Meet Coach Cosmos — the man who calls the scores before the coin toss even flips.
A grizzled former assistant coach who vanished for one off-season and came back… different. Third eye open, whistle that hums instead of blows, and a clipboard that shows him plays before they’re run. Nobody knows which team he coached for, or if he ever did. He shows up Thursdays, taps his temple twice, and delivers the week’s picks in short, cryptic bursts — then disappears until next week.

RECORD WEEK 11: 11-2
2026 RECORD: 151-45

Prothetic and Pathetic?

The cosmos will not pretend to celebrate, mortals. Eleven and two is a record any prophet would frame and hang on the wall, but the vision behind it is a hollow one. When the stars are this accurate, it usually means the sky was never in doubt. The games were predictable, and predictable is the enemy of everything that makes Friday nights worth waiting for.

Nor does the cosmos find joy in how many of those games were uncompetitive. A running clock may please the fans of the winning team, and the cosmos does not begrudge them their celebration. If your team won big last week, you earned that smile. But the generic football fan, the one who simply loves the game and came for the drama, went home without a story to tell. A lopsided score has no memory in it. No one retells a game that was over by halftime.

The cosmos cannot change that. It can read the film, but it cannot move the ball. The gap between the strong and the struggling is what it is, and all anyone can do is hope the next round brings something closer, something that goes down to the final possession and leaves the crowd breathless. Remember the triple overtime classic in Moscow? That is the kind of night we are all chasing.

Maybe this week delivers it. The vision is hopeful, if not certain.

But take heart. Champions have already been crowned this season, and more crowns remain to be handed out. The story is not over, and the best chapters may still be waiting.

“The film doesn’t lie. Neither do I.”

Here are the predictions for Week 12:

CLASS 3A CHAMPIONSHIP

Wyoming Area at Scranton Prep

The cosmos loves a head-on collision, mortals, and this one comes with two of the finest small-school programs in all of NEPA. There is no mystery about the stakes. Both teams know exactly what the other brings, and neither will pretend otherwise.

Wyoming Area carries a state championship on its resume, won back in 2019, a banner that still hangs proudly. But the vision shows that since that golden year, the throne in District 2 Class 3A has belonged to someone else. Scranton Prep has won five straight district titles, and each one has arrived with a familiar look: a Cavalier team winning its postseason games with few real scares.

The stars remember last season’s meeting. These two met in the playoffs, and Prep shut the Warriors out. That is the kind of memory that follows a team into the film room and sits in the back of every player’s mind. It has been the norm for the Cavaliers in the postseason, rarely challenged and seldom rattled.

If Wyoming Area is going to change the story, the path is narrow. The Warriors must avoid mistakes and hope Prep makes some of its own, because a team this disciplined does not give away games. Both sidelines are well coached, and the cosmos expects few surprises. No trick plays will save anyone here. This will be decided by execution, one snap at a time.

But until someone finally knocks the Cavaliers off, they remain on top, and the cosmos sees no reason to change that tonight. Prep holds the crown once more.

Cosmos Says: Scranton Prep 31, Wyoming Area 20

CLASS 2A CHAMPIONSHIP

Lakeland at Dunmore

The cosmos has watched Dunmore all season, mortals, and the vision has barely changed from week to week. Eleven games. Eleven mercy-rule victories. Nobody has challenged the Bucks, and nobody has come close to making the clock keep running. That is not a good season. That is a force of nature.

One of those victories came against Lakeland just two weeks ago, and the cosmos wants to be clear about what that result does and does not mean. The Chiefs arrived in 2026 with high hopes and a roster that deserved them. But injuries at quarterback struck again and again, and no amount of fight could fully fill the hole. Lakeland battled through all of it, and that deserves respect. The scoreboard simply cannot tell that part of the story.

Dunmore is good. Really good. The expectation that they will win this one going away is not an insult to Lakeland. It is a tribute to how great the Bucks have been. A team does not earn that kind of expectation by accident. It earns it with eleven proofs in a row.

So the vision is simple. The running clock returns, the margin grows, and Dunmore once again lives up to the name Title Town.

Cosmos Says: Dunmore 42, Lakeland 13

CLASS 4A SEMIFINAL

Valley View at North Pocono

The cosmos has seen this one before, mortals. Earlier this season, North Pocono took the first round, and now fate has brought these two division foes back together with a championship path at stake. When teams know each other this well, there are no secrets left, only execution.

The Trojans are on course to defend the district title they won in 2025, and the formula looks familiar. They have dominated most opponents up front, imposing their will in the trenches, and layered that power with weapons who can score from anywhere. It is a recipe that does not need to change, because it has not stopped working.

