2024 Face In The Crowd – Week 7

A FACE IN THE CROWD – WEEK 7

Here in the mobile FITC command center, located this week behind several Cheez Doodles trucks outside the Wise Potato Chip plant in the sophisticated and cultured urban center of Berwick, Sparky and I are tweaking the algorithm behind our 24-6 start in predicting the Fistfight games. Sparky claims to have done some work at Cal Tech, but I’m relatively sure that was as a test subject in the Deep Brain Stimulation lab. A 3-2 record last week is substandard. Sparky is skating on thin ice as his research has been less than stellar. He claims to have had a lengthy phone conversation with a well-known offensive mind named Steve. That may have been Steve Shumbres, Steve Spurrier, Steve Sarkisian, or Steve Seagal. The latter’s last few movies were certainly offensive. But I digress. We’re fired up for Week 7 here in Berwick!! Bring on the 5 lessons and pass the Cheez Doodles!

Lesson 1

It’s all about coaching. If you’re looking for a common denominator in successful programs, look no further than the guys on the sideline. Take a glance at four of my Power 5 teams at the tail end of this article. Ostensibly, you have the four coaches that I would stick on the Mount Rushmore of the current head men in District 2. Shall I name them? Terry Gallagher of Scranton Prep, Keith Olsommer of Delaware Valley, Randy Spencer of Wyoming Area, and Steve Jervis of Lackawanna Trail are bulwarks of both success and longevity. Their staffs are solid and stable, filled with guys who know how to TEACH the game, not glorified peewee coaches. While they may experience some years where their talent may wane a bit, they never drift into the doldrums of obscurity. There are reasons for that. Few and far between are guys who can diagram offenses and defenses, motivate the teenage male, deal with intrusive administrators, reason with wildly delusional parents, and maintain some sense of balance. These four guys have done it for a long time. In the words of the late, great Bum Phillips, a great coach can take his’n and whip your’n and take your’n and whip his’n. These four gentlemen fit that description. They have my admiration.

Lesson 2

Since we’re talking about the micronutrients of success, I am constantly amused by programs that stray from what has been the tried and true recipe for consistency and victory in high school football: run the football and stop the run. While high school programs will produce a Glenn Kempa, or Evan Kraky, or Ron Powlus once in a very great while, generally the high school quarterback is a heady kid with athleticism and toughness who can command a huddle. Once again, I refer you to the Power 5! Josh Vinton of Western Wayne, Mike Iuzzolino of Delaware Valley, the two-headed monster of Demitrius Douglas and Isaac Ryon at Trail, and, of course, the Wyoming Whirlwind himself, Lidge Kellum: these gentlemen are the bellwether ball-carriers for the best teams in District 2. Their respective coaches will be leaning heavily on them as the weather turns colder and championship hardware is up for grabs. Hand the ball off on offense. Load the box on defense.

Lesson 3

District 2 is anomalous in that four of the best five teams, in my not so humble opinion, this year come from “small schools”. Lackawanna Trail, as a Class A school, is a more than viable threat to win a state championship and can stand toe to toe with just about anyone else in the district. In Class 3A, Scranton Prep, Western Wayne, and Wyoming Area have a combined record of 16-2. Prep’s loss was to Buffalo behemoth, Canisius High School, while Wyoming Area came up a bit short at Western Wayne! The 3A bracket, which will also include one-loss Mid-Valley, will be entertaining to watch.

Lesson 4

Speaking of District 2 brackets, while I generally do not like to prognosticate the distant future, I will do so just this once as a nod to a certain portly paisan who once graced the print of this website. All 6 district titles will reside in the LFC. Book it. Wait, did I just say that? Sparky can find futures odds with his underground bookie in Gouldsboro. Last week he got an over-under line on how many Garth Brooks songs would play over the PA system at the Western Wayne-Honesdale game – it was 2 ½. Pay all overs. But I digress. Class A – Lackawanna Trail. Class AA – Riverside. Class AAA – Jesuit Giants. Class AAAA – Valley View. Class AAAAA – Delaware Valley. Class AAAAAA – Scranton.

