PV takes on Tribe
Lehighton at Panther Valley
WHEN: Thursday, 7 p.m.
RECORDS: Lehighton 1-1 (0-0 MVC); Panther Valley 0-2 (0-1 Anthracite Football League)
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS: Lehighton def. Tamaqua 14-6; Schuylkill Valley def. Panther Valley 48-13
LEHIGHTON'S IMPACT PLAYERS: QB Anthony Farole (5-10-54 pass, 15-50 rush), RB Jacen Nalesnik (2 rushing TD)
PANTHER VALLEY'S IMPACT PLAYERS: QB Nick McArdle (11-75 rush, TD) RB Tyler Smith (31-146 rush, TD)
LEHIGHTON'S KEYS TO THE GAME: Lehighton needs to continue to display the defensive effort they played with last week against Tamaqua, holding the Raiders to just 88 rushing yards. Offensively Anthony Farole needs to continue to play well and the Lehighton rushing attack needs to take advantage of PV's lack of size up front.
PANTHER VALLEY'S KEYS TO THE GAME: Panther Valley needs to get something going on defense. The Panther defensive front has given up huge numbers in the rushing game the last two weeks and has to improve this week in order to compete with the Indians.
FAST FACT: This week's Thursday night match-up between PV and Lehighton will be the inaugrual Bo Tkach Memorial Under the Helmet and Hat Classic.
QUOTABLE: "Were not going to really change that much going into the game Thursday. Our defense settled in last week against Tamaqua and we just need to limit our turnovers and create some turnovers for them." Lehighton Coach George Ebbert
"Bottom-line we have to get better as a football team and improve our tackling and fundamentals. This week we have mostly been working on fundamental football because that's what we need to do to improve." Panther Valley Head Coach Lon Hazlet.
Pleasant Valley at Wyoming V.W.
WHEN: Friday, 7 p.m.
RECORDS: Pleasant Valley 1-1 (0-0 Mountain Valley Conference); Wyoming Valley West 2-0 (0-0 Wyoming Valley Conference)
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS: Pleasant Valley def. Honesdale 40-37; Wyoming Valley West def. Abington Heights 51-0
PLEASANT VALLEY'S IMPACT PLAYERS: RB Rob Getz (23-211 rush, 3-140 rec, 4 TDs), WR Sekou Jones (3-26 rec, TD), QB Troy Verway (9-14, 179 pass, 2 TDs)
WYOMING VALLEY WEST'S IMPACT PLAYERS: QB/RB/WR Eugene Lewis (12-98 rush, 3 TDs; 5-5-107 pass, 2 TDs), RB Tashawn Bunch (16-63 rush, TD), WR Derrick Simms (3-60 rec, TD)
PLEASANT VALLEY'S KEYS TO THE GAME: Pleasant Valley will have to be patient on offense. Wyoming Valley West allowed just one yard rushing to Abington Heights in the first half and gave up only 152 yards of offense for the game. The Bears will undoubtedly look to get the ball to Getz, but he will have his work cut out for him against a stout Spartan rushing defense. Verway has been progressing at quarterback and turned the ball over just once last week. However, he will face his toughest test to date on the road.
The Bears' focus on defense will be on future Penn Stater Eugene Lewis. Lewis ran for nearly 100 yards and three scores last week. He also completed all five of his passes for 107 yards and two scores. Last year Pleasant Valley kept Lewis in check for the most past and came away with a win.
FAST FACTS: The Bears knocked off the Spartans last year at home, 27-20. It was Pleasant Valley's first win over Valley West since the two teams began playing in 2004. The Spartans have averaged 32.1 points-per-game in those seven contests. Meanwhile, the Bears have averaged just under 17 points-per-game. Valley West has given up just one touchdown thus far. That came in week one in a 21-7 win over Scranton.
QUOTABLE: "It is going to be a great test for us. It is going to be a test to see how we are going to respond from a tough game on Friday. West certainly has great personnel so it is going to be great for us to strap it up and prepare for that type of an atmosphere. We look forward to playing them." Pleasant Valley Head Coach Jim Terwilliger.
North Schuylkill at Jim Thorpe
WHEN: Friday, 7 p.m.
