Valentine’s Day Blues

 Love is Blindness

I Don’t Want to See

Won’t you wrap the night

Around me….

— Bono

It’s a slow week for the Stork. Only five deliveries this week. Looking at the calendar, that means it must have been a slow Valentine’s Day in 2024. It is nine months since Valentine’s Day, and in the olden days, that would have meant a plethora of deliveries for Stork.

Still, Stork is in love with this week’s arrivals for love is blind my friends. Four champions and one championship game will venture into the wild this weekend. So, we will have at least one-post Valentine’s Day conception next week. Hopefully it will be more.

He said he was an artist, but he really painted billboards, Still, Stork’s delivery should not be ignored.

 

The Totals (169-37)

Class 5A

Abington Heights ventures into the PIAA State playoffs for the first time this decade when they face Hollidaysburg on Friday night at Milton High School. The Comets avenged a regular-season loss this past Saturday at The Pit against Delaware Valley and did so without star quarterback Nick Bradley in the second half. Hollidaysburg, the District 6 champion and winner of the D6/8/9/10 subregional comes into the game as the No. 8 ranked team in Class 5A according to PennLive.com. The Golden Tigers (12-0) have beaten DuBois and Pittsburgh Taylor Allderdice twice each and have wins against Jersey Shore and Williamsport – two teams that have played teams in District 2 this season. Those scores show that Abington Heights (8-4) has a shot this weekend. But that shot will weigh heavily on whether Bradley is available.

Abington Heights 24, Hollidaysburg 20

Class 4A

Valley View is the District 2 version of the Kansas City Chiefs. The Cougars seem to hang around the first half and then explode in the second half. Coach Scott Wasilchak must give one hell of a halftime speech every week! But in all reality, the level of experience and knowledge on the Valley View staff allow for half-time adjustments to work more often than not. The Cougars once again turned a close game into a no-doubter in defeating Dallas for the Class 4A title. This week, the Cougars will need to be on point from the start. Valley View welcomes Pope John Paul II (11-1) from Royersford to John Henzes Memorial Stadium on Friday night. The Golden Panthers are the No. 2 ranked team in Class 4A according to PennLive.com. PJP’s only loss is to Bayard Rustin of West Chester, the No. 3 team in Class 5A. There is a lot of speed coming up the Northeast Extension of the PA Turnpike. Coach Wasilchak will have one hell of a pre-game speech ready.

Valley View 23, Pope John Paul II 21

Class 3A

For the better part of two months, fans in the Lackawanna Football Conference were looking forward to a Scranton Prep v. Western Wayne matchup for the District 2 3A title. Wyoming Area had other ideas. The Warriors avenged its only loss of the season last week when they rallied to fight off the Wildcats in overtime to advance to the final on Friday night at Dunmore’s Veterans Memorial Stadium. The Cavaliers have been the best team in D2 for the first three months of the season. But they now need to be the best team for just one night. Wyoming Area not only brings in a state championship pedigree, but probably the most experienced staff in NEPA and an offense that is balanced and could keep their explosive counterparts at Prep off the field. This will no doubt be the game of the year and it’s happening in Week 13 which makes it all that more exciting.

Prep 37, Wyoming Area 33

Class 2A

Fans of the team that resides on the Riverside have been talking state title before the leaves turned colors. The one-loss Vikings have been explosive on offense and have even better on defense. Riverside (11-1) will host District 1 champion Lansdale Catholic (8-4) at Spartan Stadium on the campus of the Mid Valley School District on Friday night. In studying this game, Stork first thought that the Crusaders speed would be too much for the Vikes. But further investigation shows that while Lansdale Catholic has some wins against name opponents such as Conwell-Egan, Archbishop Wood and West Catholic – all long-time Philadelphia-area powers – those teams are all less than .500 teams this season. The close win over Bristol in the subregional final also concerns Stork. Bristol has been a team that D2 Class A teams have run roughshod over in the past. Stork expects the toughness that the Richie Kostoff-led Vikings defense brings will propel Riverside to the next round.

Riverside 26, Lansdale Catholic 18

Class 1A

For the first time since 2019, the District 2 champion will face the District 4 champ in the first round of the state playoffs. The last time that happened, Lackawanna Trail defeated Muncy, 26-13. Those two teams meet again on Friday on the turf at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Scranton. The Lions have been steam-rolling opponents, including District 11 champ Tri Valley last week in the subregional final. The Indians (10-2) have been doing the same. The No. 10 ranked team in 1A, Muncy has scored at least 40 points in all 10 of their wins. They have scored 60-plus three different times and have scored 50-plus two additional times. The offense is purring. It’s been a few seasons since Muncy has repped D4 in the state playoffs, but for a time in the late 2010s that the Indians were the dominant team in D4 and a regular participant in the PIAA tournament. The winner has a legitimate shot to get to the East Final.

Lackawanna Trail 28, Muncy 21

VEGAS Picks, Staff Best Bets and NPF Fantasy Football are done for 2024