Comets show some fireworks in blowout of Nanticoke

It was homecoming week in Mountain Top as the Crestwood Comets hosted the Nanticoke Trojans. The Comets came out tonight in an all black scheme with black shirts and black pants with red for the numbering. Both teams were looking to get back on track as both are on losing streak. Crestwood is on a three game losing streak and the Trojans are on a two game winning streak. Who's streak would be broken on this Saturday night? We'll find out soon enough. The Comets started with the ball. Nick Grosek would start with a 14 yard carry and then Pat Rother would get the Comets into Trojans territory with an 18 yard run. After a false start, Grosek would go for a 19 yard run and then go for another run of 19 to make it first and goal at the one. After failing to get in on first and goal then second and goal, Garrett Swank would go to Brandon Brozena for a one yard touchdown pass. The PAT would make it 7-0 with 9:17 remaining in the first quarter. The Comets defense would go three and out and then block a Trojans punt that would be recovered at the ten yard line. The Comets would face a fourth and goal and Swank would go to Brandon Nieminski for a five yard score. The PAT would make it 14-0 with 6:19 in the first quarter. On the Trojans possession, Colby Butczynski would go to Matt Bobeck for 15 yards. Manny Saldana would go for a 10 yard gain then go for 34 on the next play to get to the Crestwood 17 and then they would face a fourth and 8 at the Crestwood 15 and the pass would fall incomplete forcing a turnover on downs. Grosek would gain 11 on the first play, but penalties would move the Comets and then Swank's pass would be intercepted by Dylan Szychowski. The Trojans would face a fourth and 10 and the pass would fall incomplete but a holding call would give a Trojans a first down as the quarter comes to an end. They would face a fourth and 9 at the Crestwood 34 but another incompletion would give the Comets the ball back. On the fourth play, Grosek would go 51 yards to the end zone for the score. The PAT would be no good as the Comets would lead 20-0 with 9:50 remaining in the second quarter. The Trojans would face a third and 12 and Butczynski's pass would be intercepted by Kevin Klusewitz and returned 48 yards for a touchdown. They would go for two and get it. The Trojans would face a third and 5 and Saldana would only get one yard but a five yard facemask call would give the Trojans a first down. They would be forced to punt on the next set of downs but the Comets would muff it and the Trojans would recover. The Trojans would face a fourth and 8 at the Nanticoke 40 and Butczynski would find Joe Ammons but would lose a yard but would force a turnover on downs. On the next drive, Swank would find Nieminski for a 20 yard touchdown, their second time of the game. The Trojans would go three and out and the Comets would run the ball out as we headed to halftime 35-0. The Comets would cruise in the second half, only allowing a 16 yard touchdown run by Manny Saldana. The final score was 35-7 in favor of the Comets. The Comets snap a three game losing streak.

Thoughts on the game: It was definitely a surprising performance by the Comets. The Trojans injuries definitely showed. They were missing wideout Darren Boseman and star running back Eric Jeffries. Not to take away from the Comets, Garrett Swank had a great game tonight, throwing for three touchdowns, two of them were to Brandon Nieminski.

Packers strike early and cruise past Bears

After taking a victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers at home on Sunday, the Bears are looking for their second straight victory against their bitter rivals, the Green Bay Packers. The Packers are looking to keep control of the NFC North after taking an overtime victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. The Packers started with the ball and they took a long drive that resulted in a Aaron Rodgers touchdown pass to Davonte Adams from five yards out. The PAT would make it 7-0 with 9:49 remaining in the first quarter. The Bears would fumble on the first play of the drive and the Packers would recover at the Chicago 3 yard line. On third and goal, Rodgers would find Randall Cobb for a two yard touchdown pass. The PAT would make it 14-0 with 8:59 remaining. The Bears would face a third and 6 and Mike Glennon would go to Kendall Wright for a 16 yard completion. On second and 14, the Bears would fumble and the Packers would recover again at their own 24. The Bears defense would force a three and out. The Packers defense would force a three and out as well. The Packers weren't able to increase their lead as they went three and out. The first quarter would come to a close with the Packers holding a 14-0 lead. There was a delay at the end of the first quarter due to a lightning storm. After a 47 minute weather delay, the Bears would face a third and 1 and Jordan Howard would get the yard for a first down. A Bears holding penalty would end the drive in a punt. The Packers face a third and 1 and Aaron Jones would get six yards for a first down. A sack on third down would cause the Packers to punt. Howard would get 16 yards on the first play but the drive would end in an interception by HaHa Clinton-Dix. On the first play, Rodgers would go to Jordy Nelson for a 58 yard reception. Jones would go in from two yards out for a 21-0 Packers lead. The Bears would go three and out for another punt. The Packers would go three and out as the Bears would get after the two minute warning. Glennon would go to Thompson for 14 on the first play of the drive. On second and 10, Glennon went to Zach Miller for 16 and then for 29 on back-to-back plays. On third and 2, Glennon would find Wright for a five yard touchdown. The PAT would cut the lead to 21-7 with 12 seconds left in the half. The Packers would have the 21-7 lead as they went into halftime. The Bears would get the ball. On a second and 11, Glennon would go to Wright for 22 yards. On third and 3, Glennon went to Bellamy for 15 yards. They wouldn't be able to move the ball anymore and would try a 47 yard field goal by Connor Barth and would miss wide right. The Bears would get called for pass interference on second and 11. The Packers would face a fourth and 1 and Rodgers would go to Nelson for five yards to make it 28-7. Jones would go for 11 yards on third and 1 for a first and goal at the three. The Bears looked like they would hold the Packers to a field goal but a penalty on the Bears by hitting a player in the head would give the Packers an automatic first down. On the next play, Rodgers would find Nelson for a four yard score. On the Bears next drive, the Packers Brice would intercept a Glennon pass. The Packers would face a third and 6 as the third quarter ended with the Packers led 35-7. The Bears would only score one more time thanks to a rushing touchdown by Jordan Howard. The Packers would take the victory 35-14.

Thoughts on the game: The Packers pretty much dominated from start to finish tonight. They had a 14-0 lead early and just cruised from there.

September Endings

September is typically one weird month. In the beginning, it could be summerlike with temperatures in the 90s or cooler with temps in the 60s like earlier this month. At the end of the month, you usually see temperatures in the 60s or temps in the 80s. The temps may go down as we head to October, the playoff races definitely heat up. Some are fighting for positioning as some are just trying to get in.  With all that being said, here are the previews of the games being played this week.

Athens at GAR
Time: Thurs 7 PM

Athens is coming off a loss to Towanda. GAR is coming off a loss to Pittston Area. Athens RB Zack Jayne looks like vocal point of the offense. He is rushing for 694 yards and 11 touchdowns. GAR RB Anthony Blake has rushed for 85 yards and two touchdowns. GAR is still looking for their first win of the season while Athens is coming off a loss and have to rebound on a short week.

Prediction: GAR

Berwick at Coughlin
Time: Fri 7 PM

Berwick is coming off their first loss of the year to Selinsgrove. Coughlin is in the middle of a three game winning streak after starting 0-2. They knocked off Honesdale last week. Bulldogs QB Alex Force has been fantastic. He's thrown for 557 yards and four touchdowns while not throwing an interception. Wideout Jared Watts has 12 catches for 196 yards and a touchdown.  Coughlin RB Jake Cole has been on a roll, he's rushed for 579 yards and six touchdowns. This could be an interesting matchup. Coughlin has been on a roll since their 0-2 start. Meanwhile Berwick didn't look like they could lose until last week where they were denied the end zone.

Prediction: Berwick

Lackawanna Trail at Carbondale
Time: Fri 7 PM

The Lions of Lackawanna Trail are coming off a win over Lakeland. Carbondale is coming off a win over Susquehanna. Lions RB Jeffrey Resto has been great for their offense. He has rushed for 374 yards and eight touchdowns. Chargers TE Noah Yates has eight catches for 118 yards and a touchdown. This looks like a mismatch that is in favor of Lackawanna Trail, but there have been a few matchups where it looked like Carbondale wasn't favored and they took the victory.

Prediction: Lackawanna Trail

Dunmore at Montrose
Time: Fri 7 PM

Dunmore stayed unbeaten with a victory over Holy Cross. Montrose is coming off a loss to Riverside. Bucks QB Gavin Darcy has thrown for 438 yards and 11 touchdowns. Wideout Nate Fangio has 12 catches for 258 yards and five touchdowns. Montrose RB John Herman has 318 yards rushing and three touchdowns. He also has four catches for 41 yards and a touchdown.

Prediction: Dunmore

Hanover Area at Wyoming Area
Time: Fri 7 PM

Hanover Area is coming off a loss to Lake-Lehman and are still looking for their first win of the season. Wyoming Area is coming off a loss to Scranton Prep. The Hawkeyes Sean Coleman has been a great all-around player. He has rushed for 166 yards and a touchdown and has 21 catches for 195 yards. Warriors wideout Marc Minichello has rushed for 74 yards and has caught 25 passes for 214 yards and three touchdowns.

Prediction: Wyoming Area

Holy Redeemer at Northwest
Time: Fri 7 PM

Holy Redeemer is coming off a loss to Meyers. Northwest is coming off a win on the road against Nanticoke. Royals sophomore receiver Colin Conway has 17 catches for 193 yards. Conway also has two interceptions on the defensive side of the ball. Rangers wideout Connor Hazlet has 12 catches for 155 yards and a touchdown.

Prediction: Northwest

Honesdale at Western Wayne
Time: Fri 7 PM

Honesdale is coming off a road loss to Coughlin. Western Wayne stayed unbeaten after a victory over Tunkhannock. Hornets QB Ethan Dunn has thrown for 495 yards and three touchdowns. Wideout Justin LoBasso has 14 catches for 231 yards and two touchdowns. Western Wayne QB Matt Valanda has been great in his first year as the starter. He's thrown for 528 yards and six touchdowns.

Prediction: Western Wayne

Tunkhannock at Lake-Lehman
Time: Fri 7 PM

Tunkhannock is coming off a loss to Western Wayne. Lake-Lehman is coming off a win over Hanover Area. The Tigers Garrett Hopkins as caught 22 passes for 237 yards and a touchdown. QB Zack Rogers threw for 476 yards and three touchdowns. Black Knights RB Trey Borger has rushed for 516 yards and five touchdowns. Borger has also caught six passes for 59 yards.

Prediction: Lake-Lehman

Lakeland at Susquehanna
Time: Fri 7 PM

Lakeland is coming off a loss to Lackawanna Trail. Susquehanna is coming off a loss to Carbondale. Chiefs receiver Thomas Pidgeon has caught 30 passes for 434 yards and five touchdowns. Sabers QB CJ Stone has thrown for 425 yards and seven touchdowns.

Prediction: Lakeland

West Scranton at North Pocono
Time: Fri 7 PM

West Scranton is coming off a loss to Scranton. North Pocono is coming off a loss to Delaware Valley. Invaders RB Kevin Williams has rushed for 471 yards and three touchdowns. Trojans QB Donny Blaine has thrown for 730 yards and six touchdowns

Prediction: North Pocono

Old Forge at Riverside
Time: Fri 7 PM

Old Forge stayed undefeated with a win against Mid Valley. Riverside is coming off their first win of the season against Montrose. Blue Devils wideout Brett Wargo has eight catches for 220 yards and three touchdowns. Riverside QB Brayden Thiel has thrown for 357 yards and two touchdowns. He has rushed 125 yards and three touchdowns.