RECORDS: North Schuylkill 2-0 (2-0 Anthracite Football League); Jim Thorpe 0-2 (0-1 Anthracite Football League)
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS: North Schuylkill def. Minersville 41-6; Line Mountain def. Jim Thorpe 62-32
NORTH SCHUYLKILL'S IMPACT PLAYERS: QB Ryan Henning (10-16-211 pass, 2 TD) WR Ethan Motsney (98 yds receiving, 2 TD)
JIM THORPE'S IMPACT PLAYERS: QB Pat Duvigneaud (7-12-134 pass, 4 TD, 16-106 rush, TD), RB/WR P.J. Johnson (7-28 rush, 4-62 receiving, 2 TD), WR Khaaliq Lynch
NORTH SCHUYLKILL'S KEYS TO THE GAME: The Spartans need to keep motoring thourgh the competition in the AFL. Last week NS showed a surprising passing game against Minersville and if the Spartans ads a potent passing attack to their arsenal it could get ugly for teams in the AFL this season.
JIM THORPE'S KEYS TO THE GAME: The Olympians have to put together four solid quarters of football. In Thorpe's first two games the Olympians were still in contention going into the half only to fade in the third and fourth quarters.
FAST FACTS: Since this series began in 2006 JT won the first two meetings between the two, while NS has won the last three. Besides a 28-21 NS win in 2008 the other four games have been blow-outs, with the average margin of victory being 39.3 points.
QUOTABLE: "We need to do a better job of winning first and second down and put them in third and long situations. We just haven't played that well defensively and that was our major focus this week at practice. The kids responded really well to our defensive approach and it needs to carry over into our match-up against North Schuylkill." Jim Thorpe Head Coach Mark Rosenberger.
Palmerton at Salisbury
WHEN: Friday, 7 p.m.
RECORDS: Palmerton 1-1 (1-1 Colonial League); Salisbury 0-2 (0-2 Colonial League)
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS: Southern Lehigh def. Palmerton 42-24; Pen Argyl def. Salisbury 42-6
PALMERTON'S IMPACT PLAYERS: RB Alex Vignone (6-35 rush, 2 TDs, INT TD), QB Tyler Grohotolski (6-8-81 pass, 12-47 rush, Rush TD), WR Dallas Miata (3-41 rec)
SALISBURY'S IMPACT PLAYERS: QB Derek Brown (pass TD), WR Dominic Rossetti (rec TD), RB Andy Ehrets (10-25 rush Week 1)
PALMERTON'S KEYS TO THE GAME: Offensively, the Bombers need to establish the run game, while mixing in some timely passes and finishing off drives. Defensively, they must pursue and gang tackle RB Andy Eherts (6'2 225) who is a very tough and powerful runner.
FAST FACTS: Salisbury totaled 89 yards of offense last week. The Falcons totaled 30 the first week against Bangor, giving them just 112 yards of total offense on the season.
QUOTABLE: "Turnovers and giving up big plays for touchdowns are not a good recipe for success at any level of football. With that being said, I am extremely confident in our players and our system. We will bounce back and come ready to play for 48 minutes Friday night." Palmerton Head Coach Chris Walkowiak.
Shenandoah Valley at Tamaqua
WHEN: Friday, 7 p.m.
RECORDS: Shenandoah Valley 1-1 (0-1 Anthracite Football League); Tamaqua 1-1 (1-0 Anthracite Football League)
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS: Shenandoah Valley def. Berks Catholic 24-21; Lehighton def. Tamaqua 14-6
SHENANDOAH VALLEY'S IMPACT PLAYERS: QB Chris Palubinsky (13-23-177 pass, Rush TD), RB Eric Whalen (13-189 rush, 2 TDs), WR Billy Moyer (4-50 rec), WR Nick Merva (7-89 rec, TD)
TAMAQUA'S IMPACT PLAYERS: QB Matt DelBorrello (10-17-100 pass, 5-13 rush, Rush TD), RB Jarred Muffley (21-65 rush), RB Dalton Nunemacher (5-52 rec, 3-16 rush), RB Nolan Zeigler (8-22 rush, 1-4 rec)
TAMAQUA'S KEYS TO THE GAME: Tamaqua will look to spread it out and use its speed a little more this week. DelBorrello had a good second half last week and gives the Raiders another option out of the backfield. Look for him to have an impact this weekend. On defense, the Raiders will have to key on Whalen. The Devils like to use the speed option with him and make it tough for defenses to key on him. They also possess two dangerous receivers in Moyer and Merva. Tamaqua must keep an eye on them if they want to keep the Devils' offense in check.
