{"id":271727,"date":"2026-08-25T05:42:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T05:42:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/271727\/"},"modified":"2026-08-25T05:42:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T05:42:15","slug":"hs-football-times-tribune-preseason-top-10-rankings-scranton-times-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/271727\/","title":{"rendered":"HS FOOTBALL: Times-Tribune Preseason Top 10 Rankings \u2013 Scranton Times-Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is the start of a new season in the Lackawanna Football Conference, but one thing remains the same for a second straight year: the North Pocono Trojans open the season as the No. 1 team in The Times-Tribune High School Football Top 10 Poll.<\/p>\n

Valley View is No. 2, followed by Dunmore, Scranton Prep and Abington Height to round out the top five.<\/p>\n

Overall, nine of the 10 teams ranked in the final poll last year make the cut in this season\u2019s initial rankings. There is one newcomer to the group to start the season: Honesdale, which is in its second year under head coach George Howanitz. The Hornets, who finished strong last season, check in at No. 9.<\/p>\n

Kickoff is just three days away. A slate of 15 games involving teams from the Lackawanna Football Conference is on tap for Friday.<\/p>\n

\"NorthNorth Pocono quarterback Chase Zimmerman hands off the ball to running back Josiah Gray during the 4A quarterfinal game against Cardinal O\u2019Hara at Zephyr Stadium in Whitehall Twp. Friday, November 21, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
\n1. NORTH POCONO TROJANS<\/p>\n

Last season: 13-1<\/p>\n

Last rank: 1<\/p>\n

The immediate thought is that the team that had the best overall record in District 2 might take a step back due to heavy graduation losses. There is a carryover group of starters that includes Times-Tribune Defensive Player of the Year Cole West, which should keep the Trojans in contention for another championship run.<\/p>\n

\"ValleyValley View\u2019s Tyler Muchal looks for yards as Wyoming Valley West\u2019s Liam Corbett looks to tackle on Friday. Oct. 17, 2025.
\n2. VALLEY VIEW COUGARS<\/p>\n

Last season: 6-5<\/p>\n

Last rank: 6<\/p>\n

The Cougars fielded an inexperienced starting unit on both sides of the ball last season. That caught up to them later in the year. Valley View is big and strong up front, and has outstanding team speed. The Cougars also have a physical defensive team that will be tested early in the schedule.<\/p>\n

\"Dunmore'sDunmore\u2019s Xavier Burke picks up yards in the second quarter against Western Wayne on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. (JESSE CAREY \/ CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER)
\n3. DUNMORE BUCKS<\/p>\n

Last season: 8-4<\/p>\n

Last rank: 9<\/p>\n

The Bucks are excited about this group. This is a senior-laden team that has played a lot of varsity football in the last two seasons, with more than 20 starters returning. Dunmore has an abundance of speed and athleticism that should make it a PIAA Class 2A contender.<\/p>\n

\"ScrantonScranton Prep\u2019s Braedon McPartland carries the ball during the Class 3A first round playoff game at Milton High School in Milton on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA\/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
\n4. SCRANTON PREP CAVALIERS<\/p>\n

Last season: 8-6<\/p>\n

Last rank: 7<\/p>\n

Scranton Prep battled early season injuries and a slow start against quality nonleague competition in 2025, then overpowered opponents in the postseason on the way to the District 2 Class 3A championship. The Cavaliers are deep with talented, experienced players on the line of scrimmage and the skill positions.<\/p>\n

\"AbingtonAbington Heights\u2019 Jayden Anglin evades Scranton\u2019s Ismael Salazar during the football game at Abington Heights High School in Scranton on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA\/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
\n5. ABINGTON HEIGHTS COMETS<\/p>\n

Last season: 9-3<\/p>\n

Last rank: 5<\/p>\n

Abington Heights does have some massive holes to fill with the loss of several All-Region and All-State players to graduation. The Comets have talent returning, especially in the trenches, and have had a good offseason. A challenging first month of the season features a game in Florida.<\/p>\n

\"DelawareDelaware Valley\u2019s Devin Estevez carries the ball during the football game at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Scranton on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA\/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
\n6. DELAWARE VALLEY WARRIORS<\/p>\n

Last season: 7-6<\/p>\n

Last rank: 4<\/p>\n

The Warriors are inexperienced in key positions but should be strong on the offensive and defensive lines. Delaware Valley players are driven by the success and high standard set by the coaches in the program.<\/p>\n

\"Lakeland'sLakeland\u2019s Rocco Spataro carries the ball during the District 2 Class 2A Championship at Lakeland High School in Scott on Friday, Nov. 07, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA\/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
\n7. LAKELAND CHIEFS<\/p>\n

Last season: 11-2<\/p>\n

Last rank: 3<\/p>\n

The Chiefs returned to a championship level last season and did so with a relatively inexperienced roster. Lakeland has talent at the skill positions and return size and athleticism in the trenches.<\/p>\n

\"Riverside'sRiverside\u2019s Charlie Anstett runs against Lackawanna Trail at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Taylor Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
\n8. RIVERSIDE VIKINGS<\/p>\n

Last season: 8-3<\/p>\n

Last rank: 8<\/p>\n

For the second straight season, college recruiters have honed in on a Riverside athlete. With Brayden Rose, one of the top all-around athletes in the state, leading the way, the Vikings should be among the top teams in District 2 and its new home in Division II.<\/p>\n

\"Honesdale'sHonesdale\u2019s Gabe Duda picks up a big gain in the first quarter against Western Wayne on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. (JESSE CAREY \/ CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER)
\n9. HONESDALE HORNETS<\/p>\n

Last season: 4-7<\/p>\n

Last rank: NR<\/p>\n

The Hornets played solid football last season and earned an Eastern Conference Class 4A playoff game after winning two of their last three games. Honesdale returns several starters, with the strength of the team being on the line of scrimmage.<\/p>\n

\"LackawannaLackawanna Trail\u2019s Tim Richmond carries the ball during the Class 1A quarterfinal football game at Northern Lehigh High School in Slatington on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA\/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
\n10. LACKAWANNA TRAIL LIONS<\/p>\n

Last season: 12-2<\/p>\n

Last rank: 2<\/p>\n

The Lions are built on tradition. As is always the case, there won\u2019t be many bodies on the sideline, but the players in uniform will have an abundance of pride. Lackawanna Trail has a challenging five weeks before starting the LFC Division III schedule.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It is the start of a new season in the Lackawanna Football Conference, but one thing remains the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":271728,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[305,178,180,179,726],"class_list":["post-271727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-high-school-sports","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=271727"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271727\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/271728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=271727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=271727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}