Prediction: Old Forge

Williamsport at Scranton
Time: Fri 7 PM

Williamsport is coming off a double overtime victory over Shikellamy. Scranton is coming off a victory over West Scranton. Millionaires QB Joe Fagnano has thrown for 1,094 yards and 14 touchdowns while only throwing one pick. Knights QB Robbie McAndrew has thrown  for 601 yards and nine touchdowns.

Prediction: Williamsport

Valley West at Wallenpaupack
Time: Fri 7 PM

Valley West is coming off a loss to Dallas. Wallenpaupack is coming off a loss to Hazleton Area. Valley West RB Sean Mikovitch ran for 421 yards and three touchdowns. Wallenpaupack RB Joe Ingulli is rushing 580 yards and six touchdowns.

Prediction: Valley West

Pittston Area at Abington Heights
Time: Sat 1 PM

Pittston Area is coming off a victory over GAR. Abington Heights is coming off a loss off Valley View. Patriots senior QB Walter Coles has thrown for 869 yards and 10 touchdowns. Comets RB Kaleb Sherman has rushed for 359 yards and three touchdowns.

Prediction: Pittston Area

Mid Valley at Holy Cross
Time: Sat 1 PM

Mid Valley is coming off a loss to Old Forge. Holy Cross is coming off a loss to Dunmore and still looking for their first win of the season. Spartans RB Colin Hazelton has rushed for 566 yards and nine touchdowns. The Crusaders Dom Possanza has eight catches for 70 yards and a touchdown. He also has an interception on defense.

Prediction: Mid Valley

Valley View at Scranton Prep
Time: Sat 1:30 PM

Valley View is coming off a win over Abington Heights. Scranton Prep stayed unbeaten with a win over Wyoming Area. Cougars RB Seth Vernon rushed for 436 yards and eight touchdowns. The Cavaliers Leo O'Boyle threw for 530 yards and four touchdowns and he rushed for three touchdowns.

Prediction: Scranton Prep

Hazleton Area at Delaware Valley
Time: Sat 3:30 PM

Hazleton Area is coming off a win over Wallenpaupack. Delaware Valley is coming off a shutout victory over North Pocono to stay undefeated. The Cougars Adrian Otero rushed for 167 yards and two touchdowns. He also has caught 15 catches for 256 yards and four touchdowns. Warriors QB Nick Reilly threw for 674 yards and six touchdowns.

Prediction: Delaware Valley

Dallas at Meyers
Time: Sat 7 PM

Dallas is coming off a big win over Valley West. Meyers is coming off a win over Holy Redeemer. The Mountaineers Danny Meuser has rushed for 214 yards and five touchdowns. Mohawks wide receiver Reese Patronick has 20 catches for 282 yards.

Prediction: Dallas

Nanticoke at Crestwood
Time: Sat 7 PM

Nanticoke is coming off a loss to Northwest. Crestwood is coming off a road loss to Pottsville for their third straight loss. Nanticoke receiver Darren Boseman has four catches for 161 yards and a touchdown. The Comets Nick Grosek has rushed for 235 yards and three touchdowns. He also has nine catches for 45 yards.

Prediction: Nanticoke

Albright at King's
Time: Sat 1 PM

Albright is coming off a win over Widener to stay undefeated on the season. King's is coming off a tough loss to Lycoming. Albright QB Alex Vignola is throwing for 974 yards and seven touchdowns. King's QB Zach Whitehead has 1166 yards and seven touchdowns and has eight rushing touchdowns.

Prediction: Albright

Wilkes at Lycoming
Time: Sat 1 PM

Wilkes is coming off a loss to Misericordia. Lycoming is coming off a road victory over King's. Colonels TE Garrett Armstrong has 26 catches for 237 yards and two touchdowns. Lycoming QB Chase Williams threw for 580 yards and four touchdowns.

Prediction: Lycoming

Misericordia at Stevenson
Time: Sat 1 PM

Misericordia is coming off their first win of the season over Wilkes. Stevenson is coming off a loss to Delaware Valley. Misericordia receiver Isaiah Williams has 28 catches for 447 yards and two touchdowns. Stevenson QB Dan Williams has 1080 yards and nine touchdowns.

Prediction: Stevenson

Bloomsburg at Millersville
Time: Sat 1 PM

Bloomsburg is coming off a win over Cheyney. Millersville is coming off a loss to Kutztown. Huskies RB Qmac Quiteh is rushing for 367 yards and four touchdowns. Millersville QB Collin Shank is throwing for 681 yards and four touchdowns.

Prediction: Bloomsburg

Indiana at Penn State
Time: Sat 3:30 PM

Indiana is coming off a blowout win over Georgia Southern. Penn State is coming off a dramatic road victory over Iowa. Hoosiers wideout Simmie Cobbs Jr has 18 catches for 228 yards and two touchdowns. Nittany Lions RB Saquon Barkley has run for 518 yards and four touchdowns. He also has 23 catches for 335 yards and two touchdowns.

Prediction: Penn State

Upset Special

This past week, there were quite some interesting results. Some teams won where most didn't expect them to win and some played under what was expected. The NFL season is all about twists and turns and some get good calls and some get bad calls, it usually balances out in the end. With all of that being being said, here are what happened this past week

Jaguars 44 Ravens 7
One of the biggest surprises came earlier in the day on Sunday when Jacksonville took down the Baltimore Ravens in London. The Jaguars Blake Bortles threw for 244 yards and four touchdowns. Mercedes Lewis had four catches for 62 yards and three touchdowns. For the Ravens, Alex Collins ran for 82 yards.

Falcons 30 Lions 26
The Lions looked like they had the game-winning score with eight seconds left but after review, it was ruled that Golden Tate was ruled down at the one yard line and because of a ten second runoff, the game ended with the Falcons taking the victory. In my opinion, I don't know how you overturn that call, it was very close and I couldn't see anyway where it should have been reversed. On the game, the Falcons Devonta Freeman ran for 106 yards and a touchdown and Matt Ryan threw for 294 yards and two touchdowns. The Lions Matthew Stafford threw for 264 yards and a touchdown.

Bears 23 Steelers 17 (OT)
Another game that no one else saw coming is the Bears taking down the Steelers. The Bears Jordan Howard scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime to give the Bears their first win of the season. Howard ran for 138 yards and two touchdowns and Mike Glennon threw for 101 yard and a touchdown. The Steelers Ben Rothlisberger threw for 235 yards and a touchdown. Wideout Antonio Brown caught 10 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown.

Saints 34 Panthers 13
The Saints took their first victory of the season against the Carolina Panthers. The Saints Drew Brees threw for 220 yards and three touchdowns and wideout Michael Thomas had seven catches for 87 yards and a touchdown. Panthers QB Cam Newton threw for 167 yards and ran in for a touchdown.

Jets 20 Dolphins 6
The Jets surprised everyone by beating the Miami Dolphins at home. Being honest, I shouldn't be that surprised by it cause the Jets usually play division rival very well at home. Jets QB Josh McCown threw for 249 yards and a touchdown and wideout Robby Anderson caught three passes for 95 yards and a touchdown.  Dolphins QB Jay Cutler threw for 220 yards and a touchdown. Wideout DeVante Parker had eight catches for 76 yards and a touchdown.

Patriots 36 Texans 33
The Patriots survived an upset by the Texans when Tom Brady went to Brandin Cook from 25 yards out with 29 seconds left for the game-winning touchdown for the 36-33 victory. Patriots QB Tom Brady threw for 378 yards and five touchdowns without throwing an interception. Wideout Brandin Cooks caught five passes for 131 yards and two touchdowns. Texans rookie QB Deshaun Watson threw for 301 yards and two touchdowns.

Vikings 34 Buccaneers 17
The Vikings took a home victory with backup QB Case Keenum throwing for 369 yards and three touchdowns as they took down Tampa Bay. Rookie RB Dalvin Cook ran for 97 yards and a touchdown for Minnesota. Bucs QB Jamesis Winston threw for 328 yards and two touchdowns. Wideout Desean Jackson had four catches for 84 yards and a touchdown.

Colts 31 Browns 28
The Colts took their first victory of the season as backup QB Jacoby Brissett threw for 259 yards and a touchdown and running back Frank Gore ran for 57 yards and a touchdown as they took down the Browns. DeShone Kizer threw for 242 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran in for a score in the loss. Kizer has looked very good for the Browns in the first three games.

Bills 26 Broncos 16
Something that wasn't expected early in the season is that the Buffalo Bills are tied for first place as they took down the 2-0 Denver Broncos. Tyrod Taylor threw for 213 yards and two touchdowns. Steven Hauschka kicked four field goals in the victory. Jamaal Charles ran for 56 yards and a score.

Titans 33 Seahawks 27
The Titans made a statement on Sunday afternoon by beating the Seattle Seahawks at home. For the Titans, Marcus Mariota threw for 225 yards and two touchdowns and DeMarco Murray ran for 115 yards and a touchdown, including a 75 yard touchdown run. Despite the loss, Russell Wilson played excellent, throwing for 373 yards and four touchdowns.

Packers 27 Bengals 24 (OT)
Mason Crosby made the game-winning field goal in overtime as the Packers overcame a 21-7 halftime deficit to take the victory. Aaron Rodgers threw to Jordy Nelson to tie the game with 21 seconds left. Rodgers threw for 313 yards and three touchdowns. Wideout Geronimo Allison caught six passes for 122 yards. The Bengals offense came back this week and Andy Dalton threw for 212 yards and two touchdowns. AJ Green had 10 catches for 111 yards and a touchdown.

Chiefs 24 Chargers 10
The Chiefs went to 3-0 on the early season with a road victory over the Chargers. Chiefs Rookie RB Kareem Hunt rushed for 172 yards and a touchdown and QB Alex Smith threw for 155 yards and two touchdowns. Chargers RB Melvin Gordon ran for 79 yards and a touchdown.

Redskins 27 Raiders 10
The Redskins finished off Sunday with a surprising victory over the Raiders. Kirk Cousins threw for 365 yards and three touchdowns. RB Chris Thompson had a much more efficient game in the air then on the ground. He caught six passes for 150 yards and a touchdown. The Washington defense got to Derek Carr four times and picked him off twice. For the Raiders, Derek Carr threw for 118 yard and a touchdown to Jared Cook.

