Latest / Cleats & Clipboards / Cleats & Clipboards: Week 9 — The Elite Four and the Final Stretch to Districts

Transcript

Cleats & Clipboards: Week 9 — The Elite Four and the Final Stretch to Districts · Cleats & Clipboards

• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: Here we go, week nine.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: We traded our cleats for clipboards, but we never left the game.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to Cleats and Clipboards, your front row seat to Pennsylvania high school football, brought to you by SportsWire.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: The regular season is heading into its final stretch.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: Dallas and Dunmore are still perfect, and the playoff picture is taking shape.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: Tonight we react to week eight, roll out the new Sportswire rankings, and preview week nine across District 2.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you to our listeners, as always.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: I was talking to Coach Juanitz during the week.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we're traveling, we're going to different football games, different places, and there's people out of nowhere introducing themselves, acknowledging they're enjoying the show.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you on behalf of Coach Juanitz, producer Brad, and myself.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: Greatly appreciate that positive feedback.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: If you're new here, weekly show, Wednesdays at nine, part of the SportsWire family.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: And watch, listen on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and anywhere you could you listen to your podcasts, wherever you found us, hit follow and subscribe so you never miss an episode.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: If you haven't met us, I'm Coach Dan, Lakeland graduate, wide receiver, semi-pro captain, coached at Lackawanna College and a few other places, minor league football news hall of fame, and now coaching at Admonton Heights.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: And my partner in crime, Coach George Juanitz, former defensive back, Valley View graduate, NEPA Sports Hall of Fame, and the head coach at Honesdale, former players, now both coaches on the same side of the microphone.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: Coach George, how are we doing, my man?
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's week nine.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: I know it was a tough loss for you.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: High hopes going into last week, but you've reloaded before.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sure you're doing it again.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: How are we doing today?
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: Good, buddy.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_01: Good.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_01: We're uh, you know, we're back.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_01: I said to my kids, we're kind of like reversing back to where we were when we played uh North Pocono early in the season.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: But uh, you know, I I had a lot of comp great conversations, I think, over the weekend because our team obviously is one of the ones that got to play against North Pocono and uh Dunmore.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so I got a lot of the questions who would win if they played each other.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: And uh man, I I I got you know two very, very good high school football teams in our area.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you know, you got to um you got to see North Pocono and Dallas up close.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: Uh you'll be one of the only ones that got to see those two.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_01: So uh I think just seeing, I think it I said this before when we played North Pocono, it really is a great teaching, I think, experience, even if you uh you don't like the outcome of the game.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_01: And listen, I've been in a lot of losing uh contests as well as a lot of winning ones, but there's something to learn, I think, from everything.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, you know, I had a lot of great conversations with my kids, you know, with if you want to get to that level, the Dunmore levels and the North Pocono levels, uh, here's what you have to do.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_01: And and you know, if teams want to get to that, if they're not doing that, um, you know, I I read a great quote in the paper the next day after a game from Weston Unone saying, you know, their kids all run track, they're in the weight room at 5 30 in the morning and they've been gearing up for this season since their loss last year.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: And that's I think that's an important uh lesson to learn.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_01: I think any high school player, if you want to be good and you want your team to get to that high level, which uh I'm telling you, Dunmore's gonna be a tough out in the state playoffs because of all the athletes and how strong they are and how big they are.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but if you want to get to that level, and I can tell you having won a state championship myself as a player, if you want to get there, you gotta do the extra things.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_01: And uh teams like Dunmore, North Pocono, uh, you know, Abington, a big win this week, they'd probably tell you the same thing, but you gotta do those little things uh in the offseason to get yourself ready for these games.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: Great points.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Emma look forward to picking your brain a little in a little while, a little bit more on Dunmore.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: And as I review the show notes, there's a lot of those scenarios of teams trying to get to the top, you know, some of them, you know, learning from some lessons and then building momentum and all different scenarios.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: And coach, I know you've experienced as a player and as a coach, as have I, there's certain teams that were really special in our careers, and there's a common denominator in all of them.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: And it's a lot of that work ethic you're talking about that Dunworth's putting in.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I know your goal is to build that culture at Honesdale and build that team that same way.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: So we're gonna talk a lot more about that.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: I love that point that you made for our listeners and to you know the athletes that are out there listening, um, you gotta put in the work because there's nothing more painful than when it's that last loss of the season.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: And at the end of that every last loss, it's like, boy, next year we're gonna do this.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: You gotta go do it, right?
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: And then when though when all those players buy into what a coach like yourself and other great coaches in our area are talking about, they have that success.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: But before we get into the week eight recap and then start looking ahead to week nine, our partner Spotlight, Kleinbauer Mechanical, and MV Electrical have been with SportsWire from the start.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: We are grateful for those partnerships.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: Kleinbauer keeps homes warm with top-notch boiler and heating service, while MV Electrical powers them safely with expert panel upgrades, wiring, and generator installs across Northeast PA.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: Two very handy services that as winter approaches, we know we're gonna need.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: You know, as we recap week eight and go into week nine, we're still counting our blessings here, coach.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: As the weather's been pretty uh user-friendly for us.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: But please check out Kleinbauer Mechanical and Envy Electrical.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for keeping us wired in.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: Stay wired with Kleinbauer Mechanical and Envy Electrical.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: Now, coach, we get into week eight.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: Again, Hodsdale, your squad ran into a buzzsaw there.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: A tough one, 63 to 11 against an undefeated Dunmore team.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: You fall a six and two, but you're still a playoff team in a very good position.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: Talk to me about two pieces here.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: What did you see in Dunmore?
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: Because I was really interested last week in being able to compare a little bit.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: You know, as you mentioned, I was able to see Dunmore uh Dallas.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: I haven't seen Dunmore in person.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: You have.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: What's your thoughts there?
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: And then also talk about your team's focus on the stretch run here.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think uh, you know, obviously, and and listen, I say this when I come on the show.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a very I'm honest when I talk about this stuff.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I I know, I'm sure there's people watching this show.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_01: I had people tell me over the weekend, boy, you really got the kids from Dunmore fired up the last couple weeks, and they don't play anybody in their schedule.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, listen, it is what it is.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you can you can look at playoff points right now, they tell you uh opponent winning percentage.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_01: You know, the the winning percentage you're playing against is 41%, which means the teams they play are going to be four and six.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_01: That's the average.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_01: So uh, you know, I it's not a knock on them.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_01: I just again when you're trying to figure out who the good teams are, um, you know, my comment was, you know, you're you're not obviously when we try to compare them against Prep and some of these other schools, they're Prep's playing 5A, 6A teams, and 4A teams, and uh, you know, Dunmore's playing uh a lot of the smaller schools, which again, it's not their fault.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_01: I just I'm making a comment based on you know what their schedule is, but um they're big, they're fast, physical, um, super athletic.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, uh, I told my kids all week, I'm like, you know, when you're going to cover guys, back up a couple steps.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_01: You got a couple kids there that are state medalists and track, and they're uh, you know, obviously they put in the time in the offseason, like I said, and they're just we went down in the first drive, we took nine minutes off a clock and got a field goal, and then um, you know, it was pretty much all downhill from there.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, they they put 35 points up really fast.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_01: Like I said, their their uh their ability to score in bunches is just unbelievable.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_01: And I thought, you know, um, I thought on film they look good, but I thought in in person they were fantastic.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: So uh, you know, I give them all their credit in the world.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: And I listen, I'll I'll say this.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, there's uh I'm learning stuff coaching a different program to myself, that there's things I have to change.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, I told my coaches at halftime, I'm like, we give up 60 points.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_01: I mean some there was some years of value.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't give up 60 points in a whole year uh on defense.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_01: So I mean it it's uh there's things I have to do better as a coach.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, like I said, uh but I think it's a good teaching moment, but I'm not can't take anything from them.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_01: They're an unbelievable football team, and I'm telling you, they're gonna I wouldn't be surprised if they played for a state championship uh just because all the weapons they have and and how physical, and like I said, even even the first kickoff of the game, they came down and almost took one of my kids' uh heads off on a kickoff, and I was like, whew, it's gonna be a might be a long night.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_01: But they're good.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you know, and so is North Pocono, and so is Dallas.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, you know, I I think there's a big chunk of teams this year, I should say a small chunk of teams that are really, really, really good.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_01: And then I think there's some average teams, and I think there's a big drop-off.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and obviously we're not that upper echelon uh where I'd like us to be, but again, uh some work and some time doing some things that we need to fix is it might get us there.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: There's some good points you you made there, Coach.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: And before we go back to kind of looking at your your focus down the stretch run here, I think you know, we we've been analyzing this all year.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: And that you know, Dunmore community or who, you know, the fans that are listening to this show, that's good that they got fired up, you know, us questioning, you know, the strength of schedule and those pieces.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, all the teams that listen across district two, if you're not up for a game on Friday night or Saturday, hey, we're that that that's you know, on us as coaches and and the players to you got to take it up that next level.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: But you and I have been every week here now through nine weeks, talking to different coaches, trying to find out everything we can about these teams.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: And we've also talked about boy, I wish we could clone ourselves and not be coaching Friday night so we could go see some of this good football and you know be able to dive in even more.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: But we're watching as much film, we're hearing from as many people as we can, and we knew Dunmore was a good team.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: And they said you were able to kind of see that firsthand.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: When we saw Dallas up at Abington, and you know, for for myself helping Coach Rep and the guys up there, you know, we went through that mid-season gauntlet of North Polka and oh Dallas, and I thought, although they were balanced rosters, they were really physical in the trenches.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I I know Dunmore is always a physical team too, but would you say there's a little bit more of a speed advantage there?
