The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association revealed new enrollment figures last week along with the classifications in which teams around the state will compete for the next two years.

The enrollment and classification breakdowns were more anticipated than usual after the decision by the PIAA this fall to expand from four to six classifications in football, boys’ and girls’ basketball, baseball and softball. The PIAA is also switching from three to four classes in boys’ and girls’ soccer, as well as girls volleyball, and moving from two to three classes in field hockey for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 school years.

Montrose will be Susquehanna County’s only 3A school in the six-class sports with the others falling into 2A and A.

Enrollments are figured separately for boys and girls and are based on the number of boys or girls in three classes at the school.

Montrose’s enrollment is 185 for boys and 197 for girls.

Elk Lake is the second-largest school in the county with 140 boys and 140 girls.

Other boys’ enrollments are Mountain View 136, Blue Ridge 126, Forest City 107 and Susquehanna 94. The other girls’ enrollments are Mountain View 119, Blue Ridge 115, Susquehanna 82 and Forest City 75.

The PIAA studied proposals to switch from four to six classes in football for years, but when it made the decision to make the change, it immediately altered some other sports.

Montrose fits into 3A in football because of its cooperative sponsorship with Elk Lake. Forest City sends students to Carbondale for football where they will also be part of a 3A team. Susquehanna is 2A, with its cooperative sponsorship with Blue Ridge.

When two teams join forces on a sport, the PIAA combines the enrollment of the bigger school with half the enrollment of the smaller school.

Without its cooperative sponsorship, Montrose would drop to 2A. No formal steps have been taken yet, but ending the agreement appears to be a strong possibility.

Montrose is going to be the county’s only 3A team in baseball, softball, boys’ basketball and girls’ basketball, the other six-class sports.

Elk Lake, Mountain View and Blue Ridge will be 2A in all those sports. Forest City will be 2A in boys’ basketball but 1A in the others. Susquehanna will be 1A in each.

Most county teams will be 2A after the switch to four classes in boys’ and girls’ soccer and girls’ volleyball.

Montrose is 2A in each.

Elk Lake is 2A in girls’ volleyball, along with Forest City because the Foresters take in players from Carbondale in a cooperative sponsorship.

Blue Ridge, with players from Susquehanna included, joins Montrose in 2A in boys soccer.

Field hockey’s switch from two to three classes moves Elk Lake, the only county team, into the new 1A.

Perhaps the most significant development on the new classifications comes in one of the sports that did not go through a format change, but rather was just going through its routine two-year cycle.

Montrose will make the move from 2A to 1A in boys cross country. The Meteors went unbeaten to win the Lackawanna League title, but finished third in the district, which was won by eventual state champion Dallas.

The District 2 Class 2A and 1A champions in cross country are annually among the state contenders. Montrose posted its third-place district finish in 2A with an all-underclassmen lineup, including four runners who have two years remaining.

The Montrose girls are the only 2A team from the county in cross country.

All county teams are 2A in in the two-class sports – track and field, swimming, tennis, golf and boys volleyball – which have just 3A and 2A classes.

WEEK IN REVIEW

Three county runners received recognition on the first NPFSports.com All-District 2 teams that were announced Sunday.

Senior Katie Bennett and junior Justine Johns from Elk Lake were second-team choices on the girls’ team, putting them in the top 15 runners in the district, regardless of classification, according to the website.

Montrose’s Zach Mead, a junior, earned the same second-team recognition on the boys’ team.

In high school football, Lackawanna Football Conference teams went 2-1 in PIAA state tournament openers.

Dunmore and Old Forge advanced to the state quarterfinals while Scranton Prep had its season come to an end.

The Bucks played in the state final last year and the Blue Devils made it the year before.

Garrett Murray ran for 169 yards and five touchdowns to lead Dunmore to a 51-29 victory over Notre Dame-Green Pond in a Class AA game at Northern Lehigh High School in Slatington.

Murray intercepted a pass on the game’s third play to set up the first of his four first-half touchdowns.

The lead changed hands six times in the first half before the Bucks took control by scoring 31 straight points.

Dunmore has won 12 straight, including games against Susquehanna and Montrose, since losing its opener.

Cooper Califano ran for 115 yards and scored three touchdowns to lead Old Forge past Wellsboro, 28-21, at Scranton Memorial Stadium.

Califano gave the Blue Devils the lead three times, with a 7-yard run in the first quarter, a 42-yard pass from Joey Gutowski in the second quarter and a 22-yard run in the third quarter.

Gutowski finished 9-for-10 passing for 119 yards. Califano caught four of those passes for 62 yards.

Brendan Mozeleski returned an interception 30 yards with 2:07 remaining to give Old Forge a 28-14 lead.

Wellsboro scored with 27 seconds left.

Old Forge is also 12-1, including wins over Susquehanna to finish the regular season and open the playoffs as part of its current nine-game winning streak.

Scranton Prep lost, 42-20, to unbeaten Saucon Valley in a Class AAA game at John Henzes/Veterans Memorial Stadium in Peckville.