Lesson 5

Momentum means a lot in high school football. The Hazleton Area Cougars are a case in point. After losing their first two contests to Nazareth and Williamsport by a combined score of 65-13, the Coogs have won four straight. While the first three were expected as they notched W’s over West Scranton, Berwick, and Valley West, last week’s win over Wilkes-Barre Area at the Geist (Sparky and I learned never to go against the Zeitgeist of the Geist) was impressive as the Cougars of Coach Dennis Buchman shut out WBA 20-0. Hazleton is squarely in the cloudy WVC Division 1 title picture. They have a big one in Mountain Top this week, one that we’ll discuss later in the Fistfight picks.

And so we have reached October where, according to U2, “kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall.” Yes, you get a little bit of everything here. I’m a big U2 guy from way back, to my college days at East Nebraska Nazarene. Our nickname was the Fighting Whippoorwills. Like our mascot, we were small, but surprisingly loud. Let’s get to the Fistfights!

FISTFIGHT #5 Scranton (4-2) at Wallenpaupack (3-3)

This is most definitely our suitcase game this week. The loser gets an express ticket to Palookaville while the winner maintains its status as a heavyweight. The Knights are losers of two straight and will make the long journey up Route 590 to the lake. The Buckhorns have also come up empty the last two weeks against Division 1 mainstays Delaware Valley and Scranton Prep. It’s a hard one to figure. I’m going to lean to the big-play capabilities of the Scranton offense to eke one out by the slimmest of margins.

FISTFIGHT #4 Hazleton Area (4-2) at Crestwood (3-3)

While this one can also fall into the suitcase category, I don’t want to make my “friends” in Luzerne County angrier with me than I already have over the past weeks. My skepticism regarding the caliber of play in the WVC notwithstanding, these two are still undefeated in divisional play. This one happens in Mountain Top, where it appears the Comets have figured some things out during their two recent victories over Nanticoke and Pittston Area. While Crestwood’s stadium does not have a cool, nostalgic name like Harman-Geist Field (it’s called Crestwood Stadium for God’s sake – nice creativity), I’m taking the Comets on the home turf. I’m a sucker for home teams. And for West Side Story. But we don’t have time for that now.

FISTFIGHT #3 Valley View (5-1) at North Pocono (3-3)

Easily, the Keith Jackson game for this week. I could just hear the big guy now. “Here in Moscow, when the wind comes a whippin’ over the hill and the Cougars are in town, you’d best bundle up and open that flask of Wild Turkey because feathers will be flyin.” Ol’ Keith said stuff like that. Sparky read that line and then threw a cross-body block at the ottoman in the corner of the command center. He gets emotional around Big 11 throwback games. As stated in this space last week, I am a buyer of Valley View. They took one square on the chin in Week 1 and stood back up. I think they’re a winner again on Friday.

FISTFIGHT #2 Carbondale Area (4-2) at Lackawanna Trail (5-1)

Carbondale has been a feel-good story all year long, putting up 4 wins for Head Coach Jeff Arthur. Cole Becchetti is perhaps the most recognizable freshman in the LFC, a quarterback who can make defenses look silly in a whole bunch of ways. Along with the Quick-Strike Vikes in Taylor, these two are unbeaten in Division 3. So this one means something. But the Lions are a machine right now. Big plays on both sides of the ball with playmakers all over the football field. While the records suggest that this should be close, I don’t believe it to be true. Coach Jervis’s mug isn’t on that Mount Rushmore for nothing. Give me the Lions by a bunch.

FISTFIGHT #1 Abington Heights (3-3) at Scranton Prep (5-1)

The Comets lost in the Pit on Saturday to Delaware Valley in a game that saw both teams throw big punches all game long. But the Warriors threw the final haymaker when Logan Olsommer crossed the goal line late in the final quarter. Abington has made believers of many who see the Comets as a legitimate threat in Class 5A. Nick Bradley has a big arm with the stats to match. He makes the Abington offense a threat to score from anywhere on the field. And this is a rivalry game. Make no mistake. These are student bodies that harbor a healthy disdain for one another. Apparently, last year’s meeting between their respective chess clubs ended up in a wild melee. So everything points to a tight one in Dunmore on Friday. Yeah, not so much. Three scores sounds about right. The Jesuit Giants clinch at least a tie for the Division 1 title in the LFC.

So there you have it. Five fistfights in the opening weekend of October. And Sparky lying comatose in a pile of Barbecue Wise. All seems right with the world. On to the Power 5!

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