Montrose cleared a big hurdle on the football field last season by bringing an end to a 35-game losing streak and winning two of its final three games.

The next challenge for the Meteors is to continue the progress they made in the second half of last season despite suffering heavy losses to graduation.

Brenton Warner, a 6-foot-1, 230-pound senior guard/linebacker who was a second-team Lackawanna Football Conference Division 3 all-star on both sides of the ball, according to northeastpafootball.com, leads the small list of returning starters.

Bryce Warner, Trevor Tompkins, Matt Legg and Mike Vaness also return.

Bryce Warner, a junior who also plays guard and linebacker, led the defensive effort in the 27-8 win over Holy Cross to break the losing streak. He had 11 tackles, including two for losses, that day along with a fumble recovery that he returned 30 yards and three other defensive plays in which he was involved.

Tompkins is back at linebacker. He also was part of the offensive unit in certain formations last year and will likely take over as the top runner.

Legg, a tackle, joins Brenton Warner to give Montrose two returning starters in the offensive line where Chad Swift and Kevin Bruno also have some experience. Swift is making the move from guard to center while Bruno goes from center to guard.

“Even though we have some new people on the line, we’re thinking our line will be one of our strengths,” Montrose coach Russ Canevari said. “At our skill positions, we do have athletes, but they just don’t have experience.

“Hopefully, they’ll gain some experience in the scrimmages and the early-season games and we’ll see some success.”

Vaness returns at defensive back and is a candidate for the quarterback position.

Both Warners and Tompkins return at linebacker, but Canevari said there could be some positional adjustments while building the unit around linebacker Brenton Warner.

“We’re working some new guys in at some new positions,” Canevari said.

Troy Ely has shown promise at wide receiver during the preseason. Sophomore running back/defensive back Michael Stewart and 270-pound freshman tackle Thomas Milandry are among the top newcomers on the team.

The Meteors open Friday night at home against Carbondale in a Division 3 game. The next four games, and the final one of the year, are outside the division.

The complete schedule is: Aug. 30, CARBONDALE; Sept. 6, LAKE-LEHMAN; Sept. 13, at Tunkhannock; Sept. 20, HONESDALE; Sept. 27, at Western Wayne; Oct. 4, OLD FORGE; Oct. 11, at Susquehanna; Oct. 18, HOLY CROSS; Oct. 25, at Lackawanna Trail; Nov. 1, at Montrose.

WEEK IN REVIEW

MOOSIC – Derek Jeter, Major League Baseball’s active hit leader, played for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders for the second time this season.

Jeter produced mixed results while appearing in three International League games at PNC Field Thursday, Friday and Saturday against the Pawtucket Red Sox.

The New York Yankees captain went 3-for-9 at the plate, but did commit a pair of errors at shortstop. Most importantly, Jeter ran well in the last two games, scoring from third on a wild pitch that did not get far away from the catcher and going from first to third on a single to left field.

Jeter has been slowed by three leg injuries. After making it back from a broken left ankle with a rehab stop in Moosic in July, the 39-year-old shortstop has been out again with quadriceps and calf injuries in his right leg.

“I’m running fine,” Jeter told reporters after the second of the three games. “ … I’m not concerned about running.”

Jeter went 2-for-3 with a double, a run and an RBI Thursday, but dropped a bouncing ball at shortstop in the 5-2 loss.

The best fielding effort of the series for Jeter came Friday when he was 0-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in a 4-1 win. Jeter handled four official chances, including one going to his left and another charging in, and also got to a groundball up the middle when he had no chance of recording the out at first.

“Those are all plays that I’ve done working out,” Jeter said, “but it’s different in the game when you have guys running.”

Jeter was 1-for-3 Saturday. His error came on a wild throw. He did not speak to the media after leaving during what turned out to be a 5-4, 10-inning loss.

During seven games with the RailRiders this season, Jeter was 4-for-18 (.222) with five walks, four runs scored and an RBI.

The Binghamton Mets clinched their first division title since 2000 when they defeated the Bowie Baysox, 5-3, Aug. 21 to wrap up the Eastern League Eastern Division title.

Allan Dykstra hit his career-high 20th homer, a two-run shot in the first inning, to put the Mets ahead to stay.

Binghamton also won division titles in 1994 and 2000.

In girls’ golf, Lauren Wallis, a Scranton Prep player from Clifford, took the low junior award and finished in fourth place overall at the Jackman Memorial Tournament at Scranton Municipal Aug. 20.

Wallis helped Scranton Prep finish third out of six teams.

Wallenpaupack’s Julia Santo shot 73 for the individual title and Central Dauphin edged Holy Cross, 345-347, for the team title.

In boys’ golf, league play got underway and Forest City started 3-0 to share the Lackawanna League Division 2 lead with Holy Cross. Montrose started 1-0 and was one of five teams in the 13-team division to make it through the first week without a loss.

In girls’ tennis, Montrose started 2-0 for the early lead in Lackawanna League Division 2.

Defending champion Scranton Prep (1-0) was the only other team among 10 in the division to get through the first week without a defeat.

