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H.S. Football Notebook: Don’t get rankled about rankings

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Lottery Numbers for Thursday, Oct. 1.

HAZLETON &#8212; A constant and cold rain never did blur the focus of Mercedes Jasterzenski and her Wyoming Valley West teammates.They simply had their sights set on atoning for a spoiled season opener.Jasterzenski scored the game&#8217;s first goal Thursday, then assisted on two other scores as the Spartans avenged their first loss of the season by handling Hazleton Area, 4-2 at rain-soaked Harman Geist Stadium.&#8220;Before the game, our team was really excited on the bus,&#8221; Jasterzenski said. &#8220;They beat us last time. We have two big rivals, Coughlin and Hazleton. We knew they were the biggest teams to compete with.&#8221;Game on.The victory pushed 5-2 Wyoming Valley West into second place in the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 1, two games behind 7-0 Coughlin and one-half game ahead to 4-2 Hazleton Area as the regular season heads toward the homestretch.Maybe more importantly, a Valley West team that returned just two starters from last year&#8217;s District 2 Class 3A championship team served notice that it intends to stick around and make a push for another postseason run this time around.&#8220;Hazleton&#8217;s a great team,&#8221; Valley West coach Linda Fithian said. &#8220;It was a nice game for both teams.&#8221;The first meeting wasn&#8217;t so nice for the Spartans.A rebuilding Valley West team dropped its first game of the regular season, 3-2, at Spartan Stadium, leaving the conference wondering if a new challenger was emerging to battle defending Division 1 champ Coughlin this season. But the Spartans scored the last two goals of that opener to make the final score close, then resolved to build off that momentum in Thursday&#8217;s rematch.&#8220;We scored those two goals at the end, but it was too late,&#8221; Jasterzenski said. &#8220;We wanted to come out and score first.&#8221;She made sure they did.Less than three minutes in, Jasterzenski struck from the right corner, taking a feed from Foto Tsioles and depositing it into a cage for a 1-0 Spartans lead.And although Hazleton Area came right back and tied it on Kara Sanford&#8217;s goal, Jasterzenski and the Spartans kept pressuring the Hazleton Area circle.Jasterzenski registered an assist on a goal by Madison Woods that gave Valley West a 2-1 lead 3:25 before halftime, and after Megan Reed&#8217;s unassisted goal for the Cougars tied it, Jasterzenski set up Irelynd Sullivan for the go-ahead goal just 63 seconds into the second half. Sullivan added an insurance goal little more than three minutes later, and the Spartans surged into second place.As for the game-long rain, it never did dampen the spirits of the Spartans.&#8220;Nah, they love playing in the rain,&#8221; Fithian said. &#8220;It&#8217;s no big deal, especially since we&#8217;re on turf.&#8221;Particularly when revenge against a rival is on the line.&#8220;Honestly, I didn&#8217;t even notice the rain,&#8221; Jasterzenski said. &#8220;My goggles helped, and my turf shoes kept pretty good traction. I was cold in the beginning, but once you get playing, you really get the game in your mind.&#8221;Coughlin 3, Delaware Valley 1Brigid Wood scored all three of Coughlin&#8217;s goals as they went on to beat Delaware Valley. Kalie Reed picked up an assist on the second Crusaders goal and goaltender M&#8217;Kensie Lee made two saves during the game.Holy Redeemer 6, Abington Heights 1Annsley Dicton scored two goals and registered an assist and Leah Muller added a goal and two assists as the Royals rolled to their fourth consecutive league victory.Dicton scored two goals in the second half to help put the game away. Abby Strucker scored 3:36 into the game to give the Royals a lead they never relinquished.Honesdale 4, Wallenpaupack 2Ally Meyer scored twice in the second half and Clayre Smith punched home the put-away goal in Honesdale&#8217;s victory.Alyssa Watson gave Wallenpaupack a 2-1 lead with a goal before halftime, but Meyer scored an unassisted goal and off a feed from Smith during a 98-second span late in the second half.Wyoming Valley West 4, Hazleton Area 2Wyoming Valley West`2`2`&#8212;`4Hazleton Area`2`0`&#8212;`2First half &#8212; 1. WVW, Mercedes Jasterzenski (Foto Tsioles) 2:50; 2. HAZ, Kara Sanford 4:24; 3. WVW, Madison Woods (Jasterzenski) 16:35; 4. HAZ, Megan Reed 17:20. Second half &#8212; 5. WVW, Irelynd Sullivan (Jasterzenski) 1:03; 6. WVW, Sullivan (Tsioles) 4:08.Shots &#8212; WVW 16; HAZ 2. Saves &#8212; WVW 0 (Nikki Hartzel); HAZ 12 (Margaret Fulton). Penalty corners &#8212; WVW 6; HAZ 3.Coughlin 3, Delaware 1Delaware Valley`1`0`&#8212;`1Coughlin`2`1`&#8212;`3First half &#8212; 1. DV, Lyndsay Floystad (Maecy Chlebowski), 24:20. 2. COU, Brigid Wood, 7:54. 3. COU, Wood (Kalie Reed), 1:38. Second half &#8212; 4. COU, Wood, 5:51.Shots &#8212; DV 3; COU 18. Saves &#8212; DV 15 (Sophia Festa); COU 2 (M&#8217;Kensie Lee). Penalty corners &#8212; DV 2; COU 21.Holy Redeemer 6, Abington Heights 1Abington Heights`1`0`&#8212;`1Holy Redeemer`4`21`&#8212;`3First half &#8212; 1. HR, Abby Stucker (Leah Mullery) 3:36; 2. HR, Annsley Dicton (Jessie Ornoski) 5:13; 3. AH, Anna Baruffaldi; 4. Emily Easton (Dicton) 20:55; 5. HR, Mullery, 22:54. Second half &#8212; 6. HR, Dicton (Mullery) 3:40; 7. HR, Abby Shorts (Kayla Kruk) 24:46.Shots &#8212; AH 7; HR 15. Saves &#8212; AH 9; HR 6 (Bailey Janowski 3, Randie Kuhar 3). Penalty corners &#8212; AH 7: HR 7.Honesdale 4, Wallenpaupack 2Wallenpaupack`2`0`&#8212;`2Honesdale`1`3`&#8212;`4First half &#8212; 1. WAL, Margo DePatte (Maddie Schmalze) 10:07; 2. HON, Brieann Mayers 21:44; 3. WAL, Alyssa Watson 16:16. Second half &#8212; 4. HON, Ally Meyer 19:54; 5. HON, Meyer (Clayre Smith) 20:32; 6. HON, Smith (Emily McVeigh) 23:26.<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Paul Sokoloskipsokoloski@civitasmedia.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @ TLPaulSokoloski</shirttailMeta></div>

Wyoming Valley West drives their Mercedes to victory