The J-Man’s View of District 2: Whoa, we’re halfway there!

Tagged under: District 2, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

Jared Samuel | September 24, 2025

We’ve made it to the mid-point of the season, and we had another wild set of games this past week. We had everything, from a Thursday Night game in Montrose that featured a visit from none other than PSU Head Coach James Franklin to an absolutely wild finish in the Back Mountain on Friday and a huge clash of unbeatens on Saturday. I was on with the guys as we recorded our mid-season show for The State of PA Football. And I dipped my toes in the water and did my first voice-over for my game on our PFN TAPS Into The State highlight show. Good times all the way around!
(There are 2 80’s song references in this week’s post–did you find both?)

The outlook from up on the mountain: While there is still time to right the ship for some teams, time is definitely running out for some others. Let’s do a mid-season check in by classification:

Class 1A

Contender — Lackawanna Trail: did you think they wouldn’t? I mean, everyone (except me and the Lackawanna Trail folks) have been saying “Oh, this is the year that they don’t do much because they graduated too many players.” Well, aside from a tough road loss at Berwick, the Lions have done exactly what they’ve done the past few seasons, and I expect we will be talking about them again come November. RB Isaac Ryon has over 1,000 all purpose yards through the first 5 games, and the Lions are poised to pounce.

Class 2A

Contender — Lakeland: you knew it would happen eventually–the Chiefs are back. QB David Naniewicz has started for a few years now, so he has the experience and he also leads the team in rushing as well as passing. They’ve put up 194 points through 5 games, and one of those was a loss against 3A powerhouse Wyoming Area. Get ready to hear that Tomahawk Chop a whole lot the rest of the season.
In The Hunt — Riverside: after 2 tight wins to start the season, Lakeland came to town and defeated the Vikings in another close game. That might have been the wake-up call that was needed, because Riverside has put up 109 points over their last 2 games and might be catching fire at the right time down the stretch. QB Brayden Rose has been terrific in all phases of the game and the Vikings will need that plus a total team effort as the playoffs approach.
In The Hunt — Dunmore: in a first half that featured 2 losses by a combined 5 points, the Bucks are playing tough. QB Weston Yannone has settled into “Bucktown” and his backfield mates – RB Ryan Mecca, FB Brandon Mecca and FB Xavier Burke – have seemingly resurrected the Dunmore running attack of years past. And don’t forget about that “Herd of Bucks” defense either–it’s back.

Class 3A

Contender — Berwick: here’s another instance of some late season success last year continuing into this season. The Bulldogs are led by RB Ty’Meere Wilkerson who has 1,148 rushing yards and 17 TD’s through only 5 games. Video game numbers!!! But the bigger story may be the defense, which has only given 44 points thus far. They are on a roll right now, but the biggest test of the season is coming up this Friday.
Contender — Wyoming Area: the team that ALWAYS seems to play with more heart and determination than everyone they play, the Warriors are also rolling. Their defense has only given up 55 points so far, and you might certainly argue that they’ve had a tougher schedule than Berwick. Regardless, QB Jack Gravine, WR Luke Kopetchny and RB Trustin Johnson are doing exactly what is expected of them to lead the Warriors. Heading down to Berwick this Friday is going to be their biggest test so far as well.
Alive and Kicking — Scranton Prep: a tough early season schedule almost doomed the Cavaliers, who lost a lot to graduation from last season. Never mind that now, as QB/DB Will McPartland returned from injury 2 weeks ago and has put up 7 rushing TD’s and 4 passing TD’s in just those 2 games. The big question for Prep is the defense, as they cannot afford to keep getting into slugfests with their opponents down the stretch. A tough schedule is on the horizon, but you just know that nobody will want to play the Cavaliers come November.

