It\u2019s a rivalry that heated up in the 1980s and 1990s and has intensified in this generation, as it highlights the Week 4 schedule in the Lackawanna Football Conference.<\/p>\n
Valley View and North Pocono are powerhouses with rich championship traditions. Often, the programs have had to go through each other to win titles.<\/p>\n
On Friday, the latest clash is an important game between teams challenging for the Division I championship and contending for good positioning in the District 2 Class 4A playoffs.<\/p>\n
No. 1 North Pocono (3-0), winners of 13 straight regular-season games, visits No. 3 Valley View (2-1) at John Henzes\/Veterans Memorial Stadium at 7 p.m.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t wait,\u201d Valley View linebacker Brady Bachman said. \u201cWe have been eyeing this game all year. We can\u2019t wait to play.\u201d<\/p>\n
The energy started to build in this matchup in the 1980s when Valley View and North Pocono were among the top teams in the Big 11.<\/p>\n
It really heated up in 1991 when North Pocono went clinched the Big 11 crown with a hard-fought 19-15 win over Valley View before beating Berwick for the Eastern Conference Class I championship, but was denied a berth in the PIAA Class 3A playoffs due to a complicated rating system.<\/p>\n
The following season, Valley View earned the conference championship with a 22-21 win over North Pocono in the season finale. The Cougars finished 15-0 and won the PIAA Class 2A championship.<\/p>\n
In 1994, Valley View and North Pocono shared the Big 11 championship, but North Pocono eliminated the Cougars in the District 2 Class 3A playoffs.<\/p>\n
More recently, Valley View won the regular-season battle, but North Pocono ended the Cougars\u2019 season in the District 2 playoffs on the way to the title in 2016. Valley View beat the Trojans in the 2021 District 2 Class 4A final.<\/p>\n
Last year\u2019s Week 7 showdown had hype with North Pocono at 6-0 and the Cougars at 4-2. However, North Pocono stormed to a 42-10 win and carried the momentum to a District 2 Class 4A championship.<\/p>\n
In the preseason, expectations were high with both programs returning good chunks of their starting lineups.<\/p>\n
North Pocono has been impressive, outscoring opponents 101-0 in the first half of its three wins. Linebacker Jayden Taylor, linebacker Oram Abutbul, and defensive back Tate Bowen lead the defense.<\/p>\n
Henry Wolff has taken over as the primary ball carrier after a season-ending injury to starter Joe Briskie. Cole West, last season\u2019s Times-Tribune Defensive Player of the Year, who had two interceptions, returned one for a touchdown, and returned a kickoff for a touchdown last year against the Cougars, is coming off his most complete game. Chase Zimmerman has thrown only eight passes in three games.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to play our game,\u201d Bachman said. \u201cWe have to limit West, because he beat us on defense and in the kicking game last year. We need to be physical and aggressive. They run power well, and they spread it out to their athletes really well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Valley View went toe-to-toe with Northwestern Lehigh, the No. 1 Class 3A team in the PennLive.com state rankings, in a 28-16 loss in Week 1. Since then, the Cougars have been physical on defense in a 19-6 win over Crestwood and a 17-7 win over Wilkes-Barre Area.<\/p>\n
Senior linebacker Jeffrey Wasilchak leads the team with 42 tackles. Bachman has 29, a sack and an interception, and Brady Cunningham has 25 for the Cougars.<\/p>\n
Wasilchak also leads the team with 89 yards rushing, and Tyler Muchal has 86 rushing yards. Sophomore Colin Dempsey has thrown for 286 yards and three touchdowns, and Cash Roe has four catches for 54 yards. Kicker Braden Loff has made a 45-yard field goal and a 46-yard field goal this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cValley View is a great team,\u201d Zimmerman said after North Pocono\u2019s win over Honesdale last week. \u201cThey have great players and are very well coached. They are physical and like to run the ball. We have to work hard and be ready to play.\u201d<\/p>\n
NORTH POCONO AT VALLEY VIEW<\/p>\n
When: Friday, 7 p.m.<\/p>\n
Where: John Henzes\/Veterans Memorial Stadium<\/p>\n
Records: NP 3-0, VV 2-1.<\/p>\n
Last: North Pocono, 42-10 (2025)<\/p>\n
The buzz: Valley View leads the series 35-17, and North Pocono\u2019s win last year was the first since 2016. North Pocono is the defending LFC Division I champion and has won 13 straight regular-season games.<\/p>\n
SCOUTING REPORT<\/p>\n
North Pocono: The Trojans have District 2\u2019s most explosive player in Cole West. He contributes to the offense as a receiver and a back. He is also a dangerous return specialist and physical defender. The offensive line continues to develop, and the running game is producing big plays. QB Chase Zimmerman has not had to throw that often, but he is averaging 15.8 yards per completion. North Pocono\u2019s starting defense has only yielded seven points this season. Teams are averaging only 115 rushing yards per game against the Trojans.<\/p>\n
Valley View: So far, the Cougars have relied heavily on a physical defense for their success, allowing 3.6 yards per carry. Offensively, they are still trying to find an identity. Running backs Tyler Muchal and Jeffrey Wasilchak provide a punishing attack between the tackles. WR Cash Roe is a playmaker in the passing game. Last week, the Cougars\u2019 running game averaged 4.5 yards per carry in a win over Wilkes-Barre Area.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s a rivalry that heated up in the 1980s and 1990s and has intensified in this generation, as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":289084,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[305,178,180,179,726],"class_list":["post-289083","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\/289083","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=289083"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289083\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/289084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=289083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=289083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=289083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}