Elk Lake beat Riverside, 5-0, in the opener and is 1-1.

COLLEGE CORNER

The King’s College football roster includes three county players – junior wide receiver Dan Kempa, a Blue Ridge graduate who played at Susquehanna as part of the cooperative sponsorship of football; junior linebacker Ethan Jones from Montrose; and freshman defensive lineman Jagr Briar from Susquehanna.

Kempa, a 5-foot-11, 190-pounder, was the team’s leading receiver last season. He caught 31 passes for 468 yards and four touchdowns, all team-highs.

Kempa also led the team in punt returns, averaging 10.7 on 19 returns. He returned 31 kickoffs for an average of 16.4 yards and a touchdown. The five touchdowns made Kempa the team’s second-leading scorer. He also carried twice for four yards.

Jones assisted two tackles, one of which was a sack. Kempa also assisted on a tackle.

King’s opens the season Friday at Muhlenberg College.

THE WEEK AHEAD

The high school football season opens Friday night, including games involving both Susquehanna and Montrose.

Kyle Cook makes his debut as head coach when Susquehanna opens at Western Wayne, a team it fell to 50-0 in last year’s opener.

Montrose is home against Carbondale in a Division 3 game that is one of only two divisional contests played in the Lackawanna Football Conference in the opening week. Valley View plays at Wallenpaupack in a Division 1 game.

We again will be predicting the outcome of each high school game involving LFC teams. Last year, our predictions were 91-28 (76.5 percent) in the regular season and 106-33 (76.2 percent) overall.

This week’s predictions, with home teams in CAPS: WESTERN WAYNE 27, Susquehanna 13; Carbondale 30, MONTROSE 12; Dunmore 37, NORTH POCONO 6; WEST SCRANTON 30, Riverside 16; Abington Heights 26, PITTSTON AREA 6; Valley View 39, WALLENPAUPACK 27; LAKELAND 34, Gar 20; MID VALLEY 33, Hanover Area 12; Lake-Lehman 14, OLD FORGE 13; Scranton 26, HAZLETON AREA 14; Lackawanna Trail 22, NANTICOKE 20; MEYERS 36, Holy Cross 6; East Stroudsburg North 24, HONESDALE 12; PARKLAND 39, Delaware Valley 21; SCRANTON PREP 20, Wyoming Area 13.

In girls’ volleyball, Lackawanna League play opens Friday with Elk Lake at Susquehanna, Forest City at Mountain View and Blue Ridge at Abington Heights. Montrose opens at home Saturday against Lackawanna Trail.

In girls’ soccer, Forest City is at Elk Lake and Mountain View is at Montrose in Lackawanna League openers Tuesday, Sept. 3.

In high school golf, Forest City is at Montrose Tuesday, Sept. 3.

In professional baseball, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders and Lehigh Valley IronPigs meet for the final four times this season, Wednesday and Thursday in Moosic, then Friday and Saturday in Allentown.

Both Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and the Binghamton Mets conclude their regular seasons Monday, Sept. 2.

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

KENSETH GETS FIFTH WIN AT BRISTOL

Matt Kenseth, winner of Bristol Cup race

BRISTOL, Tenn.—Most drivers leave Bristol mad after a race. This past Saturday night’s Sprint Cup race was no exception. About the only driver to express happiness was Matt Kenseth, the winner, who picked up his fifth victory of the season.

“Man, what a finish,” said Kenseth. “Kasey did a great job of keeping the pressure on there at the end. I had to use up all the race track to stay ahead of him. I really had to fight to win this one.”

Kasey Kahne had moved into second-place, behind Kenseth, on lap 486 of the 500-lap race. At times the pair was racing side-by-side, but Kahne could never make the pass. When he wasn’t trying to get around Kenseth, he was right on his rear bumper.

“There’s no one to blame but myself,” said Kahne. “I had a really good car, the fastest one here. I just couldn’t get it done and I feel bad about that. I raced him as hard as I could. I really blame myself for not figuring out a way to get around him.”

A multi-car crash on lap 447 changed the playoff odds for numerous teams, after Brian Vickers got into Denny Hamlin. The accident collected eight cars and brought out a red flag because of all the debris. Also involved in the wreck were Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman, Casey Mears, Ken Schrader, and David Stremme.

The wreck ended the day for Martin Truex Jr., who entered the night 12th in points. He fell to 14th after collecting a 35th place finish.

“I’m very disappointed and frustrated,” said Truex. “I don’t know what happened, but we didn’t deserve this. Everything just closed up, and I was in the wall, then I got hit a couple more times.”

Kevin Harvick confronted Denny Hamlin in the pit area after the accident.

“I just wanted to get his take on it,” said Harvick. “There ain’t no fun in racing like we did tonight. I wish the old Bristol track was back.”

Brad Keselowski also took damage in the pileup. He came into Bristol eighth in the standings but leaves 11th in points, though he was able to finish 30th.

