2025 Face In The Crowd – Week 4

A FACE IN THE CROWD – WEEK 4

Three days past and the lamps gave out
And Caleb Rushton got up and said,
‘We’ve no more water, or light, or bread,
So we’ll live on song and hope instead.’

What…just…happened? After the carnage that was my Friday night, I woke up to the Dubliners wailing about The Spring Hill Mining Disaster. Beautiful song, but dark enough to keep you questioning your spiritual tenets, if you get what I mean. Cousin Gino was my Caleb Rushton. His message was essentially the same. Week 3 had laid waste to our reputation as prognosticators. We have become, essentially, two halves of a whole idiot. The Wyoming Valley Conference beat us into submission. Junior Circuit no more. I have whispered my mea culpa to Ciro Cinti, the patron saint of Luzerne County. I have learned my lesson.

Thank God for the man under the visor. Coach Joe Repshis at Abington Heights saved me from the ignominy of going 0-4. The Comets managed to knock off Dallas, preserving some honor for the LFC, and maintaining what’s left of my battered ego. Even Gino took an L last weekend. He walked out a few minutes ago mumbling about bad seafood after Honesdale lost to Wallenpaupack.

So I have informed Gino that we are going to change our ways. No more resting on our laurels. No more carelessly casting aspersions on the WVC. We are moving forward…literally. Stagnancy must be avoided. WE ARE GOING BACK ON THE ROAD! Unbeknownst to Gino, I have sub-leased our palatial abode above the Legion in Avoca and purchased a mustard green Ford Econoline. 2002 model. It has all the amenities, including lights and windshield wipers. Perfect for two guys who are looking to return to the basics. Or some semblance of self-respect.

This week, the Econoline (the new Mobile Face in the Crowd Command Center) will be parked behind the Silver Spoon Diner in Clarks Summit. Gino and I are moving into a corner booth. I have autographed copies of Coach Repshis’s magnum opus, “Visor Life – My Views From Under the Lid” that I will disperse to the patrons of this fine culinary establishment. I’ll be focused on this weekend’s #1 Fistfight – Valley View at Abington Heights.

But first, let’s talk about this week’s lessons.

LESSON #1

Without a doubt, the Wyoming Valley Conference has stepped up. I threw down the gauntlet – Wilkes-Barre Area and Berwick picked it up and assaulted me with it. As you will see from this week’s Power 5, I have made serious adjustments to my reckoning. There are no less than 3 Luzerne County schools in that poll, including this week’s new top banana. Though we are about to embark on the league schedules in both circuits, there are still a few inter-league tilts to ponder, including a big one this weekend at Chapman Lake. More about that later.

LESSON #2

There may not ever have been a more anticipated football game between 0-3 programs than this Friday’s Prep vs. Delaware donnybrook. Right now, the teams are mirror images of one another, winless against incredibly tough competition. There are reasons for manufacturing top-heavy schedules like that. The prescient football mind knows that titles are won in late October and early November, not the dog days of August and early September. While neither Terry Gallagher nor Keith Olsommer are preaching to their respective squads this week about moral victories, they are assuredly pointing out lessons learned in those struggles. The team that has taken its medicine best, the one that has grown most significantly from the bumps and bruises of the first three weeks, will be the one who scratches out a win on Friday night. Division 1 of the LFC is wide open. I will wager that not a single squad will go undefeated through that monster of a division. For that reason, I will also aver that the winner of Friday night’s game will be in the mix for the league title when we reach Week 10. The loser gets a one-way ticket to Palookaville, a land inhabited by the mediocre and the lost. Check your GPS for location. And check the fistfights for the winner.

LESSON #3

Crispin Field has once again become a house of horrors for visiting football teams. All credit goes to Coach C.J. Curry who has sharpened the molars of the Dawgs. Last Friday, Berwick leaned all over Lackawanna Trail, imposing its will with a heavy dose of Ty’meere Wilkerson and the craftiness of baby quarterback, Brady Cleaver. The Dawgs are absolutely gigantic up front, a fact that took its toll on Trail, a group that does not enjoy the same depth as the Denizens of OId Crispin. And while it’s too early to tell if the Dawgs can outpace Wyoming Area and the Jesuit Giants in Class 3A, it is refreshing to know that this once proud program is once again leaving immense pawprints all over the Wyoming Valley Conference and beyond.

LESSON #4

The Econoline is now parked and Gino has made his way into the Silver Spoon. The big fella has ordered breakfast featuring an omelet stuffed with chorizo, prosciutto, and Pepto. He says this is his attempt at a pre-emptive strike against the gastro-intestinal distress that is sure to follow. The bathroom in the Econoline is less than spacious, so thoughts and prayers are requested. Coach Repshis himself is scheduled to make an appearance soon, so Gino has donned a blue, #17 West Scranton Invaders jersey of 1994 vintage to make the Visor feel at home. Gino has also informed the waitress that breakfast is on the Coach. Abington Heights has continued its return to prominence this year, a credit to Coach Repshis and his coaching staff. With star power everywhere at the skill positions, AH will be a tough out the rest of the way.

LESSON #5

Now it’s time for one of our most popular new segments, the Hot List for the Henzes Award, the five players who exude “electrifyingness”, Gino’s mangled malaprop describing the five athletes in District 2 who regularly lift people from their seats on Friday nights. We’ve even added an Honorable Mention group, a quasi-waiting list of three players who may bully their way into the discussion at year’s end.

If you don’t like the list, you can create your own. Don’t cost nothin’.