FAST FACTS: Shenandoah racked up 380 yards on the ground last week. Something will have to give, as Tamaqua currently boasts the best defense in the area in terms of yards-per-game allowed. The Raiders have only surrendered 210 yards on the ground thus far. The Blue Devils have taken five of the last seven meetings, including a 34-27 win last year. The Raiders took the two meetings prior to that, winning by a combined score of 49-10.
QUOTABLE: "The one thing we have been emphasizing has been cutting down on our mistakes. We didn't make a lot of them last week. We just made them at critical times. If we can get the same defensive effort we had last week, and finish off some drives on offense, we should have a pretty good shot this Friday." Tamaqua Head Coach Sam Bonner.
Wilson at Northwestern
WHEN: Friday, 7 p.m.
RECORDS: Wilson 0-2 (0-2 Colonial League); Northwestern 2-0 (2-0 Colonial League)
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS: Northern Lehigh def. Wilson 55-12; Northwestern def. Saucon Valley 42-7
WILSONS'S IMPACT PLAYERS: QB/LB Ryan Dailey, (10-21-138 pass), RB/LB Trey Robinson (12-82 rush, 3-30 rec), WR/DE Sam Healey, WR/DB Angelo Perrucci, RB/DE Travis Loebsack.
NORHWESTERN'S IMPACT PLAYERS: QB/RB Ty Cunningham (5-51 rush, Rush TD, 1-2-14 pass, QB/RB Ben Snyder (3-102 rush, 2 Rush TDs, 2-3-14 pass), RB Payton Bachman (3-49 rush, 2-26 rec, Rec TD, KR TD), OL/DL Doug Saks, C/DE Dave Tirpak, RB/DB Mason Schuler (INT TD)
KEYS TO THE GAME: The Tigers will have to figure out which offense the Warriors are going to run and stop it. They moved to a Wing-T look this season, but have reverted back to their Air Raid spread scheme at times. No matter what the Warriors do, Northwestern has to contain Robinson on both sides of the ball. He's dynamic running back and a fierce tackler. Ryan Dailey has a strong arm, so the Tigers will have to cover a lot of ground in defending Wilson's passing game. Northwestern has fallen behind in each of its first two games. Both times it came back to win big. As the opponents get more difficult, the Tigers can't afford to spot the other team an early touchdown.
FAST FACTS: WIlson has not opened a season 0-2 since 2004, when it started 0-3 before beating Salisbury in Week 4. The Tigers have not beaten the Warriors since 2003, when they shut them out, 42-0. That stretch includes just five games as the teams did not meet in 2006 or '07.
QUOTABLE: "This is going to be a challenge. It's been eight years since we've beaten them. We're out to avenge that." Northwestern head coach Tom Linette.
Northern Lehigh at Saucon Valley
WHEN: Friday, 7 p.m.
RECORDS: Northern Lehigh 2-0 (2-0 Colonial League); Saucon Valley 0-2 (0-2 Colonial League)
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS: Northern Lehigh def. Wilson 55-12; Northwestern def. Saucon Valley 42-7
NORTHERN LEHIGH'S IMPACT PLAYERS: RB Trevor Yashur (13-96 rush, 2 Rush TD, 2-34 rec, Rec TD), WR Dalton Johnson (3-31 rush, Rush TD), WR Darien Middaugh (KR TD), QB Dylan Hoffman (3-6-40 pass, pass TD, PR TD)
SAUCON VALLEY'S IMPACT PLAYERS: RB Chris Mamay (19-87 rush, Rush TD, 6-32 rec), QB Christian Kennedy (12-20-81 pass, 13-76 rush), RB Matt Laub (10-17 rush, 2-13 rec)
NORTHERN LEHIGH'S KEYS TO THE GAME: The 'Dawgs need to focus on staying consistent on offense and stop the tricky inside running game of Saucon Valley.
FAST FACTS: Northern Lehigh's run defense showed up in a big way last week and held Wilson to negative 21 yards rushing as a team. Only three of the six Warrior backs managed to run for positive yards. The Bulldogs scored touchdowns in a variety of ways last week. They ran, passed, intercepted, kick returned and punt returned the ball for a score. Northern Lehigh has won seven of the last ten meetings between the two teams. The Bulldogs have averaged 39 points in those wins. The last time the Panthers won was in 2008 when they came out on top 25-21. It was their second win over the 'Dawgs in as many years.
QUOTABLE: "We run some plays really well and some plays not so well. We need to get better at the stuff we have in right now so we can set teams up better in the upcoming weeks. On defense I feel as if we stop their main three running plays that they have been running with success as of late that we should be fine."
