Through off-season workouts and two-a-day August practices, the Susquehanna and Montrose football teams have been building up for Friday night when they each head to Luzerne County to open their 2011 season in non-league games.

The Sabers will try to maintain their success after returning to the championship level for the first time in 16 years while the Meteors will look to reverse direction after reaching the lowest point in the program’s history.

Each will need key contributions from newcomers, or those at least new to their roles, in order to reach their potential.

Senior Sean Stanley makes the transition from wide receiver to quarterback to try to take over at quarterback for Dan Kempa, a 1,000-yard rusher each of the last three seasons and the Lackawanna Football Conference Division 3 Offensive Player of the Year, according to northeastpafootball.com, last season when he led the Sabers to the division championship.

Russell Canevari takes over as head coach at Montrose, which has lost 19 straight games while often struggling during that stretch just to remain competitive.

Susquehanna will play at Hanover Area while Montrose is at Nanticoke Friday night.

SUSQUEHANNA FOOTBALL

The Sabers put together a different type of streak in 2010, winning the final six regular-season games, including all five in Division 3 where they won a title for the first time.

LFC Division 2 champion Lakeland was responsible for both losses in a 9-2 season, eliminating Susquehanna in the District 2 Class AA semifinals.

Brandon Saddlemire, a 6-foot, 245-pound senior two-way lineman, was a first-team division all-star on offense last season. He is the only returning first-team star for the Sabers now that Cole Mallery, who would have been the division’s only returning two-way, first-team choice, has transferred to Seton Central Catholic in Binghamton, N.Y.

George Wilkes, a two-way starter up front, and Gage Piechocki, who like Saddlemire was a starter on offense, will be the leaders in trying to produce another strong line for the Sabers.

“We have a lot of young kids and we’re not as big as we were last year defensively,” Sabers coach Dick Bagnall said.

Seniors Greg Price, Austin Cowperthwait and Stanley join Wilkes as the returning two-way starters. Price is a running back and linebacker. Cowperthwait and Stanley both played wide receiver and defensive back last season.

Stanley, a second-team, all-star on defense, will be relied on to run the option offense.

“He has sprinter speed and he’s a smart kid,” Bagnall said. “He executes the offense very well.

“I have all the confidence in the world in him.”

Jesse Pruitt was a second-team, all-star at linebacker and could help Stanley and Price will the ball-carrying load.

All of the returning starters are seniors.

Many of their classmates may step up into more prominent roles this season.

Jon-Michael Marino, Cooper Quick, Jeremy Acone and Jeffrey Wayne are working at wide receiver and defensive back; Dustin Burdick is a two-way lineman; Anthony Stark and Mitchell Wages are two-way ends; and Thomas Maby is a running back/linebacker.

Junior Jagr Briar is getting work in the line.

Two-way lineman Kyle Lawson, offensive lineman/linebacker Jon Haines, quarterback/linebacker Curtis Mills and running back/defensive back James Murnock could be the leaders of a larger sophomore class.

MONTROSE FOOTBALL

Canevari worked as an assistant coach prior to spending the last five seasons as an assistant principal at Montrose. He returns to the classroom as a high school social studies teacher while taking over as head coach.

After one year as an assistant at Wallenpaupack, working in the junior high program, Canevari was an assistant at Montrose for five seasons, working with running backs, defensive backs and special teams.

“One thing we’ve been stressing through the early practices is a lot of discipline,” said Canevari, the leading rusher on Valley View’s 1992 Class AA state championship team, “not necessarily discipline as far as behavior is concerned, but discipline in terms of playing your position properly in order to play team defense or offense.”

Canevari said the Meteors will use a combination of a Delaware wing-T and pro-I formation. The offense is likely to increase from its average of two passes per game.

On defense, the Meteors will work out of a five-man front as their base and will also use a 4-4.

Fullback John Lawson returns in the backfield along with Nate Clark, who was the team’s second-leading rusher last season as a part-time starter at tailback.

Trevor Tompkins and Evan Castrogiavanni could also see time in the backfield.

