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 5: 15-4
2026 RECORD: 73-23
Halfway there
The cosmos hums along with the great philosopher Jon Bon Jovi tonight, for even the stars themselves know the truth of his words — Halfway there. The regular season crosses its own equator, and the vision grows sharper with every step deeper into the back half.
Five teams remain untouched by defeat, and I see three of them dwelling together in LFC Division II, a rare cluster of perfection sharing the same roof. But perfection is a fragile thing, mortals, and the cosmos already knows one of these three are destined to fall this week. Do not mourn it when it comes. A single loss this early is not a wound. It is simply the season demanding proof that a team’s crown was earned, not given. Redemption remains fully within reach for whoever stumbles first.
On the opposite end of fate’s ledger, five programs still search for that elusive first win, their stories still unwritten. The second half holds the power to rewrite everything or to confirm what the first half already whispered. Both outcomes remain equally possible tonight, and that uncertainty is exactly what makes this stretch of the season so dangerous, and so alive.
The cosmos reminds you, mortals. The horizon is closer than it appears. Playoffs draw near, and in less than two months, district champions will be crowned beneath Friday night lights. Whatever path each team walks from here, the destination arrives soon.
“The film doesn’t lie. Neither do I.”
Here are the predictions for Week 6:
THE BIG BOYS
Scranton at Wyoming Valley West
The cosmos remembers last season clearly, when Scranton held every advantage in this matchup and made certain everyone knew it. But visions are not bound by what came before, and Friday I feel the roles fully reversing.
Wyoming Valley West has found something rare this year – a three-game winning streak, their first since 2018. That is not a small marker, mortals. That is a program climbing out of a shared struggle and discovering its footing at exactly the right time. I see balance driving this turnaround, an offense capable of striking through the air or on the ground, never predictable enough for a defense to settle into a rhythm against them.
Scranton, meanwhile, still searches for that first win, still waiting on younger talent to mature into the players this program needs them to become. Scoring has not come easily, and I sense the Knights fighting patience as much as any opponent right now.
The vision does not favor history repeating itself. I see Wyoming Valley West carrying their momentum forward, extending their streak, and finally settling an old score that last year left them on the wrong side of a blowout.
Cosmos Says: Wyoming Valley West 28, Scranton 7
THE STARS
Abington Heights at Scranton Prep
The cosmos never tires of this rivalry, one that has delivered heartbreak and celebration in equal measure over the years. Last season it was Abington Heights walking away on a last-second field goal, a moment Scranton Prep has carried with them ever since, waiting patiently for the chance to answer it.
That chance arrives Friday, and I sense the timing favoring the Cavaliers. Abington Heights welcomed their starting quarterback back into the fold last week, yet the offense produced nothing – a scoreless outing that raises real questions about whether his return alone can cure what ails them. Scranton Prep, meanwhile, shook off its own recent offensive struggles in emphatic fashion, exploding for 57 points just last Friday. That is not a flicker of life. That is a full awakening.
Abington’s defense has done its part all season, steady enough to keep them competitive in nearly every game. But steady defense alone rarely secures a road win within the division, especially against an offense now finding its rhythm at the worst possible time for the Comets.
The vision does not see enough points finding their way onto Abington’s side of the scoreboard. Scranton Prep, I believe, finally gets its revenge.
Cosmos Says: Scranton Prep 20, Abington Heights 14
THE TOSSUP
Old Forge at Lackwanna Trail
The cosmos feels an unfamiliar weigh. Two programs that have spent the better part of a decade fighting for championships now finding themselves simply fighting for wins. Old Forge and Lackawanna Trail were not built for this kind of season, yet here it stands before us.
I do not expect the vision to show the kind of football these two have trained us to expect. Youth dominates both rosters, experience still being earned the hard way, one Friday at a time. The scoreboard has reflected that truth more often than not, with Old Forge’s lone victory standing as the rare exception rather than the rule.
Yet I sense something stirring beneath the surface tonight — both offenses showing signs of growth, closer to awakening than the records suggest. This should be a more competitive showing than recent weeks have offered, even if it falls short of the standard these programs have set for themselves historically.
The vision leans toward Old Forge finding just enough Friday, their growth arriving a step ahead of Lackawanna Trail’s, enough to secure a road win at Tunnel Hill that neither team’s recent history would have predicted.
Cosmos Says: Old Forge 30, Lackawanna Trail 20
THE RIVALRY
Tunkhannock at Montrose
The cosmos watches two programs with rich, storied pasts now walking very different roads through the present. Once powers in their own right, that history now feels distant, but not forgotten, and not without hope of return.
