2024 Face In The Crowd – Week 10

A FACE IN THE CROWD – WEEK 10

So we have arrived at the final week of the 2024 regular season. And the Mobile FITC Command Center has arrived in the parking lot of the Dalton Do-It Center. Sparky has grand ideas of building us a permanent location where we can host our tens of fans, store Sparky’s collection of Samurai swords, and began to expand our burgeoning multi-media enterprise. Right here in Dalton, PA! Actually, we know the Mayor and he shares his vast wine collection with us.

More importantly, it puts us in close proximity to this weekend’s biggest ball game, one that we have been eyeing all year long. But we’ll get to that one later in the Fistfight Picks. Speaking of which, we were 4-1 last week, putting our season slate at 37-9. Not bad for two guys who cannot operate a George Foreman grill or find sustainable employment. Coach Stanley Yanoski’s Mid-Valley Spartans went to Varden, another home away from home for the Mobile Command Center, and halted the magical ride of the Dub-Dub Cats. Congrats to the Blue and White.

In nine weeks of football, we have learned a great deal and forgotten even more. That’s as a result of Mayor Holzman’s wine. Let’s see what we’ve been able to retain.

LESSON 1

The cream always rises to the top. Or the wheat shall be separated from the chaff. Or a rolling stone gathers no moss. Anyway, there’s some platitude that works here. When you glance down at this week’s Power 5, only one program, Abington Heights, can be considered somewhat of a surprise. The other four schools are true blue-bloods that local fans can count on year after year after year. At the outset of every season, just pencil in Scranton Prep, Dallas, Lackawanna Trail, and Valley View as viable title contenders. Success is bred in the bone in those programs. Their coaching staffs expect excellence. So should we.

LESSON 2

Aside from those aforementioned bellwether programs, there is a lot of mediocrity out there. I’ll attribute that to lower numbers on the sidelines. It is difficult to prepare a team to play when the starters cannot get a good look in practice from underclassman backups. While that holds true in any sport, there is a premium on depth in high school football. That depth can only be created through numbers. Credit goes to those coaches that can achieve a modicum of success with dwindling numbers each year.

LESSON 3

There is some inherent unfairness in the district’s rating system. In my not so humble opinion, if schools in the same class are vying for slots in the district tournament, those programs should be playing in the same division. Honesdale is a case in point. While the Hornets did play Wallenpaupack and Valley View, they did not face the other monsters in Division 1 of the LFC. As a 4A school in football, that gives them an advantage over schools like North Pocono and Wallenpaupack, which must run the gauntlet against Delaware Valley, Scranton Prep, Scranton, and others. It’s really not that hard. Make sure teams in the same class are playing the same schedule. As such, Honesdale, with a win this weekend over winless West Scranton, will most probably be in the district tournament although they lost their two games against Division 1 schools, including Wallenpaupack. The Buckhorns and Trojans could very well be on the outside looking in. That’s not right.

LESSON 4

Though I may be a week premature in these selections, my picks for Player of the Year in each of the five divisions in District 2, seem relatively simple with one clear exception. Louis Paris of Scranton Prep, Richie Kostoff of Riverside, Brady Zapoticky of Dallas, and Lidge Kellum of Wyoming Area are at the top in their respective leagues. I suppose one could make a case for Kostoff’s teammate, quarterback Chase Taddonio of Riverside, in Division 3, but I’m choosing Kostoff for his impact on both sides of the football. I only waver on my choice in Division 2 of the LFC. While Jakob Lesher of Mid-Valley won the head-to-head matchup with Western Wayne’s Josh Vinton on Friday night, I’m going to lean toward the Wildcat tailback because Lesher did miss a few games due to injury. Please address all hate mail to Sparky. No last name is necessary – like Madonna.

LESSON 5

Over the course of the next few weekends, beginning with Friday night, many seniors will be putting on shoulder pads and helmets for the last time. In days when commitment and dedication have become punchlines, credit must be given to those young men who find the courage, stamina, and toughness within themselves to sacrifice and persevere for four years in high school football programs. Some of these kids never read their names in the paper or receive mention in pieces like this one. Yet they show up for practice every day to become a part of something larger than themselves. In the egocentric world of today’s teenager, that’s a rare occurrence and one to be lauded.

That thud you may have heard was just me leaping off my soap box. We actually have one in the Mobile Command Center. Sparky gets a bit ripe at times.

Now, on to the Fistfight Picks for Week 10. We’re going 5-0. I can feel it. It’s either that, or I’m having an allergic reaction to Sparky’s new after shave. Somehow I don’t think a liquid that comes in a black bottle with the word “Predator” on it will be attractive to women, even at the local haunts in Dalton.

