Kotsko’s View: Wyoming Valley Conference Mid-Season Report

Tagged under: District 2, Gameday Hub, News

John Kotsko | September 29, 2022

We are officially at the midway point of the 2022 High School Football regular season. In this article, I’ll be talking about all 14 WVC teams and where they are at in the District 2 Standings. With all that being said, here are the teams and we’ll also talk about the Week 6 games.

Williamsport: The Millionaires are currently 1-4 at the midway point and are 9th in the District 2/4/11 Subregional Standings. Williamsport has an opportunity to make a run with winless Central Mountain and Valley West on the schedule and Tunkhannock to end the season.

Hazleton Area: The Cougars are 5-0 on the season and are 3rd in the District 2/4/11 Subregional Playoff Standings. Hazleton Area has been quite outstanding this year. The offense is very well balanced between the run and the pass. The Cougars may have to keep winning if they want to get two home games in the Subregional. They have two tough tasks in the next two weeks in Dallas and Crestwood.

Wilkes-Barre Area: The Wolf Pack are 3-2 and 6th in the District 2/4/11 Subregional Playoffs. Wilkes-Barre Area started with an opening night loss to Scranton who is currently undefeated at 5-0. Their only other loss came to 5-0 Hazleton Area. The Wolf Pack have a tough road starting this week. They host Crestwood, then travel to Delaware Valley next week. A matchup in Week 9 with Dallas is also a tall task.

Pittston Area: The Patriots are 2-3 and second in the District 2 5A Standings. Despite an 0-2 start, they got two straight victories before falling to Valley View last week. Their schedule looks to be in favor of PIttston Area before their big matchup with rival Wyoming Area. The Patriots have relied on the arm of quarterback Drew DeLucca who has thrown for 662 yards and six touchdowns on the year.

Valley West: The Spartans are 0-5 and 6th in the District 2 5A Standings. Hard to believe this is the lone Wyoming Valley Conference team to not have a win. Spartans RB Isaiah Cobb has 248 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the season. Valley West is looking to get their first win of the season and their best chance at a victory could be a road trip out at Williamsport.

Crestwood: The Comets are 4-1 and 2nd in the District 2 4A Standings. The Comets are currently on a three game winning streak and have scored 40 points or more during their winning streak. They have used a strong running game to get them in their 4-1 record. They will be tested in the second half with games against Wilkes-Barre Area, Hazleton Area, Berwick and North Pocono.

Dallas: The Mountaineers are 5-0 and 1st in the District 2 4A Standings. Dallas is one of two teams in the conference undefeated. However, that will change this week as they take on Hazleton Area. They then take the trek out to Berwick the following week to take on the Bulldogs. The Mountaineers have used a balanced attack from sophomore QB Brady Zapoticky and RB Parker Bolesta. Bolesta already has 1,000 rushing yards on the season.

Nanticoke: The Trojans enter the second half with a 2-3 record in 2022. They are currently 8th in the District 2 4A Playoff Standings. Nanticoke had a tough stretch to start the season with three straight road games. They can likely get to 5-5 on the season with matchups between Tunkhannock, Holy Redeemer and Hanover Area remaining. The Trojans could possibly pull off the victory against Pittston Area and go 6-4.

Wyoming Area: The Warriors are 3-2 and 6th in the District 2 4A Standings. The Warriors only returned three starters from last season’s District 2 3A runner up team. They started off at 1-2 with losses to Honesdale and Crestwood but rebounded to a 3-2 record with wins against Nanticoke and Hanover Area. Wyoming Area’s Aaron Crossley is rushing for 824 yards and 10 touchdowns on the year. Wyoming Area starts the second half with Scranton before playing Holy Redeemer and Lake-Lehman. Play perennial power Southern Columbia, then finish the season with rival Pittston Area.

Tunkhannock: The Tigers are 1-4 and are 10th in the District 2 4A Standings. The Tigers are looking to turnaround their misfortunes starting with Lake-Lehman. They will control their own destiny as they play Nanticoke next then Pittston Area, Towanda and finish the regular season at Williamsport.

Berwick: The Bulldogs are 2-3 and seventh in the District 2 4A Standings. After an 0-2 start, they rebounded quickly to win their next two before falling last week. The Bulldogs road to the postseason get tougher in the second half. After their matchup with Valley West, they go through the gauntlet of Dallas, Danville, Crestwood and Hazleton Area to end the regular season.

Lake-Lehman: The Black Knights are 1-4 and 4th in District 2 3A Standings. Lake-Lehman is currently in the postseason if the season started today. The one team that is behind them is Hanover Area who is fifth. That final playoff spot will be determined in Week 9 when both teams face off at Lake-Lehman. However, it could be determined sooner if the Black Knights can pull off a victory in the second half. They play Tunkhannock, Pittston Area, Wyoming Area and end the regular season with Dallas.