Jeremy Dibble and Will Ely are both working at the quarterback spot.

Juan Castro, Zach Loomis and whoever does not take the quarterback spot will be at wide receiver.

The offensive line has some experience but will have players in new positions.

Kurt Kimsey moves from tight end to center where he takes over so that Nick Moore can move to tackle. Chris Spoehr is back at one guard spot.

Guard Tim Strayer and tackle Jordan Christofano should fill the other spots, along with tight end Kyle Smith.

Strayer returns at defensive tackle. Brett Shelp will also play in the interior line along with some of the players who are part of the offensive line unit.

Smith moves from linebacker to end where he will be joined by Brent Warner.

Lawson is back at linebacker. Castrogiavanni and Dan Zapolski should join him there.

Clark returns to the secondary where Ely also has some experience.

Tompkins, Castro and Dale Harder are working at cornerback.

WEEK IN REVIEW

Forest City’s Katie Zefran won the Jackman Memorial Girls’ Tournament by shooting a 5-over-par, 77 August 23 at Scranton Municipal Golf Course.

Zefran shot a 39 on the front and 38 on the back to beat Danielle Dalessandro of Scranton Prep and Selena Cerra of Holy Cross by three shots.

Montrose and Lackawanna Trail each got off to 2-0 starts in Lackawanna League Northern Division play.

In girls’ tennis, Elk Lake won its first two matches to share the Lackawanna League Division 3 lead with defending champion Riverside.

LOOKING BACK

Elk Lake pitcher Brooke Darling and designated player Gabby Baltzley were selected to the first team in Class AA on the Pennsylvania Softball Coaches Association all-state team.

Darling and Baltzley led the way as the Lady Warriors took an unbeaten record into the state quarterfinals.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Our high school football coverage will once again include predictions on all games involving schools in the Lackawanna Football Conference.

Last season, our record in those games was 104-33 (75.9 percent), including 90-28 (76.3 percent) during the regular season.

Predictions for Friday night’s openers, with the home team in CAPS: HANOVER AREA 20, Susquehanna 19; NANTICOKE 37, Montrose 8; WALLENPAUPACK 49, Honesdale 6; Dunmore 17, NORTH POCONO 14; VALLEY VIEW 20, East Stroudsburg North 13; Lackawanna Trail 28, CARBONDALE 12; Wyoming Valley West 23, SCRANTON 16; RIVERSIDE 28, West Scranton 22; GAR 37, Mid Valley 24; OLD FORGE 23, Lake-Lehman 13; Dallas 13, COUGHLIN 8; WYOMING AREA 13, Western Wayne 0; Berwick 27, CRESTWOOD 19; NORTHWEST 33, Holy Redeemer 12; Williamsport 45, CENTRAL MOUNTAIN 24; ISLAND COAST 28, Delaware Valley 14; ABINGTON HEIGHTS 20, Hazleton Area 14; Pittston Area 14, TUNKHANNOCK 13; Lakeland 22, SCRANTON PREP 17; MEYERS 20, Holy Cross 17.

Girls’ soccer season opens Tuesday, Sept. 6, including Forest City at Elk Lake, Montrose at Carbondale and Mountain View at Mid Valley.

Girls’ volleyball opens the same day with Blue Ridge at Mountain View, Elk Lake at Montrose and Dunmore at Forest City.

TOM ROBINSON writes a weekly local sports column for the Susquehanna County Transcript. He can be reached online at RobbyTR@aol.com.

Keselowski Continues Win Streak

BRISTOL, Tenn. - Brad Keselowski got his third Sprint Cup win of the season Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Keselowski grabbed the lead on a restart with 80 laps left in the 500-lap race and held on to win for the fourth time in his career. The victory all but assured Keselowski of at least a wild-card position in the upcoming Chase.

Brad Keselowski, Cup winner at Bristol.

“Wow - the night race at Bristol!” Keselowski shouted in victory lane, his broken ankle forgotten. “I used to watch Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt win this race. This is a race of champions. I can’t believe it. There’s races that pay more. There’s races that might have a little more prestige, but this is the coolest damn one of them all.”

