The Ruby Review: Week 4!

Tagged under: District 2, District 4

Joe Ruby | October 1, 2015

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s been a crazy week! You know how sometimes you take the snap, and turn to hand the ball off, but the running back’s on the wrong side, and your guard’s getting pushed back right into your face, so you have to spin, go the other way, and roll with whatever kind of space you can find on the weak side? Well, it was that kind of week! First, the Ruby Review ended up at a surprise Thursday night contest between West Scranton and North Pocono, and then when family duties called I zigged and zagged and ended up not at Scranton Prep @ Scranton but at Jersey Shore @ Montoursville! (Good news, though, Cavaliers fans: I’ll be at Prep’s game on October 1st against North Pocono!)

And then the week unloaded a sack on me, slamming me to the ground and not letting me get back up to give you the full, in-depth coverage you deserve! That means a couple of things:

• Short post this week;
• MID-SEASON MEGA POST next week, giving you the full story on:
  • West Scranton @ North Pocono and Jersey Shore @ Montoursville (Week 4)
  • North Pocono @ Scranton Prep, Selinsgrove @ Berwick, and Wallenpaupack @ Abington Heights (Week 5)
  • Plus an in-depth review of the fledgling playoff races in Districts 2, 4 and 11!

This week I did promise you an update on all of the undefeated teams in District 4, so here’s the:

Week 4 Undefeated Watch

Loyalsock – There’s a lot of parity in District 4, as we’ve got to go all the way to the Ls to get our first undefeated. But it’s a rather emphatic undefeated, as Loyalsock has been demolishing good opponents all season. As I mentioned in the season preview, the Lancers lost all-everything QB Kyle Datres to graduation but returned nearly all of his supporting cast, meaning that this in an experienced, hungry team that knows how to win. They’ll be significant favorites in each of their remaining games until they meet arch-rival Montoursville in Week 10, likely with an undefeated regular season on the line. Loyalsock’s outscored their first four opponents 150-35.

Selinsgrove – My beloved Seals have been right there with Loyalsock, posting a 149-30 margin and holding each of their opponents to single-digits. In Week 4 against Shamokin, Selinsgrove’s Juvon Batts scored on runs of 84 and 89 en route to a ho-hum 268 yards on 9 carries (29.2 ypc, no big deal). Things should be a lot tougher against Berwick this week; the Bulldogs are coming off a difficult loss to Wyoming Valley West, and I have to imagine that Berwick’s not accustomed to losing back-to-back.

Southern Columbia – Possibly qualifying as the least surprising news of the football season, the Tigers of Southern Columbia once again find themselves 4-0. Although their opponents have scored just over 20 points per game on average, that hasn’t caused any problems, as Southern Columbia’s scored at least 42 in each of its contests. The second half of the season should be tougher than the first, as the Tigers will host a swiftly-improving Mount Carmel and travel to Lewisburg (in Week 8) and Selinsgrove (in Week 9). Chances are good that both the Tigers and Seals will be 9-0 for that November 6th matchup.

Troy – There was a D4 Northern Tier squad getting lots of love this preseason, but it was North Penn, not Troy. The Trojans have played some close ones, including a 35-34 squeaker against Cowanesque Valley in Week 2, but undefeated is undefeated. If Troy’s offensive line is anything like it was when the Ruby Review saw them last year, this team will put up rushing yards in bunches.

Wellsboro – The Hornets of Wellsboro also find themselves 4-0, and they’ll face off against Troy in Week 6. A program that’s quickly improved over the last 5 years to get back to its winning ways, Wellsboro is always a threat in Single-A, and has to be eyeing a shot at the District Championship.

Williamsport – And then… Wait, what? Williamsport?! You better believe it: the Millionaires are for real. The team that won a grand total of five games over the last three seasons will look to equal that mark in half of a campaign this week as they take on Dallas. The star duo of QB Isaiah Hankins and WR Jerah Reeves has been giving defenses headaches and opening things up for an extremely balanced offense. How balanced? Williamsport’s averaging 214 passing yards and 210 rushing yards per game, and they’ve scored 12 TDs on the ground to 10 TDs through the air. Things get tough now, as after a trip to Dallas, the Millionaires will travel to Coughlin and host Berwick. If they can get through that stretch at 6-1, or perhaps even 5-2, they need to be considered serious contenders for the second AAAA 2/4/11 playoff spot, which is something I never thought I’d say!

Thanks for reading, folks! Check back early next week for a ton of info on everything that’s going on in Central and Northeast Pennsylvania Football!!!

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