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Chrin shows Pa. driver’s license in response to Cartwright claims on residency

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D2 Football: Postseason Week 1 Preview Capsules

Two years ago, Dallas was the hunter and just missed bagging its prey.Last year, Dallas was the hunted and ended up snagged in the upset snare.So there&#8217;s absolutely no way the second-seeded Mountaineers (9-1) are taking seventh-seeded Honesdale (3-7) lightly when the two teams meet at 7 p.m. Friday on Dallas&#8217; turf in the District 2 Class 4A football semifinals.The stakes are higher &#8212; lose and the season ends. Likewise, admission is higher &#8212; $7 for adults and $4 for students. Don&#8217;t yell at the person selling tickets. The prices are set by District 2.Two years ago, Dallas was 2-8 and gained the D2-4A eighth seed via a regular-season victory over Pittston Area. The teams had tied for the spot based on the PIAA state points system. Among the losses was a 42-10 pasting Week 8 at the hands of eventual top seed Wyoming Area.Three weeks later, Wyoming Area squeezed past Dallas 13-12 when Dallas went for the win in the final seconds by faking an extra-point try and going for an ill-fated two-point conversion.Many of those Mountaineers matured into a 7-3 team in 2017, opening the season with a 54-7 pummelling of Coughlin. But in the D2-4A quarterfinals, where Dallas was seeded second and Coughlin seventh, Coughlin prevailed 28-0.&#8220;They&#8217;re very well aware,&#8221; Dallas coach Rich Mannello said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t think we&#8217;ve gone a week this past yea without talking about it.&#8221;History isn&#8217;t the only reason Dallas should worry about Honesdale. There are a few more.First, the Hornets are big up front with senior Isaiah Sims (6-6, 275) and juniors Alex Atcavage (6-5, 280) and Walker Carney (6-4, 280). Even their 1,000-yard rusher, Andy Carroll, is supersized for a ball carrier at 6-3 and 190 pounds.&#8220;This is going to be the biggest group we&#8217;ve played against so far,&#8221; Mannello said. &#8220;That defensive front is the largest I&#8217;ve seen.&#8221;Secondly, Honesdale&#8217;s record is a bit deceiving. The Hornets lost two games by six points in the first three weeks. They had Delaware Valley all but beat, leading 7-0 in the final minutes when DelVal tied the game and eventually won 21-20 in overtime. DelVal (7-3) is the top seed in the D2/4-6A playoffs.And with a playoff spot hanging in the balance last Friday, Honesdale rallied from two double-digit deficits for a 41-34 win over West Scranton, which is the D2-4A fourth seed.Still, the odds bode well for Dallas. Since the PIAA went to six classifications for football in 2016, lower seeds are 4-20 against higher seeds in the opening round. Two of those games were a No.3 defeating a No.2, and second-seeded Lackawanna Trail defeating top-seeded Northwest for the district title in 2016.&#8220;We&#8217;ve got healthy at the right time,&#8221; Mannello said. &#8220;If we can continue to stay that way and keep playing consistent, it took us a while to get going last week so we have to improve upon that. The turnovers have to end. It&#8217;s unacceptable.&#8221;PIAA Points vs. Power RatingsDistrict 2 ditched the PIAA points system in favor of the Power Rating System this year to determine playoff teams. Based on the comparison of the two systems, perhaps a change wasn&#8217;t needed.The seeds in Class A, 2A, 4A and 6A were the same using either system.If the PIAA system was used for the D2/11-5A standings, Wyoming Valley West would haven been the fourth seed and not Pocono Mountain East. Both teams finished 5-5 and with 640 PIAA points, but Valley West would have advanced via the fifth tiebreaker &#8212; opponents&#8217; winning percentage. Valley West&#8217;s opponents were a combined 46-54; PM East&#8217;s were 42-58.The biggest shakeup was in Class 3A. Scranton Prep,Wyoming Area and Lakeland would have remained seeded 1-2-3 in the PIAA system, Hanover Area would have remained seventh and GAR eighth.The middle seeds in the PIAA system would have put Western Wayne (5-5, 740) sixth and heading to Lakeland for a quarterfinal game. Lake-Lehman (6-4, 750) would have been fifth and playing at No. 4 Meyers (7-3, 820).Instead, the Power Rating System took into account Western Wayne&#8217;s tougher schedule and vaulted the Wildcats to fourth where they will host No. 5 Meyers. Lehman got the sixth seed and will head to Lakeland.<style>
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<div class="neCaption">Dallas&#8217; Lenny Kelley (42) and the Mountaineers open the District 2 Class 4A playoffs at 7 p.m. today at home against Honesdale. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/web1_HSFBDallasValleyView3.jpg</photo0><caption0>Dallas&#8217; Lenny Kelley (42) and the Mountaineers open the District 2 Class 4A playoffs at 7 p.m. today at home against Honesdale. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag file photo | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Dallas opens postseason on high-alert</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By John Erzarjerzar@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta>TIMES LEADER DISTRICT 2 TOP 10 RANKINGSDistrict 4&#8217;s Williamsport is included in the rankings since it plays in the Wyoming Valley Conference and qualifies for the district playoffs through District 2. Last week&#8217;s ranking in parentheses.1. (1) Valley View (10-0)`The road to the D2-4A title runs through the Cougars2. (2) Scranton Prep (9-1)`Three-time D2-3A champ should handle one-win GAR3. (3) Wyoming Area (10-0)`Dominated Pittston Area 40-0 in annual rivalry game4. (4) Dallas (9-1)`Opens D2-4A playoffs with Honesdale, which is a deceiving 3-75. (5) Berwick (8-2)`Plays Pittston Area in likely its last home game of the season6. (6) Lackawanna Trail (9-1)`D2-A title game a chance to avenge loss to Old Forge7. (7) Dunmore (8-2)`Had five-game winning streak snapped by Lakeland 17-148. (8) Old Forge (8-2)`Handed Lackawanna Trail its only loss of the season9. (9) Delaware Valley (7-3)`Gets Scranton in consecutive weeks in D2/4-6A playoffs10. (10) Wallenpaupack (7-3)`Will be the only D2 team in the D2/11-5A playoffsDropped out: noneGiven Consideration: Lakeland (7-3); Lake-Lehman (6-4); Meyers (7-3); North Pocono (6-4); West Scranton (6-4)</factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach John Erzar at 570-991-6394 or on Twitter @TLJohnErzar</shirttailMeta></div>

D2 FOOTBALL WEEK 11 Preview: Dallas opens postseason on high-alert