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: Because that was one of the things I was a little worried about going into your t your game, knowing they got some really some burners.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: You know, there's just another element on top of the physical with the speed.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_01: I think the physical uh the speeds there.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, obviously they're fast.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, they're they're they got a lot of guys that can run.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I think the physicality, though, I just think is something that you can't obviously you can't show that to your team during the week.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_01: Uh you know, that they're just and and listen, I I'm gonna say this too, and I don't mean to uh this isn't a knock on them at all.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um I think they were they played much better against us than they play against some of the other competition.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_01: I I just thought uh based on film and some, and some teams could do that.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_01: You know, they know they can walk into some games and probably win just coming off the bus.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, they were extra amped, obviously were coming in at six and one.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_01: It's a big game, uh, really a game for the division, uh, is the way I kind of looked at it.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_01: So uh, you know, they were extra amped up, and I think they played uh, you know, they played to their more more to their capability of what they actually are uh in our game on Friday than they had played in so many other ones.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_01: And like I said, that's not knocking them.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_01: I just think they're uh they're getting to that stretch run here now.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_01: And if a team is uh, you know, if a team comes in like Southern Columbia, you're gonna see the true Dunmore team playing uh versus if they're playing Montrose or somebody like that.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_01: So 100%.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it is, absolutely is.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_01: It tells you how good they are.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_00: They they knew they had to be up for a wholesale team.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: You had great momentum going in there.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, Dave Kurtzman there saying, throw the red flag at you.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: Dave, I am, man.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: You stirred up that chat last week there.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: You you you you lost your challenge, but uh always we appreciate our listeners in the show.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: And then Justin Bradley, what a good question here, coach.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: And and this is something we'll you know, I was gonna wait a little, I'll wait on the prep part maybe till later when we get to the rankings.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: But he's asking who'd win, North Poconore or Dunmore, haven't faced them both.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_01: I think there's four.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_01: I've had this conversation for the last month with some guys.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_01: If we could have a four-team playoff right now, Dallas, North Pocono, uh, Dunmore, and prep, it'd be some of the best football uh we've probably seen in our area in a long time.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_01: Because I think they're all kind of the four teams are kind of equal.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_01: They're they're uh they're good in all aspects of the game because of their speed and their physicality.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_01: Their special teams are good, their defenses are shut down, uh, and their offenses can score in bunches.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_01: And I just think uh, you know, that that's it would be a great four-team playoff.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_01: And and I don't know, I'm gonna be honest with you, I don't know who would win the game because I think they're all built kind of there's a reason why they're winning.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_01: They're built in a similar fashion.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, you know, like I said, I told you I had some people tell me, oh, you got done more uh done more fired up.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, listen, I played football a long time.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_01: Once that whistle blows, you don't you could you don't remember anything that anybody said on a podcast in the newspaper or anything.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_01: You're just playing football, and football players are football players, and they're they have good football players.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_01: And again, you know this too, I think, with all a lot of these teams.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_01: They're very senior heavy.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_01: They have a lot of kids who have played for four years.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_01: They played as freshmen.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you know, obviously they add the piece with Weston you know coming in from Susquehanna, which is a huge piece to add in that puzzle.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_01: And um, and listen, I did the same thing.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_01: I came from Montrose to Valley View as a player.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_01: So uh, and I feel like I was a piece in that puzzle uh as well.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, they they have all the pieces they need, uh, like I said, and so do all the other ones, I think, to make a nice stretch run, uh, not only through the district, but maybe into the state playoffs.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: I think as you get into those state playoffs, a couple things come into factor, especially here in the northeast.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: The weather gets a lot colder, right?
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: So a lot of these teams that like to sling it, you've got to be able to pound the rock.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: And then sometimes, you know, in the northeast here, a lot of teams are very heavy running, but could they throw it when they really need to, you know, to get deep into the playoffs?
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: If these teams played each other, home field advantage is another big piece.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: You know, sometimes you have that one loss and that comes back to bite you a little bit when it comes to seeding.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: So we'll get into seeding and playoffs.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: We'll talk a little bit more about what's coming up at the end of the show.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_00: But we're gonna talk about our athlete of the week here before we keep going through the eight week eight results.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: Our athlete of the week is powered by Hydro Bats because every great performance earns a great recovery.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: And this week goes to Dunmore's Western Union, coach, you talked about him.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: He took his first handoff, big 68-yard run to the house, finished with 185 yards and three touchdowns, setting the tone as the unbeaten Bucks roll.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: Coach, maybe you want to talk a little bit too specifically about our athlete of the week.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: What did you see there in Western Union?
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_01: Well, he's just so first of all, he is he's as physical on offense as he is on defense.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, he he comes to hit you.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so um, but very deceptive.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_01: I uh you know, we talked about his speed.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, he's got uh A plus speed.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um I've seen this be I've coached so long.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_01: We've I always say to some kids like some kids are like tackling a ghost.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_01: He's like tackling a ghost.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: You think you're there and you're you're touching nothing, uh and he's gone by already.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_01: So I mean he's well deserving of this.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_01: He uh right from the start on Friday, you know, physically on defense, and then uh what he was able to do offensively is he's just a he's just a great weapon.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_01: And last year, I people probably don't even know this.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_01: Last year he played quarterback for them.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_01: So he's not even playing quarterback, he's playing uh tailback for them.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_01: So again, in a playoff run, if you want to put him in a wildcat, there's another weapon they have in the backfield.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_01: So that's why I think they're gonna be so tough uh you know to knock out of a state playoff run.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_01: Because you can take a kid like him, and if one week you think you want to run the quarterback a lot, put him at quarterback and let him run around because he's gonna be uh every bit as good there as he is playing tailback.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: Coach, that's why we compliment each other so well.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: Not only in your your quality analysis there, you're hitting on the defensive points as well as the offense, because you know I can talk offense and stats all day, uh, but he he's a he's a threat on both sides of the football for sure.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_00: So congrats, Weston, there, our Hydra bats athlete of the week, and good luck in the rest of your season.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_00: Coach, as we coach, we still have another still perfect team in Dallas who beat Crestwood 42 to 7.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: Them and Dummer are 8-2, the last two unbeaten teams in District 2.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_00: Touch on Dallas a little bit.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: What's their focus here?
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_00: They're rolling.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: We talked about, you know, they're doing what we expected them to do the end of the season.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: What is their focus as they go in uh down the stretch here?
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, I just think they just need to stay healthy, which they've been doing.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_01: Uh they're gonna play Hanover this week with what they have one win.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_01: I can't imagine that being a close game.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_01: And then they have Berwick at the end of the year who's really struggling with uh with Cleaver being out.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_01: So I don't see them losing.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_01: I see them being 10-0.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_01: Uh now, my my question will be uh if North Pocono ends up 9-1 and they end up 10-0, can North Pocono jump them uh as that number one seed, which I think is a big uh advantage, you know, obviously in the in the district playoffs.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_01: So that'll be an interesting thing to look at over the next couple weeks.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_01: But, you know, they're again they run the ball well, they throw the ball well, touchdowns on defense, touchdowns on special teams.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_01: So uh I don't see anybody beating them.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_01: I see them being 10-0 and and then just seeing where they where the chips kind of falls, a one or two seed in the 4-A district playoffs.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_00: For sure there.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_00: I wish Dallas had one more really solid opponent.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_00: I really believe in them, you know, having again play them firsthand.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_00: They were solid on all three facets of the ball.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_00: So they're rolling still.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_00: And then Abington Heights coach upset Valley View 24-21.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Comet second straight victory versus a ranked team.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, I coached there.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: I had the front row seat at that one, and it it was it was a treat.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Abington, we we had a turnover early.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_00: Valley View capitalized on that turnover, went up quick 7-0 there, did what they were supposed to do, capitalizing off of an Abington mistake.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: And then the rest of the game went like that.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: It was back and forth, two physical teams, balanced on both sides of the ball.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_00: And then it came down to Jack Harsham field goal kick with two seconds left.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: Uh clock expires and he hit it to win the game.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_00: For the fans were there.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_00: I know you saw a little bit of emotions between two teams go a little bit sideways.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_00: I know Coach Rep has taken the liberty to make sure he educated his guys and avoiding those type of things.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: But just, you know, to the Valley View coaches, great game.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: That game could have gone either way.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_00: I think, you know, to all those kids that played, they've they played their hearts out.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_00: And you hate to see the the end of a game end with a little bit of emotions boiling over, but two coaching staffs got in the middle and says, hey, let's move on here, you know.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: Great game to everybody.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I know both squads will look forward to playing that next year again.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: Uh just a great rivalry there.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_00: But um, thoughts a little bit from what you've heard on that game.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_00: You know, again, a really good football game there.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: And then maybe we could get back to a little bit of I was asking you earlier, we're kind of in a similar boat with uh both of our clubs that were helping, you know, me helping out at Abington, you leading the charge there at Honesdale.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_00: Two games left, coach.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we're we're down the stretch just to set that focus.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we you've had two different times where it's a hey, we've had a bump.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_00: You showed how your squad could bounce back from North Pocono.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: Abington had it at the middle of the season.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_00: Now we're starting to pick up momentum again.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_00: Thoughts on Valley View and Abington, and then how do these ball clubs finish their seasons?
