Wyomissing at Pleasant Valley

WHEN: Friday, September 28 at 7:00 p.m.RECORDS: Wyomissing (2-2); Pleasant Valley (3-1).LAST WEEK'S RESULTS: Wyomissing defeated Blue Mountain, 21-13; Pleasant Valley defeated Lehighton, 28-6.WYOMISSING'S IMPACT PLAYERS: Wyomissing's most impressive player might be two-way lineman Logan Thomas. A 6-5, 285-pound offenseive tackle and noseguard, the Bears will have to account for Thomas at the line of scimmage.The Spartans have split the workload offensively, dividing the carries in their Wing-T formation among Thomas Paolini, Jack Baker and Caleb Naylor. A week ago against Blue Mountain, Paolini led the Spartans with 87 yards rushing on 15 carries, Baker added 74 yards on 11 carries, and Naylor gained 40 yards on 10 carries and scored two TDs.PLEASANT VALLEY'S IMPACT PLAYERS: Last week against Lehighton, 6-4, 250-pound defensive end Marquis Brown and 5-11, 150-pound cornerback Nyiem Nevarez both had big games. Brown not only generated pressure up front that that led to four PV interceptions, but picked off one of the passes himself. Nevarez had an interception that he returned for a touchdown and also added a 34-yard punt return to set up another Bear touchdown. Austyn Borre carried the ball 25 times for 130 from his halfback position and now has 447 yards for the season fourth among players in the TIMES NEWS area.FAST FACTS: Wyomissing is the defending PIAA Class AA state champion ... A year ago, the Bears traveled to Wyomissing and gave the Spartans all they could handle before falling, 31-27. The only tighter game that Wyomissing had during its perfect 16-0 season was a three-point victory over Aliquippa in the state championship game ... Bear coach Jim Terwilliger called last year's game with Wyomissing "one of the greatest games I've ever been a part of." ... After allowing an average of 32.5 ppg. in their first two games of the season, the Bears have allowed just 3.0 ppg. in their last two games ... After opening the season with a victory over Schuylkill Haven, Wyomissing suffered consecutive losses to Conrad Weiser and Muhlenberg. It was the first time in 10 years that the Spartans lost back-to-back games during the regular season.QUOTEABLE: "Wyomissing is a fundmentally sound team. They block well and they tackle well. Defensively, they are probably as multiple as any team you will see in high school football. Offensively, they run out of the Wing-T and have a number of talented backs. They key for us this week is stopping their running game." - Pleasant Valley coach Jim Terwilliger.Dieruff at LehightonWHEN: Friday, September 28 at 7:00 p.m.RECORDS: Dieruff (2-2); Pleasant Valley (3-1).LAST WEEK'S RESULTS: Dieruff defeated Pius X, 20-14; Pleasant Valley defeated Lehighton, 28-6.DIERUFF'S IMPACT PLAYERS: Shakur Lester proved once again why he's one of the best running backs in the Mountain Valley Conference last week against Pius X, running for 189 yards on 25 carries despite leaving the game several times with leg cramps. Dieruff managed 321 yards on the ground and 21 first downs in the game. Chris Marks, who threw the game-winning 52-yard TD to Tyshyn Harmon against the Royals, leads the MVC with 732 yards passing and eight touchdowns. Harmon is also the league leader in receiving, with 321 yards on 18 catches.LEHIGHTON'S IMPACT PLAYERS: Despite allowing 28 points against Pleasant Valley last week, Lehighton's defense is still third in the MVC in points allowed with 62. Indians' quarterback Tyler Cann was bottled up against the Bears a week ago, but should find room to work against a Huskies' defense that has allowed 114 points this year. Cann is the epitome of a dual-threat quarterback, having thrown for 303 yards and rushed for 197 this season. Tom Ruzicka has also carried the ball 30 times for 167 yards and two TDs this season. Lehighton's Wyatt Clements ranks fourth in the MVC in scoring with five touchdowns this year.FAST FACTS: When these two teams met at the end of September a year ago, both were 0-4 and struggling under first-year head coaches. Now both the Huskies and the Indians have two wins apiece and some momentum, along with several promising underclassmen, which bodes well for the future. The winner here goes to 3-2 and remains in the playoff hunt at midseason...Lehighton won last year's meeting 42-0...Dieruff's two wins in four games this season surpass what the Huskies were able to do from 2009-12, when they went 1-38. Dieruff