2024 Face In The Crowd – Week 8

A FACE IN THE CROWD – WEEK 8

Here in the mobile FITC Command Center, located this week outside the Gouldsboro Train Station/Bingo Parlor/Pumpkin Patch, Sparky and I are in search of the shadowy personage known as Parlay Paulie. It seems PP owes my guy more than a few sheckles and Sparky is riding a heater playing my Fistfight picks along with several exotic prop bets. Apparently, Sparky hit the over/under on how many different ways the Susquehanna public address announcer would mispronounce Old Forge quarterback T.J. DiMattia’s name on Saturday. Sparky had over 3 ½ and was sitting at 3 when the guy announced an incomplete pass from “T.J. DeTomato”. So as Sparky continues to comb the mean streets of Gouldsboro, let me get to five very important lessons.

LESSON 1

Four of the five divisions in District 2 are still totally up for grabs. Only Division 1 of the Lackawanna Football Conference is no longer in doubt as the Jesuit Giants have run roughshod over that group. In the Wyoming Valley Conference, this week’s slate gives us Dallas at Crestwood and Lake-Lehman at Wyoming Area, two games that are pregnant with ramifications on league hardware. In the LFC, we may have to wait until the season’s final weekend to decide matters. That’s when Western Wayne travels to Dunmore and Riverside visits Lackawanna Trail. I’ll let you know how the Luzerne County matchups will turn out in the Fistfight picks.

LESSON 2

From my vantage point, there are 5 quarterbacks who stand above the crowd as the premier field generals in all of District 2. These are game changers and difference makers, guys who terrify defensive coordinators on a snap to snap basis. In no particular order, Riverside’s Chase Taddonio, DV’s Logan Olsommer, Dallas’s Brady Zapoticky, Abington’s Nick Bradley, and Louis Paris of the Jesuit Giants represent the best the area has to offer. They can damage defenses through the air or on the ground. While I am still of the belief that great tailbacks are a most valuable commodity in high school football, these passers offer their coaches some lightning to go with the thunder of an effective ground game.

LESSON 3

There has been a hue and cry from fans all over the two counties about the number of flags thrown and the impact that it’s having on the quality of play. It has come to pass that we expect to see the yellow laundry on the field after every big play. This unpleasant circumstance comes, in my not so humble opinion, as a result of some younger officials being a bit, shall we say, overzealous. Some of the old heads who have graced the striped shirts over the years have retired and they have been replaced by eager young guys trying to make a name for themselves by making their presence known. I’m begging. Before reaching for the flag, consider the real impact of the infraction on the play. Holding penalties across the field from the action or twenty yards behind the play can be safely disregarded. And, finally, how about we allow kids to be kids. It’s a game of emotion. Don’t legislate excitement and exuberance out of the game. It’s the reason why we care!!

LESSON 4

Never let it be said that I do not give credit where it has been merited. I poked some fun early in the season at the Dunmore Bucks and their fans in the #9SQUAREMILES. But after four bad results to begin the season, the Bucks have notched three consecutive wins, including two in the division, where they are undefeated. They face another divisional foe this week in longtime rival, West Scranton. Those of us beyond a certain age recall the days when that game was a Thanksgiving Day staple. Dunmore’s win over Mid-Valley last week was a tangible sign that the Bucks have figured out a few things. Credit to the Dunmore coaching staff which has continued to coax great efforts out of their team on a weekly basis. As I stated in the intro to the piece, the road to the league title will still pass by Dunmore High School. I don’t think that fact will be lost on the group wearing black and gold, hailing from Varden.

LESSON 5

The intrepid picks disseminated from this office are now 29-6. That’s attempting to choose the winner of five games per week that matter. Five games that are supposed to be close. 83% winners. How do you think Sparky financed his upcoming trip to Graceland? He still hasn’t grasped the concept of “for entertainment purposes only”. The man’s gotta eat. I guess he can’t survive on the two-figure income he’s being paid here at FITC. I’ve grown so confident that I’ve decided to throw an extra pick in here this week for all seven of our loyal fans. Sparky counts the fan mail, though I guess letters from Sparky’s pen pals at the women’s prison shouldn’t really count.

Enough of the self-adulation. The woods in Gouldsboro are lovely, dark, and deep, but I have promises to keep. With apologies to Bobby Frost, here are six winners in the Fistfights for Week 8!

