Opening Night

On Friday night, almost seven to eight months of hard work will be finally come to fruition with the first game of the season. Some are looking for District Gold, some are looking to get into the playoffs and some are just trying to be competitive. With that being said, here are all of the games being played in District 2 this week.

Fort Pierce Central (FL) vs Delaware Valley
Time: 6 PM
Place: Disney World

Delware Valley comes in as the favorite to take their division and compete with Williamsport for the Subregional Championship. Ryan Obiso returns as the focal point of the offense as he rushed for 1,299 yards and 16 touchdowns last season. The Warriors will have an interesting game on their hands as they travel to Florida.

Prediction: Fort Pierce Central (FL)

Berwick at Hazleton Area
Time: 7 PM

Hazleton Area comes in returning their starting QB in Sparky Wolk and their leading rusher in Adrian Otero. Berwick doesn't return much, Jared Marshman is out for at best half the season. Sr running back Evan Klinger looks to step up and lead the offense in the running game. Last time these two teams played each other, Berwick won 44-0.

Prediction: Hazleton Area

Carbondale at Western Wayne
Time: 7 PM

Carbondale comes in with high hopes from their starting QB in Jordan Tolerico who threw for 738 yards and five TDs. TE Noah Yates had 14 catches, 186 yards and 2 TDs. Western Wayne needed to replace QB Scott Walck. To lessen the load on his replacement, junior Kobe Sauter returns after rushing for 568 yards and six touchdowns.

Prediction: Western Wayne

Coughlin at Dallas
Time: 7 PM

The Coughlin Crusaders come in with high expectations. The tandem of Vincent Todd and Jacob Cole. Todd will be the quarterback and Cole will be the running back. Todd threw for 172 yards last season but on the ground, he rushed for 1,063 yards. Cole had as good a year as Todd, which he rushed for 1,227 yards. Dallas brings back sophomore quarterback Michael Starbuck, who threw for 546 yards last season after taking over late in the season.

Prediction: Coughlin

Crestwood at Pittston Area
Time: 7 PM

Crestwood lost quite a bit of production from last season in Lance Blass, but Pat Rother looks to fill the shoes. Last season, the junior rushed for 679 yards. Chase Passman takes over at QB full time after filling in during the middle of the season. Pittston Area returns quite a bit of skill position players. Walter Coles returns at QB for his senior season. Last season, he threw for 1,460 yards. He'll have plenty of weapons in running back Keemar Woodruff and wide receivers Kevin Krawczyk and Rich Wallace.

Prediction: Pittston Area

West Scranton at Dunmore
Time: 7 PM

West Scranton returns their QB in junior Nick Giola, he threw for 1,325 yards and 14 TDs. After a playoff appearance, the Invaders look to get back into the postseason. After winning a District Championship, Dunmore is looking to repeat but have to replace several players in the lineup. They do return QB Gavin Darcy who threw for 795 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Prediction: West Scranton

GAR at Honesdale
Time: 7 PM

GAR returns Gerson Peralta who missed half the season with an injury. Malachai Williams lead the team in receptions last year as a freshman. Honesdale is looking to improve after last season as they didn't win a game last season. Dyllon Fillebrown had 12 catches for 156 yards and one touchdown last season.

Prediction: GAR

Hanover Area at Old Forge
Time: 7 PM

The Hawkeyes have quite a bit of questions going into their opening night game. Their line is probably their most experienced on their team. Old Forge returns their leading rusher in Brendan Mozeleski. The senior rushed for 1,048 yards and 16 touchdowns. Sophomore QB Alex Anastasi finished last season with 419 yards and three touchdowns.

Prediction: Old Forge

Mid Valley at Lackawanna Trail
Time: 7 PM

Mid Valley qualified for the playoffs last season and are looking to get back there this year. However, they graduated several players from last season. Junior RB Joe Chylak rushed for 614 yards and nine touchdowns. Lackawanna Trail won the District 2 Single-A Championship game last year and are looking to repeat this season. Junior QB Nathan Rolka returns for the Lions. He threw for 1,188 yards and nine touchdowns. However, he lost several key cogs to his offense and several players will need to replace the production.

