The Rick, Week 6 – 2025
By Righetto Notari, BDFN
@BDFN_OldForge
(2147-602 overall, .781 winning percentage)
We’re halfway there….
The Rick is always livin’ on a prayer as you know. And well folks, it’s Week 6. The downward slide of the high school football season is upon us. And The Rick got lots on his mind. So, in keeping with tradition, here are the halfway predictions and some halfway stats on the 2025 season.
Just remember, as Marshal Mathers says, ‘There ain’t no such thing as halfway crooks!’
Halfway Predictions
WVC 1
Pre-Season: 1. Dallas, 2. Wilkes-Barre
Mid-Season: 1. Pittston Area, 2. Crestwood
The two teams who were The Rick’s pre-season favorites surely are not out of contention for the WVC 1 title. But Pittston Area is the feel-good story of the season, so why not go with the team that plays where the original goombahs in NEPA resided. Ain’t no party like a Yatesville party!
WVC 2
Pre-Season: 1. Wyoming Area, 2. Berwick
Mid-Season: 1. Wyoming Area, 2. Berwick
The song remains the same in WVC 2 at the halfway point. Better yet, this championship will be decided Friday night at Crispin Field when these two teams meet. No one else in the division can beat either team.
LFC 1
Pre-Season: 1. Scranton Prep, 2. Delaware Valley
Mid-Season: 1. Scranton Prep, 2. North Pocono
The Rick liked the Prep when it started, and The Rick likes the Prep at the halfway mark. They will need to overcome a better-than-expected Abington Heights team and this year’s LFC darling, North Pocono.
LFC 2
Pre-Season: 1. Dunmore, 2. Lakeland
Mid-Season: 1. Lakeland, 2. Dunmore
The Rick has flipped this prediction mostly because of the way Dunmore has lost its two games this year. It’s also because Lakeland has shown a wealth of weapons on offense and a pretty good defense. This division will also be decided on Friday night in Bucktown when the two teams meet.
LFC 3
Pre-Season: 1. Lackawanna Trail, 2. Riverside
Mid-Season: 1. Lackawanna Trail, 2. Riverside
The Rick hates to admit it – see below – but the Lions have been impressive this year. There isn’t much more one can say about Issac Ryon, but the kid is just an old-school football player. Riverside has its share of weapons on offense, but Brayden Rose makes it look like a video game with his highlight reel runs. This title will be decided in Week 10. Can’t wait!
D2 Class 6A (Subregional with D4)
Pre-Season: 1. Wilkes-Barre, 2. Scranton
Mid-Season: 1. Wilkes-Barre, 2. Scranton
If the playoffs started today: 4-Hazleton Area at 1-Williamsport, 3-Scranton at 2-Wilkes-Barre
D2 Class 5A
Pre-Season: 1, Delaware Valley, 2. Abington Heights
Mid-Season: 1. Delaware Valley, 2. Abington Heights
If the playoffs started today: 4-Delaware Valley at 1-Abington Heights, 3-Wyoming Valley West at 2-Pittston Area.
D2 Class 4A
Pre-Season: 1. Dallas, 2. North Pocono
Mid-Season: 1. North Pocono, 2. Valley View
If the playoffs started today: 4-Dallas at 1-North Pocono, 3-Crestwood at 2-Valley View
D2 Class 3A
Pre-Season: 1. Scranton Prep, 2. Wyoming Area
Mid-Season: 1. Scranton Prep, 2. Wyoming Area
If the playoffs started today: 8-Tunkhannock at 1-Wyoming Area, 7-Hanover Area at 2-Berwick, 6-Lake-Lehman at 3-Scranton Prep, 5-Mid Valley at 4-Carbondale Area
D2 Class 2A
Pre-Season: 1. Dunmore, 2. Lakeland
Mid-Season: 1. Lakeland, 2. Riverside
If the playoffs started today: 4-Holy Redeemer at 1-Lakeland, 3-Dunmore at 2-Riverside
D2 Class 1A (Subregional with D11)
Pre-Season: 1. Lackawanna Trail, 2. Old Forge
Mid-Season: 1. Lackawanna Trail, 2. Holy Cross
If the playoffs started today: Holy Cross at Lackawanna Trail
Halfway Stats
- 335 players have rushed the football this season, led by Berwick’s Ty’Meere Wilkerson. Wilkerson leads D2 with 1,148 yards, 99 attempts and 17 rushing touchdowns. Lackawanna Trail’s Issac Ryon is second with 960 yards and 15 TDs. Hazleton Area’s Xavier Heck is second with 93 rushes. He is third overall with 619 yards. Carbondale’s Francisco Roman is third with nine rushing touchdowns.
