Mountain View’s soccer teams wrapped up a repeat of one set of championships and got ready to move toward another.
At the same time, two of the leaders when the Eagles won a state championship a year ago continued to climb through the ranks of Pennsylvania’s most productive boys’ soccer players ever.
Both teams completed unbeaten regular seasons.
The Eagles won the Lackawanna League Division 3 title by finishing 11-0.
The Lady Eagles captured the Lackawanna League Small School title by finishing 11-0 to win Division 4, then routing Division 3 champion Holy Cross in a playoff, 9-0, Thursday.
Both teams are top seeds in District 2 Class A playoffs where they will start trying to defend those titles this week.
With each game they extend their seasons, Colby Thomas and Zeb Cross get another chance to move up the list of the state’s all-time scorers. Thomas is a senior while Cross has eligibility as a junior, but the home-schooled student is nearing the completion of his high school studies and thus his playing career.
Mountain View coach Roger Thomas said the individual success is a reflection of the team’s accomplishments in recent years. The Eagles have had extended playoff runs, have built up high scoring totals with their variety of weapons and have not had to force skilled players like Thomas and Cross into defensive roles.
“This is a team thing,” coach Thomas said. “Due to the high performance of the Mountain View soccer team over the last four years, two of our leaders have been catapulted into the list among the highest scorers ever in the state.”
Colby Thomas has spent almost his entire high school career at forward. He scored 55 goals last season and has 41 more this season to bring his career total to 150.
“If he didn’t have a team behind him, he couldn’t have played forward that much,” said coach Thomas, Colby’s father.
The total of 55 goals last season is the 12th highest in state history, according to records compiled by the Pennsylvania Soccer Coaches Association. That is the most ever in the Lackawanna League and one short of the most ever by a player from current Lackawanna schools. Delaware Valley’s Joe McCabe scored 56 goals in 1990.
Greg Castellani of Wyoming Valley West set the District 2 record of 63 goals in 2000.
Thomas, who went on an official recruiting visit to Boston College last week, has already surpassed Castellani’s District 2 record of 129 career goals while climbing to eighth in state history. If he gets as high as 160, Thomas could move all the way to fourth with the top three spots out of reach.
Cross came within four of the state single season assist record last season when he had 42, the sixth-highest total ever. He has 21 assists this year for at least 75 in his career (coach Thomas is checking old score-keeping records to verify the count). Only 12 Pennsylvania players have ever had more than 75 assists in a career and 79 would put Cross in the all-time top 10.
Mountain View continued its dominance this season, outscoring opponents, 91-4, in league play, but getting a pair of one-goal contests from second-place Holy Cross and fourth-place Elk Lake.
The final division standings were: Mountain View 11-0, Holy Cross 10-1, Montrose 9-2, Elk Lake 7-3-1, Lakeland 7-3-1, Forest City 6-5, Dunmore 5-6, Blue Ridge 3-8, Mid Valley 3-8, Carbondale 2-9, Old Forge 1-10, Riverside 1-10.
Makenna Whitaker had a hat trick in the second half when Mountain View added to its 5-0 lead on Holy Cross in the Small School girls’ championship.
Jenny Molenko scored the first two goals and added an assist. Karlee Weida also had two goals.
Mountain View outscored opponents, 80-9, in league play which included two games against division opponents and one each against teams from Division 3.
The final Division 4 girls standings were: Mountain View 11-0, Montrose 9-2, Forest City 5-6, Elk Lake 2-9.
WEEK IN REVIEW
Montrose broke through with its first win of the season Friday while Susquehanna continued its climb, moving into a share of the Lackawanna Football Conference Division 3 lead and into position where it would be in the District 2 Class AA playoffs if the season ended today.
Billy Hewes rushed for 220 yards and Trevor Tompkins ran for three touchdowns while forming a one-two punch that brought the Montrose offense to life in a 41-14 romp over visiting Holy Cross in a meeting between the LFC’s last two winless teams.
Special teams play, including a punt that Christian Miller blocked and Austin Felter recovered for a touchdown, led Susquehanna to its fourth straight win, 14-6, at Lackawanna Trail.
Montrose had been shut out five times and had produced just 26 points in its first seven games.