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I just think we talked about last week.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: Abington Valley View is always a good game, right?
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_01: It's gonna be close, it's gonna come down to the wire, physical, a lot of emotion, right?
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's it's uh the two teams uh are really true rivals, I think.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_01: If you uh probably asked Abington, other than Prep, I would say uh, and maybe North Poker, but I would say the Ballet View game is uh in all sports, I think is uh super intense, which is fantastic.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_01: It's great.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um and again, you it doesn't really matter how good each team is, it's always going to be close.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_01: They go at each other, there's a little extra emotion involved.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_01: Uh even at the end of the game, who uh I mean I've been in those, you've been in those, right?
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's it's uh it's one of those happens one year, one team wins and does it, and the next year, so it's uh it is what it is.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_01: I just think it's a great game.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I'm glad that they play each other.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_01: We've talked about some of the teams I think needing to get some of these games back, and that's always a good one every year, um, you know, for anybody to watch.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_01: And then uh, you know, just to pivot, I think with with two weeks left, I mean, it's playoffs, right?
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, that's I'm telling my kids each week is uh really a playoff game because you want to you want to keep uh your standing in the district playoff points, right?
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_01: So uh Abington's sitting at number one right now in your uh in your class.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_01: Uh we're sitting at number three, which is you know, for me, I want to have a home playoff game the first round of the playoffs with eight teams being in.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_01: Uh you know, I'd rather be a you know play a uh six seed rather than a uh four or five game.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_01: So um, you know, uh every game for us is a playoff game.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_01: I told our kids that we're getting to seniors, you're down to a couple games left in your high school career, and some of some of the kids a forever career.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm trying to get that uh burnt into their brains a little bit.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_01: So uh I'm sure every coach is kind of saying the same thing.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_01: It's playoff football now, it's do or die, and you're uh you know you're down to that point where you're either.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: Trying to hold where you're at, maybe make a little jump, or uh you know, some some letdowns are are not good.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_01: So uh, you know, you hope you can stay away from injuries, uh, go into the playoffs uh hot, so to speak, and uh see where the chips fall kind of when you get to that point.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_00: I agree.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_00: And as you mentioned, those seniors, the these final games, it's kind of it's sad to see those kids, you know, play their last games, and you just want them to leave it all on the field, give it everything they had, so no matter how the outcome is, they can say they left it all out there and set the example for the young kids coming up that you know, the juniors that'll be seniors next year.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_00: I see Jamie in the chat just noting the Abington DN should be considered for play of the year.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_00: That was Thomas Reese.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_00: He's a kid that's I believe projected to go to the Naval Academy as a uh dad with that background there.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, I'm talking to Scott, he was so chak before the game, and he he knew that was a player to watch, and he made it an incredible play that he ended up taking almost to the house on defense.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_00: He got tackled at the one.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_00: I was actually busting him on the sidelines for for not scoring there, even though he made this incredible play, as Jamie mentioned.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_00: But um, yeah, some great football there and some great football left to be played, and each team battling for seating right now, and like you said, it'd be nice to get that home playoff game.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: We were all you know striving for that.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_00: Coach, we have prep kept rolling as well.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_00: They shot out while I'm pop back 35-0.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_00: They stay number one to go to 7-1.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_00: North Pocono bounced back from a triple overtime loss with a 21-7 win over Delaware Valley.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_00: Thoughts on those games?
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_01: You know, same thing.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_01: I think the two teams are going to be right there in the end.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you know, every game they play is you better come with your A game or you're not gonna be in the game very long.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_01: So uh both of those teams will be higher seeds in the in their district playoffs.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_01: And again, uh North Pocono's playing now for a possibility at that one seed at at uh you know, if they can finish out the season nine and one.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Prep's gonna be the one seed um in their, you know, in their bracket.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and again, they're gonna be a tough out.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_01: Even last year when they were six and four or five and five, they won the district.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_01: So they're uh you know, they're probably licking their chops right now, knowing how the districts are kind of uh whittling down for them.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_01: So both great teams.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_01: I don't see them uh you know having any hiccups in the next couple weeks.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_01: Prep will have a tough game this week with Valley View, but uh their weapons are just so good along with uh you know North Pocono's and Dallas's and and Dunmores.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_01: I just think those teams are a little notch above everybody right now.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I, you know, Delaware Valley there, you know, another tough loss for them, but it just shows they're not going away though.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_00: 21-7.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_00: They they battled there with North Pocano, and I know we have them coming up in two weeks.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_00: You talked about those rivalry games.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_00: They haven't been like directly a rivalry, but they've been such a thorn in the side of Abington.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_00: They've kind of made themselves one.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, that that's just a game that shows, you know, you can't take any opponent lightly.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_00: They're they're gonna keep playing hard as they're such a well-coached uh ball club.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_00: And then we had some upsets, Coach, upset central here.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_00: Mid Valley knocked off my Chiefs 33-27.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_00: Uh my heart hurts there a little bit.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_00: It's a second straight upset of a ranked team.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_00: And Western Wayne edged Riverside 16 to 14.
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_00: Wyoming area routed Lake Lehman 49 to 8.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we talked about this, and it's it's the terrible part of sports.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_01: Injuries uh, you know, can really obviously uh you know flip it for a team uh real quick.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_01: And and Lakeland's had their share.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you know, losing their quarterbacks, both quarterbacks is is just tough to come back from.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I think it's they're getting it's finally kind of catching up to them.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_01: And again, they're playing hard, they got a lot of good athletes, but you're just missing those couple pieces that you've had early in the season, and then uh with Rose being out at Riverside, I mean, he's their you know, 95% of their team uh offensively.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_01: And without him, you know, it's it's tough.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_01: They're uh, you know, they're kind of behind the eight ball a little bit.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_01: So um we talked about this.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_01: If teams can stay healthy, uh, you know, it's great, and they have a really good chance of winning games.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_01: And now when you get to the end here, if you can't, uh, you know, it's tough some of these teams to be able to find somebody to put in those spots and make up for uh all the production that you lose.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, Wyoming area had to do it early, which I think is a plus for them.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_01: They lost their quarterback early.
• 26:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um and then you know, they were able to make some moves early, so now their quarterback has eight games under his belt now, where you're starting to see Wyoming area play really, really good football now uh compared to week one uh, you know, when they had a loss.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_01: So uh, you know, it's a big deal, and you're gonna see more and more of that coming up.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_01: And hopefully everybody stays healthy and no more of that happens, which uh is what I'm hoping for for all the teams the rest of the season.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_00: 100%.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_00: And we've been on that.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: You you expressed the concerns over Riverside, you know, how they would do if Rose isn't back, and then they they lose a tough one to Western Wayne there.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_00: Lakeland adjusting to the third quarterback change.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: Although they still got the offense rolling there with 27, but you know, there's that impact on the defense side as well, and giving up 33 points to a Mid Valley team that's starting to pick up some momentum.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_00: So we will talk more about these ball clubs here as we now are gonna shift gears to the sports wire rankings before we get to the next week preview.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_00: Coach Juanitz, tonight we're gonna start with the big school top 10.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, some interesting rankings again here, maybe some debates.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_00: I I think I still have the challenge flag ready, coach, for one of these uh big or small schools.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_00: I'll I'll save it and surprise you here, but take me through the big school top ten.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_01: Well, the first couple I think are easy.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Dallas undefeated, North Pole can all one loss.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, they're they're I think the two best teams uh as far as the big schools go.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um Abington at three, big win over Valley View at Valley View.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_01: I think you guys have it uh moving in the right direction now.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_01: Uh again, Valley View played uh number two, number three.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um you know, uh so they they played a lot of these teams.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_01: They play obviously a tough schedule.
