Kotsko’s View: Stormy Start for the Wyoming Valley Conference

Tagged under: District 2, Gameday Hub, News

John Kotsko | September 1, 2021

Week 1 was one of the more interesting openers I’ve seen in a while. In the Back Mountain, the Dallas/Valley View game was stopped three times in the first half. Meanwhile the Lakeland/Lake-Lehman game didn’t even get underway and got moved to the next day. Some games surprisingly avoided delays. As we head to Week 2, as almost all coaches say, the biggest adjustments are always from Week 1 to Week 2. We’ll see what some of the 0-1 teams as they try to avoid going to 0-2 on the year. Let’s hope the weather holds off for this week’s slate of games and let’s get into the games.

Harrisburg at Hazleton Area

Friday 7 PM

Harrisburg is coming a victory over defending 5A State Champion Pine-Richland last Saturday. Hazleton Area is coming off a loss to Wyoming Area. Harrisburg Cougars RB Kyle Williams rushed for 108 yards and three touchdowns in the victory. Hazleton Area Cougars Junior QB Tyler Wolfe threw for 135 yards in the loss. Harrisburg is one of the top ranked teams in the state. Will Hazleton Area pull off the upset at home or will Harrisburg roll on the road

Prediction: Harrisburg 42 Hazleton Area 0

Lake-Lehman at Nanticoke

Friday 7 PM

Lake-Lehman is coming off a loss to Lakeland. Nanticoke lost to Scranton Prep last week. Black Knights junior QB Landon Schuckers had a rushing touchdown. Trojans Junior Jaylin Collins had a 30 touchdown run for their only touchdown of the game. Both teams are looking to bounce back after getting blown out in their home opener. Which team will make the better adjustment and go to 1-1 on the season.

Prediction: Lake-Lehman 30 Nanticoke 20

Williamsport at Altoona

Friday 7 PM

Williamsport defeated Crestwood on Friday night. Altoona defeated Hollidaysburg last week. Millionaires junior RB Nasir Hennigan rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns. Mountain Lions senior QB Aidan Steinbugl had 98 all-purpose yards last week. Both teams are coming off wins. Williamsport looks to be one of the better teams in the WVC this season. Altoona looks to go to 2-0 to start the season.

Prediction: Williamsport 35 Altoona 14

Crestwood at Berwick

Friday 7 PM

Crestwood lost to Williamsport in Week 1. Berwick is coming off a loss to Southern Columbia. Comets senior RB Ethan Shudak rushed for 69 yards and a touchdown in the loss. Bulldogs Junior RB Ryan Bankes rushed for 63 yards. Both teams played top teams in their opener. Crestwood looks to be one of the top teams in District 2 4A but will Berwick pull off the upset to get the Comets to 0-2 early in the season?

Prediction: Crestwood 28 Berwick 21

Dallas at Valley West

Friday 7 PM

Dallas lost to Valley View. Valley West is coming off a blowout win over West Scranton. Mountaineers senior QB Jackson Wydra threw for 108 yards and had a rushing touchdown. Spartans sophomore RB Isaiah Cobb ran for 103 yards and two touchdowns. The Mountaineers are looking to bounce back after a tough opener with Valley View. The Spartans are looking to go to 2-0 and solidify their spot in the 5A subregional playoffs.

Prediction: Dallas 24 Valley View 20

Holy Redeemer at Mid Valley

Friday 7 PM

Holy Redeemer lost to Holy Cross on Saturday afternoon. Mid Valley is coming off a road loss to Old Forge. Royals Junior QB Jacob Hunter threw for 241 yards and two touchdowns and added a rushing touchdown as well. Hunter also had an interception on defense. Spartans senior RB Devin Ayala ran for 175 yards and two touchdowns in the loss. The Spartans played tough with Old Forge last week. The Royals are coming off a tough loss. Mid Valley looks to be the favorite in this one.

Prediction: Mid Valley 42 Holy Redeemer 6

Tunkhannock at Pittston Area

Friday 7 PM

Tunkhannock is coming off a shutout loss to Abington Heights. Pittston Area lost to North Pocono. Tigers Junior QB Ben Chilson threw for 147 yards in the loss. Patriots RB Harry Pugliese ran for 31 yards and had a catch for 10 yards. Both teams are coming off shutout losses in their Week 1 games. Thinking both teams will score their first touchdown this week but the question is who will get their first win?

Prediction: Tunkhannock 24 Pittston Area 14

Hanover Area at Susquehanna

Saturday 1 PM

Hanover Area lost to Athens last Friday night. Susquehanna is coming off a tough loss to Riverside. Hawkeyes senior wideout Jake Zola had two catches for 28 yards and a touchdown. He also had an interception on defense. Sabers senior RB Jesse DeLousia rushed for 122 yards last week. The Sabers look to rebound after their Week 1 loss. The Hawkeyes are looking for their first win since 2019.

Prediction: Susquehanna 35 Hanover Area 6

Wyoming Area at Wilkes-Barre Area

Saturday 2 PM

Wyoming Area is coming off a victory over Hazleton Area. Wilkes-Barre Area defeated Scranton on Saturday afternoon. Warriors sophomore RB Aaron Crossley had two rushing touchdowns. Wolfpack athlete Mekhi Nelson rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown. He also had a 50 yard touchdown catch and a 60 yard touchdown pass. The Warriors look to be the favorite in this matchup but this will certainly be a test for this young Wolf Pack squad.

Prediction: Wyoming Area 28 Wilkes-Barre Area 21

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