That changed when the Meteors steadily racked up almost 200 yards on the ground over the first three quarters, then sprung Tompkins for a 67-yard touchdown and Hewes for a 71-yard touchdown in their only four offensive plays of the fourth quarter. Both touchdowns came on simple off tackle plays in which the runners broke into the clear early and sprinted to the end zone.
Hewes finished with 24 carries for 210 yards and two touchdowns. Tompkins added 15 carries for 119 yards and his three scores.
“Defensively, the whole year, we’re happy with where we’re at,” Montrose coach Russell Canevari said. “One of our biggest problems is that offensively we haven’t been able to move the ball, which wears on the defense.”
The Meteors put it all together on a night that clearly shaped up as their best chance of the season to pull off a victory. The Crusaders arrived with the same outlook, but Montrose moved ahead just over five minutes into the game and remained there the rest of the night.
“The kids were highly motivated to play this game,” Canevari said. “It was also Senior Night so our seniors had the opportunity to walk off their home field with a win, which is always a big deal for any program.
“It was a big night for us.”
In addition to teaming with Hewes to lead the offense, Tompkins joined fellow seniors Brenton Warner and Brett Shelp in leading the defense.
Warner had 10 tackles, including two for seven yards in losses, and an assist. Tompkins had six tackles and five assists. Shelp recovered a fumble and had three tackles, including one for a loss, and four assists.
Montrose scored on the game’s opening possession.
Hewes carried on the first four plays and ran seven times for 32 yards on the 10-play scoring drive. Tompkins finished the drive with a 13-yard run on a third-and-nine reverse around the left end. Troy Ely added the first of his three extra-point kicks.
Holy Cross answered on its first possession, picking up gains of 20, 23 and 19 yards in its first four plays, leading to a 1-yard Rob Torre touchdown. The kick missed, keeping the Meteors in front, 7-6, after one quarter.
Montrose scored on its second possession, which carried into the second play of the second quarter. Hewes scored on an 8-yard run for a 13-6 lead.
The Meteors made it three touchdowns on three drives when Ely pulled in a 77-yard touchdown pass from Patrick Parks for a 20-6 advantage midway through the second.
Holy Cross cut into the margin on a 23-yard Thomas Ware touchdown, but could not score in the second half when Montrose added three straight touchdowns.
Shelp’s fumble recovery set up a 5-yard Tompkins touchdown and Tompkins two-point conversion in the third quarter.
At Lackawanna Trail, the Sabers and Lions matched strong defensive efforts.
Susquehanna added in outstanding special teams play to control field position and produce two of the game’s biggest plays while spoiling Lackawanna Trail’s Homecoming.
Four weeks into the season, the teams were headed in different directions. The Sabers (5-3 overall) have won every game since while Lackawanna Trail has dropped from 4-0 to 4-4 with four straight losses.
Special teams and a defense that has allowed only four touchdowns in five games have fueled the Susquehanna turnaround. The Sabers held the Lions, who came in averaging 29.7 points, to their lowest point total of the season.
Susquehanna got a touchdown off a blocked punt and used a blocked extra point to take a one-point lead into the second half.
Susquehanna’s Brett Hepler pinned Lackawanna Trail inside the 10 on two punts and inside the 20 with a tackle on kickoff coverage. While the Sabers started drives at the 42, on average, the Lions started at the 19.
In the first quarter, Susquehanna had the game’s only six first downs and outgained Lackawanna Trail, 69-minus 1, setting up a Trail punt from the 3 on the second play of the second quarter. An interception at the 1 and fumble recovery at the 10, both by Liam Dougherty, kept the Sabers out of the end zone.
Miller, who also had two sacks and another tackle for a loss, broke in to block the punt. Felter fell on it in the end zone for the first of his two touchdowns.
Lackawanna Trail had statistical advantages of 11-5 in first downs and 183-89 in total yardage the rest of the way, but never caught up.
Quarterback Vic Mallory scrambled 20 yards for the only Lackawanna Trail touchdown with 29.5 seconds left in the half. Jon Haines, one of four Sabers to break through, blocked the extra point to keep Susquehanna in front, 7-6.
Felter had a 39-yard run on his team’s first second-half possession to set up his 3-yard touchdown run.