Cowboys finish strong in second half against Cardinals

After falling to the Broncos last week, the Dallas Cowboys looked to get to 2-1 as they traveled to Arizona to take on the Cardinals. The Cardinals haven't looked the best in the first two weeks of the season but they are still 1-1 after a victory in overtime against the Indianapolis Colts on the road. The Cardinals would start with the ball and on the first play, Carson Palmer would go to Jermaine Gresham for a 20 yard completion. They would face a third and 1 but an offsides would give the Cardinals a first down. On second and 7, Palmer would go to Andre Ellington for 20 yards. On third and 11, Palmer would find Jaron Brown for a 25 yard touchdown pass. The PAT would make it 7-0 with 10:06 remaining in the first. The Cardinals defense would start with a Cowboys three and out. Palmer would go to Larry Fitzgerald for 16 on second and 6. They would face a third and 1 and Carson Palmer would get two yards. They would face a fourth and 1 but the Cowboys would get called for an offsides for a Cardinals first down. On a third and 9, Palmer would find Ellington for 17. At the start of the second quarter, the Cowboys would hold the Cardinals to a 36 yard field goal by Phil Dawson and would miss it wide right. The Cowboys would go three and out once again. The Cardinals would face a third and 5 and Palmer would find Fitzgerald for 5 but they wouldn't get another first down and would be forced to punt. The Cowboys would face a third and one and Ezekiel Elliot would go for 30 yards On second and 8, the Cardinals would get called for unnecessary roughness for a Cowboys first down. On third and 12, the Cardinals would get a sack and the Cowboys would punt for the third time. The Cowboys defense would force the Cardinals into a three and out. Prescott would go to N Brown for 13, then on the next play, Prescott would go in from 10 yards out for the touchdown. The PAT would tie the game at 7 with 1:16 left in the second quarter. The Cardinals would run out the clock and would go to halftime tied with the Cowboys 7-7. The Cowboys would start and on second and 10, Prescott would go to Terrence Williams for 22 but they wouldn't be able to get another first down and would be forced to punt. The Cardinals would go three and out to start the second half and they would be forced to punt. Elliott would go for three on a second and 2 and then got 20 yards on the next play and then Prescott would go to Dez Bryant and would keep pushing the pile into the end zone for a 15 yard touchdown. The PAT would make it 14-7 with 8:40 remaining in the third quarter. On the next drive, the Cardinals would face a third and 1 snd Palmer would find Gresham for four for a first down. The Cardinals were unable to move the chains anymore and they would be forced to punt. The Cowboys would go three and out. On the Cardinals first play, Palmer would find Fitzgerald for 37 yards. Then Palmer would find Fitzgerald for a 15 yard touchdown pass one play later to tie the game at 14 after the PAT. First play of the Dallas drive, Prescott would find Williams for 17 but they couldn't move them anymore and would be forced to punt. The Cardinals would face a third and 1 as the game is tied at 14. They would get an incompletion and would be forced to punt. The Cowboys would face a third and 3 and Prescott found Cole Beasley for a four yard reception. One play later, Prescott would find Brice Butler for a 37 yard score. On the Cardinals next possession, Palmer would find Gresham for 16 on second and 10. On a third and 18, Palmer would find Fitzgerald for 24. They faced another third down and Palmer would find Williams for eight yards. The drive would end with a 37 yard field goal by Phil Dawson. On the Cowboys drive, Prescott would go to Butler for 53 yards. Elliott would run for seven yards on third and 3. Next play, Elliott would go in from eight yards out and the PAT would make it 28-17 with 5:03 remaining. The Cardinals would go three and out to give the Cowboys the ball back. The Cardinals defense would make the Cowboys go three and out to give their offense the ball back. The Cardinals would drive all the way to a first and goal from the five. They would face a fourth and goal and the pass would fall incomplete and the Cowboys would take a knee and the game would end with the Cowboys taking the victory in Arizona 28-17.

Thoughts on the game: Despite their first half, the Cowboys were still in it tied at halftime. Dak Prescott had a great game, throwing for two touchdowns and had a rushing touchdown. Their defense did great, especially DeMarcus Lawrence who had three sacks in his return after a suspension. The defense had six sacks as a team. Larry Fitzgerald had a great game for the Cardinals. He had 13 catches for 149 yards and a touchdown.

Meet Me Halfway

As the High School Football season is at the halfway point, the playoff races are starting to heat up. Most of the teams are looking to get in position for playoff positioning or to get into the postseason. In this article, we will discuss all six classifications and the games that were this past week. First, let's discuss the six classifications and then we'll go about the games this past week.

Playoff Picture
6A: Everyone makes the playoffs but several teams are looking at playoff positioning. Scranton and Delaware Valley are currently at 5-0 and Williamsport is at 4-1. Hazleton Area is currently at 3-2 and might have a tough time with the other three teams but they proved they can play with the better teams after almost knocking off Williamsport. This could be an interesting race going forward.

5A: This one is interesting cause all of the teams are under .500. All the teams make the playoffs in this classification. Wallenpaupack is 2-3 and Valley West and Abington Heights are 1-4 at the moment. All three will play each other in the second half of the season so it could very well come down to those games and who will get the automatic bid to the Championship game.

4A: Eight teams make the postseason. Berwick is currently on top with a 4-1 record and there are several 3-2 teams vying for positioning in Dallas, Coughlin, North Pocono and Valley View. There are also three 2-3 teams that round out the six, seven and eight seeds in Crestwood, Honesdale and Pittston Area. Coughlin has been impressive since they started off 0-2. Dallas had an impressive win at Valley West on Friday. North Pocono may be 3-2 but they ended up playing Scranton and Delaware Valley in consecutive weeks. Valley View is in the same boat as North Pocono as they lost to Scranton and Delaware Valley. Crestwood after an 2-0 start has lost three straight and lost their starting QB for the season. They are just hoping to get back on track. Honesdale has had the best improvement from last season.  Pittston Area are hoping to get back into the postseason for the first time since 2008. Wyoming Area is on the outside looking in after losing four straight games after winning on opening night. Tunkhannock could prove interesting if one of the 2-3 teams were to struggle.

3A: Scranton Prep looks like the clear favorite in 3A after blowing away their first five opponents. Western Wayne is also undefeated at 5-0 but have several tough tests down the stretch. Three teams will vie for two spots in Lake-Lehman, Meyers and Nanticoke. Lake-Lehman after a rough start has righted the ship and are looking to get back into the postseason. Meyers is 4-1 and has won four straight after losing on opening night. Nanticoke needs to take one game they aren't expected to win and win the ones they are expected to. If they are to do that, they should make the postseason.

2A: Another classification where there looks to be a clear cut favorite. Dunmore is 5-0 and is 200 points ahead of Carbondale for the top seed in 2A. Carbondale and Susquehanna are separated by 20 points for the two and three seeds. Mid Valley is currently the fourth seed with a 2-3 record. Riverside, Lakeland and Montrose all are 1-4 and can make a run at Mid Valley for the last spot.

A: Only two will qualify for the District Title game. Old Forge and Lackawanna Trail are currently the one and two seeds right now. Old Forge is 5-0 and Lackawanna Trail is 4-1. Northwest is currently 2-3 and are 170 points behind Lackawanna Trail for the second spot. Northwest did get beat by Lackawanna Trail earlier in the season and it might be an uphill climb for the Rangers.

With the playoff stuff out of the way, let's get into the games that happened this past week.

Lake-Lehman 28 Hanover Area 14
Black Knights RB Matt Kurtz had 170 yards and two touchdowns and Trey Borger had 101 yards and a touchdown as Lake-Lehman took down the Hawkeyes. Josh Jopling had 82 yards rushing and a touchdown for the Hawkeyes.

Northwest 20 Nanticoke 15
Jake Anderson ran for 127 yards and David Piestrak threw for 114 yards and a touchdown and also ran one in as the Rangers handed Nanticoke their second straight loss. Colby Butczynski would run in for a touchdown and Keanu Ammons had an 87 yard punt return for a touchdown for the Trojans.

Pottsville 13 Crestwood 7
Siminitus ran for 118 yards and a touchdown as the Crimson Tide took a home victory over Crestwood. Garrett Swank threw for 91 yards and a touchdown to Brandon Brozena for the Comets.

Selinsgrove 17 Berwick 6
The Seals Logan Leiby threw for 169 yards and a touchdown as Selinsgrove handed Berwick their first loss of the season. The Bulldogs Kenny Marshman would hit two field goals. One from 38 yards out and another from 36 yards.

Dunmore 41 Holy Cross 0
Caleb Klimer ran for 133 yards and two touchdowns as the Bucks stayed unbeaten with a victory over Holy Cross. The Crusaders Dom Possanza ran for 33 yards in the loss to Dunmore.

Lackawanna Trail 34 Lakeland 20
The Lions Jeffrey Resto had a monster game with 230 yards and four touchdowns as Lackawanna Trail took down Lakeland. Chiefs quarterback Nico Piraino threw for 223 yards and two touchdowns and wideout Thomas Pidgeon had 14 catches for 196 yards and two touchdowns.

Old Forge 36 Mid Valley 14
Blue Devils RB Brendan Mozeleski ran for 238 yards and two touchdowns as the Blue Devils improved to 5-0 with a victory over Mid Valley. Colin Hazelton ran for 102 yards and two touchdowns for Mid Valley. He also had two catches for 39 yards.

Riverside 40 Montrose 10
Vikings RB Chase Briskie ran for 259 yards and four touchdowns as Riverside got their first win of the season over Montrose. The Meteors Tyler Dovin ran for 30 yards and Ethan Cena ran for a touchdown.

Scranton 35 West Scranton 20
Rheyse Green ran for 170 yards and a touchdown and Jerrod Brown ran for 164 yards and a touchdown as the Knights won the Bell Game over West Scranton. Invaders Andre Cholette ran for 87 yards and a touchdown.

Hazleton Area 34 Wallenpaupack 13
Cougars QB Sparky Wolk threw for 210 yards and a touchdown as the Cougars went to 3-2 as they took down Wallenpaupack. Wolk also ran in for two touchdowns. The Buckhorns Joe Ingulli ran for 98 yards and a touchdown.

Coughlin 28 Honesdale 13
The Crusaders Vincent Todd went for 175 yard and three touchdowns as the Crusaders took down Honesdale for their third straight victory. Jake Cole rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown for the Crusaders. Garyn Barnes rushed for 165 yards and two touchdowns for the Hornets.

Western Wayne 32 Tunkhannock 24
Western Wayne QB Matt Valanda threw for 160 yards and Benjamin Burkhardt ran for 75 yards and a touchdown as Western Wayne stayed unbeaten with a victory over Tunkhannock. Tunkhannock's Logan Cywinski continued his amazing season with 127 yards and a touchdown.

Valley View 48 Abington Heights 13
Cougars RB Seth Vernon ran for 159 yards and three touchdowns and Chandler Fuller ran for two touchdowns as Valley View took down Abington Heights. Kaleb Sherman ran for 122 yards and a touchdown for the Comets.

Pittston Area 35 GAR 13
Patriots QB Walter Coles threw for 199 yards and four touchdowns and two went to Andrew Krawczyk as the Patriots took down GAR. Keemar Woodruff ran for 116 yards and a touchdown. GAR's Will Johnson had a touchdown catch.

Delaware Valley 41 North Pocono 0
Del Val's Josh Balacarcel ran for 125 yards and a touchdown and Ryan Obiso ran for 100 yards and a touchdown as the Warriors took down North Pocono to stay undefeated. North Pocono's JC Gaughan ran for 72 yards.

Meyers 30 Holy Redeemer 9
Mohawks QB Janssen Wilborn threw for 152 yards and two touchdowns and Kevin Dessoye ran for 82 yards and two touchdowns as the Mohawks took their fourth straight victory. Royals quarterback JD Turosky threw for 136 yards and ran in for the Royals lone touchdown.

Carbondale 30 Susquehanna 15
Chargers RB Nick Vadella ran for 90 yards and a touchdown. He also added a 39 yard touchdown catch as Carbondale took down Susquehanna on the road. Sabers QB CJ Stone threw for 98 yards and a touchdown.

Scranton Prep 24 Wyoming Area 0
Cavaliers QB Leo O'Boyle threw for 140 yards and two touchdowns and Matt Gilmartin ran for 109 yards and a touchdown as Scranton Prep stayed undefeated and knocked off the Warriors. Warriors QB Dominic Deluca threw for 132 yards in the loss.