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_01: Uh they're at four.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Homestead at five.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_01: You know, obviously uh we have two losses against two of the better teams, I think, in the area.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but again, still in the mix.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Pittston area has been coming on strong.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_01: They're uh five and three right now.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_01: They've they've really got it going in the right direction.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_01: Uh playing really, really good football now, scoring a ton of points.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_01: Uh they'll be tough, and that that's a team you guys are gonna run into uh in the playoffs.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Wall and Palpeck at seven, again, tough schedule.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, started five or four and one or five and one, I think.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and they're gonna have a rough little stretch now here at the end.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_01: They play a really tough uh end of the year schedule.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_01: Berwick at eight.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um, again, same thing with them.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_01: They've been playing some tough teams.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_01: Games have been close.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_01: Deliver Valley, again, tough schedule.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_01: You get to, I think, like I said, you get to eight, nine, and ten, you start to look at what's kind of left in the big schools.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_01: Well, they're most of the teams are uh under 500 and maybe not playing as as good a schedule.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_01: DV plays as good a schedule as anybody.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_01: And then Carbonell, I think, is gonna end up seven and three.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, so they're gonna come in at number 10.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_01: And again, uh, end of the year schedule, not as hard as the beginning of the year schedule, but uh, you know, uh again, you're gonna get a team at the end, I think that's gonna be seven and three and uh you know one of the better seeds in the 4-ay playoffs.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_00: When we talked about the big school top ten last week, we talked about North Pocono, Dallas being kind of in their own class, and then it seems like there's a competitive middle there with Abington Heights, Valley View, Honesdale, Pittston area.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_00: I'd ask you, similar to Honesdale and Wall and Popeck, and maybe it's played itself out a little bit because Popac's had some struggles.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_00: They were really close, and we we gave the edge to Honesdale based on winning that head-to-head.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_00: When you look at Abington and Valley View, you know, is it is you know, Valley View's got a better record at five and three.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_00: Abington's got the head-to-head on the road, but it was really close.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_00: How do you see that there?
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, is that really close?
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_01: Or you know, is that I I just again, when you start to get to some of these, you could split hairs and probably say it'd be 3A and 3B or whatever.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_01: But again, they played each other, Abington won.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_01: So um, and again, I the other thing you got to realize is they're not playing the same exact schedules all year either.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_01: So uh, you know, what's your non-league schedule?
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_01: What's your you know what what teams are you playing in a row?
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, uh like I said, there was years at Valley View, we'd play like Dallas, Berwick, North Pocono, and Abington four weeks in a row.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, that's a that's a gauntlet of teams to go through at the end.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_01: Well, Paul Pack's going through the same thing now.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_01: They had a uh you know, a relatively easy beginning of the year.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_01: Now they're the end of the year is Abington, Valley View, Prep, uh, you know, North Pocono.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_01: That's a tough stretch.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_01: So um, you know, and can you get through all those games uh and win them all?
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's tough.
• 30:47
  SPEAKER_01: Even when you have really good teams, I think it's tough.
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_01: So there's so many little variables to all this, but again, I just think when you get to this point in the season, the head-to-head is so important because now teams, you know who teams are, you know kind of what they're doing each week.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you get a much better picture, I think, of what they're uh capable of doing and what they are doing.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_01: And like you said, even with Delaware Valley, they're playing teams tough.
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_01: They just don't have the weapons this year to be able to uh to beat a lot of the better teams.
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_01: But again, if you put Delaware Valley up against some of the other teams that aren't ranked, I think Delaware Valley probably wins.
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_01: So uh, you know, you put them in there at nine, and then same thing with Carbonville.
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_01: I think they're relatively healthy and fresh, and I think they give some teams some fits there at number 10.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_00: Well said, and a very competitive big school top ten.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_00: Look forward to seeing how this plays out in the in the upcoming weeks.
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_00: Shifting gears now, small school top ten coach.
• 31:39
  SPEAKER_00: Coach, I have the challenge flag ready, but I need to hear your your take on these rankings first.
• 31:44
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I would tie to me, one and two are tied right now.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I I scram prep as one loss, but uh Dunmore eight again, who would win if they played each other?
• 31:54
  SPEAKER_01: I have no idea.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_01: I haven't seen prep uh live, so I can only tell you speak for Dunmore seeing them live and seeing North Pocono live.
• 32:01
  SPEAKER_01: And I know what the North Pocono Prep game ended up, so uh I can only use that as a factor in my brain, but I'd say one and two there are one and one A, or and you could probably flip them however you want to flip them.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, if you're from Dunmore, you can flip them.
• 32:14
  SPEAKER_01: If you're from Prep, you leave it the way it was.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_01: So uh I think they're about equal.
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_01: Wyoming area, I think, has become the the next best team.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_01: Uh they haven't lost um you know in weeks, so and I think they have their offense down where they need it to be in their defense playing real well.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_01: Mid-valley now is beaten five and beaten six.
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_01: So you gotta they have to they have to be the number four team.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_01: They're sitting at five and three.
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_01: They're a good football team.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and we talked about this for weeks now.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_01: Lakeland and Riverside with their injuries, you're seeing the effect it's taken.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_01: They've they both lost a couple games each uh in a row, and I just think it's a tough thing.
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_01: Now, again, I think Lakeland's gonna win some more games.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_01: I think Riverside uh will be in some games, but it they just don't have that X factor that they had prior to the injuries.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_01: And then um Trail has some guys coming back.
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_01: We've been talking about this for weeks.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_01: They're getting guys healthy, and you see how they're starting to play now.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, they're gonna be tough.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_01: Old Forge was playing a lot better.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_01: Western Wayne, a huge win this week uh in upset in their upset game.
• 33:14
  SPEAKER_01: And then Lake Lehman, again, I just think Lake Lehman's schedule, and I can tell you, they're they're playing teams that are uh a 0.62 win percentage.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_01: So they're playing teams that are gonna be uh at or around 6-4, which is one of the top winning percentage uh you know, schedule-wise, that you can get.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_01: So they're playing a tough schedule.
• 33:35
  SPEAKER_01: I know they've been blown out of some uh been blown out of some games, but again, they're playing Dallas, they're playing Berwick, they're playing, so they're playing a lot of the better schools we talk about.
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_01: So uh again, I think they're a good team there at number 10.
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_01: Even though their record isn't fantastic, but they're like I said, the opponents they're playing are are good opponents.
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_00: Great point on Lake Lehman there, who has they're definitely battle tested and hanging in there.
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_00: It's really great to watch how the small school top 10 is shaped out there.
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_00: As a lot of these teams have really turned it around, you know, with Mid Valley finishing strong, trail getting it together, old Forge as well.
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, unfortunately for Lakeland Riverside, they had the injuries, but you know, I I have the challenge flag.
• 34:16
  SPEAKER_00: Now, coach, you made it hard for me to throw the challenge flag, putting prep at a Dunmore at a tie.
• 34:20
  SPEAKER_00: But Steve over there, a Yankees fan, coach, don't hold that against them.
• 34:24
  SPEAKER_00: Coach is a Red Sox fan, but Steve, I'm gonna I'm gonna throw the challenge flag on the listener tonight, making that easy prediction there.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_00: He's saying North Pocono would definitely beat Dunmore.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_00: I have been singing the Bucks praise that as the undefeated team that should be number one for a while here in the Sportswire rankings.
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_00: They still haven't quite gotten it.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_00: But coach, what do you think?
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_01: I just I've I've coached.
• 34:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I've just coached in this area for so long, and I know the head coaches at all these places, and I just think they're they're all so similar in how they're built.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, there's a reason why they're nine and one, they're gonna be nine and one or ten and all or whatever.
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_01: They're they're all built in a very similar fashion.
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_01: They have good offensive lines, they tackle well, they have uh more than one athlete, and I think that's one of the biggest things.
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_01: Like, these teams don't have just one weapon, they have three and four each one.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_01: And I just think it's tough.
• 35:16
  SPEAKER_01: Like, and again, I've been I've coached a lot of really good Valley View teams where we've had multiple weapons that are tough to stop.
• 35:23
  SPEAKER_01: And uh good offensive lines, we played good defense, and the special teams have been good.
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_01: And the those four teams we've been talking about are all so similar uh that I just think I don't know, I don't think anybody would kill anybody.
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I think the games would be like the North Pocono prep game where you might get to triple over time, and who makes the mistake last is the team that loses.
• 35:44
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and I just think you know that that's that's where they're at.
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_01: And like I said, I've seen Dunmore up close and I've seen North Pocono, and I I wouldn't be able to tell you uh which team would beat the other one.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_01: I think it'd be a great football game.
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_01: Gotcha.
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_00: I'm still pulling for Dunmore there.
• 36:01
  SPEAKER_00: Producer Brad, the undefeated team, should be number one.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_00: But no, it's a close one there.
• 36:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I said he got to see Prep and North Pocono up personal and you know, coaching with Abington, and there's just that little part of me like if we just played our perfect game or if we had it together, and then like unlike Dallas, like Dallas really took it to us.
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I that's why I give Dallas a little bit of an edge there, the big school, but in the small school, again, I just haven't been up close and personal with Dunworth.
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, this is what I keep saying each week.
• 36:28
  SPEAKER_01: And I and I don't, and I again I keep saying I don't mean to take anything away, but I've played that grind of a schedule that prep has to play each week and North Pocono has to play.
• 36:39
  SPEAKER_01: There's not many easy games in that schedule, right?
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, think about it.
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I mean you're you're at Abington now.
• 36:45
  SPEAKER_01: You're going from uh you're gonna go from Valley View one week to uh Delaware Valley another week to Prep another week to North Pocono another week.
• 36:53
  SPEAKER_01: Now again, Scranton and West Scranton, not too great this year, so they might be your games where you're like, you know, we have kind of I don't want to say a week off, but you know what I'm saying.
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_01: You'd think their games you're gonna win.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_01: But the rest of the schedule is brutal.
• 37:05
  SPEAKER_01: Like there's no you're not getting a week off.
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_01: Because if you play bad against one of those teams, you're gonna get beat.