This week’s five games are fraught with meaning and playoff ramifications. And I just won $10 because Sparky insisted I couldn’t get the word “fraught” into the piece. Victory is mine!

FISTFIGHT #5 Scranton Prep (8-1) at North Pocono (4-5)

The Trojans’ entire season comes down to this one game against the Jesuit Giants from Wyoming Avenue. The only hope for NP is to win and pray that they garner enough points from the algorithm to slither into the district playoffs. In their last two outings, the Trojans have been different, beating Scranton and giving Delaware Valley all that they could handle in Milford. They have outstanding young skill players in Chase Zimmerman and Cole West, a dangerous pitch-catch combination that can produce big plays all over the field. Evan Wolff is a monster at tight end and linebacker. This game is in Moscow and the home crowd will be howling for a victory over the group in Royal Purple and Gold. But Prep needs a win to ensure the top seed in the district and to be sole champion of Division 1. When the October breeze grows frosty, Coach Gallagher’s beard gets a little thicker, his teeth grit a little harder, and his teams become downright surly. I’ll take the Cavaliers.

FISTFIGHT #4 Valley View (8-1) at Wallenpaupack (4-5)

This one is important for many of the same reasons listed above. Wallenpaupack must win. The Buckhorns of first year mentor Matt Nawrocki posted a big win last weekend over Pittston Area, a 5A program. They currently sit as the 3-seed, but so much can change on Friday night. Strange things can happen at the Lake. Valley View, as we have trumpeted here all season long, has won 8 consecutive games. They are the top seed in 4A and deservedly so. But the Cougars want to be ready just in case Prep slips up in Moscow on Friday. Coach Wasilchak’s group certainly does not want to enter the playoffs on a losing note. I’ll take Valley View, but it may be a bit closer than the experts think.

FISTFIGHT #3 Western Wayne (8-1) at Dunmore (4-5)

The game in the #NINESQUAREMILES will decide at least a share of the hardware in Division 2. If Mid-Valley defeats Lakeland, the Spartans will hold a piece of the trophy with the winner of our Fistfight game. The Bucks were handed their first loss in the division on Friday night in Honesdale and it wasn’t pretty. Dunmore was manhandled by the Hornets and must regroup to face Western Wayne, which is coming off their first loss of the season to Mid-Valley. Neither coaching staff will need to look very hard for motivation for their respective teams. This is for a championship. Dunmore is a proud program that believes league titles are a birthright. The Cats would certainly look at a loss on Friday, combined with last week’s hiccup, as downright catastrophic. Something has to give. I just don’t believe the Bucks will be able to stop Western Wayne. I think the Cats and Spartans will share the crown.

FISTFIGHT #2 Dallas (6-3) at Lake-Lehman (6-3)

As you all know, I love rivalries. I also love Edith Wharton novels. But I digress. The Back Mountain will be glued to this one on the black turf on Friday night. Did you know that the Black Knights play at Edward Edwards Stadium. I like to call it Redundant Redundant Field at Edward Edwards Stadium. These two teams are from different divisions and different classifications. All the signs would point to the Mountaineers, on a 6-game winning streak of their own, to handle Lehman and march into the 4A tournament as the defending champions on a mission. I would suggest that you follow all the signs. Give the Mountaineers their seventh win.

FISTFIGHT #1 Riverside (9-0) at Lackawanna Trail (8-1)

With Western Wayne’s loss on the season’s penultimate weekend, the Quick-Strike Vikes of the Old Ball Coach, Harry Armstrong, stand as the district’s lone unbeaten program. Duly noted. Duly is the guy helping Sparky with the sheet rock in the Do-It Center. But he knows all about high school football. He asked Sparky a few pointed questions to go along with the pointed tools he’s selling. Who has Riverside played? Where is the meaningful win on the schedule? Coach Jervis, the master of the reverse-counter in the Wing-T, has sent his group of Lions against both Mid-Valley and Western Wayne, two teams sitting at the top of Division 2. Sparky had no good answer to any of Duly’s questions. If this football game was an epic poem, and thankfully it is not, it would be called “The Turbulence at Tunnel Hill”. The winner is the champ, and the loser is an also-ran. As Keith Jackson would say (we can’t forget about Keith), “After all the stompin’ and arm wavin’ and jitterbuggin’, only one goat gets a ribbon for prettiest at the state fair”. He said stuff like that. That goat will be a Lion, or something to that effect. Coach Jervis wins another title.

As we head into the “Weekend of Champions”, we will close as we always do, with the Power 5. Sparky needs help with the plywood and gutters, and I need some of the good Mayor’s wine.

THE POWER 5 – the five best football teams in District 2, regardless of record or classification.