Lycoming 44 King's 41
Lycoming QB Chase Williams threw for 337 yards and three touchdowns and ran another one in as Lycoming took down King's on the road. King's QB Zach Whitehead threw for 272 yards and four touchdowns and he also rushed for 80 yards and two touchdowns.

Misericordia 43 Wilkes 14
Brady Williams threw for 174 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for 218 yards and two touchdowns as the Cougars got their first win of the season. Wade Rippeon threw for 269 yards and a touchdown for Wilkes.

Bloomsburg 48 Cheyney 19
Bloomsburg RB Qmac Quiteh ran for 108 yards and two touchdowns and QB Chris Palubinski threw for 150 yards and a touchdown as the Huskies took down Cheyney. Cheyney QB Dominick Trautz threw for 269 yards and a touchdown.

Penn State 21 Iowa 19
Penn State QB Trace McSorley threw to Juwan Johnson for the game-winning touchdown with no time left as the Nittany Lions survived on the road against Iowa. Hawkeyes QB Nate Stanley threw for 191 yards and two touchdowns in the loss.

Eagles take crazy game

The Giants looked to get their first win of the season as they traveled to Philadelphia. The Eagles looked to get to 2-1 as they finally had their home opener at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles would start with the ball but would start the game with a three and out. The Giants would get it at their own 20. They would face a third and 2 and Eli Manning would find Brandon Marshall for six yards. On second and 11, Manning would find Marshall for seven but a face mask penalty would give the Giants an extra 15 yards and into Eagles territory. The Eagles defense would hold them to a punt and they would start at their own 10 but the Giants defense would force a three and out thanks to a first down sack by Jay Bromley. The Giants would take over at their own 37. Manning would find Evan Engram for seven on second and 7 and then Manning found Sterling Shepard for 10 on the next play. They would face a third and 1 and the Eagles stuffed Orleans Darkwa for a loss of four and the Giants would be forced to punt. The Eagles took over at their own 10. Carson Wentz went to Zach Ertz for 8 on second and 7. LeGarette Blount would go for 17 yards on the next play. They would go for it on fourth and 1 and Wentz would go for a QB sneak and got 2 for the first down. Darren Sproles would go for 11 as the first quarter came to a close with the game scoreless. Wentz went to Nelson Agholor for 11 on second and 9. They would face a third and 8 and Wentz would go for 11 yards. Wendell Smallwood would go for two yards for a first and goal at the five. Blount looked like he got in but was called short of the goal line upon review. Blount would not be denied however, going in from a yard out and the PAT would make it 7-0 with 9:33 remaining in the second quarter. After the Giants would take over at their own 34. Manning would find Odell Beckham Jr for 14 on second and 11 and then Manning would go to Shepard on the next play for 11. Manning's pass would be intercepted by Rasul Douglas on the next play. The Eagles would face a third and 5 and the Giants would get called for a neutral zone infraction that would be enough for a first down. On second and 4, Wentz went to Zach Ertz for 8. Smallwood would go for 14 yards on the next play. Smallwood would get 13 yards on the next two plays for a first down. The Eagles would face a fourth and 8 and they would go for it but Kennard would sack Wentz to give the Giants the ball at their own 49. They would face a third and 5 and Manning would find Beckham for nine yards. Manning would find Engram for eight. After a false start after the first down, Manning would find Shepard for 19 for a first and goal at the 10. They would face a fourth and 1 and the Eagles defense would keep them out of the end zone as they headed to halftime with the Eagles up 7-0. The Giants would start with the ball to start the second half. The Giants would start with a three and out. The Eagles would start at their own 25. Blount would go for 20 on the first play. They would face a third and 6 and Wentz would find Alshon Jeffrey for 12 yards. The Giants would hold the Eagles to a field goal attempt by Jake Elliott from 52 yards out and his attempt would sail wide left. On the second play, Manning would get intercepted by Patrick Robinson. They would face a third and 9 and Wentz found Ertz short of the first down. They would go for it and Wentz would get the yard for a first down. The Giants would get called for pass interference for a first and goal at the 3. On third and goal at the 3, Wentz would go to Ertz for a three yard touchdown. The PAT would make it 14-0 Eagles with 5:19 remaining in the third quarter. The Giants would take over at their own 24. Manning would go to Beckham for 13. On third and 4, Manning would find Beckham for 13. Paul Perkins would go for seven yards on second and 1. The Giants would face a fourth and 2 and the pass would fall incomplete and the Eagles would get the ball back. The third quarter would come to an end with the Eagles leading 14-0. The Eagles would start their first series of the fourth quarter with a three and out. Manning would start with a pass to Darkwa for 11. Then on second and 8, Manning would find Marshall for 14, then Manning found Marshall once more for 18 yards. On first and goal at the 10, Manning would find Beckham for a 10 yard touchdown. The PAT would make cut the Eagles lead to 14-7 with 12:45 remaining in the fourth quarter. On the first play of the drive for the Eagles, Wentz would complete a pass to Ertz but he would fumble and the Giants would recover the fumble at the Eagles 33 yard line. On second and 3, Darkwa would go for 20 and a first and goal at the six. On second and goal at the four, Manning would find Beckham for the second time of the game. The PAT would tie the game at 14 with 10:53 remaining in the game. The Eagles would start at their own 17. They faced a third and 7 and Wentz would find Agholor for nine. They faced a third and 8 and Wentz's pass would fall incomplete and they would be forced to punt. On second and 9, Manning would find Shepard for a 77 yard touchdown pass and the PAT would give the Giants a 21-14 lead with 7:24 left. The Eagles would start at their own 25. Wentz would go to Torrey Smith for 14 and a first down. On second and 8, the Giants would get called for pass interference that would be spotted at the Giants 15 yard line. Corey Clement would go in for a touchdown from 15 yards out on the first play after the penalty. The PAT would tie the game at 21 with 5:46 remaining in the game. The Giants took over at their own 25. Manning would find Vereen for 15 yards on the first play. On third and 4, the Eagles would get called for pass interference to get them into Eagles territory. They would face a third and 7 and the pass would fall incomplete and they would go for a 41 yard field goal by Aldrick Rosas and would make it to tie the game at 24 with 3:11 remaining. Smallwood would go for 20 yards on second and 1 and then Blount would go for 6 on second and 1 as the game headed to the two-minute warning. A facemask penalty on the Eagles would make it first and 25, they would get a 12 yard reception from Zach Ertz and a six yard reception by Ertz as well. The incompletion would make it fourth down and Jake Elliott would make the 46 yard field goal to tie the game at 24 with 56 seconds left in the game. The Giants would go three and out and the Eagles would get the ball with 19 seconds left at their own 38. After an incompletion, Wentz would go to Alshon Jeffrey for 19 yards to the Giants 43 and the Eagles would bring out Jake Elliott from 61 yard field goal attempt with one second left. The snap would be good, the kick was on it's way and he would make it from 61 yards out as the Eagles would take the victory 27-24 over the New York Giants.

Thoughts on the game: The fourth quarter was absolutely crazy and the game had a lot of gutsy calls especially with going for it on fourth down. I do think the Eagles were the better team but the fourth quarter almost was their downfall as the Giants scored 24 in the fourth quarter. The Giants definitely played a lot better than they did in the last two games. The Eagles could be a really good team but will need to play better in the fourth quarter.

Mountaineers get past Valley West

The Mountaineers looked to get to .500 as they traveled to Spartan Stadium to take on Valley West. The Spartans looked to get their second straight win after winning on the road last week against Williamsport. Who would take this matchup? Let's get to it. Dallas would start with the ball and get a three and out on the opening drive. The Spartans would start at their own 47 and Rob Dwyer would go for 12 on the first play but back-to-back botched snaps would end up forcing the Spartans to punt. The Mountaineers would start at their own 49 and Danny Meuser would go for a run of 11 and 24 on back-to-back plays to the Valley West 16 and the Mountaineers would end up going for a Nate Maransky 45 yard field goal attempt and he would make it 3-0 with 4:38 remaining in the first quarter. The Spartans would get the ball at their own 23 on their next possession. Sean Mikovitch would go for four on second and 2. They would face a third and 3 and Rob Dwyer would get 10 on the next play. They would be forced to punt but they would attempt a fake but the pass would fall incomplete and the Mountaineers would take over at their own 48. Three plays later, Meuser would go 39 yards for a Mountaineers touchdown. The PAT would make it 10-0 with 29 seconds remaining in the first quarter and it would be the score at the end of the first quarter. They would face a third and 1 and Mikovitch would get a yard for the first down. After a Dwyer five yard run, Jake Shusta's pass would be picked off by Matt Maransky and returned to the Spartans 31. The Spartans would hold the Mountaineers to a Nate Maransky 41 yard field goal attempt that ended up going wide left. Dwyer would go for six yards on second and 2, then go for 13 on a second and 8. However, a sack on third and 10 would force the Spartans to punt. The Mountaineers would take over at their own 11. The Mountaineers would face a third and 3 but Michael Starbuck would run for seven and a first down. On first down, Meuser would go for a one yard gain but the Spartans would get called for a facemask to get an automatic first down. The Mountaineers would run it down to 10 seconds and then the Spartans would return the punt but they would take a knee as we head into halftime 10-0 in favor of the Mountaineers. The Spartans would start with the ball and Mikovitch got a gain off 24 on the first play but the Mountaineers defense would force a punt and get the ball back at their own 40. Matt Maranski would go for 23 on second and 4 to the Spartans 41 yard line. They would face a third and 8 and Starbuck would find Jack Farrell for 9 yards for a first down. The Spartans would get a stop and force a Mountaineers punt. The Spartans would go three and out on their next drive and be forced to punt. The Mountaineers would go three and out as well and the Spartans would start their drive at their own 22 yard line. Dwyer would go for 16 on second and 10. On a second and 6, Dwyer would go for 20. The Spartans would face a third and 13 and Shusta would find Darrian Tyson for 24. Tyson would for nine yards on second and 9 for a first and goal at the six. Zach Davies would go in from six yards out and the PAT would be no good as the Spartans would cut the Mountaineers lead to 10-6. Matt Maransky would go for 15 and then an personal foul penalty on Valley West would move it 15 more yards to the Spartans 37. Starbuck would find Matt Maransky for nine as the third quarter came to an end with Dallas leading 10-6. The Spartans would go offsides on third and 9 to make it a third and 4. On the third and 4, Starbuck would go to Bradley Adams for an 18 yard score. The PAT would make it 17-6 with 10:17 remaining in the fourth. On the first play of the Spartans possession, Tyson would go 73 yards for a touchdown. The two point conversion would be no good as the Mountaineers would still lead 17-12 with 9:57 remaining. The Mountaineers would start at their own 26. Meuser would go for six on the first play but another personal foul on the Spartans would move the ball to their Dallas 47. They would face a third and 6 and Starbuck would find Adams for 20. On second and 15, Starbuck would find Christian Motley for a 33 yard touchdown. The PAT would make it 24-12 with 7:48 remaining in the game. On the second play of the drive, Shusta's pass would be intercepted by linemen Mike Andersen. On third and 4, Meuser would go in for a 16 yard touchdown run, his second touchdown of the game. The PAT would make it 31-12 with 5:55 remaining. The Spartans would face a third and 19 but Dwyer would find Jake Blaski for a 52 yard gain to the Dallas 48. Dwyer would go for 18 on the next play. After an incompletion, there would be offsetting unsportsmanlike penalties on both sides but a Mountaineer player would end up getting another unsportsmanlike conduct to give the Spartans 15 extra yards and a first down. Mikovitch would go for 12 for a first and goal at the three and Davies would go in for his second touchdown of the game from one yard out. The two point conversion would fail and the Spartans would make it 31-18 with 3:44 left. The Mountaineers would be able to run out the clock as they would take the victory on the road over the Valley West Spartans 31-18.