Jimmie Johnson, the points leader had several problems. First, he had a bad tire, then he was involved in a bumping incident, and finally on lap 368, he ran into the spinning No. 83 driven by David Reutimann, and was finished for the night.

Despite having an engine let go in his No. 99 Roush Fenway Ford during lap 388, Carl Edwards was one of the few upbeat drivers.

“Man, it was a lot of fun,” he said. “This was the best our Ford has run all year. It was really great to be able to race up front.”

Kurt Busch started off leading the race, but a vibration problem forced him to make an unscheduled pit stop on lap 77. He took four fresh tires but the problem persisted and eventually, he had to bring his car behind the wall for his team to replace the damaged hub in the right rear wheel assembly.

When Busch returned to action, he was 27 laps down. He finished 31st.

His brother, Kyle, who won both the Bristol Truck and Nationwide race’s was involved in several minor wrecks and wound up 11th.

Top-10 finishers: 1. Matt Kenseth, 2. Kasey Kahne, 3. Juan Montoya, 4. Brian Vickers, 5. Joey Logano, 6. Paul Menard, 7. Jeff Gordon, 8. Marcos Ambrose, 9. Greg Biffle, 10. Dale Earnhardt.

Here are the top-15 points leaders with two races remaining before the Chase begins. Only the top-12 drivers will make the Chase. 1. Johnson-821, 2. Bowyer-803, 3. Edwards-768, 4. Harvick-760, 5. Kyle Busch-739, 6. Kenseth-736, 7. Earnhardt-714, 8. Kahne-701, 9. Biffle-698, 10. Logano-685, 11. Keselowski-681, 12. Kurt Busch-679, 13. Gordon-674, 14. Truex-663, 15. Newman-659.

“ROWDY” KYLE GETS TWO AT BRISTOL

Kyle Busch led 228 of 250 laps on the way to victory in Saturday’s Bristol Nationwide race.

“It comes from preparation, it comes from the shop, it comes from practice here,” Busch said. (Crew chief) Adam (Stevens) and I - we work real well together. Those guys work hard. Today, it was just a great car and great job by these guys, putting together such a great car.”

Brad Keselowski ran second, followed by Austin Dillon, Justin Allgaier and rookie Kyle Larson.

Busch was also the winner of Wednesday night’s Truck race.

Top-10 Nationwide leaders after 23 of 33: 1. Hornish-801, 2. A. Dillon-795, 3. Sadler-790, 4. Smith-777, 5. Allgaier-762, 6. Vickers-641, 7. Scott-741, 8. Larson-735, 9. Bayne-734, 10. Kligerman-696.

MATT CRAFTON LEADS TRUCK SERIES

Top-10 Truck leaders after 13 of 22: Crafton-498, 2. Buescher-449, 3. Burton-445, 4. T. Dillon-440, 5. Peters-426, 6. Paludo-422, 7. Blaney-421, 8. Gaughan-418, 9. Sauter-409, 10. Coulter-399.

KURT BUSCH HAS ANOTHER OFFER

We reported last week that Stewart Haas Racing had extended Kurt Busch an offer to drive one of their cars in the Cup series next year. At the time, Busch’s present team, Furniture Row Racing had not offered him a new contract for 2014.

But what a difference a week makes.

When Greg Zipadelli was asked how negotiations between Busch and SHR were going, he replied, “As far as Kurt’s deal, that is moving forward. We spent some time this week talking about buildings and expanding. As far as that part of it goes we are pretty much committed.”

Busch’s current team, FRR has offered him an extension. He said he is going to wait until after the Chase begins before making a final decision.

“The timing of making a decision is what it needs to be,” Busch said. “There are timelines on things and things that have to fall into place. The timing of this is tough because it’s the middle of August and it’s the run towards the Chase. But it’s a decision I have to put a lot of time and effort into.

“So, we’ll see how things play out. Right now, the focus is these next two weeks and getting into the Chase. The cool part about everything is that after the next two weeks, I hope we’re five points from the championship lead, because that will mean we are in.”

Not only is Busch playing it cool, but smart as well. If he makes the Chase, then it means he could ask for a higher salary, or percentage of his future race winnings.

Weekend Racing: The cup and Nationwide teams are at the 1.5-mile Atlanta Motor speedway, while the Trucks travel to Bowmanville, Ontario, for their inaugural race at the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.

Sat., Aug. 31, Nationwide Series, race 24 of 33; Starting time: 7:30 pm ET; TV: ESPN2.

Sun., Sept. 1, Camping World Trucks, race 14 of 22; Starting time: 2 pm ET; TV: FoxSports1.

Sun., Sept. 1, Sprint Cup race 25 of 36; Starting time: 7:30 pm ET; TV: ESPN.

Please note that with the start of the NFL football season, there is the possibility some races will be transferred to other channels. This happened last week in certain television viewing areas on the East Coast.

Racing Trivia Question: What year did Jeff Gordon move to the Cup series?

Last Week’s Question: What make car does Denny Hamlin drive in the Cup Series? Answer. Toyota.

You may e-mail the Racing Reporter at: hodges@race500.com.