years in the postseason.

“We’re absolutely not satisfied with a 4-6 season,” Spencer said after a 28-14 loss to Pittston Area knocked the Warriors from the Eastern Conference playoffs. “But in terms respectable to this group, you can be happy with the growth of the young kids.

“And again, the seniors hung in there and showed leadership. In a season that potentially could have gone south, the kids displayed character and honored the tradition in the way they finished up.”

Crestwood was 2-8, its worst record since finishing 2-9 in 2002, as the Comets failed to make the District 2 Class 3A playoffs for the first time under third-year coach Greg Myers.

“Our young kids got better,” said Myers, whose team was blown out just once this season and had a very realistic shot at winning four other games. “I’m excited about the next two years.”

Myers should be. Spencer as well. Both coaches have key players returning, but none more important than the leaders of their respective offenses.

Crestwood used two quarterbacks this season – freshman Nick Aigeldinger and junior Matt Wotherspoon. Both improved as the season wore on. Wyoming Area sophomore Chris Murphy was inserted behind center at times and showed potential.

Plus, the lineups for both teams were sprinkled with players who will be back, something both programs need after being gutted by graduation coming into the year.

There’s a chance both teams will make to the postseason in 2009. There’s also a chance neither will.

But the prospects of playing beyond week 10 in 2009 looks brighter than it did entering this season.

SO MUCH FOR TOP SEED

Hazleton Area, the top seed for the District 2-11 Class 4A playoffs, hosts East Stroudsburg South tomorrow, but a victory won’t assure a home game next Friday.

District 2 playoff rules state all championship games are to be played at neutral sites.

So if Hazleton Area wins, Wyoming Valley West defeats Bethlehem Liberty and Delaware Valley loses to Emmaus, the Hazleton Area vs. Valley West game will be considered the D2 championship game.

And, therefore, it will be somewhere other than Harman Geist Memorial Field.

The key game for Hazleton Area – except for the obvious game with South – is Delaware Valley at Emmaus. As long as DelVal wins, Hazleton Area will be home next Friday provided it defeats South.

The odd thing is District 11 had no problem in 2006 letting Bethlehem Liberty host Easton in its title game after all D2 teams were eliminated.

TICKET PRICES

Just a reminder to bring a couple extra bucks along.

Tickets for all playoff games involving two District 2 teams are $5 for adults and $3 for students in advance. The price is the same at the gate.

Tickets for Class 4A playoff games involving a District 2 team and a District 11 team are $6 for adults and $3 for students in advance. All tickets at the gate are $6.

Here’s where tickets may be purchased in advance for a few games:

• Pittston Area at Abington Heights, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. today and tomorrow at the Pittston Area High School administrative offices.

• Hanover Area at Lake-Lehman, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and 5-7 p.m. today; and 11 a.m.-1 p.m. tomorrow at Hanover Area High School.

• East Stroudsburg South at Hazleton Area, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. today and tomorrow at the Hazleton Area High School athletic office.

• Coughlin at Berwick, 8-9:30 a.m. and 1:30-3:30 p.m. today and tomorrow at Coughlin High School.

E.C. CHANGE NEEDED?

Perhaps it’s time for the Eastern Conference to scrap its division setups within four classifications and take the best teams regardless where they’re located.

The Eastern Conference has two divisions in Class 4A, three each in Class 3A and A, and four in Class 2A.

Each division is allowed a representative – in Class 4A two each – as long as those teams have a .500 to better record. Sub-.500 teams can be added to fill out four-team brackets.

But here is a problem with the format this year.

Scranton (6-4, 790 state points) didn’t qualify in the E.C. Class 4A playoffs because Pocono Mountain West and Wallenpaupack finished ahead of the Knights in the Northern Division. Yet Easton (5-5, 640) made the tournament as the Southern Division’s second qualifier.

Also consider that Scranton defeated Wallenpaupack (7-3), as well as District 2 playoff teams Pittston Area (6-4) and Wyoming Valley West (7-3). Easton defeated one team with a winning record.

Since the Eastern Conference uses state points to determine qualifiers, Mid Valley (6-4, 670) doesn’t have an argument to make the Class 2A playoffs because Kutztown (5-5, 700) and Loyalsock (5-5, 710) had more points.

The Eastern Conference playoffs have become watered down since 1994 when the PIAA declared district playoffs as the only way to the state tournament. Keeping Scranton out and putting Easton in makes them even more irrelevant.

RADIO WAVES

THE GAME (1280, 1340, 1400, 1590 AM) will be broadcasting the Pittston Area at Abington Heights at 1 p.m. Saturday.

WEEK 10 REWIND

Matt Kobeski’s 33-yard interception return for a touchdown was the third time a Pittston Area player returned a pick for a TD. … GAR’s Ryan Womack didn’t score a touchdown for the first time this season in a 48-0 victory over Meyers. … Berwick lost five fumbles in its lost to Hazleton Area. The Dawgs lost five fumbles in their previous four games. … Coughlin’s Justin Koslosky had 165 yards vs. Wyoming Valley West, marking the fourth time this season he rushed for 154 or more yards in a game. …

Two District 2 champions – Lackawanna Trail in Class A and West Scranton in Class 3A – failed to make the playoffs. … For the third time in four years, the WVC didn’t have a team make the Eastern Conference playoffs.

TIMES LEADER DISTRICT 2 TOP-10 RANKINGS

Teams are ranked based on performance, not which team could defeat the other. Numbers in parenthesis are last week’s rankings.

1. (2) Riverside (10-0)…Last week – Defeated Dunmore 30-24. Up next – Friday vs. Meyers (2-8).

2. (3) Abington Heights (9-1)…Last week – Defeated Honesdale 41-0. Up next – Saturday vs. Pittston Area (6-4).

3. (1) Dunmore (9-1)…Last week – Lost 30-24 to Riverside. Up next – Nov. 14 vs. winner of Valley View at Lakeland.

4. (5) Hazleton Area (9-1)…Last week – Defeated Berwick 26-14. Up next – Friday vs. East Stroudsburg South (7-3).

5. (4) Berwick (8-2)…Last week – Lost 26-14 to Hazleton Area. Up next – Friday vs. Coughlin (7-3).

6. (7) GAR (9-1)…Last week – Defeated Meyers 48-0. Up next – Nov. 14 vs. winner of Hanover Area at Lake-Lehman.

7. (8) Lake-Lehman (9-1)…Last week – Defeated Dallas 27-22. Up next – Friday vs. Hanover Area (6-4).

8. (10) Wyoming Valley West (7-3)…Last week – Defeated Coughlin 28-13. Up next – Saturday at Bethlehem Freedom (8-2).

9. (NR) Delaware Valley (7-3)…Last week – Defeated Wallenpaupack 35-0. Up next – Friday at Emmaus (9-1).

10. (6) Coughlin (7-3)…Last week – Last 28-13 to Wyoming Valley West. Up next – Friday at Berwick (8-2).

 

Dropped out: Wallenpaupack (7-3).

Under consideration: Lakeland (7-3), Northwest (8-2), Old Forge (8-2), Pittston Area (6-4), Wallenpaupack (7-3).