is also 3-2 since defeating William Allen in its final contest a year ago and has won two in a row for the first time since 2002.QUOTABLE: "We just have to get better. We'll continue to coach the kids up and need to regain the momentum that we had. We want to stay positive and use last week's loss as a learning experience." - Lehighton head coach Tom McCarroll.Annville-Cleona at TamaquaWHEN: Friday, September 27 at 7:00 p.m.RECORDS: Annville-Cleona (0-4); Tamaqua (2-2).LAST WEEK'S RESULTS: Northern Lebanon def. Annville-Cleona, 33-26; Mahanoy Area def. Tamaqua, 53-28.ANNVILLE-CLEONA'S IMPACT PLAYERS: Northern Lebanon gashed A-C for 347 rushing yards and 18 chain-moving first downs a week ago, snapping an 11-game losing streak in the process. The Dutchmen have also been in flux on the offensive side of the ball, already making quarterback changes this season. Mitch Rodkey has spent most of the time under center, but Zack Southall and Adam Fox have also taken snaps. Rodkey has thrown for 314 yards and six scores this season and has also rushed for 219 yards and a touchdown. Quentin Hall has also been effective out of the backfield, carrying the ball 51 times for 297 yards and two TDs.TAMAQUA'S IMPACT PLAYERS: Mahanoy quarterback Dylan Mahmod rushed for 231 of his team's 241 yards in last week's win, putting the Raiders' defense on their heels early and often, especially in the second quarter where the Golden Bears scored five touchdowns. Tamaqua got a five yard run from Tyler Skripko and a 13-yard score from Ernie Shilko in the loss. Tamaqua quarterback Nate Edmonds engineered a 10-play, 74-yard drive that ended when Dustin Vandermartin got open on a pass from Edmonds on his way to a 31-yard touchdown. For the season, Edmonds has passed for 446 yards and four touchdowns. Vandermartin has been the Raiders' most dynamic player on offense, rushing for 195 yards and four scores to go along with 224 yards receiving and four touchdowns. Shilko has also contributed 216 yards rushing and three scores.FAST FACTS: If you don't count the second quarter of last week's game against the Golden Bears, the Raiders would have won the contest, 21-18...Tamaqua won last year's meeting 54-21...Tamaqua has scored 101 points this season and allowed 102...The 53 points allowed by the Raiders' defense last week were the most since a 54-14 loss to Jim Thorpe on September 3, 2004...After Friday's game, all of Tamaqua's remaining games will be against Anthracite Football League opponents.QUOTABLE: "One thing you can take away, if you can take away anything from a loss, is the way we moved the football. We had four nice drives that took some time off the clock and I thought we mixed in the run and the pass pretty equally and did a pretty good job of that." - Tamaqua head coach Sam Bonner.North Schuylkill at MarianWHEN: Friday, September 27 at 7:00 p.m.RECORDS: North Schuylkill (3-1); Marian (1-3).LAST WEEK'S RESULTS: North Schuylkill def. Schuylkill Haven, 19-0; Marian def. Conwell-Egan, 28-13.NORTH SCHUYLKILL'S IMPACT PLAYERS: After allowing Jim Thorpe to rush for 276 yards, the Spartans held a banged-up Hurricanes offense to just 91 yards on 41 carries. North Schuylkill also won the turnover battle, getting interceptions by Richie Zahodnick and Glenn Weist while committing none. Through their first three games, the Spartans had been unable to find a go-to back. Against Schuylkill Haven, Austin Hummel became that guy, rushing 20 times for 70 yards. For the game, North Schuylkill rushed 36 times for 168 yards and, more importantly, did not have a turnover. The week before, the Spartans coughed it up four times.MARIAN'S IMPACT PLAYERS: Marian earned its first victory against Conwell-Egan with a strong defensive effort, holding the Eagles, from Fairless Hills, to 160 yards of total offense, highlighted by Lukas Damian's game-changing interception in the second half. The Colts also got big plays on offense from quarterback KJ Snerr, who threw touchdowns of 66 and 69 yards, respectively. Chris Bruno provided ground support, carrying the ball 16 times for 73 yards and a touchdown.FAST FACTS: North Schuylkill bounced back into the win column and also buoyed its hopes of staying in the thick of the Anthracite Football League race. Two weeks ago, the Spartans incurred a 41-22 loss to the surprise team of the season thus far on the road with Jim Thorpe. But a 19-0 win over the preseason AFL favorites Schuylkill