web1_Best-of-Back-Mt.-TL-1-1-.jpg

Best of Back Mountain honored

web1_Speziale_Jerry.jpg

Hazleton Police announce technology upgrades

If the Wyoming Valley Conference is going to have a boys soccer team win a district title for the seventh straight season, Class 3A might be its best shot.While Wyoming Seminary and Meyers enter the District 2 Class 2A playoffs with just one loss apiece, and Lake-Lehman sports a 10-2-2 record, the Blue Knights are seeded the highest out of the group &#8212; at No. 3.Crestwood, Dallas and Wyoming Valley West, on the other hand, are the top three seeds in Class 3A.&#8220;We&#8217;re definitely adapting a lot better to these better teams,&#8221; Crestwood senior Hubert Herrera said after the Comets&#8217; Oct. 9 3-0 win against Dallas. &#8220;It&#8217;s just a statement. A lot of teams out there are going to see that score and know what we&#8217;re coming for.&#8221;Crestwood returns to the postseason looking to defend its district title from a year ago.And if the Comets can do that successfully, they&#8217;ll have a shot at redemption after getting shut out in states in 2017. That shutout has been what has pushed the Comets all year.&#8220;It&#8217;s something we&#8217;re really working for this entire season. We&#8217;ve been working for it,&#8221; Herrera said of a possible states win. &#8220;Last time we were close. We just let up in that second half.&#8221;Despite being seeded third behind both Crestwood and Dallas, respectively, Wyoming Valley West might be the hottest Class 3A team heading into districts. The Spartans also might be the hottest WVC team, too.After losing to both Crestwood and Dallas earlier in the season, the Spartans were able to tie Dallas, 0-0, on Sept. 28 and then pick up a 2-1 road victory over the Comets last week.For the Spartans, that was their statement.&#8220;It&#8217;s a huge win. Huge win. Gives us great momentum heading into playoffs,&#8221; Wyoming Valley West head coach Charlie Whited said after the Oct. 17 win over Crestwood. &#8220;We&#8217;ve been playing really well. Really well. I&#8217;m very proud of the boys.&#8221;But just because the Blue Knights are seeded third doesn&#8217;t mean they don&#8217;t have a shot to take down perennial power Scranton Prep.The Cavaliers do have some chinks in the armor heading into the postseason, losing to both four-loss Abington Heights and two-loss Wallenpaupack.This could be the season that Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s defense can do just enough to shut down Scranton Prep, which has won two straight Class 2A district titles. Scranton Prep knocked the Blue Knights out of districts in 2016 and 2017, too.&#8220;This is what we&#8217;ve been working for,&#8221; Wyoming Seminary senior Edge Miller said. &#8220;We&#8217;ve been working to play against teams like (Meyers) &#8212; good competition and to go to district finals and make a run in states this year.&#8221;Class AMMI Prep finished the regular season 1-13 and did not qualify for the Class A playoffs.There are no WVC reps in the bracket. Gregory the Great Academy is seeded first, while Forest City, Blue Ridge and Montrose round out the top four.Class 2AWyoming Seminary is the top WVC seed, ranking third behind Scranton Prep and Lakeland, respectively.Despite that, the Blue Knights have a tough matchup in the quarterfinals on Friday, facing No. 6 seed Lake-Lehman. The Black Knights have only two losses and beat Wyoming Seminary on Oct. 3.Last year&#8217;s runner-up, Meyers, is the No. 5, and will travel to Western Wayne on Thursday. Even though they&#8217;re seeded fifth, the Mohawks have the talent to make a run this postseason.Class 3ACrestwood. Dallas. Wyoming Valley West. One, two, three.The Spartans&#8217; late-season surge, beating Crestwood and tying Dallas in the second half of the regular season, makes things interesting.The Comets&#8217; toughest opponent leading up to a possible finals matchup against Dallas or Wyoming Valley West is fourth-seeded Wallenpaupack, which has just two losses to its name.Class 4AHazleton Area is the lone WVC rep in the four-team field.Coming in as the No. 2 seed, the Cougars will face District 4&#8217;s Williamsport if they make it out of a semifinal matchup against No. 3 seed Delaware Valley.<style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/web1_TTL101818Crestwood-WVWBSOC_2_ne2018102317252068.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Valley West and Kevin Grodzki (left) beat Crestwood and Hubert Herrera 2-1 last week. After a tough battle near the end of the regular season, the No. 3 Spartans and No. 1 Comets could see each other in the District 2 Class 3A championship on Oct. 31. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/web1_TTL101818Crestwood-WVWBSOC_2_ne2018102317252068.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wyoming Valley West and Kevin Grodzki (left) beat Crestwood and Hubert Herrera 2-1 last week. After a tough battle near the end of the regular season, the No. 3 Spartans and No. 1 Comets could see each other in the District 2 Class 3A championship on Oct. 31. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By DJ Eberledjeberle@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta>DISTRICT 2 BOYS SOCCER AT A GLANCECLASS AQuarterfinalsThursdayNo. 8 Holy Cross at No. 1 Gregory the Great, 4 p.m.No. 5 Mt. View at No. 4 Montrose, 5 p.m.No. 7 Old Forge at No. 2 Forest City, 4 p.m.No. 6 Elk Lake at No. 3 Blue Ridge, 4 p.m.SemifinalsMondayFinalsOct. 31CLASS 2AThursdayNo. 7 Wyoming Area at No. 2 Lakeland, 4:30 p.m.FridayNo. 8 Mid Valley at No. 1 Scranton Prep, 4 p.m.No. 5 Meyers at No. 4 Western Wayne, 4 p.m.No. 6 Lake-Lehman at No. 3 Wyoming Seminary, 6:30 p.m.SemifinalsMondayFinalOct. 31CLASS 3AWednesdayNo. 8 Coughlin at No. 1 Crestwood, 6:30 p.m.No. 5 Abington Heights at No. 4 Wallenpaupack, 5:45 p.m.No. 6 Tunkhannock at No. 3 Wyoming Valley West, 7 p.m.No. 7 Valley View at No. 2 Dallas, 6:30 p.m.SemifinalsMondayFinalOct. 31DISTRICT 2/4 SUBREGIONALCLASS 4ASemifinalsThursdayNo. 4 Scranton at No. 1 Williamsport, 5 p.m.MondayNo. 3 Delaware Valley at No. 2 Hazleton Area, 6 p.m.SUBREGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPOct. 31DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIP (if necessary)Nov. 2 </factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach DJ Eberle at 570-991-6398 or on Twitter @ByDJEberle</shirttailMeta></div>

D2 boys soccer preview: WVC looms large in Class 3A bracket