2025 Face In The Crowd – Week 10

A FACE IN THE CROWD – WEEK 10

Although we’ve come to the end of the road
Still, I can’t let go – It’s unnatural,
You belong to me, I belong to you.

Boyz II Men

And so we’ve arrived at Week 10, filled with nostalgia, bittersweet and cloying, with some fine lyrics from the best band ever with both Roman numerals and misspellings in their name. The high school football season in NEPA is both long-awaited and quick to pass. That’s quite similar to my first date, one that ended when I slammed my date’s hand in the door of my 1972 Olds Cutlass Supreme. It had the old bench front seat which could have come in handy had I made it to the end of the date. But I digress.

We added North Pocono to the list of officially-crowned champions, as the Men of Troy/Covington/Daleville/Moscow overcame Delaware Valley in a thriller to nail down the LFC Division I crown. They join the Pittston Area Red Dawn (remember when they were called Patriots?) as the only clear-cut winners at this point. More on that later.

Ty’Meere Wilkerson rushed for 300 yards again. Isn’t that a crazy sentence? This week, at Tunkhannock, he plans on tying his shoelaces together to add some “degree of difficulty” to his performance. Otherwise, chalk him up for three bills once again.

But enough of this preamble. Cousin Gino and I have promises to keep and miles to go before we sleep. Apologies to Bobby Frost and any other literary giants we may offend in the making of this masterpiece. On with this week’s dissemination of knowledge known as “the Lessons”.

LESSON 1

Late in 1991, Berwick traveled to Moscow to face North Pocono in the PIAA Class 1 final, a pretty way of saying, “It doesn’t matter who wins; your season is over after this game.” In a contest that many consider to be the best high school football game in area history, Coach Nick Donato and the Trojans stopped Coach George Curry and the Dawgs, 22-21. It was, to be sure, the stuff of legends. The two programs, having gone through many coaches and varying levels of success since those halcyon days, now stand as the only undefeated teams left in all of District 2. Interestingly enough, there is another program out there that may be given the opportunity to put a stop to both of those spotless streaks – that’s right, you guessed it. None other than the Wyoming Avenue Jesuit Giants. Coach Terry Gallagher and his ensemble cast host North Pocono on Friday in the regular season finale for both teams. Our thoughts on that battle are on the horizon in the Fistfights. The JG’s could also face the Dawgs at Crispin Field if both hold serve in the first round of the District 2 Class 3A tournament. For that result, we’ll have to wait a week. But it’s certainly interesting that the Hirsute Head Honcho of Purple Haze is the one standing in the way of the Trojans and Dawgs. Very interesting.

LESSON 2

All year long, Riverside and Lackawanna Trail have been gesturing and gesticulating at one another from opposite ends of Lackawanna County. Each squad has suffered a loss to quality opposition, but neither scar has deterred these two programs from arriving at Friday night with a chance to abscond with the division hardware. We love coaches here at Mobile FITC Headquarters. We love McRib sandwiches and Brownie Batter Frosty Swirls as well. But that’s a story for Dr. Stratchatelli, Gino’s and my cardiologist. Delaware Steve Jervis and Home Run Harry Armstrong go toe to toe again, as they did last year, for all of the Division 3 marbles. And we are here for that contrast in styles. We’ll make a pick later, but both these dudes are in the FITC Hall of Legends.

LESSON 3

In case you didn’t notice, Gino and I went 5 and 0 again last week in the Fistfights. That’s two in a row. Our complex prognostication algorithm/Ouija Board has been clicking on all cylinders. So it took us the majority of the season to figure this all out. This week, our picks cover games that are pregnant with consequence. That last predicate adjective caused Gino to sit up and take notice. He’s been prodding me to use some more provocative language to appeal more directly to our target audience – under-employed Mama’s boys who have yet to feel the touch of a woman. You know who you are.

LESSON 4

Week 10, as it was last year, is a time to remind our readers that Friday night will be, for many student-athletes, the very last time they put on the helmet and shoulder pads, and run out between the lines of cheerleaders to the full-throated support of their family and friends. For so many of them, it will be a tough night. It’s another one of life’s thresholds, and a reminder that, in the words of General George Patton, “all glory is fleeting.” Remember the sacrifice, both physical and spiritual, these boys offered for the colors of their alma mater, and an opportunity to achieve just a few moments of glory. High school football is an endeavor to be admired by the onlooker and cherished by the participant. On Friday night, keep all of that in mind.

LESSON 5

It’s now time to unveil the final regular-season version of the Henzes Award Hot List. Each week, as Gino and I have struggled to put together this list, we have been made aware of the level of talent in District 2. Some of these kids will be remembered forever at their respective schools, candidates to be mentioned in the same breath with names like Cefalo and Powlus, Cherewka and Clauss. If those names don’t jostle the collective gridiron conscience of our readers, then it’s time you looked them up. I know I’ve left so many out, but those jumped into my mind most quickly. Here is the current list:

COLE WEST – NORTH POCONO
TY’MEERE WILKERSON – BERWICK
ISAAC RYON – LACKAWANNA TRAIL
BRAYDEN ROSE – RIVERSIDE
LUCAS LOPRESTO – PITTSTON AREA

Honorable Mention: Will McPartland – Scranton Prep, Mike Iuzzolino – Delaware Valley, John Richards – Wyoming Valley West, Jack Gravine – Wyoming Area, David Naniewicz – Lakeland, Gavin Anders – Abington Heights

And now, armed with a 10-game win streak, an Econo-Line filled with Frosties, and the confidence of a C-student submitting a research paper titled “Untitled”, we venture intrepidly into this week’s Fistfight Picks.