Thoughts on the game: The Mountaineers sure spread around the ball around but the player who stood out was Danny Meuser. He had two touchdowns and almost 100 yards in the first half alone. The Mountaineers got several big plays from Matt Maranski, Bradley Adams, and Christian Motley and Michael Starbuck did a great job distributing the ball around. Nate Maranski is definitely a good weapon to have, he impressed me as a kicker. The Spartans need to fix up a few things but I will say I was impressed by Darrian Tyson, his touchdown run impressed me as he got past everyone for the touchdown.

Rams win high-scoring affair over Niners

The Los Angeles Ram came into San Francisco on Thursday night to take on the 49ers. The 49ers have failed to get a touchdown in their first two games. Both teams are coming off tough losses, who will rebound going into a short week? Let get to it! The 49ers would start with the ball and Brian Hoyer's first pass would be picked off by Nickel Roby-Coleman and returned to the San Francisco 3 and Todd Gurley would score from three yards out on the next play. The PAT would give the Rams an early 7-0 lead. Carlos Hyde would go 20 yards on second and 8. It looked like the 49ers were going to punt but on 4th and 2, the Rams were called offsides and it was enough for a first down. On third and 4, Hoyer went Breida for a 12 yard reception. The Niners faced a third and 1 and Hyde went for four. They faced another third down and Brian Hoyer would keep the ball and would go in for a touchdown. The PAT would tie the game at 7. They would face a third and 7 but a holding penalty on the Niners would give them an automatic first down. On second and 6, Jared Goff would find Robert Woods for 31 yards. Goff would find Carrier on the next play for 17. They faced another third down and Goff would find Gurley for a seven yard touchdown. The PAT would make it 14-7. Breida would go for 10 yards on second and 10, then on the next play, Hoyer would go to Pierre Garcon for 30. The Niners would end the drive on a fumble that was recovered by Robey-Coleman. Gurley would start with a 10 yard gain. On second and five, Goff would find Woods for 21 yards. The quarter would come to an end with the Rams up 14-7. Greg Zuerlein went for a 48 yard field goal attempt and he would make it to lead 17-7. The Niners would face a third and 8 on their next drive but the Rams would get called for an offsides and on third and 3, Hoyer found Trent Taylor for 18. The Niners would be forced to punt but the Rams muffed a punt and the Niners would recover with great field position. The Niners were only able to get a 36 yard field goal by Robbie Gould to make 17-10. The Niners would force a Rams three and out, the first of the game on either side. On the first play of the Niners drive, Hoyer would go to Juszczyk for 34 and get into Rams territory. They would face a third and 18 and Hoyer would find Garcon for 18. They would settle for a 48 yard field goal by Robbie Gould to make it 17-13. Goff would find Watkins for eight on second and 6. Goff would go to Sammy Watkins for 22 as we head to the two-minute warning. They would face a third and 3 and Goff would find Cooper Kupp for 18. On the next play, Goff would find Woods for a first and goal and then they called the Niners for an unnecessary roughness. Todd Gurley would go into the end zone for the third time of the half and the PAT would make it 24-13 with 49 seconds remaining in the second quarter. The Niners would go three and out and we head to halftime with the Rams leading 24-13. The Rams started with the ball in the second half and they drove all the way down the field and ended up kicking a field goal to make it 27-13, highlighted by a 47 yard catch by Sammy Watkins. The Niners would drive down the field to make it first and goal and would result in a touchdown run by Carlos Hyde on fourth down. The PAT would make it 27-20 Rams. The Rams would drive down the field on their next possession and would result in a one yard touchdown pass from Jared Goff to Sammy Watkins. The PAT would make it 34-20 with 17 seconds remaining in the third quarter. On the last play of the third quarter, Hoyer would find Goodwin for 50 yards and the Rams would lead 34-20 going to the fourth quarter. The Niners would get a touchdown from Hoyer to Garrett Celek for a one yard touchdown. The PAT was missed and it would be 34-26 with 12 minutes to play. The Rams would drive down the field once again, resulting in Sammy Watkins' second touchdown of the game. The PAT would make it 41-26 with 8:43 remaining in the game. The 49ers would be forced to punt on their next possession. The Rams went three and out on the next series and would punt. The 49ers would score quickly on their next possession, ended by a Trent Taylor touchdown catch from Brian Hoyer. The PAT would make it 41-33 with 5:08 remaining. The Rams would fumble the football and the 49ers would recover. Carlos Hyde would go in for the touchdown on fourth down and they go for two for the tie. The two-point conversion attempt would be intercepted and would be no good. The 49ers would attempt an onside kick and would get the ball. They would face a third and 10 and it looked like a completion to Celek for a 11 yard gain but the Niners would be called for offensive pass interference. It would be third and 20 and the pass would fall incomplete and they would go for it on fourth down. Aaron Donald would sack Hoyer on fourth down and the Rams would get the ball with 1:40 remaining in the game. Gurley would get a first down on third down to seal the game as the Rams took down the Niners 41-39.

Thoughts on the game: Just a wild game overall. The Rams on offense looked great but special teams almost doomed them when they fumbled in the fourth quarter and they failed to recover the onside kick. The biggest special teams mistake was Robbie Gould's miss of an extra point which could have tied the game. The Niners broke out of their scoring slump in a big way tonight, scoring 39 points.

Emerging Teams

We are officially at the fifth week of the high school football season. Which means we are at the halfway point and several teams are looking to emerge as the favorites in their classification.  6A and 5A are up in the air. 4A has a few contenders and some could still peak at the halfway point. 3A is clearly Scranton Prep's to lose but they almost had a "hiccup" last week against Dallas, it was the first time the Cavaliers gave up points last week, giving up 17. Several teams are looking to compete for a playoff spot like Western Wayne, Nanticoke, Meyers and Lake-Lehman and one team will be left out of the big dance. In 2A, Dunmore looks like the prohibitive favorite after knocking off Lakeland in the third week of the season. Single-A might be the most interesting. Three of the four teams are contending to be in the District 2 Single-A Championship. Lackawanna Trail, Old Forge and Northwest are looking to compete for the two spots. Northwest might be 1-3 but their schedule has been tough overall but with one more loss, their chances of making the playoffs could be very unlikely. With all that being said, here are the games this week.

Abington Heights at Valley View
Time: Fri 7 PM

Abington Heights is coming off a loss to Hazleton Area and Valley View is coming off a victory over Pittston Area. Comets QB George Tinsley has thrown for 390 yards and five touchdowns. Cougars QB Chandler Fuller has been a great dual threat for the Cougars. He's thrown for 187 yards and three touchdowns. He's rushed for 210 yards and two touchdowns.

Prediction: Valley View

Selinsgrove at Berwick
Time: Fri 7 PM

Selinsgrove is coming off a shutout victory over Shamokin. Berwick is coming off a blowout victory over Crestwood. Seals QB Logan Leiby has been incredible through four games. He's thrown 1,215 yards and 13 touchdowns. Bulldogs QB Alex Force has been great replacing starter Jared Marshman. He's thrown for 487 yards and four touchdowns.

Prediction: Berwick

Honesdale at Coughlin
Time: Fri 7 PM

Honesdale is coming off a loss to Wallenpaupack and Coughlin is coming off their second straight victory and they knocked off Wyoming Area. The Hornets' Andy Carroll has rushed for 523 yards and four touchdowns and a 56 yard touchdown catch. Coughlin's Jake Cole has been great in the last two games. He's rushed for 473 yards and five touchdowns on the season.

Prediction: Coughlin

Crestwood at Pottsville
Time: Fri 7 PM

Crestwood is coming off their second straight loss and Pottsville is coming off a blowout loss to Harrisburg. Crestwood wideout Brandon Brozena has been great, he's caught 14 passes for 182 yards and a touchdown. Pottsville's Ian Murhon has rushed for 292 yards and four touchdowns.

Prediction: Pottsville

Dallas at Valley West
Time: Fri 7 PM

Dallas is coming off a loss to Scranton Prep and Valley West is coming off their first win of the season over Williamsport. Dallas QB Michael Starbuck has thrown for 355 yards and two touchdowns. He also has a rushing touchdown. The Spartans' Zach Davies has rushed for 206 yards and six touchdowns.

Prediction: Valley West

North Pocono at Delaware Valley
Time: Fri 7 PM

North Pocono is coming off their first loss of the year to Scranton. Delaware Valley is coming off a blowout victory over West Scranton to stay unbeaten. The Trojans' JC Gaughan has been great. He's rushed for 374 yards and six touchdowns and he's caught six passes for 170 yards and a touchdown. The Warriors' Dylan Kelly has caught 15 passes for 207 yards and three touchdowns. He's also intercepted three passes and returned one of them for a touchdown.

Prediction: Delaware Valley

Holy Cross at Dunmore
Time: Fri 7 PM

Holy Cross is looking for their first win of the season and Dunmore is coming off a victory over Riverside to stay unbeaten. Holy Cross running back Jason Kopf has rushed for 176 yards. Bucks QB Gavin Darcy has been great. He's thrown for 379 yards and nine touchdowns. Every week, it seems the Bucks have another weapon emerge and do very well.

Prediction: Dunmore

GAR at Pittston Area
Time: Fri 7 PM

GAR is coming off a loss to Lake-Lehman and Pittston Area is coming off a loss to Valley View. Grenadiers' wideout Malachai Williams has six catches for 151 yards and a touchdown. Patriots RB Keemar Woodruff has rushed for 239 yards and two touchdowns.

Prediction: Pittston Area

Hanover Area at Lake-Lehman
Time: Fri 7 PM

Hanover Area is coming off a loss to Mid Valley and Lake-Lehman is coming off a win over GAR. The Hawkeyes' Sean Coleman has been an all-around player. He's caught 15 passes for 139 yards and he's rushed for 166 yards and a touchdown. The Black Knights' Trey Borger has rushed for 415 yards and four touchdowns.

Prediction: Lake-Lehman

Hazleton Area at Wallenpaupack
Time: Fri 7 PM

The Cougars are coming off a win over Abington Heights. The Buckhorns are coming off a loss to Honesdale. Cougars QB Sparky Wolk has thrown for 812 yards and eight touchdowns. He's also rushed for a touchdown. Joe Ingulli of the Buckhorns has been great. He's rushed for 482 yards and five touchdowns. He also has seven catches for 84 yards and a touchdown.

Prediction: Wallenpaupack

Lakeland at Lackawanna Trail
Time: Fri 7 PM

The Chiefs are coming off a loss to Carbondale and Lackawanna Trail is coming off a win over Northwest. Lakeland freshman Giovanni Spataro has rushed for 265 yards and three touchdowns. Lions wideout Noah Coleman has caught five passes for 153 yards and three touchdowns.

Prediction: Lackawanna Trail

Old Forge at Mid Valley
Time: Fri 7 PM

Old Forge is coming off a victory over previously unbeaten Susquehanna. Mid Valley is coming off a road win over Hanover Area. Old Forge quarterback Dante Lucarelli has thrown for 561 yards and nine touchdowns while throwing no interceptions. Spartans RB Joe Chylak has rushed for 573 yards and nine touchdowns.

