Carbondale Area is ready to challenge for a division championship.<\/p>\n
As the largest school based on enrollment in the Lackawanna Football Conference Division III, and with an abundance of returning talent, the Chargers have the pieces for an exciting season.<\/p>\n
Seven starters on offense and six on defense return from a team that finished 6-5 overall, 3-2 in the division, and played in an Eastern Conference playoff game. The players are aiming to end a championship drought, with the last LFC division title coming in 2005.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am very excited and motivated for this season,\u201d Francisco Roman said. \u201cI know that I can do more out there for the team, and I am ready to show it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Roman and Cole Balderas were a productive backfield for the Chargers.<\/p>\n
As the team\u2019s primary ball carrier, Roman had 966 yards and 16 touchdowns. Balderas added 313 yards and three touchdowns.<\/p>\n
Quarterback Nick Zaccone saw valuable playing time and started three games. He completed 11 of 31 passes for 146 yards and four touchdowns.<\/p>\n
Wide receiver Caedon Voglino, an LFC Coaches\u2019 Division III first-team all-star athlete, ran for 203 yards and a touchdown and caught five passes for 35 yards and three touchdowns, rounding out an experienced group of playmakers for the Chargers.<\/p>\n
Mason Voglino, who suffered a torn ACL last season, returns after rushing for 31 yards in a Week 1 loss to Lakeland. Receiver Darion McKenzie also saw varsity playing time last season.<\/p>\n
Carbondale Area has size up front. Guard Chayse Roche is the strongest player on the team and was a Division III honorable mention all-star.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to stay positive and have a strong desire to win,\u201d Roman said. \u201cWe had a winning record last season, but I think we have a very talented team that can really do something special this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to Roche, the Chargers return center Mateo Spinelli, also an honorable mention all-star, and tackle Parker Mursch. Guard Owen Kovaleski is expected to contribute up front.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe worked hard this offseason and are practicing like it is game time,\u201d Balderas said. \u201cThis group learned to stay positive. We have to keep each other up. When a teammate is having a tough time, we have to pick them up and get back to work.\u201d<\/p>\n
On defense, Roche, an honorable mention all-star, is teaming with Mursch for a strong interior line. Jeriel Galaza and Rocky Henderson will play a significant role in the trenches.<\/p>\n
Balderas returns at linebacker.<\/p>\n
Stephen Oakley, Caige Nolan, and Roman lead an experienced secondary that also includes newcomer Travis Spencer.<\/p>\n
Levi Gabriel returns as the team\u2019s kicker and punter.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur positive record last season was excellent,\u201d Balderas said. \u201cBut we don\u2019t feel like that was enough. This year we definitely want more.\u201d<\/p>\n
FAST FACTS<\/p>\n
\u25a0 Head coach: Jeff Arthur (5th season, 16-27)<\/p>\n
\u25a0 Division: LFC III<\/p>\n
\u25a0 Last season: 6-5 overall; 3-2 (Third in LFC III)<\/p>\n
\u25a0 Male enrollment: 291; Class 4A (Co-op with Forest City)<\/p>\n
\u25a0 Home field: Andrew Cerra Sports Complex<\/p>\n
CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY<\/p>\n
\u25a0 Overall record: 383-566-28<\/p>\n
\u25a0 District 2: (Class 1A) 2001.<\/p>\n
\u25a0 LFC II: 2005.<\/p>\n
\u25a0 Suburban Conference: 1973.<\/p>\n
SCHEDULE<\/p>\n
Aug. 28: at Nanticoke Area (4A), 7<\/p>\n
Sept. 4: West Scranton (6A), 7<\/p>\n
Sept. 11: Crestwood (4A), 7<\/p>\n
Sept. 18: at Honesdale (4A), 7<\/p>\n
Sept. 25: at Lakeland (2A), 7<\/p>\n
Oct. 2: Susquehanna (2A), 7<\/p>\n
Oct. 9: Holy Cross (1A), 7<\/p>\n
Oct. 16: Montrose (3A), 7<\/p>\n
Oct. 23: at Lackawanna Trail (2A), 7<\/p>\n
Oct. 30: Old Forge (1A), 7<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Carbondale Area is ready to challenge for a division championship. As the largest school based on enrollment in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":272421,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[4855,305,178,180,179,726],"class_list":["post-272420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-gameface","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\/272420","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=272420"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272420\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/272421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=272420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=272420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=272420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}