web1_TTL062918Yurkin1.jpg

Newport Twp. woman gets prison time over Sans Souci death

web1_AP19234712460304.jpg

Thomas loses cushion, shares lead in Tour Championship

Welcome to Week Zero, the official start of the PIAA high school football season.Yep, that&#8217;s what the PIAA calls this weekend &#8212; Week Zero.When the PIAA wanted to slice a week off the season a few years ago, it allowed teams to go from two scrimmages to one in order to play 10 regular-season games. Teams that have one scrimmage &#8212; and most do &#8212; start this weekend in Week Zero. The few with two scrimmages start next weekend, aka Week 1.Since the whole concept is silly, nearly every news outlet throughout the state refers to tonight as the start of Week 1 &#8230; not Week Zero.So Week 1 of the Wyoming Valley Conference starts tonight with 10 games, five new coaches and two less teams. The mergers of the Coughlin, GAR and Meyers programs into the Wilkes-Barre Area Wolfpack dropped the WVC from 17 to 15 teams. It will lose another team in 2020 as Northwest, the only Class A school, will move to the Northern Tier League in order to play schools of similar size.Here&#8217;s a look at the WVC&#8217;s three divisions, with last season&#8217;s overall records in parentheses.DIVISION 6A-5AThe division now has four teams as the Wilkes-Barre Area merger pushed the new team to Class 6A.Hazleton Area (6-6), Wyoming Valley West (5-5) and Williamsport (5-6) all finished the regular season at 5-5 in 2018. Valley West, though, was hit the least hardest by graduation so the Spartans rate as the divisional favorite.The Spartans have a good chunk of their defense returning headed by linebacker Brendan Woods, a Times Leader All-WVC selection.Hazleton Area needs to rebuild its entire offense that lost three-year starting quarterback Sparky Wolk, running back and Times Leader Player of the Year Damon Horton and all-state receiver Jacob Hunsinger, who is a preferred walk-on at Pitt. Williamsport is in the same boat as the Millionaires lost two Division I players &#8212; quarterback Joe Fagnano (Maine) and running back Treyson Potts (Minnesota) &#8212; along with receiver Marcus Simmons, a TL All-WVC second-team selection who is at Division II West Chester.WBA is a bit of a mystery. There is talent there as Rafael McCoy and Malachi Williams were All-WVC second-team defensive backs and bring speed to the receiving corps. But getting guys who played in three different systems a year ago could take time.Predicted Order of Finish: 1. Wyoming Valley West; 2. Hazleton Area; 3. Williamsport; 4. Wilkes-Barre Area.DIVISION 4AThe division goes from seven to six teams due to the WBA merger. It should still remain a two-horse race between defending champion Dallas (11-2) and Berwick (9-3).Dallas has a very talented senior class headed by quarterback Michael Starbuck and running back Lenny Kelley, both of whom were TL All-WVC selections as juniors. Many seniors played as freshmen when the Mountaineers won two games. There is some concern in the trenches, but not enough to set off alarms.Berwick had a pair of three-point losses to Dallas in 2018. The first cost the Dawgs the division title and the second ended their season in the District 2 Class 4A semifinals. Coaching veteran Carmen DeFrancesco takes control of a team which should be outstanding on defense. Senior safety Teagan Wilk is a perennial all-state player and will head to East Carolina next fall. He, defensive linemen Mason Laubach and Eric Montes were TL All-WVC first-team picks last year.The next four teams could finish anywhere behind Dallas and Berwick.Bob Barbieri begins his third year at Pittston Area (4-7), which has posted one winning record in the last 10 years. Crestwood (2-8) has a new coach in long-time assistant Ryan Arcangeli and is in a similar swoon. The Comets will rely on tight end Brandon Nieminski, who has committed to UConn.Nanticoke Area (6-5) lost standout running back Joe Ammons among others. At Tunkhannock (3-7), coach Mike Marabell begins his second season and will need to find a replacement for runner/receiver Garrett Hopkins, who had over 1,000 yards from scrimmage last season.Predicted Order of Finish: 1. Dallas; 2. Berwick; 3. Pittston Area; 