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Berwick at Lake-Lehman
7 p.m. Friday
The Coaches: Berwick’s Carmen DeFrancesco (161-100, 2nd year at Berwick; 24th overall); Lake-Lehman’s Jerry Gilsky (71-43, 11th year)
Last Meeting: Berwick 41-14 in 2017
All-Time Series: Berwick 4-0
Scouting Berwick: The Dawgs couldn’t do much on either side of the ball in their scrimmage. Of course, it was against perennial state power Southern Columbia, so they get a mulligan. Blane Cleaver, who committed to Army on Wednesday, will take over as the quarterback. However, he is better known as a force as a defensive end. Mason Laubach is one of the top defensive linemen in the state, so look for the defense to be ahead of the offense early on.
Scouting Lehman: The Black Knights didn’t have a scrimmage as their partner, Wyoming Valley West, didn’t get in enough practices because of a brief shutdown. What is known is Lehman QB Ethan Adams is one of the top throwers in the WVC and Ryan Eiden is a versatile weapon. The unknown is how Lehman will respond in its first live action against an opponent. A scrimmage was vital, especially when the opener is against Berwick.
What To Expect: Berwick to wear down a talented Lehman team.
Hazleton Area at Crestwood
7 p.m. Friday
The Coaches: Hazleton Area’s Dennis Buchman (0-0, 1st year); Crestwood’s Ryan Arcangeli (7-5, 2nd year)
Last Meeting: Crestwood 28-14 in 2019
All-Time Series: Tied 6-6
Scouting Hazleton Area: The Cougars finished 2-8 last season, but started four freshmen and many other new guys. The offense slumped badly during a six-game losing streak, scoring a lone TD in three of those games. Things should be better on that side of the ball with QB Kellen Warner and RB Kevin Meluskey leading the way. Alum and former assistant Buchman takes over, and his brother Matt showed flashes late last season as a freshman.
Scouting Crestwood: The Comets finished 7-5 in 2019, going 2-1 in games decided by one point. Veteran QB Ryan Petrosky returns and he threw for a season-high 210 yards vs. Hazleton Area last season. However, plenty of talent graduated from the other skill positions so there is a bit of a rebuild on offense. The defense stuffed Hazleton Area’s running game in the previous meeting, holding the Cougars to 58 yards and 2.1 yards per carry.
What To Expect: A game that can go either way … at least it looks that way on paper.
Riverside at Wyoming Area
7 p.m. Friday
The Coaches: Riverside’s Harry Armstrong (59-29, 8th year); Wyoming Area’s Randy Spencer (74-51, 12th year)
Last Meeting: Riverside 52-26 in 2007
All-Time Series: Wyoming Area 2-1
Scouting Riverside: While the rest of the Lackawanna Conference is waiting until Oct. 2 to start, Riverside is raring to go with the blessing of the school administration. The Vikings also have games the next two weekends. The attack centers around QB Johnny Gilchrist, who threw for nearly 3,000 yards and 39 TDs in 2019. He threw about 32 times a game, but his favorite target has graduated. No problem, he’ll just find another one.
Scouting Wyoming Area: The defending PIAA Class 3A state champion has numerous holes to fill. While state Player of the Year QB/S Dominic DeLuca will be the biggest vacancy, the defensive pass rush also took a hit with the loss of Derek Ambrosino and Sammy Solomon. All three are in Division I college programs. The Warriors must find a way to generate a pass rush tonight to throw off Gilchrist. Jake Williams takes over the the signal caller after throwing just four passes in 2019.
What To Expect: Wyoming Area will need to grind out some drives to keep the ball away from Gilchrist.
Tunkhannock at Dallas
7 p.m. Friday
The Coaches: Tunkhannock’s Mike Marabell (8-13, 3rd year); Dallas’ Rich Mannello (41-21, 6th year)
Last Meeting: Dallas 49-13 in 2019
All-Time Series: Dallas 18-8-1
Scouting Tunkhannock: The Tigers should have an explosive offense again with QB Jack Chilson back. He threw for over 2,000 yards and 17 TDs. He’ll be missing Jake Frisco, the WVC’s top pass catcher who graduated, but there are enough talented wideouts to ease the loss. The defense needs some tinkering after getting exploited via run and pass at various times in 2019.
Scouting Dallas: The Mountaineers set a school record with 15 wins in 2019, with the only loss coming in the PIAA Class 4A state championship game. It was a slow build over four years to reach that point and most of the contributors have departed. So it may take a few games to get up to speed. Everything will be new for the most part with numerous starters needing to be replaced.
What To Expect: The game should be closer than last year, but Dallas will prevail.
Williamsport at Nanticoke Area
7 p.m. Friday
The Coaches: Williamsport’s Chuck Crews (44-54, 6th year at Williamsport; 10th overall); Nanticoke Area’s Ron Bruza (41-62, 11th year)
Last Meeting: never played
All-Time Series: never played
Scouting Williamsport: The Millionaires started last season 3-1, but then the lost seven in a row to finish 3-8. Williamsport has a pair of Division I players on the roster, but for different sports. QB Dallas Griess has verbally committed to play baseball at North Carolina. TE/DE Nassir Jones could end up on a Division I gridiron in 2021. The Millionaires return plenty of guys, so there is a good chance they take the next step.
Scouting Nanticoke Area: The Trojans have never played Williamsport because of the disparity in the sizes of the schools. But the COVID-19 pandemic has brought together the unlikely matchup. Nanticoke Area defeated only winless Holy Redeemer and three-win Hanover Area last year with a senior-heavy team. There will be a lot of new faces in the lineup tonight.
What To Expect: Williamsport just has too much experience for Nanticoke Area.
Wyoming Valley West at Wilkes-Barre Area
7 p.m. Friday
The Coaches: WVW’s Jack Baranski (3-8, 2nd year); WBA’s Ciro Cinti (78-78, 2nd year at WBA, 15th overall)
Last Meeting: WBA 28-0
All-Time Series: WBA 1-0
Scouting Valley West: The key to improving on a 3-8 season in 2019 will be the health of QB Donte Rhodes. He was injured in the second game last season and missed four games. His athleticism is necessary to run the offense properly. Plus, it’s uncertain at this time if the Spartans have another big-play threat among an inexperienced skill group. The line is mostly new, but some guys got tossed into the fray last year due to injuries.
Scouting WBA: The Wolfpack finished 7-5 in their first season, winning four of their last six games. They used a two-quarterback system, but only Kam Taylor returns from the duo. He fell just shy of 1,000 yards passing during the regular season. RB Noah Taylor led the team in rushing TDs with six, but the unit will sorely miss the home-run hitting Rafael McCoy, who also led the WVC with three kickoff returns for touchdowns.
What To Expect: WBA has an experience edge and that should be the difference.
Northwest at CMVT
1 p.m. Saturday
The Coaches: Northwest’s Lon Hazlet (116-100, 6th year at Northwest; 22nd overall); CMVT’s Mark Varner (54-99, 16th year)
Last Meeting: Northwest 56-0 in 2011
All-Time Series: Northwest 26-6
Scouting Northwest: The Rangers left the WVC for the Northern Tier League to play more opponents in line with their Class A status. However, the team proved annually it was capable of playing against bigger schools. Northwest was 6-4 last season and used the power running of RB George May very successfully. Don’t look for the Rangers to stray from that strategy.
Scouting CMVT: Columbia-Montour Vo-Tech is stuck between two state-known powers – Southern Columbia and Berwick. The program, though, hasn’t found much success since it is often working with limited numbers and talent. Still, Varner usually has his Rams ready to play hard and battle.
What To Expect: Northwest’s running game will be too much for CMVT.