- Lake-Lehman and Valley View lead D2 in the most players having rushed the ball with 18 each. Old Forge has the least amount with only seven players toting the rock.
- 243 players have caught a pass, led by Abington Heights’ Gavin Anders. Anders leads D2 in both receptions and receiving yards with 35 catches for 560 yards. Crestwood’s Jack Rodgers leads D2 with seven TD receptions. Delaware Valley’s Trey Newton and Old Forge’s Chris Rasmus are tied for second with 32 catches each. Newton is second with 428 yards and six TDs and Wyoming Valley West’s John Richards is third with 426 yards. Lakeland’s Chase Rosencrans is tied for second with Newton with six touchdown grabs.
- Scranton Prep has the most players with receptions on the season with 14 different pass catchers. Berwick – the team that has attempted only 18 passes all season – only has three different players with receptions.
- 78 players have thrown a pass, led by Wilkes-Barre’s Jake Howe. Howe leads D2 with 1,040 yards and is tied for the lead in completions at 71 with Old Forge’s Robby Solfanelli. Delaware Valley’s Colin McGarvey and Pittston Area’s Paulie Ferentino lead D2 with 10 touchdown passes each. Howe and Lakeland’s David Naniewicz are tied for second with 9 TDs each and Mid Valley’s Brett Yanoski is third with eight. Abington Heights’ Nick Bradley is second with 889 yards passing and McGarvey is third with 870 yards. Yanoski and Bradley are second and third in completions with 69 and 66 respectively.
- Abington Heights, Delaware Valley, North Pocono, Wilkes-Barre and Western Wayne have had only one quarterback throw pass this season. Crestwood, Lakeland, Pittston Area, Riverside, Scranton and Scranton Prep have each had four different QBs throw passes.
- 256 players scored at least one point, led by Lackawanna Trail’s Issac Ryon. Ryon leads D2 with 109 points. The senior has 15 rushing TDs, two receiving touchdowns, four extra points and a field goal! Wilkerson is second with 102 points and Roman and Pittston Area’s Lucas LoPresto are tied for third with 60 points.
- North Pocono has had 13 different players score points this season. Dunmore has 11 players, and eight teams have had 10 different players score. Nanticoke Area had had only three players score.
- 41 players have kicked extra points, led by Berwick’s Caleb Yost with 24 extra points. He is second in kicking points with 27 overall, behind Delaware Valley’s Reagen Decker’s 28. Decker is second with Riverside’s Santino D’Amico and Pittston Area’s Cole Baldwin with 22 successful PATs.
- 17 players have kicked field goals, led by Haonver Area’s Chance Hall. Hall has made four field goals this season. Decker, North Pocono’s Shane Youngblood, Western Wayne’s Jacob Wells, and Abington Heights’ Jack Hartshorn have two each.
Ok, let’s get to Week 6….
THE RICK’S PICKS (73-22)
May their first child be a masculine child (1-4)
(The Big Boys)
Abington Heights at Delaware Valley
Delaware Valley won its first game last week – hard fought too. Abington Heights suffered its first loss last week – and maybe more. So, on Saturday afternoon in Milford, we will have one team feeling good about itself and one team looking to prove the first four weeks were not a fluke. The Warriors are well balanced on offense. The Comets were too until last week when North Pocono shut down the running game and forced QB Nick Bradley to not only throw it almost every down under constant pressure. The Trojans may have given DV the blueprint to beat AH. The Rick thinks it happens.
Warriors 27, Comets 20
The Luca Brasi (4-1)
(Toughest Pick of The Week)
Wyoming Area at Berwick
What happens when the immovable object meets the unstoppable force? We are about to find out. Perennial 21st century power Wyoming Area travels to face rejuvenated Berwick at Crispin Field on Friday. The Rick has been waiting for a wise revival down south for years. Legacy CJ Curry is making it happen. The Dawgs are shoving. Behind a strong and savvy offensive line, Berwick grounds and pounds. They have only thrown 17 passes all year. The Warriors feature QB Jack Gravine who has accounted for almost 1,000 yards of rushing and passing offense to go with 12 touchdowns. The atmosphere will be something that the Dawgs may not be used to. The Warriors are big-game hunters.