Prediction: Old Forge

Riverside at Montrose
Time: Fri 7 PM

Riverside is coming off a loss to Dunmore and Montrose is coming off a victory over Holy Cross. Vikings QB Brayden Thiel has thrown for 343 yards and two touchdowns. Meteors RB John Herman has rushed for 291 yards and three touchdowns. He also has two catches for 31 yards and a touchdown.

Prediction: Riverside

Northwest at Nanticoke
Time: Fri 7 PM

Northwest is coming off a loss to Lackawanna Trail and Nanticoke is coming off their first loss of the season to Meyers. Rangers RB Jake Anderson has rushed for 322 yards and two touchdowns. He also has four catches for 56 yards. Nanticoke RB Eric Jeffries has rushed for 745 yards and nine touchdowns on the season.

Prediction: Northwest

Scranton at West Scranton
Time: Fri 7 PM

The Battle of the Bell!! Scranton is coming off a win to North Pocono and West Scranton is coming off a loss to Delaware Valley. Scranton's Ky'Ron Harbin has 247 yards rushing and three touchdowns. He also has nine catches for 224 yards and three touchdowns. Invaders wideout Shayne Merrifield has 13 catches for 191 yards and a touchdown. This game looks like a lopsided victory but with a rivalry game, it could be interesting but...

Prediction: Scranton

Western Wayne at Tunkhannock
Time: Fri 7 PM

Western Wayne is coming off a victory over Holy Redeemer. Tunkhannock is coming off their first win over Wylausing. Western Wayne RB Kobe Sauter has rushed for 463 yards and six touchdowns. He also has a 40 yard touchdown catch. Tunkhannock RB Logan Cywinski has been great for the Tigers despite their 1-3 start. He's rushed for 696 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also has three catches for 54 yards and a touchdown.

Carbondale at Susquehanna
Time: Sat 1 PM

Carbondale is coming off a victory over Lakeland and Susquehanna is coming off their first loss to Old Forge. Chargers RB Nick Vadella has rushed for 351 yards and four touchdowns. Sabers RB Sam Cosmello has rushed for 263 yards and seven touchdowns. He also has three catches for 98 yards and a touchdown.

Meyers at Holy Redeemer
Time: Sat 1 PM

Meyers is coming off a victory over previously unbeaten Nanticoke. Holy Redeemer is coming off a loss to Western Wayne. Mohawks QB Janssen Wilborn is fantastic. He's thrown for 586 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 440 yards and six touchdowns. The Royals James Cunningham has rushed for 142 yards and a touchdown.

Prediction: Meyers

Wyoming Area at Scranton Prep
Time: Sat 1:30 PM

Wyoming Area is coming off a loss to Coughlin and Scranton  Prep stayed unbeaten by knocking off Dallas. Warriors wideout Marc Minichello has 23 catches for 193 yards and three touchdowns. He also has 78 yards rushing and has a touchdown pass. Matt Gilmartin has rushed for 627 yards and a walloping 13 touchdowns this season.

Prediction: Scranton Prep

Lycoming College at King's
Time: Sat 1 PM

Lycoming College is coming off a loss to Albright and King's is coming off a win over Lebanon Valley. Lycoming College receiver Nick Costello has 12 catches for 114 yards and a touchdown. King's QB Zach Whitehead has thrown for 894 yards and three touchdowns and has rushed for 184 yards and six touchdowns.

Prediction: King's

Wilkes at Misericordia
Time: Sat 1 PM

Wilkes is coming off a loss to Delaware Valley and Misericordia is coming off a loss to Widener. Wilkes Tight end Garrett Armstrong has 18 catches for 179 yards and a touchdown. Misericordia QB Brady Williams has thrown for 431 yards and four touchdowns. He's also rushed for 175 yards.

Cheyney at Bloomsburg
Time: Sat 2 PM

Cheyney is coming off a loss to IUP. Bloomsburg is coming off a win over Gannon. Cheyney QB Dominick Trautz has thrown for 622 yards and eight touchdowns. Huskies QB Chris Palubinsky has thrown for 646 yards and four touchdowns.

Prediction: Bloomsburg

Iowa at Penn State
Time: Sat 7:30 PM

Iowa is coming off a win over North Texas and are undefeated at 3-0. Penn State is coming off a victory over Georgia State and are also 3-0 on the season. Hawkeyes QB Nate Stanley has thrown for 655 yards and 10 touchdowns. Penn State tight end Mike Gesicki has 12 catches for 123 yards and four touchdowns

Prediction: Penn State

A weekly basis

The NFL is interesting because Week by week, the narrative could change. One week, a team looks like they could contend for the Super Bowl and then the next week or two, you can go off about the team's flaws and say there aren't even close enough for the Super Bowl. With all of that being said, here are how the teams fared this week.

-The Chiefs stayed unbeaten by defeating the Philadelphia Eagles 27-20. Kareem Hunt went for 81 yards rushing and two touchdowns and also caught three passes for 28 yards. Kareem Hunt seems to be the real deal after two weeks, but time will tell how good he will be as most rookie running backs fade out late in the year typically. The Eagles fought well in defeat, people expected them to fall and get blown out but stayed in the game right til the fourth quarter.

-After an unexpected bye week, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers started off their season with a victory over the Chicago Bears. Bucs QB Jamesis Winston threw for 204 yards and a touchdown and Mike Evans had seven catches for 93 yards and a touchdown. Bears QB Mike Glennon threw for 301 yards and a touchdown.

-The Arizona Cardinals took down the Indianapolis Colts 16-13 in overtime. Cardinals QB Carson Palmer threw for 332 yards and a touchdown. Wideout JJ Nelson had 5 catches for 120 yards and a touchdown. Jacoby Brissett took over at quarterback for the Colts in place of the injured Andrew Luck and he threw for 216 yards and Frank Gore rushed for 46 yards and a touchdown.

-The Dolphins took their opening game by beating the Los Angeles Chargers 19-17. Jay Cutler made his Dolphins debut by throwing for 230 yards and a touchdown and Jay Ajayi ran for 122 yards. Chargers QB Phillip Rivers threw for 331 yards and a touchdown. Melvin Gordon had a rushing touchdown.

-The Broncos surprised everyone by knocking off the Dallas Cowboys 42-17. QB Trevor Siemian threw for 231 yards and four touchdowns. CJ Anderson added 118 yards on the ground and a touchdown. Anderson also added a receiving touchdown. Emmanuel Sanders had six catches for 62 yards and two touchdowns. Cowboys QB Dak Prescott threw for 238 yards and two touchdowns.

Defense propels Lions over the Giants

The Detroit Lions looked to be in first place all alone in the NFC North as they traveled to the Meadowlands to take on the New York Giants. After a disappointing loss on the road to the Cowboys, the Giants had their home opener on Monday night football. Odell Beckham Jr returns after missing last week with an injury.  Detroit started with the ball at their own 20. Matthew Stafford would find Eric Ebron for 17 on second and 6 but the Lions couldn't move the chains again and would be forced to punt. The Lions defense would force a three and out and almost looked like the Lions recovered a fumble for a touchdown but after review, Eli Manning's knee was down and he would be a sack. The Lions would get the ball with good field position. They would face a third and 2 and Stafford would find Ebron for seven for a first down. They would face a third and 9 and Stafford would scramble for 13 yards and a first down. Same Drive, they faced third and 12 and Stafford would find Marvin Jones for a 27 yard touchdown pass. The PAT would make it 7-0 Detroit with 4 minutes left in the first quarter. First play of the Giants possession, Sterling Shepard would go for 12 yards for a first down. Manning would find Roger Lewis for eight yards on second and 6. Manning would find Ellison for 12 on the next play. Last play of the first quarter, they would face a third and 6 and Manning would find Evan Engram for 17 yards as the first quarter came to an end with the Lions leading 7-0. First play of the second quarter, Manning would find Engram for an 18 yard touchdown pass. The PAT would tie the game at 7 with 14:55 remaining in the second. The Lions would get the Ball at the Giants 45 after an unsportsmanlike conduct on the touchdown and the kick would go out of bounds. The Lions would face a third and 5 and Stafford would find Golden Tate for five and a first down. They would face a third and 8 on the same drive and Stafford would be strip sacked and the Giants would recover. Next play, the Lions Tahir Whitehead would intercept Eli Manning on a tipped pass. Stafford would find Ebron for 11 yards for a first down. They would face a third and 6 and Stafford would find Ebron in the end zone for a seven yard touchdown pass. The PAT would make it 14-7 with 8:43 remaining in the second quarter. The Giants first play of the drive was an 11 yard run by Orleans Darkwa. The Lions would get back-to-back sacks by Jarrad Davis and Ezekiel Ansah to make it third and 28 and an offsides penalty would make it third and 23 but they would only get seven yards and they would punt the ball to the Lions. The Giants defense would force a three and out and the Lions would punt. The Giants would face a third and 6 and Ansah would sack Manning and they would punt the ball away. Ameer Abdullah would go for a 24 yard gain on second and 5 as we head to the two-minute warning. They would face a third and 12 and Stafford would face Tate but came up two yards short and the Lions would bring out Matt Prater for a 56 yard field goal attempt and would just barely made it as it hit the crossbar and would lead 17-7 with 30 seconds remaining in the second quarter and the Lions would enter halftime with that same score. The Giants would get the ball to start the second half. The Lions defense would start with a three and out and would give their offense the ball back. The Giants defense would start off with a three and out of their own and would get the ball back for their offense. The Giants would face a third and 10 and Manning would find Odell Beckham Jr for 16 yards. Manning would find Jarelle Adams for 38 yards to get into the red zone. Then Manning finds Brandon Marshall for a first and goal at the one. The Lions defense would keep them out of the end zone and Rosa would make the 25 yard field goal to make it 17-10 Lions with 4:58 remaining in the third quarter. Facing a third and 3, Stafford finds Tate for five for a first down. Stafford would run for five yards on second and 2. The Lions would face a third and 18 as the third quarter came to an end with the Lions leading 17-10. After an offsides, they would face a third and 13 and the pass would be thrown away and the Lions would punt. Looked like a big play by the Giants on second and 8 and Brandon Marshall would drop the ball and made it third and 8 and Manning would go to Engram but was just short and the Giants would punt. Jamal Agnew go 88 yards on the punt return for a touchdown. The PAT would make it 24-10 with 12:56 remaining in the fourth quarter. They would face a third and 6 and Manning would throw a wobbly pass that would somehow get the ball to Shepard for 12. Same drive, the Giants would face a third and 10 and Manning would complete the ball to Perkins but would come up short. They would go for it on fourth and 3 and Manning would go to Shane Vereen and would just get it by the nose of the football. The Lions would challenge the spot and it looked like Vereen was short of the first down. Detroit would win the challenge and re-measure. The re-measure would be short of the first down and the Lions would take over. The Lions would go three and out and would punt the ball with under eight minutes to go. Manning would find Shepard for 11 on second and 5. They would face a third and 5 and Manning found Beckham for 10 yards. Manning would find Brett Ellison for 9 on second and 8 then Manning found Vereen for 20 yards on the next play. They would face a third and 10 on the same drive and the pass would fall incomplete thanks to a great play by Darius Slay. They would go for it on fourth and 10 and the pass would fall incomplete and the Lions would take over with 4:28 left. On second and 7, Abdullah would go for 34 yards to get into Giants territory. Theo Riddick would go for 11 yards on third and 11. The Lions would get to the two-minute facing a second and 10. They wouldn't convert another third down and they would go for it on fourth down and wouldn't get enough and the Giants would get the ball back with 26 seconds left. The Giants would only run one play and the Lions would take the victory 24-10 to go to 2-0 on the season.