Haven in Spartan Stadium certainly helped ease the sting of the loss to the Olympians. The Spartans weren't at full-throttle against Haven with injuries, including Garret Grove at linebacker. They also lost quarterback Bobby Grigas for the second half with a concussion...North Schuylkill garnered an honorable mention nod in the Pennsylvania Football News' Class 2A poll...The Spartans won last year's meeting 21-6, and have won the last four meetings by a combined score of 145-29. Marian won the 2008 contest 22-6...Colts' senior tailback Anthony Agosti, who sat out last week's win over C-E with a leg injury, is also expected to be back in the lineup. Agosti leads the team with 174 yards rushing and three scores on 31 carries.QUOTABLE: "We played physical for the entire ball game last week. But I think the biggest difference was that we made plays. In the first three ball games we left way too many plays on the field. We really played to our capabilities on Saturday." - Marian head coach Stan Dakosty.Salisbury at Northern LehighWHEN: Friday, September 27 at 7:00 p.m.RECORDS: Salisbury (1-3); Northern Lehigh (0-4).LAST WEEK'S RESULTS: Catasauqua defeated Salisbury, 58-14; Palisades defeated Northern Lehigh, 28-13.SALISBURY'S IMPACT PLAYERS: Shane Wittman managed to score both Salisbury touchdowns in last week's loss to Catasauqua. he finished as the team's leading rusher with 38 yards. The Falcons use a couple of quarterbacks, but the one that scares Northern Lehigh coach Joe Tout the most is Troy Parton. Parton isn't just a passng threat, he can hurt you with his legs too.NORTHERN LEHIGH'S IMPACT PLAYERS: Freshman Taz McNair showed he can take it the distance when he returned the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown last week against Palisades. Nate Farber continues to chunk out the yardage and looks more and more comfortable each week He scored the other Nolehi TD on a seven yard run. He ran for 53 yards on 14 carries and also caught a pass for 11 yards. Josh Landsberger and Jace Umlauf are starting to be more of a presence on defense. also.FAST FACTS: The Falcons have lost three in a row since the opening night win over Bangor. The Falcons did manage 10 first downs against Catasauqua last week, but were just manhandled on the line of scrimmage giving up 51 points in the first half...Bulldogs haven't had an 0-4 start since the 1990's and have lost their last three games by a total of 29 points after the blowout at Southern Lehigh....QUOTABLE: "We've got to learn how to win know. Friday was the first time we played with the lead.We basically went three and out on offense in the second half, so eventually our defense wore down because Palisades was a physical club." - Northern Lehigh head coach Joe Tout.Panther Valley at Schuylkill HavenWHEN: Friday, September 27 at 7:00 p.m.RECORDS: Panther Valley (1-3); Schuylkill Haven (2-2)LAST WEEK'S RESULTS: Jim Thorpe def. Panther Valley, 49-20; North Schuylkill def. Schuylkill Haven, 19-0.PANTHER VALLEY'S IMPACT PLAYERS: The Panther Valley defense struggled with the Olympians' ground attack last week, allowing 424 yards rushing. Panthers' quarterback Kyle Ferryman was yet again the catalyst for the PV offense, scampering 42-yards through JT defenders for a score. Ferryman also made plays with his arm, hitting Anthony Micholick for a 74-yard TD. Ferryman's 489 yards rushing this season are second only to Jim Thorpe's Ryan Saunders. Richard Nase also added a 12-yard score against the Olympians and raised his season total to 368 yards.SCHUYLKILL HAVEN'S IMPACT PLAYERS: Against North Schuylkill, Schuylkill Haven played without quarterback Ryan Fink and senior center/linebacker Zach Kerschner, and lost linemen Nate Kramer and Kyle Wingle to injuries during the game. Junior tailback Will Casella, who had rushed for 455 yards in the first three games, was held to just 67 on 22 carries.The Hurricanes reached the red zone just once, driving to the Spartans' 7 early in the fourth quarter. That drive ended on an interception in the end zone by Glenn Weist. The Hurricanes depleted offense was held to just 91 yards on 41 carries.FAST FACTS: Schuylkill Haven won last year's meeting 37-0...The Hurricanes have won the last three meeting by a combined score of 93-13...Panther Valley's last win in the series was also at Schuylkill Haven, a 34-13 triumph in 2009...Panther Valley is 0-2 on the road this season while Schuylkill Haven is 1-0 