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Outdoors: Sept. 22 to 28

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Week 5 WVC football preview: Valley West bringing momentum

Hazleton Area (2-2) at Wallenpaupack (2-2)7 p.m. FridayThe Coaches: Hazleton Area&#8217;s Mike Brennan (123-87, 16th year); Wallenpaupack&#8217;s Mark Watson (53-64, 12th year)Last Meeting: Wallenpaupack 16-7 in 2016All-Time Series: Wallenpaupack leads 1-0Quick Fact: Wallenpaupack had just 200 yards in last year&#8217;s game.Scouting Hazleton Area: The Cougars are coming off an impressive 49-13 win vs. Abington Heights where QB Sparky Wolk tossed three TDs. The running game topped 100 yards for the first time, while the run defense remained strong.Scouting &#8216;Paupack: The Buckhorns rallied in the fourth quarter to pull away from Honesdale 32-21. RB Joe Ingulli rushed for 202 yards and two touchdowns, but has been bottled up twice this season. The defense has 11.5 sacks so far.What To Expect: Hazleton Area to equal last year&#8217;s win total.Shikellamy (3-1) at Williamsport (3-1)7 p.m. FridayThe Coaches: Shikellamy&#8217;s Todd Tilford (79-53, 12th year); Chuck Crews (32-37, 7th year)Last Meeting: Williamsport 49-19 in 2016All-Time Series: Williamsport leads 41-11-3Quick Fact: Prior to last season, the previous meeting was in 1993.Scouting Shikellamy: Shikellamy defeated Selinsgrove 28-26 last Friday. Senior QB Gabe Tilford has combined for over 700 yards via the ground and air, although he struggled throwing the ball against the Seals. By most accounts, Selinsgrove dominated.Scouting Williamsport: After allowing 206 yards rushing through three games, Williamsport was gouged for 391 in a 48-34 loss to Wyoming Valley West. The defense gave up 28 points in the second half. QB Joe Fagnano didn&#8217;t throw a TD pass for the first time.What To Expect: If Williamsport can stop Tilford, it should come out on top.Dallas (2-2) at Wyoming Valley West (1-3)7 p.m. FridayThe Coaches: Dallas&#8217; Rich Mannello (10-16, 3rd year); WVW&#8217;s Pat Keating (70-26, 9th year)Last Meeting: Valley West 29-0 in 2016All-Time Series: Valley West leads 17-9Quick Fact: Valley West has won the last two meetings by shutout.Scouting Dallas: Heck of an effort by Dallas in its 35-17 loss to powerful Scranton Prep, which needed two fourth-quarter TDs to pull away. Sophomore RB Danny Meuser scored twice in his first start. The run defense faded a bit in the second half.Scouting WVW: The Spartans showed plenty of mettle, heading to unbeaten Williamsport and coming away with a 48-34 win. Valley West ran a season-high 51 times while attempting a season-low eight passes. Could be the future formula.What To Expect: A better game than the last two meetings.GAR (0-4) at Pittston Area (1-3)7 p.m. FridayThe Coaches: GAR&#8217;s Paul Wiedlich Jr. (51-33, 8th year); Pittston Area&#8217;s Nick Barbieri (1-3, 1st year)Last Meeting: GAR 26-19 in 2016All-Time Series: Pittston Area leads 10-9-1Quick Fact: The teams played every year from 1971-1991 except for 1989.Scouting GAR: GAR trailed Lake-Lehman 14-6 at halftime yet lost 50-12. Once again, the Grenadiers wilted in the second half and Wiedlich again hinted strongly that perhaps his players didn&#8217;t take the offseason seriously enough.Scouting Pittston Area: The Patriots fell 58-20 to Valley View and again turnovers were problematic. They have nine in the last two games and have no takeaways. RB Keemar Woodruff ran for a season-high 97 yards, but Valley View had 360.What To Expect: The Patriots give the home crowd something to cheer about.Western Wayne (4-0) at Tunkhannock (1-3)7 p.m. FridayThe Coaches: Western Wayne&#8217;s Randy Wolff (10-5, 2nd year); Tunkhannock&#8217;s Jan Cechak (28-98-2, 13th year)Last Meeting: Western Wayne 35-14 in 2016All-Time Series: Western Wayne leads 3-0Quick Fact: Western Wayne has won eight in a row vs. WVC opponents.Scouting Western Wayne: As expected, the Wildcats routed Holy Redeemer 53-0. They ran just 19 offensive plays and scored on seven of them. The third and fourth quarters were shortened to eight minutes to avoid a complete onslaught.Scouting Tunkhannock: The Tigers broke into the win column by handling Wyalusing 34-7. RB Logan Cywinski did his thing, but so did the passing game with Evan Turner hauling in a 68-yard TD. The defense forced five turnovers.What To Expect: Could be closer than the records indicate.Honesdale (2-2) at Coughlin (2-2)7 p.m. FridayThe Coaches: Honesdale&#8217;s Mike Jurkowski (4-20, 3rd year); Coughlin&#8217;s Ciro Cinti (68-58, 12th year)Last Meeting: Coughlin 49-13 in 2016All-Time Series: Coughlin leads 1-0Quick Fact: Honesdale finished winless in 2016.Scouting Honesdale: The Hornets have played well in their two losses and certainly are not the team from last season. The most noticeable thing is the line, which is huge for the high school level. Things fell apart in the fourth quarter in the losses.Scouting Coughlin: After two embarrassing losses, the Crusaders have bounced back. The 17-14 win over Wyoming Area was big for D2-4A playoff purposes. RB Jake Cole has 