HS FOOTBALL: LFC division titles on line Friday night – Scranton Times-Tribune

Championships will be decided in Week 9 of the Lackawanna Football Conference season.

In Division I, Valley View (5-3 overall, 3-2 Division I) plays Scranton Prep (7-1, 5-0) at Dunmore Veterans Memorial Stadium on Friday at 7 p.m. Scranton Prep holds a one-game lead over North Pocono in the standings, which means a win secures it no worse than a share of the championship.

Scranton Prep won the Division I championship in 2024, 2015 and 2013. The program also won Division II titles in 2016, 2017, 2020 and 2021 when the conference had four divisions, and another in 2005.

North Pocono (7-1, 4-1), last season’s Division I champion, will try to keep its hopes for a repeat alive this week when it plays at Wallenpaupack (5-3, 3-2) on Friday at 7 p.m.

Dunmore plays at Riverside on Friday at 7 p.m. The Bucks have a one-game lead over Honesdale in Division II. They dominated their opponents in the first eight weeks, but have really overmatched division opponents in the last three weeks, winning by an average margin of 60 points.

The Bucks have 11 division titles since 1998, the first season for the LFC, and not including 2000 and 2001 when teams were members of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Football Conference.

Mid Valley (5-3, 2-1) plays at Honesdale (6-2, 2-1), with both trying to stay in contention, but needing some help.

Carbondale Area (5-3, 3-0) and Lackawanna Trail (3-5, 3-0) are tied for first place in Division III. Both are 3-0 heading into Friday night’s matchup at Lions Pride Stadium at 7 p.m.

Lackawanna Trail won the last three Division III championships, and have 10 LFC division titles since 1998. The game with Carbondale Area is also important for the Lions in their pursuit of a spot in the District 2-11 Class 1A subregional playoffs. They enter Week 9 in fourth place, with four teams qualifying for the postseason.

Holy Cross (2-6, .343) is fifth, and Old Forge (3-5, .324) is sixth. Lackawanna Trail has wins over both contenders.

Carbondale Area last won an LFC championship in 2005 when it shared the Division II title with Lakeland and Scranton Prep.

Playoff picture

District 2 Class 2A is the only classification with all its playoff qualifiers locked in.

Dunmore (8-0, .757), Lakeland (6-2, .603), Riverside (5-3, .472), and Holy Redeemer (4-4, .350) are in the field. Dunmore has also secured the No. 1 seed and a home semifinal game. The other three teams are battling for the No. 2 seed.

This week’s results will go a long way in determining the two qualifiers, which will play in the District 2 Class 5A championship game in Week 11. The District 2 winner advances to play the District 6 winner in the subregional championship game in Week 12.

With its win over Valley View last week, Abington Heights (4-4, .618) extended its lead over Pittston Area (5-3, .569) and Delaware Valley (2-6, .446). On Friday, Abington Heights plays Scranton (0-8).

Pittston Area also had an important power-rating win last week over Wilkes-Barre Area, a Class 6A opponent. The Patriots have won four straight games and play at home against Wyoming Valley West (4-4) on Friday.

Delaware Valley (2-6) needs to win its final two games and then receive some help to unseat Abington Heights. This week, the Warriors play at West Scranton (3-5), and they close out the season at Abington Heights.

In Class 6A, Williamsport (6-2, .685) clinched a spot in the four-team playoff. Wyoming Valley West (4-4, .521) is second (4-4, .521). Wilkes-Barre Area (2-6, .488) is third and plays a critical game at fifth-place Hazleton Area (2-6, .436) on Friday. West Scranton (3-5, .486) is fourth heading into this week’s game against Delaware Valley.

Dallas (8-0, .747) leads the power-rating standings and has clinched a spot in the eight-team field. The Mountaineers are at Hanover Area on Friday.

North Pocono (7-1, .734), the defending champion, is second. A tight pack of LFC teams is in the next three spots. Honesdale (6-2, .674), Wallenpaupack (5-3, .594) and Valley View (5-3, .592) are third through fifth, respectively.

Berwick (4-4, .567) is sixth, Carbondale Area (5-3, .513) is seventh, and Crestwood is eighth (1-7, .339) despite having only one win. The Comets host Berwick on Friday. Nanticoke Area (2-7) is ninth and plays at Wyoming Area on Friday. Hanover Area (1-7, .296) is 10th.

In Class 3A, Scranton Prep (7-1, .767), the defending five-time champion, and Wyoming Area (6-2, .600) clinched spots in the four-team field.

Mid Valley (5-3, .537) and Western Wayne (4-4, .501) both climbed into the top four after wins over Class 2A playoff teams Lakeland and Riverside last week.

Lake-Lehman (3-5, .467) is fifth and plays at Northwest Area on Friday. Montrose (4-4, .355) is sixth and hosts Holy Redeemer this week.

LFC leaders

Abington Heights senior Jayden Anglin leads the LFC Division I and the conference in rushing with 1,191 yards. He has 2,704 career rushing yards.

Division I: Wallenpaupack senior Edward Kiesendahl leads with 13 rushing touchdowns and 14 total touchdowns. He needs 10 yards for 1,000 rushing yards this season. West Scranton freshman Austin Sostre has the most passing yards (857), and Valley View’s Colin Dempsey leads with nine passing touchdowns and a rating of 187.3. West Scranton’s Kaz Colbert, Scranton Prep’s Braedon McPartlan, and Valley View’s Cash Roe are tied with 32 receptions, while Colbert and Roe each have 487 receiving yards. West Scranton’s Jonye Sostre and Valley View’s Ben Evans each had four receiving touchdowns. North Pocono’s Shane Youngblood has 42 kicking points and four field goals. Scranton Prep’s Tyler Bianchi leads with 32 extra points.

Division II: Honesdale senior Gabe Duda leads in rushing with 1,150 yards, rushing touchdowns with 21 and total touchdowns (22). Dunmore junior Brady McCormick leads with 819 passing yards, 14 passing touchdowns, and a rating of 258.3. Lakeland’s Chase Rosenkrans leads with 30 receptions and 386 receiving yards. Lakeland’s Luke McFarland and Dunmore’s Jake Costanzo had five receiving touchdowns. Dunmore’s Russell Toole leads with 41 extra points.

Division III: Carbondale Area senior Caedon Voglino leads with 790 rushing yards, nine rushing touchdowns and 14 total touchdowns. Holy Cross sophomore Chase Rutkoski leads with 937 passing yards. Old Forge freshman Parker Harte leads with 10 passing touchdowns. Lackawanna Trail junior Lucas Filipek has a passer rating of 135.1. Holy Cross’ Luca Berardi has 34 receptions for 551 yards. Old Forge’s Ayden Aversa has six receiving touchdowns. Lackawanna Trail’s Joey Thomas has 28 kicking points with three field goals. Old Forge’s Cristopher Nino and Montrose’s Gabriel De Llano Duran each have 20 extra points.

Chasing history

• Delaware Valley coach Keith Olsommer gets a second chance at career win No. 200 this week when the Warriors play at West Scranton. In his 28th season, Olsommer would become the sixth LIAA coach to reach the milestone.

• Scranton Prep coach Terry Gallagher earned his 110th career win in his 11th season. He is tied for 23rd place with former Montrose coach Tom Lucenti.

• Lakeland senior Chase Rosenkrans, who has switched positions to quarterback, had one reception for 53 yards last week. He has 2,003 career receiving yards, ranking eighth all-time among LIAA players. He also has 157 receptions to rank third all-time behind Riverside’s Reese Gaughan (230) and Lackawanna Trail’s Yogi Roth (158).