Class 4A

Contender — North Pocono: these guys are for real. The Trojans are fresh off a big 24-10 victory over then undefeated Abington Heights. RB Joe Briskie is having a strong sophomore season, WR Cole West is playing that “Swiss Army Knife” role perfectly and the Trojan defense is no joke as they just keep coming at you and contest every thrown ball. The name on the back of all of their jerseys says “Family” and they sure are a tight knit group. They are in the driver’s seat right now for Lackawanna Conference Division 1 and the District 2 4A chip.
In The Hunt — Valley View: the Cougars suffered 2 key losses in the first half, to Wilkes-Barre and Abington Heights. Those losses however were to higher classification schools, so you need to take those with a grain of salt for sure. Regardless, Valley View has overcome a lot this season due to graduation, and they are a younger team but they are still the premier program in the Lackawanna Conference. QB Caleb Brown has performed well, and RB Tyler Muchal has formed a tag-team duo with FB Jeffrey Wasilchak on the ground. 4 of their last 5 games are very winnable, but a key matchup (and possible D2 title game preview) awaits in 2 weeks as North Pocono comes to the Henzes!
In The Hunt — Crestwood: quietly, the Comets are having a decent season thus far. QB Jaden Shedlock has been mostly healthy and has thrown for just under 700 yards in the first 5 games. RB Jacob Jeckell has chipped in over 300 yards on the ground, and WR Giovanni Barna and WR Jack Rodgers have played great both ways so far this season. Crestwood has several tough games down the stretch (Pittston Area, at Dallas, Wilkes-Barre) so they have some work yet to do, but if they perform well and stay healthy this could be a team that could surprise.

Class 5A

Contender — Abington Heights: the “other” Comets in the D2 have played well. Their only loss was to a tough North Pocono team. Still, these guys are performing at a high level and appear to be mainly healthy — a big plus this time of the year. QB Nick Bradley has such a great connection with WR Gavin Anders, and it shows all over the stat sheets. The defense and both lines have been tough. The only issue for Abington Heights will be staying healthy down the stretch, as they have a pretty tough road the next 3 games (at Delaware Valley, Scranton Prep, at Wallenpaupack) but if they emerge relatively unscathed then they should remain in the driver’s seat for the 5A chip.
In The Hunt — Pittston Area: the Patriots only loss was to North Pocono, and aside from that they have found ways to improve every week. FB Brody Spindler is as tough as it gets, and WR Lucas Lo Presto is now being used in multiple different ways — he scored on the ground, threw for a score and also hit on a pick-6 in a crazy OT win against Dallas. They will need to shore up a few things to make some noise in November, but if toughness and momentum count then you have to include these guys in the mix.
Down, but are they really out? — Delaware Valley: look, I had to do a double-take on where the Warriors are at right now. They had a very difficult early schedule, and when all is said and done they are 1-4. However….we know how they put their schedule together, to challenge their team early so that growth can occur when they enter D2 play. RB Mike Iuzzolino is starting to heat up, QB Colin McGarvey has honestly played outstanding and WR Trey Newton is continuing where he left off last year for sure. And let’s not forget they probably have the best Kicker in D2 with Reagan Decker. If the defense can shore things up, and early season lessons are learned and applied, Delaware Valley may just be playing in that D2 title game again.

Class 6A

Contender — Wilkes-Barre: it has been a back and forth year so far for the Wolfpack, who stand at 3-2. A ridiculous week 2 OT win over Stroudsburg was followed up by a huge road win at Valley View. Then a loss at home to Dallas, their first win of the season. Head Coach Ciro Cinti was concerned about his defense after the week 2 OT win, then the defense played outstanding against the Cougars. Thus, the bug of inconsistency may have bit the Wolfpack and they need to recover quickly. QB Jake Howe has truly become a dual-threat guy, and the speed of RB Davon Underwood, WR Treyvon Gembitski and WR Kevon Creech is definitely for real. Can they harness all aspects of what they have and execute? We will find out soon enough, as a tough game at Pittston Area and a regular season finale against Williamsport (and possible D2/D4 subregional final preview) will tell us what we need to know.

Where we are headed Friday 9/26: Sherryl and I have what we think is the Wyoming Valley Conference game of the year as 5-0 Wyoming Area heads down to Crispin Field to take on 5-0 Berwick. I’m getting chills just typing this up as this should be a banger. Kickoff 7pm. You don’t want to miss this one!

PFN’s District 2 coverage this week, follow these on ‘X’ for updates: