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The day has arrived. A day that many thought would never happen this year.
				It&rsquo;s opening night for Wyoming Valley Conference football.
				The COVID-19 pandemic stopped the state basketball and swimming championships in March. It canceled the entire spring season. And when things were looking up, Gov. Tom Wolf made a mic-dropping statement to end an Aug. 6 press conference by saying he strongly recommended no scholastic or youth sports until Jan. 1, 2021.
				There was a scramble by the PIAA, state representatives and senators and school districts after Wolf&rsquo;s statement, which he later clarified as a &ldquo;strong recommendation&rdquo; and not a mandate or order.
				So as you can see, the road to tonight&rsquo;s openers were littered with speed bumps, potholes and detours.
				Three of the 14 WVC teams won&rsquo;t be starting on time due to COVID-19. Saturday afternoon&rsquo;s Pittston Area at Holy Redeemer game is off because of a positive COVID-19 test by someone who was inside Holy Redeemer High School. Redeemer shut down sports until Sept. 21, meaning no game next weekend for the Royals at Hanover Area.
				Hanover Area won&rsquo;t be on the field either. The school board initially voted to cancel fall sports only to rescind the vote four days later. The pause prevented the Hawkeyes from having enough practice required by the PIAA before playing.
				However, Hanover Area will now scrimmage visiting Pittston Area at 10 a.m. Saturday morning. And in a stroke of unexpected luck, the Hawkeyes found an opponent to replace Redeemer on Sept. 18. They will host Twin Valley from District 3.
				Twin Valley had Kutztown scheduled, but Kutztown once again is struggling to field a team because of low turnout. The Reading Eagle reported Kutztown, which has lost 30 in a row, had just 18 players despite a cooperative agreement with Brandywine Heights.
				Hanover Area will also host Scranton on Oct. 23 to replace what was to be a second game with Redeemer. When Hanover Area canceled sports, Redeemer filled that weekend with Holy Cross, its Scranton-based Catholic school rival. Redeemer wanted to keep the game.
				The season will be in-house except for a couple games other than the two Hanover Area has scheduled. Wyoming Area will host Riverside tonight, and Holy Redeemer will host Holy Cross on Oct. 24. Otherwise, it will be WVC vs. WVC in every game.
				As for fans, only Lake-Lehman and Nanticoke Area are allowing them tonight, but access will be very limited and tickets have been already distributed. No tickets will be available at the gate. Schools must follow Wolf&rsquo;s mandate of a 250-person limit at outdoor events. That number includes everyone in the stadium, including the teams, coaches, support staff, home cheerleaders and band, game officials, media and other essential personnel.
				Here are some of what&rsquo;s happened recently.
				&#8226; The Pennsylvania Senate on Wednesday joined the House of Representatives in overwhelming voting for a bill that would allow individual school districts to determine whether to have sports and how many spectators can attend. Don&rsquo;t expect the stadium gates to open anytime soon to everyone.
				Wolf indicated he will veto the bill. His other options are to sign it or let it sit 10 days when it would become law.
				A veto would send it back to the House and Senate for an override, and that could take time. So as of now, Wolf&rsquo;s 250-person limit must be followed.
				&#8226; The WVC had its original 10-week schedule. Then a new 10-game schedule which was then tweaked. The third version of the 10-game schedule was released with a seven-game schedule. Then came an eight-game schedule which was revised five (maybe six?) times.
				And the schedule shuffling might not be over. If there are any coronavirus situations which force a school to halt football, there could be more alteration.
				&#8226; The Lackawanna Conference won&rsquo;t start until Oct. 2 and play a five-game schedule. That didn&rsquo;t stop Riverside from finding non-conference games in the meantime. Riverside was originally set to fill the first three weeks on the WVC schedule in place of Hanover Area.
				When Hanover Area decided to have fall sports, Riverside kept the first game with Wyoming Area. It lost games with Redeemer in Week 2 and Lake-Lehman in Week 3. Undeterred, the Vikings picked up Academy of the New Church for Week 2 and Tamaqua for Week 3.
				&#8226; Hanover Area really lucked out in landing Twin Valley for Week 2. It posted the opening Monday on easternpafootball.com as do many teams throughout the state. Compatible opponents with openings Sept. 18-19 were gobbled up quickly, making things look bleak for the Hawkeyes.
				Then on Wednesday, Twin Valley posted its opening and was willing to take a two-hour ride to play.
				&#8226; Pittston Area has only seven games after its matchup with Redeemer on Saturday was nixed. The Redeemer decision came Monday, not nearly enough time for the Patriots to find another opponent although it&rsquo;s doubtful one was available. At least they&rsquo;ll get some work in with a scrimmage 10 a.m. Saturday at Hanover Area.
				&#8226; Wyoming Valley West will go into Friday&rsquo;s game against Wilkes-Barre Area without a scrimmage. A brief shutdown until the school board had the opportunity to vote on fall sports prevented the Spartans from having enough practices in order to scrimmage.
				The trickle-down effect was felt by Lake-Lehman, which was scheduled to scrimmage Valley West. The Black Knights will now go into Friday&rsquo;s game with Berwick without a rehearsal.
				&#8226; The PIAA is permitting teams which don&rsquo;t qualify for the postseason in any sport to continue playing. District 2 hasn&rsquo;t announced a playoff format for football, so it is possible some teams could be playing regular-season games while the postseason is being played.
				District 2 chairman Frank Majikes said Friday that once the PIAA sets up its state playoff schedules for all sport then District 2 can proceed with determining its playoffs.
				WEEK 1 AT A GLANCE
				Berwick at Lake-Lehman
				7 p.m. Friday
				The Coaches: Berwick&rsquo;s Carmen DeFrancesco (161-100, 2nd year at Berwick; 24th overall); Lake-Lehman&rsquo;s Jerry Gilsky (71-43, 11th year)
				Last Meeting: Berwick 41-14 in 2017
				All-Time Series: Berwick 4-0
				Scouting Berwick: The Dawgs couldn&rsquo;t do much on either side of the ball in their scrimmage. Of course, it was against perennial state power Southern Columbia, so they get a mulligan. Blane Cleaver, who committed to Army on Wednesday, will take over as the quarterback. However, he is better known as a force as a defensive end. Mason Laubach is one of the top defensive linemen in the state, so look for the defense to be ahead of the offense early on.
				Scouting Lehman: The Black Knights didn&rsquo;t have a scrimmage as their partner, Wyoming Valley West, didn&rsquo;t get in enough practices because of a brief shutdown. What is known is Lehman QB Ethan Adams is one of the top throwers in the WVC and Ryan Eiden is a versatile weapon. The unknown is how Lehman will respond in its first live action against an opponent. A scrimmage was vital, especially when the opener is against Berwick.
				What To Expect: Berwick to wear down a talented Lehman team.
				Hazleton Area at Crestwood
				7 p.m. Friday
				The Coaches: Hazleton Area&rsquo;s Dennis Buchman (0-0, 1st year); Crestwood&rsquo;s Ryan Arcangeli (7-5, 2nd year)
				Last Meeting: Crestwood 28-14 in 2019
				All-Time Series: Tied 6-6
				Scouting Hazleton Area: The Cougars finished 2-8 last season, but started four freshmen and many other new guys. The offense slumped badly during a six-game losing streak, scoring a lone TD in three of those games. Things should be better on that side of the ball with QB Kellen Warner and RB Kevin Meluskey leading the way. Alum and former assistant Buchman takes over, and his brother Matt showed flashes late last season as a freshman.
				Scouting Crestwood: The Comets finished 7-5 in 2019, going 2-1 in games decided by one point. Veteran QB Ryan Petrosky returns and he threw for a season-high 210 yards vs. Hazleton Area last season. However, plenty of talent graduated from the other skill positions so there is a bit of a rebuild on offense. The defense stuffed Hazleton Area&rsquo;s running game in the previous meeting, holding the Cougars to 58 yards and 2.1 yards per carry.
				What To Expect: A game that can go either way &#8230; at least it looks that way on paper.
				Riverside at Wyoming Area
				7 p.m. Friday
				The Coaches: Riverside&rsquo;s Harry Armstrong (59-29, 8th year); Wyoming Area&rsquo;s Randy Spencer (74-51, 12th year)
				Last Meeting: Riverside 52-26 in 2007
				All-Time Series: Wyoming Area 2-1
				Scouting Riverside: While the rest of the Lackawanna Conference is waiting until Oct. 2 to start, Riverside is raring to go with the blessing of the school administration. The Vikings also have games the next two weekends. The attack centers around QB Johnny Gilchrist, who threw for nearly 3,000 yards and 39 TDs in 2019. He threw about 32 times a game, but his favorite target has graduated. No problem, he&rsquo;ll just find another one.
				Scouting Wyoming Area: The defending PIAA Class 3A state champion has numerous holes to fill. While state Player of the Year QB/S Dominic DeLuca will be the biggest vacancy, the defensive pass rush also took a hit with the loss of Derek Ambrosino and Sammy Solomon. All three are in Division I college programs. The Warriors must find a way to generate a pass rush tonight to throw off Gilchrist. Jake Williams takes over the the signal caller after throwing just four passes in 2019.