4. Crestwood; 5. Nanticoke Area; 6. Tunkhannock.DIVISION 3A-AThe division lost GAR and Meyers to the WBA merger and is down to five teams. Like Division 4A, it looks like a two-horse race.Wyoming Area (11-1) ripped through its regular-season schedule unbeaten, but that could be difficult this time around. The Warriors picked up Lackawanna Conference powers Dunmore and Scranton Prep as replacements for the Wilkes-Barre schools.Still, the Warriors are among the WVC&#8217;s most talented teams with quarterback Dominic DeLuca returning for his third season as the starter, powerful running back Corey Mruk leading the ground attack and big-play receiver Brian Williams keeping defenses honest. Plus, Division I recruit Sam Solomon is back on the line after missing much of 2018 with an injury. DeLuca and Mruk were TL All-WVC defensive selections.Lake-Lehman (6-5) appears the best threat to dethrone Wyoming Area. The Black Knights are think on experience but not on size on the line. The skill positions are stocked and include Casey Kaminski, who was All-WVC on the other side of the ball as a defensive back.Northwest (4-6) plays its final football season in the WVC before moving to the Northern Tier League where it will face schools of similar size. The Rangers are the only Class A school in the WVC. They have two huge holes to fill with the departure of All-WVC receiver Connor Hazlet and long-time starting quarterback David Piestrak.The last time Hanover Area (3-7) was in the postseason was 2014 when Ron Hummer was the head coach. That was Hummer&#8217;s final season as the school board decided to make a change. Well, the board made another change for 2019 and Rick Hummer, Ron&#8217;s twin brother, is now running the show.While having twin brothers coach the same program is likely a WVC first, Rick is more concerned about getting his alma mater back to respectability. That could take time, though.Holy Redeemer (0-10) rounds out the division. Tyson Kelley take over a program which has lost 11 in a row and 19 of its last 20 games. The Royals won&#8217;t be playing Week 1 since their opponent, Holy Cross, shuttered the program for the season due to a lack of players.Kelley was hired just a few weeks ago after a job change by Dwyane Downing made him unable to come back.Predicted Order of Finish: 1. Wyoming Area; 2. Lake-Lehman; 3. Northwest; 4. Hanover Area; 5. Holy Redeemer.<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/2019/08/web1_TTL081819WBA-WAscrimmage_4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wyoming Area quarterback Dominic DeLuca begins his third season as the starter for the Warriors, who are favored to win the WVC Division 3A-A championship. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/web1_TTL081819WBA-WAscrimmage_4.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wyoming Area quarterback Dominic DeLuca begins his third season as the starter for the Warriors, who are favored to win the WVC Division 3A-A championship. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By John Erzarjerzar@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta>TIMES LEADER DISTRICT 2 TOP 10These are the first rankings of the season. Teams will be ranked based on performance. District 4&#8217;s Williamsport will be ranked, if applicable, since it plays in the Wyoming Valley Conference. Last year&#8217;s record is in parentheses.1. Valley View (13-1)`Cougars aiming for third consecutive D2-4A title2. Dallas (11-3)`Mountaineers have been building for this season3. Berwick (9-3)`Dawgs have new coach and plenty of returning talent4. Wyoming Area (11-1)`Schedule is much tougher with Dunmore, Prep5. Scranton Prep (13-2)`Cavaliers going for fifth consecutive D2-3A crown6. Delaware Valley (9-4)`Warriors are the class of D2-6A playoff field7. Dunmore (9-4)`Bucks need to address a few things along the line8. Lackawanna Trail (14-2)`Lions finished Class A state runner-up9. Lake-Lehman (6-5)`Skill guys make Lehman a D2-3A contender10. Old Forge (9-2)`Only one of two teams to defeat Lackawanna TrailGiven consideration: Lakeland (9-4); Wallenpaupack (9-4); West Scranton (7-5); Wyoming Valley West (5-5)</factboxMeta></div>

H.S. Football: Ready or not, here comes the start of the WVC season