During the postrace celebration, Keselowski climbed onto the roof of his car, raised his fists into the air and then jumped from the roof to the tiled surface in victory lane. That’s when he remembered the ankle, but the sudden stab of pain didn’t diminish the satisfaction of a victory that belonged to a gritty driver and a team that produced in the pits when the race was on the line.

Since Keselowski broke his ankle, he has finished first at Pocono, second at Watkins Glen, third at Michigan and first at Bristol. He will compete with the other three race winners in the past five weeks - Paul Menard, Marcos Ambrose and Kyle Busch - for a $3 million bonus Sept. 4 at Atlanta under the aegis of the Sprint Summer Showdown.

Should any of those drivers win the race, they’ll earn $1 million for themselves, $1 million for charity and $1 million for a fan. As a two-time winner in Showdown qualifying races, Keselowski’s will race for two fans, who will split $1 million if he wins.

Martin Truex Jr. ran second, followed by Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Jamie McMurray. Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, polesitter Ryan Newman, Carl Edwards and Marcos Ambrose completed the top-10.

Jeff Gordon led the most laps, and had the dominant car until the last restart, when Keselowski grabbed the lead. It seems like Gordon’s pit crew was not at the top of their game. During each pit stop Gordon lost positions to other drivers.

“We just didn’t get it done on the track there at the end,” said Gordon.

Other Race Notes: Jimmie Johnson gained a share of the points lead with Kyle Busch, who finished 14th. Clint Bowyer and Tony Stewart had miserable nights, finishing 26th and 28th, respectively. Tenth in the standings, without a victory this season, Stewart leads Keselowski, who gained one spot to 11th place, by 21 points with two races left before the Chase field is set. Paul Menard, David Ragan and Ambrose - potential beneficiaries of a wild-card spot in the Chase if Keselowski cracks the top-10 - are 20th, 21st and 22nd in the standings, covered by a four-point spread. A driver must be in the top-20 after 26 races to take advantage of the wild-card rule.

Top-12 Chase leaders with 2 races remaining before the Chase begins: 1. Kyle Busch-830, 2. Johnson-830, 3. Kenseth-798, 4. Edwards-795, 5. Harvick-782, 6. J. Gordon-782, 7. Newman-762, 8. Kurt Busch-749, 9. Earnhardt-728, 10. Stewart-710, 11. Keselowski-689, 12. Bowyer-688.

BUSCH GETS RECORD 50th NATIONWIDE WIN

Kyle Busch held off his teammate Joey Logano, by just .019 of a second to win Friday night’s Food City 250 Nationwide Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

In doing so, Busch won his record-setting 50th Nationwide Series race, ending his tie with Mark Martin.

“It’s awesome,” said Busch, driver of the No. 18 Toyota. “To be able to win 49 races and tie Mark Martin, and then to come here and be able to beat his record at Bristol - one of my favorite places and one of the team’s favorite places - it was certainly an awesome race tonight. We had a great race car. Clint (Bowyer) was the one I thought was going to get us and he was going to be the one we would have to beat.

“Turned out I had to race Joey (Logano), my own teammate there. Those guys had a great race car.”

On pit road after the race, Logano eyed Busch’s celebration in victory lane with envy.

“I did everything I could possibly do, looking back at it,” said Logano, whose ploy to stay out on old tires during the final caution nearly paid off with a win. “I did everything I could have done besides wrecking him, but that ain’t the right thing to do when he’s your teammate - so we did everything we could do.”

Behind Busch and Logano, Clint Bowyer ran third, followed by Carl Edwards and Aric Almirola.

“I don’t know where he (Logano) came from,” said Busch, the first driver to win three straight Nationwide races at the .533-mile track. “He had a rocket ship there at the end. I just kept getting a little bit looser and a little bit looser the more we ran there.

“I thought maybe the top (lane) was going to win the thing, and I was just trying to pinch him down a little bit - he used me up.”