FISTFIGHT #6 Lake-Lehman (5-2) at Wyoming Area (6-1)

Wyoming Area’s larger than life back, Lidge Kellum, has rushed for over 17,000 yards so far this year, built 6 homes single-handedly for Habitat for Humanity, traveled to Florida to verbally threaten Hurricane Milton, mowed the lawn at historic Jake Sobeski Stadium, and washed Coach Randy Spencer’s car. Legend has it that when Lidge was born, he carried his mother home from the hospital. He’s mythical, for Zeus’s sake. The Black Knights of the Back Mountain will not have answers for #2 in Green and Gold. In a game for supremacy in Division 2 of the WVC, I’ll take the Warriors. By more than a few.

FISTFIGHT #5 Carbondale Area (4-3) at Riverside (7-0)

The Quick Strike Vikes take no prisoners. As the kids like to say, that was a 62-piece they hung on Holy Cross at Crotti Field Saturday. Christians haven’t been whipped that badly since Charlemagne got waxed by the Saracens on the backside of the Pyrenees Mountains. Weren’t expecting that reference here, were you? Carbondale got smacked at Trail last week, even though freshman quarterback Cole Becchetti continued to impress. But Main Street in Taylor will be a chamber of horrors for the Chargers on Friday night. The Old Ball Coach, Harry Armstrong, will not be threatened until Week 10. V-I-K-E-S, Vikes, Vikes, Vikes!

FISTFIGHT #4 Susquehanna (5-2) at Lackawanna Trail (6-1)

Yes, it’s time to channel our inner Keith Jacksons as we ponder this Suburban Conference Revival game, or as I like to call it, the old Agway League. Ol’ Keith would trundle up to the press box at Tunnel Hill and spit some fire at us like “When the Sabers and the Lions get down to formal pleasantries, you’d best hike up your breeches, dig in your heels, and whistle pretty.” Keith said stuff like that. And Keith would have loved the fact that the Sabers are coached by a guy named Mose Perry. I believe he’s from Gurgling Gulch, Oklahoma. If he’s not, he should be. And their quarterback has the best name this side of Lidge Kellum. I mean the dude’s name is Weston Yannone! Hey kids, let’s pack up the camper and go see Mose, Weston, and them good ol’ boys at Susky play some football. I love all of it. I also love Air Supply. But I digress. All of that warmth and good feeling will not mean diddly at Tunnel Hill. The Lions are bad boys. And they are big winners on Friday.

FISTFIGHT #3 Dallas (4-3) at Crestwood (4-3)

And now on to the Suitcase Game. The loser takes an Uber back into the melange of mediocrity that is the Wyoming Valley Conference. Someone has to step forward from out of the stumbling pack. Crestwood played their most complete game of the season last weekend against Hazleton. While I picked the Comets to win last week, I did not foresee a final score of 28-2. We all know the legacy that exists in Dallas. The Mounts are 4-0 in their last 4. It’s truly a tossup. Something tells me that Coach Mannello’s streak ends on Friday night. I’m going with the home team in Mountain Top in a close one. The Comets step forward into the limelight.

FISTFIGHT #2 Mid-Valley (5-2) at Scranton Prep (6-1)

These are 3A programs that could very well see one another again in a few weeks. Prep has sealed at least a tie for their conference title while Mid-Valley lost a stunner at home against Dunmore. Area fans are well aware that the Spartans are not the same team without bigtime tailback, Jakob Lesher. Generally speaking, though, area teams need no additional motivation when lining up across from the Jesuit Giants. Emotions run high. Prep has not been great in their last two outings against Wallenpaupack and Abington Heights. A date with Jersey Shore High School looms next weekend. Could this be a trap game? Have you met Terry Gallagher? No trap here. Cavs by a bunch.

FISTFIGHT #1 Delaware Valley (3-4) at Valley View (6-1)

It could be argued that the most impressive win posted by any team in the district last week was Delaware Valley’s 40-32 victory over Long Island Lutheran. The Warriors finally got over the hump and posted a W against a high-quality team from outside the area. DV is a tough out right now, regardless of the opponent. As I’ve reiterated on numerous occasions, I have been impressed by Valley View’s resilience, their character, and their ability to win close games. These are big boy programs with championship dreams. And rightfully so. I see them as favorites to win their respective district titles. But what happens on Friday? The win on Long Island tipped the scales for me. I’ll take DV in a good one.

So there you have it. Seriously, where else can you be edified like this? Certainly not in the not so local paper. As Sparky heads off to Big Bass Lake, looking either for Parlay Paulie or a migrant Loch Ness Monster, let’s peruse the Power 5!

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