Prediction: Lackawanna Trail

Valley View at Lakeland
Time: 7 PM

Valley View qualified for the District 2 4A Playoffs last year and fell to eventual champion North Pocono. They are looking to get back to the postseason. What could propel them could be the play of Senior QB Chandler Fuller. He threw for 972 yards and eight touchdowns. He also rushed for 481 yards and seven touchdowns. Lakeland is usually a traditional power in the Lackawanna League and this year, they look to win the District title after coming up short against Dunmore last year. Cyril Babcanec led the team last year in rushing with 968 yards and seven touchdowns.

Prediction: Lakeland

North Pocono at Riverside
Time: 7 PM

North Pocono is coming off a District 2 4A Championship and are looking to repeat as Champions. Junior QB Donny Blaine leads the offense. Last season, he threw for 1,158 yards and nine touchdowns. Riverside made the District 2 2A Playoffs and are looking to get back to the playoffs but will need to replace several key players from last season.

Prediction: North Pocono

Northwest at North Penn Mansfield
Time: 7 PM

After falling in the District 2 Class A Championship game, Northwest is looking to get to get back. Northwest senior RB Jake Anderson leads their offense. He rushed for 1,533 yards and 15 touchdowns. Last season, the Rangers fell to NPM 41-6.

Prediction: Northwest

Valley West at Scranton
Time: 7 PM

Valley West will need to replace key players but the Spartans hope to repeat the success they have had the last few years. Rob Dwyer will be the starter at quarterback, replacing Aaron Austin. OT Chris Bleich committed to UCLA for next season. Scranton RB Rheyse Green rushed for 743 yards and nine touchdowns. The Knights are also replacing their starting quarterback.

Prediction: Scranton

Tunkhannock at Nanticoke
Time: 7 PM

Tunkhannock and Nanticoke are teams that look like they might make major steps in 2017. Tigers Junior QB Zach Rogers threw for 822 yards and RB Logan Cywinski rushed for 1,091 yards. Nanticoke made the District 2 3A Playoffs last season. The RB tandem of Dawson Hughes and Eric Jeffries returns. Hughes rushed for 1,181 yards and Jeffries went for 906 yards.

Prediction: Nanticoke

Wyoming Area at Wallenpaupack
Time: 7 PM

Wyoming Area's offense returns senior QB PJ Angeli who threw for 741 yards and WR Marc Minichello who had 499 receiving yards. They hope to return to the District 2 Playoffs and hope to get to the District Finals after coming up short. Wallenpaupack RB Joe Ingulli rushed for 777 yards and six touchdowns. They lost to Abington Heights in the First Round of the District 2 5A Playoffs. Tom McCormick also returns for the Buckhorns. He threw for 487 yards and three touchdowns.

Prediction: Wallenpaupack

Meyers at Lake-Lehman
Time: 7 PM

Meyers senior QB Janssen Wilborn is looking to have a fantasic season. He passed for 349 yards and four touchdowns. He rushed for 1,025 yards and 11 touchdowns. Reese Patronick rushed for 405 yards last season with three touchdowns. Lake-Lehman brings back Trey Borger who was injured for most of last season. Zack Kojandinovich rushed for 549 yards last season.

Prediction: Lake-Lehman

Holy Cross at Holy Redeemer
Time: Sat 2 PM

Holy Cross needs to replace a ton of talent from last season. Jake Wiercinski caught six passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns last season. Royals Sr QB JD Turosky threw for 953 yards and seven touchdowns. Jonathan Winter caught 27 passes for 530 yards and four touchdowns. The Royals look to take another victory over their cross-county rival.

Prediction: Holy Redeemer

Montrose at Susquehanna
Time: Sat 2 PM

Montrose senior QB Maverick Tims threw for 305 yards. He rushed for 560 yards and five touchdowns last season. The Meteors are looking to improve from last season. The Sabers have to replace several players from last season. Sam Cosmello caught 12 passes for 137 yards. He also rushed for 98 yards and a touchdown.

Prediction: Susquehanna

Scranton Prep at Abington Heights
Time: Sat 2:30 PM

Possibly one of the biggest matchups of the week. The Cavaliers come in as back-to-back District Champions and are looking for the three-peat. Scranton Prep's Matt Gilmartin returns after a season in which he rushed for 914 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also caught seven passes for 97 yards and one touchdown. Abington Heights took the first ever District 2 Class 5A Championship. Kaleb Sherman returns for the Comets. He rushed for 536 yards and five touchdowns.

Prediction: Scranton Prep