• 37:10
  SPEAKER_01: Look at North Pocono this week against Delaware Valley.
• 37:13
  SPEAKER_01: Delaware Valley is not a great football team this this year, but 21-7 is not a blowout by any stretch of the imagination.
• 37:19
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you're you're in the game.
• 37:21
  SPEAKER_01: So that's my big that's my big like point between the two of them.
• 37:25
  SPEAKER_01: Prep's schedule is tough, and then their non-league schedule was was they played the number four team in Connecticut.
• 37:31
  SPEAKER_01: They played, you know, they played out of state teams that are legit.
• 37:35
  SPEAKER_01: So it you just it it's a playoff schedule for them each week.
• 37:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and again, I'm not knocking Dunmore because they don't make the schedule, but uh you can't compare playing Valley View one week to playing Montrose and then playing Holy Cross to playing North Pocono.
• 37:49
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's not the same schedule.
• 37:51
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, and you can say what you want about it, but it's just I mean, it it's it's factual.
• 37:56
  SPEAKER_01: Nobody in the area would say those two schedules are equal.
• 37:59
  SPEAKER_01: They're not.
• 38:00
  SPEAKER_01: So my question is if the other team played the other team's schedule, what would the record be?
• 38:05
  SPEAKER_01: Right?
• 38:06
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, and again, you gotta be you'd have to go through and uh you can't answer it, it's hypothetical, but I mean it's uh you know it that's to me what separates the two teams.
• 38:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and that is a great point because the grind and the physicality that goes with that and trying to keep your players fresh and healthy every week, you know, and not letting your guard down 100% there.
• 38:25
  SPEAKER_00: I think it was towards the end of the Valley View Abington game.
• 38:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's like you know, we did made all our adjustments, spoke to the players, and then we're just waiting for the band to leave the field so we could get back on.
• 38:34
  SPEAKER_00: I just took a quick glimpse at the scores, and I saw Del Val was, you know, giving him a game against North Polkono and it's like raising an eyebrow there.
• 38:40
  SPEAKER_00: And again, that strength of schedule.
• 38:41
  SPEAKER_00: Even a Del Val team that's two and six is a very formidable opponent for sure.
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_00: And uh hey, Tom listening in here, he he he's he's helping my challenge flag case anyway anyway.
• 38:51
  SPEAKER_00: He has Dunmore winning by two.
• 38:54
  SPEAKER_01: I I mean like I said, I played against both.
• 38:56
  SPEAKER_01: He might be right.
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_01: They might beat them by two touchdowns.
• 38:59
  SPEAKER_01: But again, I mean they're not gonna play each other, but they're they're both awesome football teams.
• 39:04
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just saying one touchdown, Tom.
• 39:06
  SPEAKER_00: Just one.
• 39:06
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, I mean, it would I would love to see this matchup.
• 39:09
  SPEAKER_00: But I think the point here at Sportswire is we want to see a strength of schedule balance a little bit more.
• 39:13
  SPEAKER_00: Let's get some of those rivalry games.
• 39:15
  SPEAKER_00: Hopefully, the decision makers in the room could adjust some things within reason there uh that logistically makes sense.
• 39:23
  SPEAKER_00: And then Justin Bradley's got the pie in the sky there.
• 39:25
  SPEAKER_00: Sounds like a sportswire postseason 14 playoff showcase.
• 39:30
  SPEAKER_00: Justin, who knows what the future will bring?
• 39:32
  SPEAKER_00: We'll we'll we'll definitely see here.
• 39:33
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I was thinking about today?
• 39:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we'll laugh at this one.
• 39:37
  SPEAKER_01: I'm thinking like college.
• 39:38
  SPEAKER_01: It'd be great if you could do a high school like week zero, and you could do like a pre-season bowl game almost like college does, where you could take two of the teams and it wouldn't matter.
• 39:47
  SPEAKER_01: It'd be like instead of a scrimmage, you'd play a game.
• 39:50
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, you know, you you could get a if Prep, and let's just say Prep and Dunmore, because they used to play each other, but it'd be awesome to see those two teams as like uh maybe a preseason game that didn't count, but you really wanted it to count kind of in the area, uh, where you could play that game where it'd be like instead of a scrimmage, you played a game that week and got to see them play each other, like teams that were really good.
• 40:11
  SPEAKER_01: But it wouldn't be something you have to schedule each year, like it'd be who's the teams of all the guys coming back.
• 40:16
  SPEAKER_01: Let's pick two teams, they'll play each other uh like a preseason week zero, and and you get a little uh you know, a little taste of what the season might be uh for a game that really both teams are still gonna be zero and zero at the end of the game, but it'd be cool to do that.
• 40:30
  SPEAKER_00: If the decision makers can't bring back the rivalries during the regular season, bring back the Valley Views and the Lakelands and those kind of things, then please give us a week zero.
• 40:39
  SPEAKER_00: That'd be a great week zero.
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_01: Like you could get all these teams together and play and whatever.
• 40:43
  SPEAKER_00: I get you like coach, I'm living vicariously through you and Coach Rep.
• 40:47
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you got to be the voice for me there.
• 40:48
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just a volunteer these days, helping out where I can.
• 40:51
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but I would love to see things grow there for sure.
• 40:55
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, even a Thanksgiving morning game for Doug Nolley.
• 40:58
  SPEAKER_00: Who doesn't love the the Thanksgiving traditions, right, Doug?
• 41:01
  SPEAKER_00: 100%.
• 41:02
  SPEAKER_00: Love that.
• 41:04
  SPEAKER_00: Coach Shifting Gears here for the fit of the week.
• 41:06
  SPEAKER_00: It is time for the fit of the week fueled by Fit AF Nutrition.
• 41:10
  SPEAKER_00: Our sportswire team is watching every Friday night for the best game day fits.
• 41:15
  SPEAKER_00: And this week's fit of the week goes to Cooper Coach, I'm gonna let you pronounce the name.
• 41:20
  SPEAKER_00: I just want to be safe here.
• 41:21
  SPEAKER_00: Cooper McGee.
• 41:22
  SPEAKER_00: All right, I was gonna say that.
• 41:23
  SPEAKER_00: I wanted to make sure that Cooper McGee of the Holmesdale Hornet.
• 41:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's a little love your way, coach, to the program.
• 41:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I took a really close look at this coach, and Cooper has definitely got some swag going here.
• 41:35
  SPEAKER_00: You know, just the combination of you know, he's got the long, you know, wrap there, which is nice, really stylish receiver gloves there.
• 41:44
  SPEAKER_00: Rocking the number one.
• 41:46
  SPEAKER_00: We know the players love those single-digit numbers.
• 41:48
  SPEAKER_00: And then you see the breast cancer awareness go pink socks with the nice red Nike shoes.
• 41:53
  SPEAKER_00: Coach, I love your underarmor uniforms as well.
• 41:56
  SPEAKER_00: Again, there's no sponsors here, so you could cross the the Nike and Under Armour, but he's styling there, man.
• 42:02
  SPEAKER_00: Could Coop's got some some some some drip.
• 42:04
  SPEAKER_00: What do you say?
• 42:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Coop's Coop's got parents that every Saturday go at each other because one likes Penn State and one likes Ohio State.
• 42:13
  SPEAKER_01: So just imagine what that household's like.
• 42:15
  SPEAKER_01: And then Cooper's sister Riley is probably the one that's putting this outfit on him because she's she's pretty good with uh you know with clothes, so she's probably giving them this fit of the week.
• 42:26
  SPEAKER_01: And then I yell at them, I yelled at them today.
• 42:28
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, I have to talk about this outfit, and I can't stand.
• 42:30
  SPEAKER_01: I always tell the kids I want their shirts tucked in, and what you know what I mean?
• 42:34
  SPEAKER_01: But they want look at the college kids and they want that fit that the college kids have.
• 42:38
  SPEAKER_01: So I said, I have to talk about this tonight on the podcast, and I yell at you every week to tuck your shirt in.
• 42:43
  SPEAKER_01: So uh, but listen, this is what the kids, this is the new age.
• 42:46
  SPEAKER_01: It's what they I go to all the pit games, so uh every you know pit player has the same thing, the t-shirt out, the you know, all the drip on.
• 42:55
  SPEAKER_01: So he looks good.
• 42:56
  SPEAKER_01: Coop's a good kid too.
• 42:57
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, Coop, I'd have to be with your coach there.
• 42:59
  SPEAKER_00: I'm about the tucked in uh jersey there, so it might be a minus one in the scoring, but the rest of your drip was so good it still overcome that minus one point, and you definitely earned the fit of the week there.
• 43:11
  SPEAKER_00: So congrats, Coop.
• 43:12
  SPEAKER_00: Fit of the week.
• 43:13
  SPEAKER_00: And when it comes to your own fuel, check out FitAF Nutrition Meal Prep and use the code HORNITS20 to save 20% off your first order of seven meals or more.
• 43:23
  SPEAKER_00: Fit of the week fueled by FitAF Nutrition.
• 43:27
  SPEAKER_00: Coach, now we get into it.
• 43:29
  SPEAKER_00: Week nine preview, featured games.