Warriors 30, Dawgs 27
Don’t ask me about my business (2-3)
(No Rhyme or Reason)
Lakeland at Dunmore
The first two picks have The Rick riding the Warriors. So which team is more warrior-like in the Lakeland-Dunmore matchup? It’s Lakeland, of course. The Chiefs have shown they are multi-dimensional this season with multiple weapons in both the running and passing games. QB David Naniewicz may be the most underrated player in the LFC this year with so many of his fellow quarterbacks putting up video-game numbers. The Rick is only down on Dunmore because in their two games against ranked teams this season, the Bucks have made late game mistakes to cost them victories.
Chiefs 23, Bucks 20
Leave the gun, take the cannoli (5-0)
(Lead-Pipe Lock of The Week)
Carbondale at Montrose
Rumor is there is some guy named Gino running around District 2 pretending to be part of The Family. Let’s get things straight. There are only so many Billy Batts around. Anyone could be Tommy Devito (Pesci not Cutlets). Just remember what happened to the shoeshine boy at the end of the movie. By the way, the Chargers are warriors too!
Chargers 44, Meteors 8
Going to the mattresses (2-3)
(A Rivalry-type Game)
Holy Redeemer at Holy Cross
The Holy War happens this Saturday at Monsignor Crotti Field at St. Athony’s Playground in Dunmore. No, not the Rapture. This is the long-awaited matchup on the gridiron between the two parochial schools in D2. Holy Cross has fought off injury to grab two victories by the halfway point and are realistically looking at the back half of the slate with an opportunity to win three more, starting this week. Holy Redeemer grabbed a win two weeks ago on the road at Susquehanna as first-year coach Vito Quaglia tries to build a program. If you know your history, you know Crusaders are warriors, too!
Crusaders 34, Royals 21
Fredo, You broke my heart (2-3)
(Upset Special)
Honesdale at Western Wayne
Western Wayne is flying high after grabbing their second victory last week at Old Forge. The Hornets went home with their stingers between their legs after a tough loss to Valley View. But Honesdale Coach George Howanitz has seen it all and will have his Red Swarm ready for this matchup between rivals. The Wildcats predicate their offense on the run. So do the Hornets. Expect a battle in the trenches. Old-school style. Just like Fredo at Lake Tahoe.
Hornets 13, Wildcats 10
Keep Your Friends Close, Keep Your Enemies Closer (4-1)
(They just don’t like each other)
Old Forge at Lackawanna Trail
Respect for each other? Sure. Distain? Absolutely. These two teams have played for 39 consecutive seasons since they first met in Tunnel Hill in 1987. During that time, they’ve met 51 times with Old Forge winning 27 and Lackawanna Trail winning 24. There have been close games, blowouts, championships won, playoff games lost, and very few friendships made.
Lions 49, Blue Devils 14
Time to settle all Family Business (53-7)
North Pocono over Dallas
Executive Education over Valley West
Pittston Area over Crestwood
Wilkes-Barrea Area over Hazleton Area
Scranton Prep over Wallenpaupack
Hanover Area over Tunkhannock
Lake-Lehman over Nanticoke
Valley View over Scranton
Mid Valley over West Scranton
Riverside over Susquehanna
The Rick Six
(The top 3 big schools & top 3 small schools)
- North Pocono (5-0, 2)
- Wyoming Area (5-0, 4)
- Berwick (5-0, 3)
- Scranton Prep (2-3, 5)
- Abington Heights (4-1, 1)
- Delaware Valley (1-4, 6)
Next Six: Lackawanna Trail (4-1, NS); Pittston Area (4-1, NS); Lakeland (4-1, NS);
Dunmore (3-2 NS); Valley View (3-2, NR); Crestwood (3-2, NR).
The Rick Six
- Abington Heights (4-0, 2)
- North Pocono (4-0, 1)
- Berwick (4-0, 3)
- Wyoming Area (4-0), 4)
- Scranton Prep (1-3), NS)
- Delaware Valley (0-4, NS)
Next Six: Lackawanna Trail (3-1, NS); Dunmore (2-2 NS); Lakeland (3-1, NS); Pittston Area (3-1, NS); Dallas (1-3, NR); Wilkes-Barre (2-2, 5).
