High school football starts Week 2 a day early with a pair of Thursday night games.

Montrose (1-0) plays at Susquehanna (0-1) in the annual Battle for the Bluestone in a Lackawanna Football Conference Division III matchup at William Emminger Memorial Field at 7 p.m.

Abington Heights (0-1) is in Florida, where the program plays Trinity Prep (1-1) at 7 p.m.

Montrose earned new coach Brett Stage his first career win last week. Sawyer Aukema scored two touchdowns, and the defense pitched a shutout in a 13-0 victory over Nativity BVM, which played in the District 2-11 Class 1A playoffs in 2025.

Evan Strohl threw for 143 yards for the Meteors, who won in Week 1 for the first time since beating Susquehanna, 28-6, in 2008.

Susquehanna opened the season with a 42-7 loss to Riverside.

Aukema sparked Montrose to a win over Susquehanna in last season’s Bluestone game. This year’s game also starts the Lackawanna Football Conference Division III season.

Montrose rejoined the LFC this season after playing an independent schedule for four years.

“It’s going to be a big game for us,” Stage said. “The guys are excited for it. We need to remain disciplined, ensuring that each player performs their own role without attempting to take on someone else’s responsibilities, which could lead to being out of position.

“We have to stay focused.”

Abington Heights is taking on a Trinity Prep team that got going in its second game of the season last Friday.

Sophomore quarterback Joseph Macau threw for 215 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 30 yards and a score in a 40-0 win over Faith Christian from Orlando, Florida.

Sophomore running back Kyle He had 86 rushing yards and two touchdowns, and Jonathan Knowlin hauled in four passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns for Trinity Prep.

Senior Carson Wicker led the Trinity Prep defense with 15 tackles, Carson Bates had five tackles, and sophomore Harrison Wicker had a sack in the shutout.

Abington Heights battled Allentown Central Catholic last week before losing 10-3. The Comets had opportunities, but mistakes at crucial times hurt the Comets.

Jayden Anglin had 190 yards rushing and led the defense with 10 tackles. Max Gordon added eight tackles, and Mike Arcure had seven for the Comets.

Friday night lights

North Pocono plays at Scranton to open the LFC Division I season. North Pocono is the defending Division I champion and has 11 straight regular-season wins. Scranton is aiming to halt an eight-game losing streak. The Knights lost to Pocono Mountain West, 27-0, last week.

Delaware Valley, Wallenpaupack, and Honesdale battle District 11 teams in Week 2. Last week, LFC teams lost to Lehigh Valley teams by an average margin of 6.7 points.

After losing, 21-20, to Bethlehem Catholic, Delaware Valley travels to Northampton to play the Koncrete Kids.

Wallenpaupack and Honesdale take on teams from the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Monroe Division.

On Friday, Wallenpaupack is at East Stroudsburg South, which defeated Pittston Area, 44-32. Honesdale has its home opener against East Stroudsburg North.

District 2 playoffs

This is the first year of a two-year cycle, and there are some subtle changes. If a team chooses not to participate in the District 2 playoffs, the school must declare that by Oct. 27.

Class 6A: District 2 is part of a subregional playoff with District 4’s Williamsport. There are six teams: Hazleton Area, Scranton, West Scranton, Wilkes-Barre Area, Wyoming Valley West and Williamsport. Four teams qualify for the subregional semifinals Nov. 6-7. The subregional final is Nov. 13-14, with the winner advancing to the PIAA first round against the winner of the District 6-8-10 subregional championship Nov. 20-21.

Class 5A: This is also a subregional tournament with District 6 teams Hollidaysburg, Mifflin County and DuBois. The District 2 teams are Abington Heights, Delaware Valley and Pittston Area. The top four teams qualify. The subregional semifinal is Nov. 6-7; the final is Nov. 13-14. The winner advances to the PIAA first round against the District 11 champion. The format for determining the pairings is being finalized because District 6 does not use a power rating system.

Class 4A: There are  10 teams, including Berwick, Carbondale Area, Crestwood, Dallas, Nanticoke Area, Hanover Area, Honesdale, North Pocono, Valley View and Wallenpaupack. The top eight qualify, and the tournament concludes with the final Nov. 20-21. The champion advances to the PIAA quarterfinals and to face the District 4 or District 6 champion.

Class 3A: Lake-Lehman, Mid Valley, Montrose, Scranton Prep, Tunkhannock, Western Wayne and Wyoming Area are in the classification. The top four qualify for the playoffs Nov. 6-7. The final is Nov. 13-14; the winner will host the PIAA first-round game against the District 12 champion.

Class 2A: Four of five teams qualify. Dunmore, Lakeland, Riverside, Susquehanna and Holy Redeemer will battle for four spots. The semifinals are Nov. 6-7; the final is Nov. 13-14. The winner travels to the District 11 champion Nov. 20-21 for the PIAA first round.

Class 1A: District 2 teams Holy Cross, Lackawanna Trail, and Old Forge are in a subregion with District 11 teams Marian Catholic, Nativity BVM, Tri-Valley and Williams Valley. The top four teams qualify. If the top four teams include two from each district, District 2 and District 11 will host title games with the winners meeting for the subregional championship.

MONTROSE AT
SUSQUEHANNA

When: Thursday, 7 p.m.

Where: William Emminger Memorial Field

Records: MON 1-0, SUS 0-1.

Last: Montrose, 20-14 (2025)

The buzz: This is the annual Battle for the Bluestone Trophy. Susquehanna leads the all-time series, 37-17-1. Montrose ended a nine-game losing streak to the Sabers last season. Susquehanna’s Caedon Stone had 60 yards receiving and a touchdown last week against Riverside. Montrose’s Sawyer Aukema was the outstanding player in last season’s game with 51 yards rushing and a 16-yard touchdown pass.

5-ABINGTON HEIGHTS
AT TRINITY PREP, FLORIDA

When: Thursday, 7 p.m.

Where: Hubbard Field, Winter Park, Florida

Records: AH 0-1, TRI 1-1.

Last: First meeting

The buzz: Trinity Prep opened the season with a 40-17 loss to Central Florida Christian Academy on Aug. 21, and had a 40-0 win over Faith Christian on Aug. 28. Trinity Prep sophomore QB Joseph Macau, who had 1,000 yards passing as a freshman, threw for 107 yards in the loss to Central Florida Christian and 215 yards and three touchdowns last week. Carson Wicker leads Trinity’s defense with 24 tackles in two games.