Valley View’s season has been a roller coaster, mortals. One week the Cougars looked like a legitimate contender, and the next they looked like a team still searching for itself. But something has shifted in their identity. A program that has always wanted to load up and run the football has found its best weapon in the air, and the passing game has become the staple of the offense and the surest way to put points on the board. A team that reinvents itself midseason is a dangerous thing to face.

Still, familiarity cuts both ways. Valley View knows what North Pocono will do, and North Pocono knows what Valley View now does. But knowing is not the same as stopping, and the cosmos sees the Trojans holding the upper hand once again. They win the rematch and earn the chance to defend their crown.

Cosmos Says: North Pocono 24, Valley View 13

CLASS 4A SEMIFINAL

Wallenpaupack at Dallas

The cosmos has watched Dallas flex its muscles all season, mortals, and still the doubters whisper about the schedule. But an unbeaten record is a fact, and facts do not bend to opinion. Dallas has proven it is one of the best teams in the area. What remains is the final proof: that it is championship material, not just a regular-season machine.

Down from the Big Lake comes Wallenpaupack, a team that has already exceeded every expectation placed upon it. And the vision shows a family affair. The mighty Kiesendahls have led the way: senior Ed running at will, sophomore Anthony anchoring the defense, and cousin Sam, a freshman, taking over at quarterback. When a bloodline carries a team this far, it is no accident. The question hanging in the air is the one every Cinderella faces. Do they have one more win in them?

The stars remember the last time these two met, back in 2023 in the district playoffs. The Mountaineers were dominant that night. This version of Dallas is built differently, with multiple ways to hurt you and a defense that has shown very few holes. There is no single thing to take away, and a defense that cannot pick its poison tends to get poisoned by all of them.

The Buckhorns will fight, and they will earn the respect of every fan in the stadium. But when the final whistle sounds, I see the road to the Class 4A title continuing to run through the Back Mountain.

Cosmos Says: Dallas 34, Wallenpaupack 24

CLASS 6A SUBREGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Wyoming Valley West at Williamsport

The cosmos remembers how this one began, mortals. Back in Week 1, these two met under the lights, and Williamsport pulled away with a 25-point fourth quarter. That explosion was a preview of what the Millionaires offense can do when it finds its rhythm. Points do not arrive from this team in a trickle. They arrive in a flood.

But a lot of football has passed since that night, and Wyoming Valley West is not the same team. The Spartans have won more games this season than they have in any year since 2017, a resurgence that has stirred the whole town of Kingston. They have a district title on the mantle and a chance at a subregional championship, which would have sounded like fantasy in August. They have been competitive week after week, and that has been one of the great stories of 2026.

The cosmos honors that story. Nothing that happens Friday can take away what these Spartans have built, and the trophy case will remember it long after the scores fade.

But the vision must speak the truth it sees. Williamsport has a way of finding extra gears late in games, and a team with that kind of firepower is hard to hold down for four full quarters. Wyoming Valley West will fight and keep the game within reach, but the Millionaires simply have a little more in the tank.

The fairy tale ends here, but it was a good one.

Cosmos Says:  Williamsport 38, Wyoming Valley West 28

CLASS 5A SUBREGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Hollidaysburg  at Abington Heights

The cosmos never forgets an old wound, mortals. Back in 2024, these two met in the state playoffs, and Abington Heights came roaring back from the brink, only to see the comeback die on a missed extra point. One kick, one inch, and Hollidaysburg advanced while the Comets went home wondering. A moment like that does not fade. It waits.

Now fate has brought them together again, and the stakes are even higher. A subregional title hangs in the balance, along with a place in the state tournament in Class 5A. The old playoff clichés apply in full: win and advance, lose and go home. There is no tomorrow for the team that falls short.

The Comets get to play in front of their own faithful in Clarks Summit, while the Golden Tigers must endure a 195-minute bus ride to get there. That alone will not win the game for Abington, and the cosmos would never claim it will. But three hours on a bus is a distinct disadvantage, and in a game this close, every small thing counts.

Both teams have standout running backs, and that is where the story of this game will be written. The ground will belong to whichever defense can limit the damage, bending without breaking when the big carries come. Expect a fight in the trenches and a long night for every tackler on the field.

The Comets came oh-so close last time, mortals. This time, the vision shows them finishing the job. They leave Friday night victorious, and their postseason trek rolls on.

Cosmos Says: Abington Heights 28, Hollidaysburg 21

Cosmos out. Trust the film.