• 43:32
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna throw the spotlight here, and then you know, it's been going a little bit back and forth.
• 43:36
  SPEAKER_00: There's a couple games that could definitely be spotlight games, but stick away eight and oh Dunmore at Riverside 5 3.
• 43:43
  SPEAKER_00: This is a game we've been looking forward to for the longest time.
• 43:46
  SPEAKER_00: I know injuries have taken a little lesser off it as Riverside's five and three, and we thought this would be a lot closer in the records here.
• 43:53
  SPEAKER_00: Dunmore 8 0, fresh off a big win, athlete of the week with West and Union.
• 43:58
  SPEAKER_00: They visited Riverside.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_00: Team.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_00: They have to go on the road here.
• 44:01
  SPEAKER_00: They've lost two or three.
• 44:03
  SPEAKER_00: But you know, does Brady is Braden Rose coming back?
• 44:06
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if you have any insight there.
• 44:08
  SPEAKER_00: There's still plenty of fight in this riverside team.
• 44:10
  SPEAKER_00: Could the Vikings pull off a stunner?
• 44:13
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I from everything that I've heard, I don't think he's going to be back.
• 44:16
  SPEAKER_01: And again, I I feel bad for kids too, because I think, you know, he's a Division I uh kid with a lot of offer.
• 44:22
  SPEAKER_01: So I think it's a tough uh decision for you know everybody.
• 44:26
  SPEAKER_01: Should you rush him back?
• 44:27
  SPEAKER_01: Do you I think it's tough for kids?
• 44:28
  SPEAKER_01: So uh from what I'm hearing, he's not gonna be back.
• 44:31
  SPEAKER_01: And I just think Dunmore has way too many weapons with uh, you know, McCormick Burke.
• 44:36
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, they they just come at you in uh in waves.
• 44:38
  SPEAKER_01: Like I said, I looked at the scoreboard, it was uh 14-3, then I looked up and it was 35-3 a couple minutes later.
• 44:45
  SPEAKER_01: So they score quickly in bunches, and I just don't think uh Riverside behind uh Jared Jackson's been there uh threw a touchdown for them last week, and Anstead and Barnett uh you know got some rushing and some touchdowns for them, but I just don't think they have enough uh to overcome what Dunmore could bring at you.
• 45:04
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna have to agree right now.
• 45:06
  SPEAKER_00: Again, Dunmore's my number one ranked team.
• 45:08
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I think they're too much, but Riverside, I you know, I'm sure Braden Rose is there pulling along as guys, and even when they had him, it was definitely a team success.
• 45:17
  SPEAKER_00: They've got a good ball club, so I think they'll give Dunmore everything they get to try to pull up an upset.
• 45:22
  SPEAKER_00: We'll see what happens.
• 45:23
  SPEAKER_00: Should be an interesting one there at Riverside Friday night, 7 p.m.
• 45:27
  SPEAKER_00: Coach Mid-Vally coming to Honesdale.
• 45:30
  SPEAKER_00: Mid Valley's knocked off two ranked teams in a row, Lakeland and Riverside, and now visits your squad, eager to respond behind Gabe Duda and Fit of the Week honoree Cooper McGee.
• 45:43
  SPEAKER_00: Is this a dangerous spot for the Hornets?
• 45:45
  SPEAKER_00: I know coaching there, you're not going to give a prediction.
• 45:47
  SPEAKER_00: As always, what should the listeners expect?
• 45:49
  SPEAKER_00: And what are you concerned about with Mid Valley?
• 45:52
  SPEAKER_01: Well, they're a good football team.
• 45:53
  SPEAKER_01: They're playing, uh, you know, they're playing lights out right now.
• 45:56
  SPEAKER_01: They're playing good defense.
• 45:57
  SPEAKER_01: Their offense is scoring a lot of points against some good teams.
• 46:00
  SPEAKER_01: So uh, you know, it's it's gonna be uh I expect it to be a good game.
• 46:03
  SPEAKER_01: They have Caden Barnaskis has been uh killing it for them this year on the ground.
• 46:08
  SPEAKER_01: He had 127 last week and two touchdowns, and then uh Greb's been doing a great job for them at quarterback.
• 46:14
  SPEAKER_01: He had two passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown last week.
• 46:17
  SPEAKER_01: He does a great job uh, you know, running that offense for coach.
• 46:21
  SPEAKER_01: So I mean they're a good football team.
• 46:22
  SPEAKER_01: Like I said, I uh they're flying high, they're uh, you know, they're in the right in the mix for the playoff hunt.
• 46:28
  SPEAKER_01: So uh again, like as I said, it's gonna be it's a playoff game for both teams, and uh I expect both teams to play hard and you know we'll see what happens at the end.
• 46:37
  SPEAKER_00: Again, for our listeners, coach is never gonna make the picks on his own ball club.
• 46:41
  SPEAKER_00: I will pick Honesdale in a win this week.
• 46:44
  SPEAKER_00: I think Honesdale's shown how they bounce back from adversity in the past.
• 46:47
  SPEAKER_00: I think the key for Mid Valley on the road is as coach did mention, Caden Barnaskis, is really getting him rolling.
• 46:54
  SPEAKER_00: Caden has 959 yards on this season, so he is 41.
• 46:59
  SPEAKER_00: I got to put that Lake Lamath together, coach, there.
• 47:01
  SPEAKER_00: 41 yards away from a thousand.
• 47:03
  SPEAKER_00: I know Ed Keesendah Popacks, 10 yards away this week from 1,000, looking to join your boy Gabe Duda and Jaden Englin as the 1,000-yard rushers this year.
• 47:12
  SPEAKER_00: So some really good seasons there, and that'll be a key for Mid Valley.
• 47:15
  SPEAKER_00: But I do expect Honesdale to be up to the challenge.
• 47:18
  SPEAKER_00: But looking forward to that game.
• 47:19
  SPEAKER_00: Great game that's coming your way, coach.
• 47:21
  SPEAKER_00: Speaking of great games, Valley View, I know they're gonna be fired up, looking to bounce back five and three, traveling to Scranton Prep 7-1.
• 47:30
  SPEAKER_00: So no breaks for Valley View.
• 47:31
  SPEAKER_00: They go from one barn burner right to another really tough game.
• 47:35
  SPEAKER_00: The number one small school hosts, the number four big school.
• 47:38
  SPEAKER_00: Coach, what's your take here?
• 47:40
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you know, this is one of those games.
• 47:43
  SPEAKER_01: This is the the top rivalry game, I think, uh, for Valley View.
• 47:47
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, they they don't like prep, and prep doesn't like Valley View, so obviously it's gonna be a hard-fought game, a lot of emotion.
• 47:53
  SPEAKER_01: It'll be physical.
• 47:54
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, Dempsey to Row has been really good.
• 47:56
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, you got to see uh Cash Row last week and uh Colin Dempsey, who's been doing a great job for them since he came in at quarterback.
• 48:04
  SPEAKER_01: So uh, you know, they're gonna have to throw the ball a little bit, but prep's tough.
• 48:07
  SPEAKER_01: Uh McPartland, Jeffers, uh Farmer.
• 48:10
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, they just have a lot of athletes that come at you in a lot of different ways.
• 48:14
  SPEAKER_01: Uh their defense has been playing really well.
• 48:17
  SPEAKER_01: So uh I just think right now prep's playing really, really good football, and it's at Prep.
• 48:22
  SPEAKER_01: Uh you know, I just think they're they're tough right now, just like Dallas and North Pocono and uh Dunmore, we've been talking about.
• 48:28
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm gonna pick.
• 48:29
  SPEAKER_01: I think the game will be closer than people think, but uh I think prep wins this game.
• 48:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we're on the same page there.
• 48:36
  SPEAKER_00: Again, I think the Masochaks will have Valley View hungry, and they're gonna give Prep everything they can handle.
• 48:41
  SPEAKER_00: Protecting the football is gonna be really important for Valley View on the road versus prep.
• 48:45
  SPEAKER_00: Again, prep, we had our hands full with them, and again, I think they're a team.
• 48:49
  SPEAKER_00: If Valley View could you know play that perfect game, you never know, but I'm with you.
• 48:55
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna have to pick prep on this one.
• 48:56
  SPEAKER_00: Friday night, 7 p.m.
• 48:57
  SPEAKER_00: Another one of those great games that I wish I could be at.
• 49:01
  SPEAKER_00: Another good game.
• 49:02
  SPEAKER_00: North Pocono traveling too well in Popak.
• 49:04
  SPEAKER_00: North Pocono with Chase Zimmerman hits the road.
• 49:07
  SPEAKER_00: A Pop Pack team coming off a shutout, lost to Prep, led by Ed Keysendhal.
• 49:12
  SPEAKER_00: As we mentioned, he's approaching the thousand-yard mark as well.
• 49:15
  SPEAKER_00: This is a big one for uh LIAA seating.
• 49:19
  SPEAKER_00: Coach, who do we like here?
• 49:20
  SPEAKER_01: Well, uh, again, I think it's the same thing.
• 49:22
  SPEAKER_01: You we keep saying it over and over again.
• 49:24
  SPEAKER_01: These teams have to play a perfect game to beat these uh these really, really good teams.