Thoughts on the game: The Lions looked fantastic on defense, Ziggy Ansah would get three sacks and the Lions got five sacks on Eli Manning. The running game for the Lions looked good as well, Ameer Abdullah went for 86 yards on the ground. Matthew Stafford threw for 122 yards and two touchdowns. The Giants in the second half couldn't seem to get it going offensively. Their defense looked great, only giving up two touchdowns.

Rise and fall

With 40 percent of the schedule done, several teams are starting to emerge as title contenders while some are still trying to figure out their identity. This week, several teams that went undefeated lost their first game of the season. In all, there are only seven teams without a loss so far and several of those teams will face off against each other to put their streak on the line. With all this being said, here is how the games went this past week.

Lake-Lehman 50 GAR 12
The Black Knights' Trey Borger ran for 143 yards and a touchdown and Zack Kojandinovich went for 98 yards and two touchdowns. The Black Knight defense registered three interceptions. Ronald Peguero threw for 56 yards and a touchdown for GAR.

Valley West 48 Williamsport 34
Zach Davies ran for 78 yards and three touchdowns as the Spartans got their first win of the season. Rob Dwyer added 141 yards and a touchdown and also added a 17 yard touchdown catch. Williamsport Latrell Jackson ran for 119 yards and a touchdown and Marcus Simmons went for two rushing touchdowns.

Berwick 56 Crestwood 0
Bulldogs QB Alex Force threw for 179 yards and two touchdowns. Owen Shoemaker ran for 101 yards and two touchdowns and Evan Klinger added 72 yards and two touchdowns. Crestwood's Nick Grosek ran for 12 yards.

Carbondale 30 Lakeland 14
Nick Vadella and Frank Burke powered the Chargers to a win over Lakeland. Burke ran for 127 yards and a touchdown and Vadella went for 107 yards and a touchdown. In all, the Chargers went for four rushing touchdowns. For Lakeland, Nico Piraino threw for 215 yards and a touchdown. Thomas Pidgeon caught 10 passes for 95 yards and a touchdown.

Dunmore 35 Riverside 0
Dunmore QB Gavin Darcy threw for 163 yards and four touchdowns. Nate Fangio caught four passes for 128 yards and three touchdowns. For Riverside, Chase Briskie ran for 105 yards and quarterback Brayden Thiel threw for 116 yards.

Tunkhannock 34 Wyalusing 7
Logan Cywinski ran for 169 yards and three touchdowns to give the Tigers their first win of the season. Evan Turner caught a 68 yard touchdown pass and Dennie Robinson intercepted two passes on defense.

Scranton Prep 35 Dallas 17
Cavaliers RB Matt Gilmartin ran for 185 yards and two touchdowns and QB Leo O'Boyle threw for 93 yards and ran in for three touchdowns. For Dallas, Danny Meuser ran for 54 yards and two touchdowns and Michael Starbuck threw for 116 yards.

Mid Valley 40 Hanover Area 15
Mid Valley's Colin Hazelton ran for 161 yards and two touchdowns and Joe Chylak added 141 yards and three touchdowns. Sean Coleman ran for 118 yards and a touchdown for the Hawkeyes and Aaron Hummer ran in for a touchdown.

Lackawanna Trail 27 Northwest 6
Nathan Rolka threw for 66 yards and a touchdown for the Lions. Jeffrey Resto ran for 64 yards and a touchdown. Northwest's Jake Anderson ran for 117 yards and Dave Piestrak threw to Connor Hazlet for a 25 yard touchdown.

Wallenpaupack 32 Honesdale 21
Buckhorns RB Joe Ingulli ran for 202 yards and two touchdowns and Nick Ruggieri added two touchdowns. Honesdale's Andy Carroll ran for 125 yards and a touchdown and QB Ethan Dunn threw for 108 yards and a touchdown.

Delaware Valley 42 West Scranton 0
Ryan Obiso ran for 66 yards and a touchdown for the Warriors and Josh Balcarcel added 55 yards and a touchdown. Dylan Kelly returned an interception for a touchdown. West Scranton's Kevin Williams ran for 90 yards.

Valley View 58 Pittston Area 20
The Cougars Seth Vernon ran for 92 yards and three touchdowns. Janaasah Boone added 76 yards and two touchdowns. Patriots QB Walter Coles threw for 147 yards and a touchdown, he also ran one in as well.

Western Wayne 53 Holy Redeemer 0
Western Wayne QB Matt Valanda threw for 159 yards and four touchdowns. Kobe Sauter added 57 yards on the ground and two touchdowns. Royals QB JD Turosky threw for 137 yards and Colin Conway caught five passes for 40 yards.

Scranton 42 North Pocono 35
Rheyse Green ran for 135 yards and a touchdown as the Knights won the battle of unbeaten 42-35. Ky'Ron Harbin added 97 yards and two touchdowns and also had a receiving touchdown. Donny Blaine threw for 188 yards and a touchdown for North Pocono. JC Gaughan ran for 95 yards and two touchdowns for the Trojans.

Hazleton Area 47 Abington Heights 19
Cougars QB Sparky Wolk threw for 220 yards and three touchdowns. Adrian Otero ran for 40 yards and a touchdown and had four catches for 98 yards and a touchdown. George Tinsley threw for 186 yards and two touchdowns for Abington Heights. Corey Perkins had seven catches for 148 yards and two touchdowns.

Montrose 35 Holy Cross 8
Maverick Tims ran for 74 yards and two touhdowns for the Meteors. John Herman added 138 yards and three touchdowns. Jake Wiercinski threw for 57 yards and a touchdown for Holy Cross. Dom Possanza had four catches for 66 yards and a touchdown.

Old Forge 42 Susquehanna 13
The Blue Devils Brendan Mozeleski ran for 178 yards and two touchdowns and QB Dante Lucarelli for 87 yards and two touchdowns. Susquehanna's Adam Roe ran for 87 yards and CJ Stone threw for 48 yards and two touchdowns.

Coughlin 17 Wyoming Area 14
Jake Cole ran for 186 yards and two touchdowns as the Crusaders went to 2-2 on the season. Wyoming Area QB Dominic DeLuca threw for 118 yards and a touchdown. Marc Minichello ran for 49 yards and he had six catches for 41 yards and a touchdown.

King's 44 Lebanon Valley 39
King's QB Zach Whitehead had a monster game. He threw for 373 yards and two touchdowns and he rushed for 76 yards and three touchdowns. RB Jordan Downes ran for 94 yards and a touchdown. Lebanon Valley QB Tyler Sterner threw for 232 yards and three touchdowns.

Delaware Valley 34 Wilkes 14
Del Val QB Dashawn Darden threw for 126 yards and two touchdowns and he rushed for 92 yards and a touchdown. Wilkes QB Wade Rippeon threw for 160 yards and two touchdowns and wideout Jeff Steeber had six catches for 61 yards and a touchdown.

Widener 34 Misericordia 21
Widener QB Sean McGaughey threw for 314 yards and two touchdowns and Chris Randle ran for 83 yards and a touchdown. For Misericordia, Brady Williams threw for 256 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 110 yards.

Bloomsburg 27 Gannon 10
Huskies QB Chris Palubinsky threw for 207 yards and a touchdown and Michael Allen had five catches for 79 yards and a touchdown. For Gannon, Marc Jones ran for 173 yards and Gannon's lone touchdown.

Falcons gets past Packers

The Atlanta Falcons played their first regular season game in their new stadium as they hosted the Green Bay Packers. The Falcons and Packers looked to go to 2-0 on the season. Who will come out on top on Sunday night football? We'll find out!! Matt Ryan would go to Julio Jones for 19 yards on second and 7. After a Devonta Freeman eight yard run, Ryan would find Jones for 34. Ryan would go to Freeman for six on second and 4 to make it first and goal from the 10. On third and goal at the one, Freeman would go in for the touchdown. The PAT would make it 7-0 Falcons with 9:51 remaining in the first quarter. The Packers would get the ball and on third and 4, Randall Cobb would go for 10 yards on a run. They would face a third and 7 and Aaron Rodgers would find Richard Rodgers for 14. They would face a third and 8 and the Falcons would get called for pass interference. Aaron Rodgers would go to Ty Montgomery for 23 and after an offsides penalty, Montgomery would go in for a one yard touchdown. The PAT would tie the game at 7. The Falcons would go three and out on their next drive and would punt. The Falcons defense would force a three and out and get the ball back. Ryan would go to Mohammed Sanu for 24 yards as the first quarter came to an end. The second play of the quarter Ryan would go to Sanu again for 24 yards. The Falcons would face a third and 12 and Ryan would find Julio Jones for 15. Ryan would find Hardy for 19 yards for a first and goal at the two then Freeman would go in for his second touchdown of the game, this time from two yards out. On the Packers possession, Rodgers would find Geronimo Allison for 8 yards on third and 3. The Falcons would sack Rodgers on the next play, then Rodgers would find Cobb for 17 to make it third and 1 but a false start would make it third and 6. The Packers would punt after an incompletion. The Falcons first play of the possession was a 35 yard run by Tevin Coleman. Ryan would go to Julio Jones for 27 on second and 9. The Packers' Clay Matthews would sack Matt Ryan on third and 5 and they would settle for a 51 yard field goal and led 17-7 in the second quarter. The Packers would face a third and 12 but the Falcons would be called for holding for an automatic first down. The Packers drive would stop and would be forced to punt as the Falcons got the ball back as they head to the two-minute warning. The Packers looked like they would have a big gain but the Packers would get called for offensive pass interference. After a false start, Rodgers would get intercepted by Desmond Trufant. Ryan would go to Sanu for 21 yards for a first and goal at the seven. On second and goal, Ryan would go to Coleman for a touchdown and Atlanta would lead Green Bay 24-7 and would lead at halftime by that same score. The Packers would start with the ball in the second half. On the second play, Rodgers would be sacked and fumbled and recovered by Desmond Trufant for a touchdown and led 31-7 early in the third quarter. The Packers would get on the board in the next possession with a field and the Falcons lead would be 31-10. The Falcons would get their lead back as Matt Bryant would kick a field goal to make it 34-10. The Packers would score a touchdown early in the fourth quarter as Aaron Rodgers went to Davante Adams for a 33 yard touchdown pass. The two point conversion failed as the Falcons lead would be 34-16. After the Packers forced a punt, Aaron Rodgers would drive down the field and it would result in a touchdown pass to Ty Montgomery from one yard out and the PAT would cut the lead to 34-23. The Falcons would run the clock all the way to the two-minute warning where they faced a third and 9.  The Falcons would come up short and would punt the Ball with 1:13 remaining in the game. The Packers would face a fourth and 10 and Rodgers would find Martellus Bennett for a first down. Time would run out as the Packers receiver failed to get out of bounds and the Falcons would go to 2-0 with a 34-23 victory over Green Bay.

Thoughts on the game: The Falcons were impressive in the first half. They scored 24 points before halftime and then recovered a fumble for a touchdown to start the second half. I think the Falcons will not have the cursed Super Bowl hangover and think they should be a good team. 