Tunkhannock has shown steady growth with each passing week, a team inching closer to the breakthrough it has been chasing all season. Last Friday brought them closer still, a genuine chance to win slipping away but not before proving this program belongs in close games again. The Tigers are still searching for their full identity, but the pieces are beginning to show themselves.
Montrose, meanwhile, has shocked everyone who doubted them. Four wins already through the first half of the season, and last week delivered the kind of improbable, late-game magic that separates a good story from a great one. The Meteors are not simply winning anymore, mortals. They are competing for something far larger, a championship that once felt distant now within reach.
Friday’s outcome will not decide that larger fate, but I sense Montrose understanding exactly what is at stake regardless. The vision shows the Meteors protecting their momentum, carrying their improbable season forward and keeping their championship hopes alive and well.
Cosmos Says: Montrose 27, Tunkhannock 14
THE UPSET
Delaware Valley at Valley View
The cosmos looks upon two programs built on a foundation of district titles and league championships, now humbled by the simplest of problems – finding the end zone. That is a strange place for royalty to stand.
Delaware Valley carries only one win into Friday, a difficult truth made harder by a recent beating at the hands of a team they are accustomed to handling with ease. That kind of result lingers, mortals, and I sense the Warriors still searching for the version of themselves that once ruled this division.
Valley View found life last week, 56 points flooding the scoreboard, but I caution against reading too much into it. That outburst came against an opponent still searching for its own first win, far from a measuring stick. What I trust more is the Cougars’ defense, one of the finest this league has to offer, now facing a must-win moment to keep their own division hopes alive.
Delaware Valley, meanwhile, waits for reinforcements, key players returning from injuries that have derailed much of their season so far. Their return could be the spark this team has been missing.
The vision tonight does not settle early. I see this one hanging in the balance deep into the fourth quarter, decided by a single late play rather than a dominant performance from either side. And when that moment arrives, the cosmos senses Delaware Valley rising to meet it.
Comos Says: Delaware Valley 17, Valley View 16
THE BARN BURNER
Holy Cross at Holy Redeemer
The cosmos looks upon two programs still finding their footing since the mergers reshaped them, neither carrying the weight of sustained success – yet both, somehow, consistently delivering football worth watching when they are foes. That is its own kind of magic.
Holy Cross arrives having walked through fire to start this season, numbers thin and expectations lower than most would admit aloud. But like Lazarus rising from what seemed certain, the Crusaders have found life again — a two-game winning streak built not on depth, but on something harder to measure. Heart. Grit. The refusal to stay buried.
Holy Redeemer tells a different story, one written through the air. Their passing attack has been a joy to witness, explosive and entertaining, even if the win column has not yet caught up to the highlight reel. Just a single victory to show for all that firepower.
Set the defenses aside Saturday, mortals, for I do not see them playing a central role in this one. The vision shows points flowing freely from both sidelines, a shootout worthy of the moment. And when the final possession arrives, I see Holy Redeemer finding the end zone one last time, claiming the victory in a game decided by whoever strikes last.
Cosmos Says: Holy Redeemer 34, Holy Cross 32
THE MOMENTOUS ONE
Lakeland at Riverside
The cosmos sees it too, mortals. This is no single bout, but the opening chapter of a saga, the kind Hollywood keeps returning to because the story simply refuses to end. Lakeland and Riverside, both still unbeaten, both still unchallenged in any real way this season, now step into the ring together for Round One of what promises to be many stories in LFC II and Class 2A.
Both programs have built their success on offenses overflowing with stars, scoreboards lighting up nearly every Friday they’ve played. Neither has needed to find out what happens when truly tested – until now.
The first chapter unfolds in Taylor, where the Vikings carry every bit of home-field confidence a program can muster. That advantage is real, mortals, and I do not dismiss it lightly. But the cosmos wonders whether confidence alone is enough to decide a fight this evenly matched.
I sense a genuinely fun game ahead, one either team is fully capable of winning. Yet when I search for the deciding edge, I find it on Lakeland’s side of the ball – a defense built to be the difference when the offenses inevitably cancel each other out. The vision favors the Chiefs extending their own unbeaten story, if only by the slimmest of margins.
Cosmos Says: Lakeland 28, Riverside 21
THE OTHERS
Wyoming Area over Crestwood
Pittston Area over Oxford
Honesdale over Western Wayne
Dunmore over Mid Valley
Carbondale over Susquehanna
Lake-Lehman over Nanticoke
Wallenpaupack over West Scranton
Dallas over Hazleton
Berwick over Hanover
North Pocono over Wilkes-Barre
“Cosmos out. Trust the film.”