• 49:29
  SPEAKER_01: And I just don't know if Paul Pack has enough weapons.
• 49:31
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Keesendal's been doing a great job for them, and uh, you know, they've moved the ball fairly well in most of their games uh on the ground, but I just think North Pocono's run defense is really good, and now you're forcing teams to pass, and uh a lot of teams struggle with that.
• 49:45
  SPEAKER_01: So uh between uh Wolf and West and uh all their athletes at North Pocono, same thing.
• 49:51
  SPEAKER_01: I just think it's uh they're a tough team to beat unless you play that perfect game, and I just don't know if Popek has the weapons to be able to play that game with them.
• 49:59
  SPEAKER_01: So uh North Pocono here, and uh this is one of those games where uh I don't know if it'll be close or not.
• 50:06
  SPEAKER_01: It could be, it could be like the game last week against DV, or uh you know, it could be one of these where you see a lot of points get up early.
• 50:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Popak at it's our five and three.
• 50:16
  SPEAKER_00: I made a little error there saying five and two before five and three.
• 50:19
  SPEAKER_00: Again, they've really been, I think, struggling against some of these tougher teams.
• 50:22
  SPEAKER_00: And I think North Pocono is going to be a really tough opponent for them.
• 50:26
  SPEAKER_00: I see North Pocono rolling this week.
• 50:28
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but Popak at home, they're gonna give it everything they got as they know it's an important team for an important game for their team.
• 50:34
  SPEAKER_00: Lakeland, six and two, travels to Western Wayne four and four.
• 50:38
  SPEAKER_00: Lakeland stung by the mid-valley upset, looks to regroup this week, coach.
• 50:43
  SPEAKER_00: How do you see this one playing out?
• 50:45
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I think Lakeland will bounce back.
• 50:47
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Rosencranz will have another week under his belt.
• 50:50
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and McFarlane, I think, played a little bit of quarterback for them too, so they've been kind of moving some guys around, but I think they'll bounce back.
• 50:56
  SPEAKER_01: Western Wayne's good.
• 50:57
  SPEAKER_01: Grodak's been playing uh great for them, and uh Jason Sparks has been really good.
• 51:02
  SPEAKER_01: He's been their main receiver.
• 51:03
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, but I I don't know if um Western Wayne offensively can score enough to kind of keep.
• 51:09
  SPEAKER_01: I think if you're gonna beat Lakeland now, you've got to be able to outscore them because they're gonna they're gonna put 28 up or 35 up.
• 51:14
  SPEAKER_01: You just gotta be able to score more than they do, and I'm just not sure if Western Wayne can do that.
• 51:19
  SPEAKER_01: So uh Lakeland will bounce back this week.
• 51:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think Lakeland made some adjustments on the offensive side last week.
• 51:24
  SPEAKER_00: I think they need to do a little bit more on the defense.
• 51:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's taking them a couple weeks, but I'm with you.
• 51:28
  SPEAKER_00: Roll Chiefs.
• 51:29
  SPEAKER_00: I see the Chiefs going to 7-2.
• 51:31
  SPEAKER_00: Carbondale, 5-3 at Lackawanna Trail, 5-3.
• 51:35
  SPEAKER_00: Two 5-3 teams meet for playoff positioning on the line.
• 51:38
  SPEAKER_00: Is this one a true coin flip, coach?
• 51:40
  SPEAKER_01: This might be the best game of the week.
• 51:42
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and I, you know, I just think the two teams are going to be pretty evenly matched with Trail having a lot of their guys back.
• 51:48
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, you know, Carbondale has a lot of good athletes with the Vogelinos and and Roman uh does a great job for them.
• 51:55
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of touchdowns between all those guys.
• 51:58
  SPEAKER_01: But uh and Trail again, Carter Edwards had 133 yards rushing and a touchdown.
• 52:03
  SPEAKER_01: Baruso had 82 and two touchdowns.
• 52:06
  SPEAKER_01: Philip had a uh two touchdowns uh passing.
• 52:09
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, they're they're getting their offense where uh where coach likes it to be in that wing T.
• 52:15
  SPEAKER_01: So uh I think they'll be tough.
• 52:17
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna go with Carbondale.
• 52:18
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's gonna be a close game.
• 52:20
  SPEAKER_01: I just think they have uh a lot of really good athletes and speed.
• 52:23
  SPEAKER_01: The the teams uh aren't really sure how fast they are until they actually get on the field.
• 52:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I think this might be the best game of the week, but I'm gonna take trail like maybe uh 2120 or something like that.
• 52:36
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's gonna be a close game.
• 52:38
  SPEAKER_00: Did you have trail or carbonyl?
• 52:39
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, sorry, Carbonale 2120.
• 52:41
  SPEAKER_01: I think it'll be close.
• 52:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it could be trail 2120, too.
• 52:47
  SPEAKER_00: I I've been flipping like that coin back and forth on this game.
• 52:50
  SPEAKER_00: I do think it is a coin flip tank game.
• 52:55
  SPEAKER_00: I like to normally lean with the home teams on this, and I know trail's well coached, but my coin flip's gonna go Carberdale's way as well.
• 53:02
  SPEAKER_00: I just think look at their full body of work.
• 53:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I'm gonna give them a slight edge on this one.
• 53:07
  SPEAKER_00: So, again, another great game to watch.
• 53:09
  SPEAKER_00: We've highlighted some really good ones, coach.
• 53:11
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna rapid fire now around the district for the rest of them.
• 53:15
  SPEAKER_00: Scranton still searching for that first win, travels to an Abington Heights team that's starting to roll again.
• 53:21
  SPEAKER_00: Coach, what do you see here?
• 53:22
  SPEAKER_01: Well, Abington uh Scranton's just struggling.
• 53:25
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, they're uh they haven't had a win this year and they won't have one this week either.
• 53:28
  SPEAKER_01: Your your team uh is is, I think, again, too much there, too many weapons.
• 53:33
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I I keep I'm always happy to see Jack Hard Shorn's name because his uh dad Scotty uh was a Dunmore player and right around our age, and we uh used to hang around together a lot.
• 53:43
  SPEAKER_01: So I love Scotty and uh you know both his sons are great kickers, so I'm happy he's doing well.
• 53:48
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, you know, angling for you guys, I think is just a tough guy to stop, especially just seeing what he's been doing against some teams with some really good defenses.
• 53:57
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I think tells you a lot about Abington's offensive line and uh what he's able to do as a rusher.
• 54:03
  SPEAKER_01: So I just think there'll be too much.
• 54:04
  SPEAKER_01: Uh you'll be too much for Scranton.
• 54:06
  SPEAKER_01: And um I see you guys again keeping that number one spot in your uh your 5A bracket and Scranton staying uh winless so far this year.
• 54:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I've got to experience Jack kick, a game winner two years in a row as Valley View this year was Scranton Prep last year, and calmest kid in the world, but boy, he's got ice in his veins when it comes to those those clutch kicks there.
• 54:28
  SPEAKER_00: So some some really good moments for him for sure.
• 54:31
  SPEAKER_00: Coach Dallas, undefeated, traveling to a one and seven Hanover area team, heavy favorite on the road.
• 54:39
  SPEAKER_00: Do we we see anything changing here?
• 54:41
  SPEAKER_01: No, too much there.
• 54:42
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Pit Cavage, Gesky, Sarniak, uh Olt, um, Mason.
• 54:47
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, they just have so many weapons.
• 54:49
  SPEAKER_01: They're coming at you with so many guys, and you know you've seen them uh up close and personal there.
• 54:53
  SPEAKER_01: They're they're gonna be a tough uh team to defend.
• 54:56
  SPEAKER_01: Hanover's gonna come at you in the passing game.
• 54:58
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Richardson to Tejada has been their big uh hookup all year.
• 55:02
  SPEAKER_01: But again, I just Dallas will I could see Dallas getting a couple pick sixes here, maybe.
• 55:08
  SPEAKER_01: Uh maybe some forced fumbles and scoop and score.
• 55:11
  SPEAKER_01: So I wouldn't be surprised if you see a couple defensive touchdowns uh when we look at this next week.
• 55:16
  SPEAKER_01: And um again, I know they're going to handover, but they they just have there's too much there, uh too many guys to defend, and they're too good defensively.
• 55:25
  SPEAKER_00: Agreed.
• 55:26
  SPEAKER_00: Wyoming area six and two, host Nanokoke two and six, the number three small school should roll at home, coach.
• 55:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Kapechny went for 164 passing and three touchdowns, uh 78 rushing and a touchdown.
• 55:39
  SPEAKER_01: So he's again, they started on week one.
• 55:42
  SPEAKER_01: Uh by week eight now, he's he's locked into that position.
• 55:45
  SPEAKER_01: He's excellent, uh, super athletic, division one uh type of athlete.
• 55:50
  SPEAKER_01: So at quarterback, you know, puts teams in a bind.
• 55:53
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Morris rushed for 144 and two touchdowns, so they're running the ball well.
• 55:57
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and Nana Coke again, the though uh Jeremy Smith and Chet Baggs have done a nice job, and Justin Johnson for them uh rushing and receiving.