FISTFIGHT #5 HONESDALE (3-6) at WEST SCRANTON (2-7)

Those of you snickering out there do not realize the veritable heft of this Week 10 battle. Folks from Scranton to Plymouth are awaiting the outcome from Memorial Stadium at Valor Field at Cosmo Iacavazzi Parking Lot at Marc Spindler/Taco Bell across from the Joe DeAntona Mini-Mart. That’s about as Invader as I can make it. If Big Blue Nation can grab a win over the Hornets, the West Siders will o’erleap Wyoming Valley West into the fourth seed in Class 5A and will make it into the district tournament for Coach Jake Manetti, a huge step forward for a program that has struggled to find its way. The Hornets have no such aspirations of a playoff in their near future. For that reason alone, give me Big Blue in a squeaker over Honesdale and a date with the Red Dawn in Yatesville next weekend.

FISTFIGHT #4 MID-VALLEY (4-5) at LAKELAND (8-1)

Once again, this is why you read this column. Because many of you did not know that the fighting Stan Yanoski’s of Throop/Dickson City/Olyphant can garner a share of the LFC Division 2 crown with an upset victory in Week 10 over Lakeland. The Spartans are not without weapons, like Mason Vinansky and Brett Yanoski. They have quick-strike capabilities. They have the irascible Coach Yanoski on the sideline. And yet, the Chiefs have been one of the biggest positive surprises of this campaign. At Chapman Lake, when the wind blows cold, the Chiefs are often on the warpath. Give me Lakeland over Mid-Valley by double digits.

I have let Gino know that this is his final pick of the season, if for no other reason than his “sponsorships” have run out. Apparently, there are no more nefarious loan sharks, shady body shops, or greasy burger-joints left in the 570 willing to pony up for Gino to make picks. But I’m willing to give the Big Kid one more opportunity to exhibit his acumen. While he has no clue what that means, here is his pick.

FISTFIGHT #3 LACKAWANNA TRAIL (8-1) at RIVERSIDE (8-1)

Yah, it’s me, Gino. My cuz says it’s curtains for me pickin’ these games, but it’s been kicks and all. And we saved the best for last. Two good teams and what not. And the winner is the champ, like Balboa in Rocky II. My buddies, Moose and Freddie, are countin’ on me to get this one right so they can get square with their guy, if yas know what I mean. So there’s a lot of pressure. I’m takin’ Harry and his kids. They’re at home and all. I’m goin’ out in a blade of glory. Isn’t that what Bon Jovi said. And he’s from Jersey and everything. And one more time, if yas sees me at the game, pretend yas don’t know me, cuz yas don’t.

That was Gino’s heartfelt swan song. Right after he gave me the pick, he was summoned home by Aunt Modesta. And when she summons, you heed the call. I’ve seen her put Gino to sleep with an Iron Claw in fifteen seconds.

FISTFIGHT #2 PITTSTON AREA (8-1) at WYOMING AREA (8-1)

How about that?! The schedule-makers in the Wyoming Valley Conference figured out how to put a traditional rivalry game in Week 10! And the lummoxes manning the slate in the LFC said it couldn’t be done. This is the best rivalry in Luzerne County, made even more appetizing this year by the records of the combatants. Each team has lost one game, each to one of the two unbeatens left in the district. Each team has a level of respect to earn in this one as it leads into the district tournament. And this one, like Old Forge vs. Riverside, is a glory game. Kids who perform in this game will be remembered in outsized fashion for decades. But I am most confident that I am seeing this one pretty clearly. I honestly believe that one of these teams is better than the other by two scores. And it ain’t the Red Dawn. I like Wyoming Area to end the magical run of the Red Dawn and to await a visit from the Jesuit Giants to West Pittston next Friday night.

FISTFIGHT #1 NORTH POCONO (9-0) at SCRANTON PREP (5-4)

Cole West must be Player of the Year in Division I of the LFC. Greg Dolhon should be Coach of the Year in the LFC. The Trojans are champions of Division I. And what does any of that matter on Friday night? Not a whole lot. As I pointed out last week, the Trojans have not beaten Scranton Prep in tackle football since Priam’s boy, Hector, defended the walls of the city against the marauding Greek horde. I mentioned earlier that the Jesuit Giants, hailing from Wyoming Avenue, have the opportunity to play the role of streak-stoppers in two of the next three weeks. Can they? Will they? While North Pocono does boast the talents of Mr. Cole West, leading candidate for the Henzes Award, the JG’s have their own show-stopper in Will “The Thrill” McPartland. Prep showed signs of putting all the pieces together in last weekend’s lambasting of Jersey Shore, the school not the reality show. Something tells me that the group from Wyoming Avenue is peaking at the right time. I’ll take Prep to put an end to the parade in Moscow in a thriller.

Next week, we move on to the playoffs and gigantic stakes. And hopefully, gigantic steaks. But for now, we will leave you with the Power 5 on the eve of the final weekend!

THE POWER 5 – the five best football teams in all of District 2, heedless of record, classification, or Venmo balance.