				What To Expect: Wyoming Area will need to grind out some drives to keep the ball away from Gilchrist.
				Tunkhannock at Dallas
				7 p.m. Friday
				The Coaches: Tunkhannock&rsquo;s Mike Marabell (8-13, 3rd year); Dallas&rsquo; Rich Mannello (41-21, 6th year)
				Last Meeting: Dallas 49-13 in 2019
				All-Time Series: Dallas 18-8-1
				Scouting Tunkhannock: The Tigers should have an explosive offense again with QB Jack Chilson back. He threw for over 2,000 yards and 17 TDs. He&rsquo;ll be missing Jake Frisco, the WVC&rsquo;s top pass catcher who graduated, but there are enough talented wideouts to ease the loss. The defense needs some tinkering after getting exploited via run and pass at various times in 2019.
				Scouting Dallas: The Mountaineers set a school record with 15 wins in 2019, with the only loss coming in the PIAA Class 4A state championship game. It was a slow build over four years to reach that point and most of the contributors have departed. So it may take a few games to get up to speed. Everything will be new for the most part with numerous starters needing to be replaced.
				What To Expect: The game should be closer than last year, but Dallas will prevail.
				Williamsport at Nanticoke Area
				7 p.m. Friday
				The Coaches: Williamsport&rsquo;s Chuck Crews (44-54, 6th year at Williamsport; 10th overall); Nanticoke Area&rsquo;s Ron Bruza (41-62, 11th year)
				Last Meeting: never played
				All-Time Series: never played
				Scouting Williamsport: The Millionaires started last season 3-1, but then the lost seven in a row to finish 3-8. Williamsport has a pair of Division I players on the roster, but for different sports. QB Dallas Griess has verbally committed to play baseball at North Carolina. TE/DE Nassir Jones could end up on a Division I gridiron in 2021. The Millionaires return plenty of guys, so there is a good chance they take the next step.
				Scouting Nanticoke Area: The Trojans have never played Williamsport because of the disparity in the sizes of the schools. But the COVID-19 pandemic has brought together the unlikely matchup. Nanticoke Area defeated only winless Holy Redeemer and three-win Hanover Area last year with a senior-heavy team. There will be a lot of new faces in the lineup tonight.
				What To Expect: Williamsport just has too much experience for Nanticoke Area.
				Wyoming Valley West at Wilkes-Barre Area
				7 p.m. Friday
				The Coaches: WVW&rsquo;s Jack Baranski (3-8, 2nd year); WBA&rsquo;s Ciro Cinti (78-78, 2nd year at WBA, 15th overall)
				Last Meeting: WBA 28-0
				All-Time Series: WBA 1-0
				Scouting Valley West: The key to improving on a 3-8 season in 2019 will be the health of QB Donte Rhodes. He was injured in the second game last season and missed four games. His athleticism is necessary to run the offense properly. Plus, it&rsquo;s uncertain at this time if the Spartans have another big-play threat among an inexperienced skill group. The line is mostly new, but some guys got tossed into the fray last year due to injuries.
				Scouting WBA: The Wolfpack finished 7-5 in their first season, winning four of their last six games. They used a two-quarterback system, but only Kam Taylor returns from the duo. He fell just shy of 1,000 yards passing during the regular season. RB Noah Taylor led the team in rushing TDs with six, but the unit will sorely miss the home-run hitting Rafael McCoy, who also led the WVC with three kickoff returns for touchdowns.
				What To Expect: WBA has an experience edge and that should be the difference.
				Northwest at CMVT
				1 p.m. Saturday
				The Coaches: Northwest&rsquo;s Lon Hazlet (116-100, 6th year at Northwest; 22nd overall); CMVT&rsquo;s Mark Varner (54-99, 16th year)
				Last Meeting: Northwest 56-0 in 2011
				All-Time Series: Northwest 26-6
				Scouting Northwest: The Rangers left the WVC for the Northern Tier League to play more opponents in line with their Class A status. However, the team proved annually it was capable of playing against bigger schools. Northwest was 6-4 last season and used the power running of RB George May very successfully. Don&rsquo;t look for the Rangers to stray from that strategy.
				Scouting CMVT: Columbia-Montour Vo-Tech is stuck between two state-known powers &#8211; Southern Columbia and Berwick. The program, though, hasn&rsquo;t found much success since it is often working with limited numbers and talent. Still, Varner usually has his Rams ready to play hard and battle.
				What To Expect: Northwest&rsquo;s running game will be too much for CMVT.

H.S. Football: Opening night finally arrives for the Wyoming Valley Conference