• 56:06
  SPEAKER_01: But I I just again weapon-wise, and what uh Andrew going to Wyoming area, I just think it's a tough place to win at.
• 56:12
  SPEAKER_01: I've said that multiple times this year.
• 56:14
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, like I said, they have this thing rolling.
• 56:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, they're a lot better than they were at the beginning of the year than they are uh right now rolling into week nine.
• 56:24
  SPEAKER_00: Agreed, coach.
• 56:25
  SPEAKER_00: And then we have Wyoming Valley West at Pitston area.
• 56:29
  SPEAKER_00: Pitston above 500 coach host uh Wyoming Valley West team trying to lock up a playoff spot.
• 56:35
  SPEAKER_00: How do you see this one playing out?
• 56:37
  SPEAKER_01: This game might be uh 60 to 40.
• 56:39
  SPEAKER_01: Uh both teams put up a ton of offense.
• 56:42
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Pitston area, I think though, is again um between Lepresto, Salvo, Ferrentino, Miller, Capitano.
• 56:50
  SPEAKER_01: It's like uh uh you know uh an Italian convention.
• 56:54
  SPEAKER_01: When you go to play uh play coach down there at Pitston.
• 56:58
  SPEAKER_01: So uh those kids have been doing a great job for them.
• 57:00
  SPEAKER_01: They're scoring a lot of points, they're playing great offense.
• 57:03
  SPEAKER_01: I just think it'll be too much for Wyoming Valley West to defend.
• 57:08
  SPEAKER_00: Wilkes Barry at Hazleton.
• 57:10
  SPEAKER_00: Two two and six teams meet with their playoff hopes already fading, coach.
• 57:14
  SPEAKER_00: What do we expect?
• 57:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, this will be a um, I think this will be a good game too.
• 57:18
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Wilkes Berry's hot and cold.
• 57:20
  SPEAKER_01: We've talked about that, but and Hazleton really has played uh really good football um, you know, off and on through the year.
• 57:26
  SPEAKER_01: So uh, you know, I think it's gonna be a good game.
• 57:30
  SPEAKER_01: Uh both teams really need to win this game, kind of make a little jump in the uh, you know, make a little jump in the playoff run here.
• 57:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um this is a tough one for me.
• 57:40
  SPEAKER_01: This is like a coin flip game for me too.
• 57:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um I'm gonna take Hazleton just because I think they've been playing better football uh recently, and I think they'll match up a little bit against Wilkesbury.
• 57:49
  SPEAKER_01: But again, if we'll this wouldn't be a surprise to me if Wilkesbury ends up winning this too, but uh I'm gonna take Hazleton.
• 57:56
  SPEAKER_00: Holy Cross travels to Old Forge.
• 57:59
  SPEAKER_00: Old Forge is surging now into the playoffs.
• 58:01
  SPEAKER_00: Coach Schubacks figures some things out, hosting a struggling Holy Cross squad.
• 58:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Old Forge is running the ball well, passing the ball well.
• 58:09
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Gutowski's been their big runner.
• 58:11
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Hart's been doing a great job throwing the ball, and they have a Versa as their receiver.
• 58:15
  SPEAKER_01: So those three weapons have been doing a great job for them.
• 58:18
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Holy Cross has been struggling a little bit.
• 58:20
  SPEAKER_01: And again, you get into that uh where you don't have a lot of kids and you get into tough parts of schedules.
• 58:24
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's tough.
• 58:25
  SPEAKER_01: So uh Old Forge will beat Holy Cross.
• 58:29
  SPEAKER_00: And Coach Berwick's favorite on the road against the one and seven Crestwood squad.
• 58:33
  SPEAKER_00: Berwick roll.
• 58:34
  SPEAKER_01: I think Berwick will win.
• 58:36
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I think this game might be a little closer than people think.
• 58:39
  SPEAKER_01: Because again, I think without Cleaver there, I think their offense has struggled.
• 58:42
  SPEAKER_01: But uh Galucha's been doing a nice job for them running the ball, and Crestwood just had a hard time finding any offense.
• 58:49
  SPEAKER_01: So uh I'll take Berwick in this one.
• 58:52
  SPEAKER_00: Delaware Valley traveling to West Scranton.
• 58:55
  SPEAKER_00: Coach, could Del Val get some momentum here going into that Abington game the following week?
• 59:00
  SPEAKER_01: I think Del Val wins this game just because of physicality.
• 59:03
  SPEAKER_01: I think they'll run the ball.
• 59:04
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Estevez has been great, and uh Bannon's been good for them.
• 59:07
  SPEAKER_01: Sastre, uh both of them have been great for West, so they'll throw the ball a lot uh and often.
• 59:13
  SPEAKER_01: So, but I I just think Delra Valley uh, you know, too skilled at some of those positions, too physical uh Delra Valley over West.
• 59:22
  SPEAKER_00: Susquehanna 0-8, Tonkanic 1-7, two of the district's teams having really tough seasons.
• 59:28
  SPEAKER_00: Does someone finally break through this weekend?
• 59:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think this will be a good game too.
• 59:32
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and again, neither team's really played really well, but I think they'll they'll match up fairly well against each other.
• 59:38
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna take Susquehanna just because uh I think offensively they can get a little bit more going.
• 59:43
  SPEAKER_01: But uh Tonkanic does a great job throwing the ball, so I could see them uh you know throwing a little bit more on Susquehanna, but uh I'm gonna take Susquehanna here uh at Tunkanoc.
• 59:54
  SPEAKER_00: Susquehanna, leave it all on the field, boys.
• 59:56
  SPEAKER_00: Gotta get that first W this weekend.
• 59:58
  SPEAKER_00: Holy Redeemer, four and four at Montrose, four and four.
• 1:00:02
  SPEAKER_00: Two teams scrapping a finish above 500.
• 1:00:05
  SPEAKER_00: Who do we think gets it?
• 1:00:06
  SPEAKER_01: Montrose has really struggled uh the last couple weeks on offense, and uh Holy Redeemer has a really, really good offense with uh McDermott.
• 1:00:14
  SPEAKER_01: Uh throws the ball over the place.
• 1:00:16
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm gonna take Redeemer here.
• 1:00:18
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I think again, this could be another one of those good games where the game's close, but uh Holy Redeemer over Montrose.
• 1:00:25
  SPEAKER_00: And last but not least, Lake Lehman, 3-5 at Northwest, 4-4, the number 10 small school coming off of 49-8 loss to Wyoming area.
• 1:00:34
  SPEAKER_00: Hits the road to steady itself with the regular season winding down.
• 1:00:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think this is a tough one for uh Lake Lehman.
• 1:00:40
  SPEAKER_01: They just haven't gotten a lot of scoring.
• 1:00:42
  SPEAKER_01: Uh they're balanced, but they just haven't scored a lot.
• 1:00:45
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm gonna take Northwest here.
• 1:00:47
  SPEAKER_01: Uh they have Ben Bonham and Noel Arnett uh have been scoring for them.
• 1:00:51
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm gonna I think it'll be close again, uh, but I'm gonna take Northwest over Lake Lehman.
• 1:00:55
  SPEAKER_00: Coach, you are on your analysis as always.
• 1:00:58
  SPEAKER_00: Hopefully our listeners greatly enjoy that.
• 1:01:00
  SPEAKER_00: I even had one of the league officials come up to me before the game last week, appreciating the insight there as it helps him uh, you know, as he goes into the week preparing for his games.
• 1:01:10
  SPEAKER_00: But one quick ask before we wrap up for our listeners this show grows because of you.
• 1:01:15
  SPEAKER_00: If you're watching on YouTube, please hit subscribe and the bell so you never miss an episode.
• 1:01:20
  SPEAKER_00: If you're listening on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere you get your podcast, follow us and leave a rating.
• 1:01:26
  SPEAKER_00: We greatly appreciate that.
• 1:01:28
  SPEAKER_00: Like, comment, and share with the show with one coach or a player or a parent who loves Friday night football.
• 1:01:35
  SPEAKER_00: Every follow and every share helps us cover more teams, more games, and more of these kids.
• 1:01:40
  SPEAKER_00: For everything, head over to sportswire.com to get all the latest news.
• 1:01:44
  SPEAKER_00: That is week nine of Cleats and Clipboards.
• 1:01:47
  SPEAKER_00: Next week, Coach, we preview week 10, the regular season finale with District 2 playoff seating on the line.
• 1:01:54
  SPEAKER_00: It will be our last tune-up before the playoff edition of Cleats and Clipboards, so look out for that.
• 1:02:00
  SPEAKER_00: Some of these calls are gonna look smart, and some, well, that's why they play the games.
• 1:02:05
  SPEAKER_00: For Coach Dan here, find me Coach Danhausen on X, Coach Dan Lamonty on Instagram, my partner in crime, Coach Juanitz there at Coach, sorry, at George Juanitz on X, Coach Hwanitz on Instagram, and follow SportsWire on Facebook and YouTube, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
• 1:02:23
  SPEAKER_00: For Coach Juanitz, I'm Coach Dan.
• 1:02:25
  SPEAKER_00: We traded our cleats for clipboards, but we never left the game.
• 1:02:29
  SPEAKER_00: We will see you next week.