Michael Annett, Jason Leffler, Elliott Sadler, Parker Kligerman and Brian Scott completed the top-10. Sadler trimmed the series lead of 11th-place finisher Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to five points.

The margin of victory was the smallest for a race at Bristol since the institution of electronic timing and scoring in 1993.

Top-10 leaders after 25 of 34: 1. Stenhouse-867, 2. Sadler-862, 3. Sorenson-857, 4. Almirola-809, 5. Allgair-801, 6. Leffler-776, 7. K. Wallace-772, 8. S. Wallace-702, 9. Scott-692, 10. Annett-687

Top-10 Camping World Truck Series leaders after 15 of 24: 1. Sauter-561, 2. Buescher-554, 3. Peters-546, 4. A. Dillon-532, 5. Whitt-519, 6. Coulter-506, 7. Crafton-498, 8. Kligerman-494, 9. Hornaday-493, 10. Bodine-489

Weekend Racing: all three of NASCAR’s major series’ will be at the 1.5-mile Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Fri., Sept. 2, Truck Series Atlanta 200, race 16 of 24, Starting time: 8 p.m.; TV: SPEED.

Sat., Sept. 3, Nationwide Series Great Clips 300, race 26 of 34, Starting time: 7:30 p.m.; TV: ESPN2.

Sun., Sept 4, Sprint Cup Advocare 500, race 25 of 36, Starting time: 7:30 p.m., TV: ESPN.

All times are Eastern.

Racing Trivia Question: Who was the first Truck Series driver to win four consecutive races?

Last Week’s Question: Do you think Kyle Busch is showing more maturity this season? Send us an e-mail with your comments. If we use them in next week’s column, we’ll send you a photo of your favorite driver. Answer. Based on his actions in last week’s truck race at Bristol, Busch is still a “wild-child.” Here are some e-mails we received.

B. G. of York, PA “He has such great racing talent. He acts like someone is always stealing his candy, whether they are or not.”

S.M. of Taylorsville, N.C.: “Love him or hate him, he keeps racing stirred up, which makes it more interesting at times.”

J. H. of Somerset, KY.: “NASCAR needs more drivers like him. His immaturity shows at times, but he’s not afraid to mix it up. He has a long way to go, but reminds me of a young Dale Earnhardt.”

You may contact the Racing Reporter at hodges@race500.com.

The 2011 NEP Nitro 14 and under girls softball team, based out of Susquehanna, recently won the New York State BAGSAI Summer League Championship. This team is made up of girls from Susquehanna, PA, Hancock, NY and Green, NY. The team posted a very impressive undefeated league record.

Pictured (l-r) above, the 2011 NEP Nitro softball team: front - Alyssa Hubal, Baily Barnes, Nicole Shay, Nicole Barnes, Lea Newman, Caitlyn Wormuth; middle - Kaile Norton, Cynthia Wormuth, Laura Durdon, Miranda Groover, Brook Sherburne, Morgan Hurlburt; back - coaches Nate Shay and George Hubal; missing from photo - Amy Barnes.

The girls went into the playoffs as the number 1 seed and had to play the team from Vestal, NY, who gave the Nitro girls their hardest game of the regular season. The first round game was every bit as exciting as the last game between these two teams. The Nitro was led by strong pitching, great defense and big hits. With the game tied 4 to 4 in the bottom on the 7th inning, they had two outs and a girl on 3rd base. A squeeze bunt was put on and was executed to perfection with the run scoring. Nitro won 5-4.

This set up a championship game between NEP Nitro and the Black Widows from Windsor, NY. These two teams played a 6-5 game the first time they faced off. The Nitro girls started off slow, giving up 2 early runs in the first inning. Led by a huge triple in the second inning, NEP Nitro took the lead and never let up. Strong pitching and all-out hustle on the bases, topped off by awesome team effort, saw the Nitro girls getting a 12-4 win in the 4th inning over the Black Widows to win a championship in this team’s first year together.

NEP Nitro softball would like to thank all of the parents and their sponsors for this great season. Thanks is also extended to Susquehanna Community School District for letting the team use their gym and softball field for practices.