COLE WEST NORTH POCONO
TY’MEERE WILKERSON BERWICK
NICK BRADLEY ABINGTON HEIGHTS
ISAAC RYON LACKAWANNA TRAIL
JAKE HOWE WILKES-BARRE AREA

HONORABLE MENTION:

Jack Gravine – Wyoming Area, David Naniewicz – Lakeland, Weston Yannone – Dunmore

And now, with much trepidation, on to the 5 fistfights.

FISTFIGHT #5 DALLAS (0-3) at WILKES-BARRE AREA (2-1)

So the Wolfpack silenced many of the doubters (yours truly included) by winning in one of the most difficult road venues in all of NEPA, the Cougars’ Den at Valley View. They have their sights clearly set on winning hardware in Division I of the WVC. Perhaps their most significant obstacle will show up in the WB on Friday night. And the Pack cannot allow the momentum gained from their gigantic W on Friday to slip away into the September moonlight. The Mountaineers of Dallas are winless, that’s true. Still, their early schedule has not been filled with creampuffs. Dallas has lost to Wyoming Area, Jersey Shore, and Abington Heights. Last I checked, those three programs are a combined 9-0 at this juncture of the 2025 season. So Dallas will not go quietly into the abyss of mediocrity. But Coach Mannello needs to get the ship spun to starboard quickly. Friday night is huge for both teams, for different reasons. But I’m buying the Pack. You don’t win at Valley View without guts. This will be close and high-scoring, but I’ll take Coach Cinti to add another notch to his belt.

FISTFIGHT #4 DUNMORE (2-1) at LACKAWANNA TRAIL (2-1)

This is another one that feels very much like a crossroads game. After a close opening loss to Riverside, the Bucks have walloped Old Forge and Susquehanna on their way to a date with the Delaware Wing-T on Friday. While neither of those opponents can simulate the type of resistance the Bucks will see at Tunnel Hill, it seems as though the folks from #NINESQUAREMILES have grown comfortable with Weston Yannone at the helm. His athleticism has added a different dimension to the Buck offense, and his reputation as a ubiquitous presence in the defensive secondary is well-known. Trail, on the other hand, is smarting from a physical beating from a bigger, stronger Berwick squad that was just too much for them to handle. Dunmore, however, will look very much like Trail in size and depth. Once again, there will be a much different vibe at next week’s practices for the team that wins this one. The losers will be contemplating their direction. I like Coach Jervis and the Lions to break this one open in the fourth quarter. Surely, I can’t lose with the Wing-T two weeks in a row!

Even though Gino has now been “scathed” with his first loss of the season, I have agreed (or was threatened…but it’s purely semantics) to allow him to continue to make his picks for the rest of the campaign. So, without further ado…

FISTFIGHT #3 WYOMING AREA (3-0) at LAKELAND (3-0)

Cousin Gino’s pick is sponsored this week by “Cured Calabrian Meats – We Cure Meats and Your Fear of Mortality”

So it’s Gino. Like my cousin told yas. What’s with the freakin’ lakes? Unless I’m goin’ to Lake Como next week, this is the end of my trips to the water. Lake Wallenpaupack…Chapman Lake. And now, I’m livin’ out of a van. Minchia, where do I put my Sinatra posters? Anyway, neither one of these two teams been beat yet. Warriors and Chiefs. Are yas even allowed to say them things anymore? Not that I care. I ain’t politically correct or nothin’ like that. The kid what plays quarterback for Wyoming Area – he’s what yas call a real double trett – he can run it and throw it. And they got Italians on the team. I’ll take them. And my cugino says I gotta pick the teams from down there from now on. So the Warriors for me. And if any of yas sees me by the lake, pretend yas don’t know me, cuz yas don’t.

And there you have it. The immense Italian likes Wyoming Area over Lakeland. And I have a craving for capricola.

FISTFIGHT #2 DELAWARE VALLEY (0-3) at SCRANTON PREP (0-3)

We’ve already spoken a great deal about this one earlier in our Five Lessons. Both of these schools need a win like Sir Douglas needs classes at the Minooka Sports Handicapping School. The last three games between them have been gully-washers that were each decided late. I expect that this will be no different. As is the case with most football games between well-coached, disciplined teams, the team that runs the ball and stops the run will erase the 0 in the win column. Prep lacks a home field advantage, so that won’t sway the outcome much either way. But I like the Jesuit Giants in this one. By a touchdown or less.

FISTFIGHT #1 VALLEY VIEW (2-1) at ABINGTON HEIGHTS (3-0)

Certainly, we are looking at two offenses with very contrasting styles. The Comets are playing with the fastest gun in District 2 in Nick Bradley. There are still questions to be answered by Abington up front. Can they withstand the physicality that Valley View will bring to Clarks Summit? Can they run the football when they need short yardage? Can they give Bradley breathing room to utilize his bevy of weapons out on the perimeter? I do believe that their opponents on Friday, the Cougars, will need to score in the 20’s to win. It’s hard for me to imagine a 14-13 outcome in this one, no matter which way it goes at the finish. Once again, it is absolutely ridiculous to me that this game will not be played in the Pit. It’s actually a sacrilege. The people who make these decisions should be drawn and quartered, collected in a burlap sack, and tossed into the Lackawanna River. But I digress. Coach Repshis saved me from the oblivion of 0-4 last week. I’m riding with the Visor by the slimmest of margins. Comets stay undefeated.

Finally, as we do each week, we unveil the POWER 5, the five best football teams in District 2, heedless of classification, record, or favorite color. Please note my homage to the WVC.