The Rick, Week 12 – 2025
By Righetto Notari, BDFN
@BDFN_OldForge
(2235-618 overall, .784 winning percentage)
November Reign…
The Rick makes predictions every year in August on who will win the District 2 championships in all six classes. I predicted seedings, winners and runners-up. Of the 12 teams in the District 2 championship games this week, The Rick predicted that nine of those teams would play for a title, with the exact matchups in Class 5A, 4A and 2A.
Of the 24 teams that qualified for the D2 playoffs, The Rick was right in 18 of them, predicting the full field in both Class 4A and 2A. However, I only predicted the No. 1 seed correctly in two of the classes, 6A and 1A.
One other tidbit of the six championship games on Friday night, only the Class 6A game is No. 1 vs. No. 2. The other five title tilts feature the third seed facing the top seed.
Ok, enough of that, take care, brush ya hair, and let’s get to predicting Week 12…
THE RICK’S PICKS (161-38)
District 2 Class 6A Subregional
2-Williamsport (6-5) at 1-Wilkes-Barre (7-4)
Williamsport was the only No. 2 seed to advance to the championship game in any of the six classes in District 2. The Millionaires started the season 4-1 before a four-game losing streak sent them to Plains two weeks ago to take on Wilkes-Barre. Williamsport was able to defeat the Wolfpack in Week 10 to stop that losing streak and give them the ability to regain focus for the Class 6A Subregional. A big win over Scranton last week has them right back in town to take on The Pack. WBA is led by quarterback Jake Howe, the leading passer in D2. Howe has thrown for 2,301 yards and 24 TDs. He also rushed for over 400 yards and six scores. The senior signal-caller has a stable of pass catchers that are hard to stop. Jordan Kieselowsky leads the way with 33 catches for 347 yards; Treyvon Gembitski as 25 receptions for 311 yards and 3 TDs; Kevon Keech has 23 grabs for 483 yards and 5 TDs, and Johnathan Otway-Kellom has come on late with 12 catches for 222 yards and 4 TDs. Running back Davon Underwood is multi-dimensional with 571 yards rushing with 10 TDs, and 27 catches for 288 yards and 4 scores. Williamsport stopped that offense two weeks ago. The Rick doesn’t believe they will stop it again. Howe you doin!
Wolfpack 35, Millionaires 27
District 2 Class 5A
3-Delaware Valley (6-5) at 1-Abington Heights (9-2)
Six weeks ago, Abington Heights took the field at Delaware Valley High School without its starting quarterback. The Comets lost that day but found out they didn’t need their top gun to compete with one of the better teams in the area. Well, both teams, as expected, are back on the field in Week 12, this time in Clarks Summit. And yes, top gun Nick Bradley is back at QB, and the Comets are looking for vengeance. Bradley has thrown for 1,163 yards and 12 TDs in just six games. His replacement during his missed time, Noah Kayal, threw for 539 yards and 3 TDs. They threw to the top pass catching threat in D2, wide receiver Gavin Anders who has 66 catches for 1,093 yards. But Abington Heights isn’t one dimensional. Running back Jayden Anglin has rushed for 1,229 yards and 13 TDs. All that offense will be tough to stop, but the Warriors stood up to the challenge in Week 11 with the dynamic offense that Pittston Area featured. DV has some offense of its own as QB Colin McGarvey has thrown for 1,677 yards and 17 TDs. Trey Newton leads the receiving corps with 52 catches for 654 yards and 11 TDs. Running back Mike Iuzzolino is sixth in D2 with 1,187 yards and 15 TDs. Wait, I forgot the kickers! Reagan Decker from DV and Jack Harshorn from AH rank second and third in D2 with 61 and 58 points respectively. These teams are dead even! Yet, despite the challenge, The Rick finds it hard to go against the defending champ, especially at home. Let’s say it’s decided by a last-minute field goal! Bow down!
Comets 24, Warriors 21
District 2 Class 4A
3-Dallas (6-5) at 1-North Pocono (11-0)
Dallas is on a roll. The Mountaineers have won five in a row, with their last loss coming at North Pocono in Week 6. And they’ve done it with defense, allowing just 33 points during that winning streak, including a shutout on the road over Valley View in last weeks D2 Class 4A semifinal. But the Trojans are a different animal. They play defense too. And on offense, they have fought injury and relied on several players each week to put the ball in the endzone. North Pocono does not have one player in the Top 10 of any offensive category in D2 – unless you count kicker Shane Youngblood who has 58 points on the year, good for a third place tie that category. Cole West is the featured player on offense. His stats may seem pedestrian compared to others, but the junior all-everything can score from anywhere at any time. He has 603 yards rushing and six TDs, 445 yards receiving and four TDs, and has also thrown for a touchdown and has four returns for scores. As a team, North Pocono has rushed for over 2,000 yards between West, running backs Josiah Gray and Jaden Taylor and quarterback Chase Zimmerman. Dallas will need to stop that ground attack to have a shot. The Rick wonders if there will be Big D from Dallas in Moscow on Friday night. Spokoynoy nochi!