424 yards in the last two games after getting 45 in the first two.What To Expect: The game to be won in the trenches.Selinsgrove (3-1) at Berwick (4-0)7 p.m. FridayThe Coaches: Selinsgrove&#8217;s Derek Hicks (21-6, 3rd year); Berwick&#8217;s Frank Sheptock (12-5, 2nd year)Last Meeting: Selinsgrove 17-14 in 2016All-Time Series: Berwick leads 19-11Quick Fact: Selinsgrove also won 17-14 in 2015.Scouting Selinsgrove: The Seals enter off a 28-26 loss to Shikellamy where, based on some internet stuff, the officiating wasn&#8217;t pristine. Senior QB Logan Leiby has thrown for 1,215 yards and 13 TDs as Selinsgrove throws more than it runs.Scouting Berwick: Berwick football showed up at Crispin Field. The result was a 56-0 thrashing of Crestwood. QB Alex Force rebounded from a bland performance vs. Wyoming Area. The defense held Crestwood to 51 yards.What To Expect: A game that can go either way.Northwest (1-3) at Nanticoke (3-1)7 p.m. FridayThe Coaches: Northwest&#8217;s Lon Hazlet (99-98, 19th year); Nanticoke&#8217;s Ron Bruza (30-45, 8th year)Last Meeting: Northwest 35-16 in 2016All-Time Series: Northwest leads 12-8Quick Fact: Northwest has won the last 10 meetings.Scouting Northwest: The playoffs start now for Northwest. The 27-6 loss to Lackawanna Trail dumped the Rangers in a hole perhaps too deep to climb out of. Despite having plenty of guys back, the offense seems a tick or two off.Scouting Nanticoke: Nanticoke played much better in the second half of a 26-7 loss to Meyers. The problem was the Trojans were down 26-0 at the break and aren&#8217;t built to rally from big deficits. Instead, they thrive on the running game.What To Expect: Hard one to get a grip on.Hanover Area (0-4) at Lake-Lehman (2-2)7 p.m. FridayThe Coaches: Hanover Area&#8217;s Mike McCree (6-18, 3rd year); Lehman&#8217;s Jerry Gilsky (52-31, 8th year)Last Meeting: Hanover Area 41-14 in 2016All-Time Series: Lehman leads 26-23Quick Fact: Lehman&#8217;s 1974 win over Hanover Area came via forfeit.Scouting Hanover Area: Hanover Area has improved since the first two weeks, but saw its losing streak hit nine with a 41-15 loss to Mid Valley. The run defense surrendered three TD runs of 30 yards or more. Still a ways to go.Scouting Lehman: The Black Knights rolled up 38 second-half points in a 50-12 win at GAR. The running attack got back in form with 387 yards after two consecutive bland performances. Same goes for the run defense.What To Expect: Lehman&#8217;s backs will be the difference.Crestwood (2-2) at Pottsville (2-2)7 p.m. FridayThe Coaches: Pottsville&#8217;s Tom McGeoy (18-28, 5th year); Crestwood&#8217;s Greg Myers (77-68, 13th year)Last Meeting: Pottsville 33-0 in 2016All-Time Series: Crestwood leads 2-1Quick Fact: Pottsville was a WVC member for football from 1994-1999.Scouting Crestwood: The wheels came off at Berwick resulting in a 56-0 loss. Crestwood managed just 51 yards of offense after being solid through the first three games. The last two opponents have been able to run the ball.Scouting Pottsville: Pottsville finished 9-2 last season, its first winning record since 2010. The Crimson Tide run the ball about two-third of the time, with RBs Ian Murhon and Sam Siminitus the main focus. Murhon is a force on defense.What To Expect: Pottsville, unless Crestwood&#8217;s run defense improves.Meyers (3-1) at Holy Redeemer (1-3)1 p.m. SaturdayThe Coaches: Meyers&#8217; Jeff Labatch (15-11, 3rd year); Redeemer&#8217;s Dwayne Downing (26-37, 7th year)Last Meeting: Meyers 50-6 in 2016All-Time Series: Meyers leads 8-2Quick Fact: Redeemer defeated Meyers in 2008 and 2014.Scouting Meyers: The Mohawks dominated Nanticoke in the first half on the way to a 26-7 win. The caveat was they seemed to put it on auto-pilot in the second half instead of going for the knockout punch. Can&#8217;t do that.Scouting Redeemer: Where do you start. Redeemer lost 53-0 to Western Wayne where the third and fourth quarters were shortened to eight minutes with a running clock. Western Wayne ran only 19 plays and scored on seven of them.What To Expect: Meyers big &#8230; very big.Wyoming Area (1-3) at Scranton Prep (4-0)1:30 p.m. SaturdayThe Coaches: Wyoming Area&#8217;s Randy Spencer (50-52, 10th year); Prep&#8217;s Terry Gallagher (16-2, 2nd year)Last Meeting: Prep 14-7 in 2016All-Time Series: Prep leads 6-2Quick Fact: The teams first played in 1971 with Wyoming Area winning 31-6Scouting Wyoming Area: The Warriors have lost their last three games by three points each. The offense has been pedestrian and that&#8217;s been a problem, especially in the second half. The running game is averaging 3.2 yards per carry.Scouting Prep: The Cavaliers survived a big fright from Dallas before winning 35-17. QB Leo O&#8217;Boyle ran for three TDs, but it&#8217;s RB Matt Gilmartin who is the go-to guy. The defense, especially vs. the run, has been outstanding.What To Expect: Prep to win its 14th in a row vs. a WVC foe.<style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By John Erzarjerzar@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div>

WVC football capsules: Breaking down each matchup