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Expert at graduation summit warns of decline in achievement by boys

Intruder fled Wilkes-Barre home empty handed

<p>Nearly four decades have past since Thanksgiving Day football ended in the Wyoming Valley Conference. While the tradition live on sporadically in the state, it was phased out in the late 1970s around here.</p><p>Those rivalries, though, live on and five old Turkey Day games will impact the postseason as the WVC finishes off its regular season schedule.</p><p>The first up was Thursday night when GAR played Meyers in a game with District 2 Class 3A playoff implications. Four more are on tap at 7 p.m. Friday and here&#8217;s a look at them:</p><p>&#8226; <strong>Nanticoke (4-5) at Hanover Area (4-5)</strong> is a knockout game in the D2-3A playoff hunt. The loser is definitely out. The winner might be as well depending on Thursday&#8217;s GAR-Meyers outcome as well as how Western Wayne (5-4) and Lake-Lehman (5-4) fare on Friday night.</p><p>The rivalry remains vibrant. Nanticoke High School is a short distance from the end of the San Souci Highway, the same strip of asphalt where Hanover is located.</p><p>&#8220;I think it is, I really do,&#8221; said Nanticoke coach Ron Bruza, who also played in the game for Nanticoke. &#8220;You have a lot of kids who live close together. A lot of times we call it the Sans Souci Struggle. The rivalry is there. Over the years, Hanover would be up and Nanticoke would be down or Nanticoke would be up and Hanover would be down. But right now, when you go into the game any team could win now.&#8221;</p><p>History backs Bruza. Nanticoke has two six-game winning streaks against the Hawkeyes, from 1967-1973 and again from 1974-1980. Hanover Area won 11 in a row from 2000-2010.</p><p>&#8226; <strong>Wyoming Area (7-2) and Pittston Area (2-7)</strong> were both formed in 1966 and have played every year since 1967. The game is always the season finale, although there have been two exceptions. When the WVC and Lackawanna Football Conference merged in 2000 and 2001 to form the ill-fated Northeast Pennsylvania Football Conference, the game was plunked down in Week 5.</p><p>&#8220;Hook-and-ladder. Overtime game,&#8221; said Pittston Area coach Jim Norris, referring to when he played for Pittston Area in its 14-13 win in 2000. &#8220;We won it on a missed extra point. It was the first year they played it in the middle of the season than at the end.&#8221;</p><p>Friday&#8217;s meeting at Pittston Area has significance for both. If Wyoming Area wins, it will be the top seed in the D2-4A playoffs provided North Pocono (7-2) loses to LFC power Scranton Prep (8-1), which is the top seed in the D2-3A playoffs.</p><p>Pittston Area will get the final of eight D2-4A playoff spots with an upset of the Warriors. Upset are rare in the series, but there was a precedent set in 1989 when the four-win Patriots defeated an eight-win Wyoming Area team 6-2 and ended the Warriors&#8217; playoff chances.</p><p>&#8220;This is a game I think both teams are genuinely emotional about and care very much about playing,&#8221; said Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer, who started for the Warriors when Pittston Area won 21-15 in 1987. &#8220;All the other weeks we worry about how we&#8217;re going to motivate them, are they going to be ready. That&#8217;s a given with this game.&#8221;</p><p>&#8226; Like Wyoming Area and Pittston Area, the <strong>Wyoming Valley West at Coughlin</strong> matchup features alumni players coaching the teams &#8212; Pat Keating at Valley West and Ciro Cinti at Coughlin. The differences &#8212; neither team faces elimination and the game has bounced around the schedule throughout the years. Berwick has also eased away the role as chief rival for Valley West.</p><p>Valley West (7-2) would clinch the top seed in the D2-5A playoffs and a bye for Week 11. The Spartans would then host the title game against either Wallenpaupack (3-6) or Abington Heights (6-3). A Valley West loss and Abington Heights win would put the Spartans in a semifinal game against Wallenpaupack next week.</p><p>Coughlin is in the D2-4A playoffs and has an outside chance at a home game with a win and help elsewhere.</p><p>&#8226; <strong>Dallas (1-8) at Lake-Lehman (5-4)</strong> is for the Old Shoe Trophy. It was played Week 9 during the NEPFC experiment in 2000 and 2001.</p><p>Dallas gets the final D2-4A playoff spot with a win and losses by Pittston Area and Tunkhannock (2-7). Not as far-fetched as it sounds. Lehman could end up the second seed in the D2-3A tournament with a victory or out of it all together with a loss coupled with the results of several other games.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Bruza </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_nanticokefb02.jpg</photo0><caption0>Bruza </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_JimNorrisCMYK.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Norris </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_JimNorrisCMYK.jpg</photo1><caption1>Norris </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By John Erzar</p><p>jerzar@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>WEEK 10 SCHEDULE</strong></p><p><strong>Friday</strong></p><p><strong>(7 p.m.)</strong></p><p>Crestwood at Hazleton Area</p><p>Dallas at Lake-Lehman</p><p>Hanover Area at Nanticoke</p><p>Tunkhannock at Northwest</p><p>Williamsport at Berwick</p><p>Wyoming Area at Pittston Area</p><p>Wyo. Valley West at Coughlin</p><p><strong>Saturday</strong></p><p>Holy Redeemer at Col-Mont Vo-Tech, 1 p.m.</p><p>Canterbury at Wyo. Seminary, 4 p.m.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach John Erzar at 570-991-6394 or on Twitter @TLJohnErzar</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Playoff picture spices up rivalry weekend