Lackawanna Trail only got inside the Susquehanna 40 once in the second half. Lyle Lawson came up with a sack on third-and-eight from the 32, then Hepler had tight coverage to stop a fourth-down pass.
Austin White and Lewis Esposito came up with the tackle on another fourth-down pass by Lackawanna Trail in the final minute to end the last threat at the Sabers 42.
“Defensively, I thought they did a nice job containing us,” Lackawanna Trail coach Steve Jervis said. “We just couldn’t get a big play when we needed it.”
Mallory’s 20-yard touchdown was the longest run by the Lions, who had just one other of more than eight yards while rushing for just 93 yards on 34 attempts. The Sabers are allowing just 92.8 yards per game and 2.7 per carry during their four-game winning streak.
Lackawanna Trail also averaged just four yards on its 22 pass attempts, including their longest play of the game, a 25-yard completion with a minute left.
Along with his big plays, Miller had eight tackles, three assists and a pass rush to force an incompletion.
White, Helper, Esposito and Curtis Mills also made significant defensive contributions.
White led in tackles with eight tackles and six assists while also breaking up a pass. Hepler had five tackles, including one for a loss, five assists, and a broken-up pass. Esposito, who had six assists, and Mills, who had five assists, each had four tackles.
Lake-Lehman (7-1, 890 playoff points) and Carbondale (7-1, 830) both seem to be headed to the District 2 Class AA playoffs.
Susquehanna (5-3, 600) has moved into third, just ahead of Mid Valley (5-3, 570) in a race where six teams are still fighting to fill the third and fourth playoff berths among the 11 Class AA teams in the district.
Lakeland (4-4, 550), Hanover Area (4-4, 530), Wyoming Area (3-5, 380) and Nanticoke (3-5, 380) also remain in the hunt while GAR, Holy Redeemer and Meyers are out at 2-6.
In girls’ volleyball, Susquehanna defeated Blue Ridge, 25-21, 25-21, 18-25, 25-15, in a meeting of likely District 2 Class A playoff opponents Thursday.
Blue Ridge won the first meeting. If Susquehanna defeated Lackawanna Trail in the regular-season finale Monday, both teams would end up 11-7 in Lackawanna League play. They will be seeded second and third, behind host Dunmore, setting up a District 2 Class A semifinal meeting.
In high school cross country, Elk Lake finished third of 22 boys’ teams and second of 19 girls’ teams in the final Lackawanna League standings.
Elk Lake was the top Class A boys’ team in the league.
Final boys’ standings: Scranton Prep 21-0, Wallenpaupack 20-1, Elk Lake 19-2, Abington Heights 18-3, Valley View 17-4, North Pocono 16-5, Lakeland 15-6, Holy Cross 13-8, Scranton 12-9, Western Wayne 12-9, Delaware Valley 12-9, Honesdale 11-10, West Scranton 9-12, Dunmore 8-13, Montrose 7-14, Lackawanna Trail 6-15, Susquehanna 5-16, Mountain View 4-17, Forest City 3-18, Riverside 2-19, Mid Valley 2-19, Blue Ridge 0-21.
Final girls’ standings: Holy Cross 18-0, Elk Lake 17-1, Abington Heights 15-3, Scranton Prep 15-3, Wallenpaupack 13-5, Montrose 13-5, Honesdale 12-6, North Pocono 11-7, Valley View 10-8, Blue Ridge 9-9, Mid Valley 8-10, Delaware Valley 7-11, Lackawanna Trail 6-12, West Scranton 6-12, Susquehanna 4-14, Scranton 3-15, Western Wayne 3-15, Dunmore 1-17, Forest City 0-18.
In field hockey, Elk Lake finished last among the eight teams that completed the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 season. Montrose was scheduled to be in the division, but pulled out at the start of the season because of a lack of available players.
Final standings: Pittston Area 12-1-1, Meyers 11-2-1, Tunkhannock 8-5-1, Northwest 5-5-4, Berwick 6-6-2, Hanover Area 4-8-2, GAR 2-10-2, Elk Lake 1-12-1.
In boys’ soccer, Montrose shut out Western Wayne, 6-0, Friday in the first of two playoff games needed to play-in to the District 2 Class AA tournament. The Meteors were scheduled to face Scranton Prep Monday.
Matt Lewis completed his hat trick in the first minute of the second half for a 5-0 lead.