at home...The Panthers' defense has allowed 161 points this season, a far cry from a Hurricanes' unit that has allowed just 61.QUOTABLE: "We still have to work on tackling and just be more disciplined and physical on defense." Panther Valley head coach Lon Hazlet.Jim Thorpe-Shenandoah Vy.WHEN: Friday September 27 at 7:00 p.m.RECORDS: Jim Thorpe (3-1); Shenandoah (1-3).LAST WEEK'S RESULTS: Jim Thorpe def. Panther Vy. 49-20; Shenandoah def. Minersville 41-14.JIM THORPE'S IMPACT PLAYERS: The Olympians have the leading offense and rushing attack in the TIMES NEWS area this season. Therefore, quarterback Ryan Saunders (509 yards rushing), running back Deonte St. Hill (461), and running back Robbie Heller (220) will all have to be accounted for by the Blue Devils "D." The Devils have been struggling stopping dynamic offenses this season and the Olympians sure have that.SHENANDOAH'S IMPACT PLAYERS: The Devils finally got in the win column this week in part to big nights by quarterback Ian McCole and running back Jeremiah Ney. McCole had a very nice evening for the Devils, throwing for 314 yards and three touchdowns against Minersville last week. Ney helped the Miners efforts by rushing for 116 yards and two touchdowns.FAST FACTS: Jim Thorpe showed last week that they do indeed have one of the most powerful offenses in the area. However, they also proved on the defensive side of the ball they still have some vulnerability. The Olympians gave up some big plays last week to the Panthers and they are giving up a hint over 26 points per game. PV rushed for 240 yards against the Olympians and racked up 333 total yards. The Devils have struggled this season, but their offense can still put up points and as always they have athletes that break big plays. Thorpe gave up touchdowns of 42 and 74 yards against the Panthers, so they will have to cut down on giving up the big play. On the offensive side JT has to keep it business as usual and they need to continue to stay on the plus side in the turnover department. Thorpe leads the area with a turnover ratio of plus seven.QUOTABLE: "Simply put, we have to continue to get better every week. Shenandoah definitely poses a challenge for us. They're big and physical up front and they're quarterback threw a lot of nice balls last week. They have many weapons. We just need to play error free football and improve out tackling from last week. Other than that we just have to continue play physical and fundamental football." - Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger.Palmerton-PalisadesWHEN: Friday September 27 at 7 p.m.RECORDS: Palmerton (2-2); Palisades (3-1).LAST WEEK'S RESULTS: Saucon Valley def. Palmerton 49-6; Palisades def. No. Lehigh 28-13.PALMERTON'S IMPACT PLAYERS: The Bombers were without some key players last week, including their most valuable asset on offense, running back Tre Nelson. Nelson was out with a leg injury and it's not yet known if he will play this week. Without Nelson the Bombers struggled terribly on offense and you can expect much of the same this week if he doesn't play. Expect freshman Mike Stasko and sophomore Zach Buck to split carries if Nelson can't go.PALISADES' IMPACT PLAYERS: J.D Donnelly and Christian Gretzinger are the guys that the Bombers will have to pay most attention to. Donnelly has rushed for 320 yards on the season, including three touchdowns and Gretzinger has rushed for 184 yards and three scores.FAST FACTS: The Pirates are a very physical football team which likes to pound the football, so the Bombers will need to be ready to bang come Friday night. The Bombers defense has been solid up to this point, but they definitely had a setback last week against Saucon Valley as they gave up 49 points. Palmerton has been giving up 136 yards a game on the ground, which isn't all that bad. If they can contain the Palisades rushing attack create some turnovers (plus seven on the season) then they will have a definite chance in this one. Lastly, the Bombers need to get something going in the passing game. Palmerton is just 21 for 47 on the season for 226 yards. It will need to have a more balanced attack against the Pirates this week.QUOTABLE: "We obviously didn't have a lot of key players in uniform last week, but that is in no way an excuse for our performance. We need to step things up in a hurry in order to take the next step on climbing the ladder in this league." - Palmerton head coach Chris Walkowiak