Trojans 42, Mountaineers 19
District 2 Class 3A
3-Scranton Prep (6-5) at 1-Berwick (11-0)
This game has The Rick going back and forth. On one hand, the undefeated Berwick Bulldogs feature freight train running back Ty’Meere Wilkerson – the leading rusher in D2. All Wilkerson has done is rush for 2,706 yards and 39 TDs. The senior running back is the show in Berwick on offense. Quarterback Brady Cleaver has run for more yards (402) than he’s thrown for (264). He does have six passing TDs on just 13 completions and has rushed for four more. So, the question is, ‘Can Scranton Prep stop the train – or even slow it down – or are they about to get run over while standing on the tracks?’ The Cavaliers have had some very good wins in the past three weeks. They smashed Wyoming Area on the road last week in the semis and dominated Jersey Shore in Week 9. The Dawgs on the other hand were not challenged whatsoever this year. Prep features quarterback Wil McPartland who has thrown 1,251 yards and 9 TDs and run for 720 yards and 20 TDs since returning from injury in Week 4. Those are some big numbers for just seven weeks of action. But, is the defense up to the challenge. A Prep victory wouldn’t be an upset in The Rick’s baby blue eyes, but until someone stops the train or even slows it down, I must take the top-seeded Dawgs in this one.
Dawgs 27, Cavaliers 20
District 2 Class 2A
3-Dunmore (8-3) at 1-Lakeland (10-1)
Dunmore has had a roller coaster ride this season. Not so much a Super-Dooper-Looper coast ride, more like a ride on The Comet at Nay Aug Park. Some weeks they have looked like the big bully on the block, while other weeks, not so much. Last week was one of the bully weeks, and they did it at the right time, beating Riverside at every facet of the game in the semifinals. Lakeland has been steady all season behind the quarterback play of David Naniwiecz. The senior has 1,394 yards passing and 860 yards rushing, accounting for 25 touchdowns through the air and on the ground. The Chiefs have a bevy of athletes around their star QB. Wideouts Chase Rosenkrans and Jackson Pochas have combined for 68 receptions, 1,159 yards and 16 touchdowns. Running back Gavin Roberts has nine touchdowns and 643 yards rushing. The Bucks are led by Weston Yannone, a dual-threat QB in his own right. Except the junior has rushed for more yards (775) than he has passed for (648) and has accounted for 18 TDs. Lakeland won the matchup in the regular-season, and The Rick thinks the same will happen this weekend at Chapman Lake. The Chiefs just have too many arrows in the quiver.
Chiefs 34, Bucks 20
District 2 Class 1A Subregional
3-Tri-Valley (7-4) at 1-Lackawanna Trail (10-1)
On the two ends of District 2 reside the two best running backs in the area, Berwick’s Ty’Meere Wilkerson and Lackawanna Trail’s Isaac Ryon. It took an extra week, but Ryon finally caught Wilkerson for most rushing TDs with 39. But the senior running back for the Lions is a complete player, and the best football player in District 2. While Ryon still trails Wilkerson in rushing yardage for the season, he has scored 45 more points than his backfield rival to lead all of D2 with 282 points. Ryon who has 2,291 yards rushing on just 143 carries, also has 11 catches for 269 yards and 4 TDs to go with a return for a score. Oh, he also has kicked 11 extra points and 2 field goals. What does this have to do with the Class A Subregional Final? Everything. The Rick doesn’t know much about Tri-Valley, but scoring only three points as they did last week in their 3-0 semifinal win isn’t going to cut it. The Rick also knows that the Bulldogs have not seen a player of the caliber of Ryon. So, while you may think The Rick is getting away with an easy prediction this week, let me give you a second prediction – quarterback Tyler Jervis throws just his seventh TD pass of the season. It is the playoffs after all.
Lions 47, Bulldogs 13
Time to settle all Family Business (102-15)
State College over Erie McDowell
Hollidaysburg over Dubois
Pope John Paul II over Bishop Shanahan
Montoursville over Mifflinburg
Landsdale Catholic over Bristol
Montgomery over Line Mountain
The Rick Six
(The top 3 big schools & top 3 small schools)
- North Pocono (11-0, 1)
- Berwick (11-0, 2)
- Abington Heights (9-2, 3)
- Delaware Valley (6-5, 4)
- Lakeland (10-1, 6)
- Scranton Prep (6-5, NS)
Next Six: Lackawanna Trail (10-1, NS); Wilkes-Barre (7-4, NS); Wyoming Area (9-2, 5); Dunmore (7-3, NS); Dallas (6-5, NR); Pittston Area (8-3, NR).