Penn State blows away Georgia State

The Penn State Nittany Lions looked to get to 3-0 on the season as they hosted Georgia State on Saturday night. Georgia State came off a bye week and looked for a big upset on the road. What team would come out on top? Let's find out! The Nittany Lions would start with the ball at their own 37. Trace McSorley would go to DeAndre Thompkins for 12 into Georgia State territory. McSorley would go to Saquon Barkley for nine on second and 3. Barkley would go six yards for a first and goal at the 10. Next play, McSorley would find Tommy Stevens for a 10 yard touchdown pass. The PAT would make it 7-0 with 11:48 remaining in the first quarter. Georgia State would start with their own  25 after a touchback. Conner Manning would find Penny Hart for 10 yards on the first play of the drive. They would face third and 4 and Taz Bateman would go 15 for a first down. They would face a third and 6 and the pass would fall incomplete and they would punt the ball and it would downed at the Penn State one yard line. They would face a third and 9 and McSorley would find Mike Gesicki for 20 yards to their own 22 but they would be forced to punt they couldn't gain another first down. Georgia State would take over at their own 26. Bateman would go 10 yards on second and 6 to the GAST 40. They would face a third and 3 and Bateman would lose 4 yards and they would be forced to punt. The Nittany Lions would start with the ball at their own 17. They would face a third and 12 and McSorley would find Barkley for 85 yards for a touchdown. The PAT would make it 14-0 with 49 seconds to go in the first quarter. Manning would go to Penny Hart for 10 yards on the first play for a first down. They would face a third and 6 and Manning would find Bateman for 11 to midfield. They would face a third and 4 and Manning's pass would fall incomplete and would be forced to punt. The Nittany Lions first play was a McSorley pass to Barkley for 44 yards to the Georgia State 42. Miles Sanders would get 15 yards on the next play. McSorley would go to DaeSean Hamilton for a 27 yard touchdown. The PAT would make it 21-0 with 11:44 remaining in the second quarter. The Penn State defense would force a Georgia State three and out. The Nittany Lions would go three and out on their next possession. On the first play, Manning would be intercepted by Grant Haley and then Miles Sanders would score from 29 yards out to make it 28-0 Penn State after the PAT. Penn State would get called for pass interference on second and 10 for a Georgia State. Manning would go to Todd Boyd for an 18 yard completion. Georgia would face a third and 5 and Manning would find Kyler Neal for a 12 yard completion. After a loss of five, Manning's pass would be intercepted by Marcus Allen and would be returned to the Georgia State 25. The Nittany Lions would face a third and 5 and McSorley would find Juwan Johnson for 12 yards and a first and goal. On the first and goal, McSorley would go in for an eight yard score. The PAT would make it 35-0 and they would lead by that same score. The Nittany Lions would score three more times. Trace McSorley would go to Brandon Polk. Tommy Stevens would go to Saeed Blacknall for a 35 yard score. To end the scoring, Andre Robinson would score from 41 yards out. Georgia State would have a chance to score in the final seconds but the field goal with sail wide. Penn State takes the victory 41-0.

Wilborn's big night propels Meyers over Nanticoke

The Nanticoke Trojans put their undefeated record on the line as they headed down the road to Wilkes-Barre Memorial Stadium to take on the Meyers Mohawks. The Mohawks are looking for three in a row after losing their opening game. Meyers started with the ball at their own 37. Janssen Wilborn went to Najese Hood for 12 on second and 3. Kevin Dessoye went for 10 yards and second and 10 for another first down. The Mohawks would face a third and 12 and Wilborn went for five and then they would go for it on fourth down and Wilborn would be sacked by John Guzsak and forced a turnover on downs. The Trojans would take over and they would face a third and 3 and Dawson Hughes would go for two yards and they would go for it and Hughes would get two yards to keep the drive alive. The drive would end with a punt and the punt would go to their own 2. Dessoye would go seven on second and 6. Wilborn would find Reese Patronick for 30 and then Patronick would escape like Houdini for 19 yards. After a sack, Nazir Dunnell would go for 41 yards for a touchdown. The PAT would be no good and led 6-0 with 1:48 remaining in the first quarter. The Trojans would go three and out and forced to punt and a bad snap would give the Mohawks good field position at the Nanticoke 28. The Mohawks would face a third and 3 at the end of the first quarter. Patronick would be a yard short and they went for it on fourth down and Wilborn went for four yards. On the next play, Wilborn would go 14 yards for a Mohawks touchdown. The PAT would make it 13-0 with 10:16 left in the second quarter. Eric Jeffries would go 15 yards on the first play. Dawson Hughes would go for 14 on second and 9. Colby Butczynski would go for two yards and Meyers would get called for an unsportsmanlike conduct for a late hit out of bounds. The drive would end when a pass ended up incomplete on fourth down to give the Mohawks the ball. After back-to-back penalties, Wilborn would go 92 yards for a touchdown. The PAT would make it 19-0 Meyers with 6:07 remaining in the second quarter. The Mohawks would get the ball back after the ball hit a downman and Meyers would recover. After a delay of game and Dunnell gain of five yards. Wilborn went to Hood for 32 yards. After a loss of two yards, Meyers would get called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. They would face a fourth and 20 and Wilborn found Hood for a 29 yard touchdown pass. The PAT would make it 26-0 with 3:27 remaining in the second quarter. The Trojans would get the ball back at their own 16. They would face a third and 1 and Jeffries would get five. They would face a third and 3 and Butczynski's pass would fall incomplete and they would be forced to punt. The Mohawks would not score as they got to halftime with the score of 26-0 Meyers. The Trojans would get the ball to start the second half but Jeffries would get 11 on the first play but the Trojans' drive would end there and forced to punt. The Trojans defense got a three and out. On second and 7, Meyers would get called for pass interference. On the next play, Butzcynski would go to Darren Boseman for 41. The Mohawks would get a ball back after the Trojans failed to get a first down on fourth and 14. The Mohawks would face a third and 3 and Wilborn would go to Dessoye for 16. The Mohawks drive would end with a punt. Jeffries would get 10 yards on first and second downs. Jeffries would get five yards on second and 5. The third quarter would come to an end with the Mohawks leading 26-0. The drive would end with a turnover on downs. On second and 6, Dessoye went for 10 for a first down. The Mohawks would face a third and 8 and Wilborn found Hood for 23. The Mohawks would go four and out and the Trojans would get the ball back. On second and 6, Jeffries would fumble and Collin Kashatus would recover it and the yardage would cover 15 yards. Butczynski would get a yard on fourth and 1 and on the next play, Butczynski would go to Boseman for a 44 yard touchdown pass. The PAT would make it 26-7 with 4:03 remaining in the game. Wilborn would go for 19 to get into Nanticoke territory and Dessoye would go for 12 on the next play. However the Mohawks would punt the ball away. The Trojans were unable to score and the Mohawks would take the victory over the Nanticoke Trojans 26-7.

Thoughts on the game: Mohawks QB Janssen Wilborn had a great game tonight. He made big plays with his feet and in the air. The Meyers defense did a good job keeping Eric Jeffries in check. I was impressed by the Mohawks overall. They have several players they can go to like Reese Patronick, Najese Hood and Kevin Dessoye.

Watson sparks Texans over Bengals

After a disappointing losses last week, the Bengals and the Texans faced off against each other in Cincinnati on Thursday night football. Deshaun Watson is starting his first NFL game at quarterback for the Texans. Can he step up and take the victory on the road or could the offense of the Bengals give them the victory? Let's find out! The Texans would start the game with the ball. The Bengals defense would start the game getting a three and out. After a great punt return from Adam "Pacman" Jones, the Bengals would start at their own 46. The Texans defense would answer with a three and out of their own. The Texans went three and out for the second consecutive drive. Once again, the Bengals went three and out. That would be the fourth straight three and out on both sides. The Texans D Foreman rushed for 9 yards on second and 2 for the game's first down but C Smith sacked Watson on third down and they would be forced to punt.  On the first play, Kareem Jackson forced a fumble and Jadeveon Clowney would recover it and return it for 49 yards to the Bengals 31. Foreman would get 14 yards for a first goal but the Texans would settle for a field goal and would lead 3-0 with 1:28 remaining in the first quarter. First play of the drive for the Bengals, Andy Dalton would go to AJ Green for 50 yards as they enter the red zone as the first quarter came to an end with the Texans leading 3-0. The Texans would hold them to a field goal to tie the game at 3 early in the second quarter. The Texans would face a third and 7 and Watson would find Lamar Miller for 12 but a sack on a third and 10 would force a punt. The Bengals would face a third and 4 and Dalton would find Green for 13. They would face a third and 2 on the same drive but Giovanni Bernard would be a yard short and the Bengals would punt again. For the third time, The Texans would go three and out and punt the ball again. The Bengals would go three and out on the next series. The Texans faced a third and 5 and Watson would go to Ervin for seven and a first down. Watson would go to Miller for eight yards on second and 5, then Watson found Hopkins for a 25 yard reception. After a sack and a Watson pass to Miller for six, Watson would go 49 yards for a touchdown and the Texans would lead 10-3. Dalton would find Tyler Eifert would go for 22 yards and then find Erickson for 37. The Bengals would settle for a field goal to make it 10-6 Texans at halftime. The Bengals would start with the ball to start the second half. They faced a third and 1 early Dalton would go two yards for the first. On third and 9, Dalton went to Erickson for 14. Bernard would go for six on second and 5. Next play, Dalton went to Brandon LaFell for 11. Facing a fourth and 2, Jeremy Hill would leap over the pile to get the first down. They were unable to get into the end zone and settled for a field goal and cut the Texans lead to 10-9. Lamar Miller would get 10 yards on first and second downs for a first down. Facing a third and 2, the pass would go incomplete but the Bengals would get called for pass interference but that's all the Bengals as they would be forced to punt. The Bengals would face a third and 4 and Dalton would find Tyler Eifert for 15 yards. They would face a third and 3 on the next set of downs and the pass would fall incomplete and the Bengals would punt again. The third quarter would come to an end with the Texans leading 10-9. The Texans would face a third and 1 and Miller would get a loss of yardage on the play and the Texans would punt again. Joe Mixon would get 11 yards on first and second downs but the drive would sputter and another punt would occur.  It would be downed at the Houston eight yard line. The Bengals defense would continue their great night by forcing another three and out. The Bengals couldn't move it much on the drive and punted once again. After a holding penalty on the Texans, the Bengals would be called for pass interference for a fresh set of downs. On third and 7, Watson found Hopkins for nine. Miller went for 19 yards on second and 8. Foreman would go for four on second and 1. After an offensive pass interference, the Texans were out of field goal range but Watkins would run for 11 on third and 16 and the field goal was made to make it 13-9 Texans as they headed to the two-minute warning. Dalton would go to LaFell for 12.  They would face a fourth and 4 but a false start would move them back. The pass on fourth and 9 would fall incomplete. They would face a third and 4 and Miller would come up short and they would punt the ball with 12 seconds left. The Bengals would get the ball with 2 seconds left. They would attempt to do laterals but it would be stopped as the Texans took the victory 13-9 in Cincinnati.

Thoughts on the game: It was a good game if you liked defense. The Bengals and Texans combined for 16 punts and only one touchdown in the game. Deshaun Watson had a great game, throwing for 125 yards and rushing for 67 yards and a touchdown, which was the only game's touchdown. The Texans did great after getting blownout at home against the Jaguars on Sunday. I believe the Texans are the AFC South favorites and might've found a special player in Watson.