In professional hockey, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are off to the American Hockey League’s best start at 6-0 with the help of a league-high 27 goals.
The latest win came Sunday, 4-3, in overtime in Manchester, which has not lost a game in regulation.
COLLEGE CORNER
Michael Bedell, a junior from Elk Lake, helped Campbell University finish 10th out of 20 teams Saturday at the Indiana State Pre-National Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind.
Bedell was the sixth runner for Campbell, an NCAA Division I team. He finished 112th out of 135 total men’s runners in the field.
Bedell has been part of Campbell’s seven-man lineup for the last four invitationals and was part of the team’s five-runner score in producing the championship of the UNC-Wilmington Seahawk Invitational.
While at Elk Lake, Bedell helped the Warriors to two state championships.
THE WEEK AHEAD
Elk Lake will try to defend its two Class A team titles when it hosts the District 2 Cross Country Championships Wednesday.
The Lady Warriors, who are defending state champions, will be first on the course with the Class A girls’ race starting the day at 11:20 a.m.
The rest of the schedule is: Class AA girls, noon; Class AAA girls, 12:40 p.m.; Class A boys, 1:20; Class AA boys, 2; and Class AAA boys, 2:40.
The Class AAA race is technically a regional event, since it includes Williamsport, the only Class AAA team from District 4.
Medals will be awarded to the top 20 finishers in Class AA races, the top 15 in Class A and the top 10 in Class AAA.
The Class A and Class AA races will qualify two teams and the best 10 individual finishers from other teams in each race for the state championships in Hershey. The Class AAA races will qualify one team and the best five other individuals.
The Montrose boys compete in Class AA while the Montrose girls are in Class A.
Blue Ridge, Elk Lake, Forest City, Mountain View and Susquehanna are Class A in both.
In boys’ soccer, defending state champion Mountain View will begin its postseason Friday at home in a 3:30 p.m. District 2 Class A quarterfinal against the Mid Valley-Meyers winner.
Forest City is at Elk Lake Friday in another 3:30 quarterfinal.
The semifinals are Monday, Oct. 28 when Mountain View would host the Wyoming Seminary-Lakeland winner if it advances.
The Forest City-Elk Lake winner will also face the Dunmore-Holy Cross winner that day.
In Montrose reaches the District 2 Class AA playoffs, it will be home in Wednesday’s quarterfinals.
In girls’ soccer, Mountain View is again the top seed and hosts Wyoming Seminary Wednesday at 3:30 in a District 2 Class A quarterfinal.
Forest City is at Lakeland Wednesday at 4:15 and Carbondale is at Montrose Thursday at 5 in other quarterfinals.
The semifinals are Monday, Oct. 28. If it wins Wednesday, Mountain View will host the Forest City-Lakeland winner in the semifinals.
In high school football, Susquehanna’s four-game winning streak will be put to a serious test Saturday at home in an LFC Division 3 against Carbondale, which is coming off its first loss of the season.
The Chargers are 3-1 in the division and 7-1 overall and need a win in their division finale to preserve a chance of sharing the title with the Sabers and co-leader Old Forge.
Montrose (1-3, 1-7) concludes its division schedule Friday night at Lackawanna Trail (0-3, 4-4).
Our high school football predictions were 7-3 (70.0 percent) last week, bringing our season record to 78-23 (77.2).
This week’s predictions with home teams in CAPS: LACKAWANNA TRAIL 47, Montrose 14 … Carbondale 8, SUSQUEHANNA 6 … Scranton Prep 30, DELAWARE VALLEY 12 … Scranton 24, WALLENPAUPACK 23 … Abington Heights 36, NORTH POCONO 6 … WEST SCRANTON 30, Valley View 14 … HONESDALE 36, Western Wayne 20 … DUNMORE 37, Mid Valley 6 … LAKELAND 46, Riverside 21 … Old Forge 65, HOLY CROSS 0.
In girls’ volleyball, the District 2 Class A semifinals are Tuesday, Oct. 29. Although pairings have not been made official, it appears Susquehanna will meet Blue Ridge at Dunmore.
TOM ROBINSON writes a weekly local sports column for the Susquehanna County Transcript. He can be reached at RobbyTR@aol.com or followed on Twitter at @tomjrobinson.