Holy Redeemer: The Royals are 2-3 and currently 5th in the District 2 2A Playoff Standings. Holy Redeemer is currently on the outside looking in. It will be a tall task to get into the District 2 Playoffs. They could possibly beat Hanover Area and Montrose but they need to pull off an upset against Wyoming Area, Pittston Area or Nanticoke.

Hanover Area: The Hawkeyes are 1-4 and 5th in the District 2 3A Playoff Standings. Hanover Area’s playoff hopes may lie with Week 9’s matchup at Lake-Lehman. However, they do have some winnable games down the stretch. They play host to Holy Redeemer and Montrose before traveling to Crestwood before Week 9’s matchup then they travel to rival Nanticoke to end the regular season.

Week 6 Matchups

Holy Redeemer at Hanover Area

Fri 7 PM

Holy Redeemer is coming off a loss to Milton. Hanover Area lost to Wyoming Area last week. Royals wideout Zach Perta had seven catches for 127 yards and two touchdowns. Hawkeyes receiver Sean Dooner recorded six catches for 127 yards and a touchdown. Holy Redeemer is looking to get back on track after losing two in a row. Hanover Area is looking to snap their four game losing streak.

Prediction: Holy Redeemer 35 Hanover Area 28

Berwick at Valley West

Fri 7 PM

Berwick lost to Wilkes-Barre Area last week. Valley West remained winless with a loss to Dallas. Berwick wide receiver Dray Wilk had four catches for 126 yards and three touchdowns, including a 75 yard score in the loss last week. Spartans RB Paul Riggs rushed for 48 yards and a touchdown. Berwick is looking to rebound after their two game winning streak was snapped. Valley West is looking to get their first win over rival Berwick.

Prediction: Berwick 35 Valley West 7

Tunkhannock at Lake-Lehman

Fri 7PM

Tunkhannock is coming off a loss to Honesdale. Lake-Lehman was shutout at Nanticoke last week. Tigers receiver Colin Madan had six catches for 52 yards. Black Knights wideout Landon Schuckers had two catches for 36 yards last week.

Prediction:

Williamsport at Central Mountain

Fri 7 PM

Williamsport is coming off a loss at Crestwood. Central Mountain lost to Shamokin last week. The Millionaires’ Jakiha Kline had a 61 yard touchdown catch last week. The Wildcats’ Connor Fultz recorded a 75 yard touchdown run. Williamsport is currently on a three game losing streak and are 1-4. They face off against a Central Mountain team looking for their first win of the season.

Prediction: Williamsport 28 Central Mountain 6

Crestwood at Wilkes-Barre Area

Fri 7 PM

Crestwood is coming off a victory at home over Williamsport. Wilkes-Barre Area is coming off a victory at Berwick. Comets QB Jaden Shedlock ran for 84 yards and a touchdown. Wolf Pack RB Mehki Nelson rushed for 180 yards and four touchdowns. Crestwood has won three straight and scored 40 or more. Wilkes-Barre Area is looking to go on a winning streak to help better position themselves in the 6A Subregional Playoffs.

Prediction:

Dallas at Hazleton Area

Fri 7 PM

Dallas is coming off a victory at home against Valley West. Hazleton Area stayed undefeated with a win against West Scranton. Mountaineers RB Parker Bolesta ran for 152 yards and two touchdowns in the win last week. Cougars RB Matt Buchman rushed for 203 yards and three touchdowns in the victory last week. This is the biggest game on the WVC schedule this week. Only one of these teams will leave Harman-Geist Stadium with a victory

Prediction: Hazleton Area 28 Dallas 24

Pittston Area at Nanticoke

Fri 7 PM

Pittston Area is coming off a loss to Valley View. Nanticoke is coming off a shutout victory at home against Lake-Lehman. Patriots RB David Sudo rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown last week. Trojans RB Mykal Julian ran for 141 yards and three touchdowns last week. This game looms big on both sides. Pittston Area is looking to take one step closer to a Division title and a possible 1st round home game in the 5A Playoffs. For Nanticoke, it looks to be a big momentum shift as they hit the second half of their schedule.

Prediction: Pittston Area 21 Nanticoke 14

Wyoming Area at Scranton

Fri 7 PM

Wyoming Area is coming off a win over Hanover Area. Scranton stayed undefeated with a win over North Pocono. Warriors Aaron Crossley ran for 181 yards and three touchdowns last Friday night. Knights RB Billy Maloney rushed for 118 yards and two touchdowns in last week’s victory. Wyoming Area is getting more experience as the season progresses. Scranton is one of DIstrict 2’s surprises this season with them currently undefeated.

Prediction: Scranton 28 Wyoming Area 7

Follow PA Football News on Twitter @PaFootballNews