Evan Culver ran for 345 yards and three touchdowns to lead Saucon Valley. Zach Thatcher, who ran for two touchdowns and passed for one, added 122 yards rushing.

Kevin Holmes threw for three touchdowns for Scranton Prep.

COLLEGE CORNER

Just one night after struggling through her worst game of the young season, Dallas Ely bounced right back Nov. 22 with a 29-point effort for nationally ranked West Chester University in a 92-79 victory at the University of Indiana of Pennsylvania.

The 5-foot-9 senior guard from Montrose was an honorable mention National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II All-American last season and is within range of becoming the all-time leading scorer at West Chester, which is ranked 25th in the nation.

West Chester is off to a 3-2 start, including 2-1 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.

Ely scored 18 points in the team’s first win, an 80-67 victory over Central State University from Ohio in the consolation game of the Carol Eckman Tournament.

After being held to four points in a 69-64 loss to the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown, Ely was down to 12 points per game.

Ely came back with the 29-point effort in which she was 11-for-22 from the floor, 3-for-9 on 3-pointers and 4-for-4 from the line.

Through five games, Ely is averaging 15.4 points per game and shooting 92.9 percent (13-for-14) from the line. She is also contributing 5.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.8 steals.

Ely is sixth in school history with 1,297 career points, closing in on her coach Kiera Wooden.

The 11-year-old school record is held by Kiesha Mack at 1,556.

THE WEEK AHEAD

The winter high school sports season gets underway Friday with a new event.

Susquehanna will play Sayre in boys’ basketball in the opening game of the first Raiders Classic at Blue Ridge.

The host Raiders play Wyalusing in the second game.

The tournament concludes Saturday.

Elk Lake hosts Carbondale Friday in the annual Mike “Red” Wallace Game.

Montrose opens at Riverside Friday.

Forest City plays in the Finan Tournament at Carbondale Sunday and Monday, Dec. 6-7.

Mountain View does not open until a home game Dec. 7 against Western Wayne.

In girls’ basketball, Blue Ridge plays at the Towanda Tournament Friday and Saturday.

Montrose opens at home against Valley View while Susquehanna plays at Wyoming Area and Mountain View is at Holy Cross Frday night.

Forest City gets started Saturday afternoon at home against Lakeland.

Elk Lake is in the Tunkhannock Kiwanis Tournament Saturday night and Sunday.

In wrestling, Blue Ridge and Elk Lake open their seasons Saturday at the Wyalusing Duals.

In high school football, Old Forge and Dunmore have state quarterfinal games scheduled against teams from District 12, which covers Philadelphia and nearby private schools.

Old Forge (12-1) faces Wyncote Bishop McDevitt (7-6) in Class A Friday night at 7 at Pleasant Valley High School in Brodheadsville.

Dunmore (12-1) returns to Northern Lehigh in Slatington to meet Philadelphia West Catholic (9-4) in Class AA Saturday at 1.

Our high school football predictions were 2-1 (66.7 percent) last week to improve to 104-28 (78.8) on the season. That record includes 15-1 (93.8) during the playoffs and 65-10 (86.7) since the end of September.

This week’s predictions: Old Forge 28, Bishop McDevitt 20 … Dunmore 29, West Catholic 24.

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.

KYLE BUSCH IS A DESERVING CHAMPION

Kyle Busch, wife Samantha and son, Brexton

Kyle Busch is not loved by every NASCAR fan. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t deserve to win this year’s Sprint Cup championship.

Some are unhappy that Busch, who missed the season’s first 11 races because of injuries suffered in an Xfinity race prior to the season opening Daytona 500, was even eligible for the Chase.

His critics claim that it was unfair to other drivers who ran the full schedule. They say that NASCAR shouldn’t have waived the Chase requirement that a driver start every race, just for Busch.

The bottom line is that it doesn’t matter what we as fans think. NASCAR always has the final say. But their decision regarding Kyle Busch can’t be looked upon as an isolated incident.

Last year they suspended Kurt Busch for two races when he was charged with domestic violence. After he was exonerated by the courts, they made it possible for him to get back into the Chase.

Remember the 2013 Michael Waltrip Racing deal? In the last race before the Chase at Richmond, Clint Bowyer deliberately allowed a teammate to pass him? The move cost Jeff Gordon a shot at the Chase. So what did NASCAR do? They added Gordon as a supplemental contender.

NASCAR has rules at the beginning of the season, but they always add to, or amend those rules as it pleases them.

Meanwhile Busch will undergo off season surgery on his left foot to have the plates and screws removed so that his foot can feel normal again and the rod removed in his right leg.

“I'm going to be down for probably, they said, about four weeks with the leg,” Busch said in a teleconference Tuesday. “Just having to re-go through the knee and to cut the knee open again in order to pull the rod out, is going to be the most traumatic part.”

GETTING TO KNOW CHRIS BUESCHER

“Chris was on his game this year,” said team owner Jack Roush. “His crew chief Scott Graves was on his game as well. They managed to win two races and they didn’t give up points on days when they weren’t at their best.”

Buescher, in only his second season of full-time NASCAR racing, adds to his list of accomplishments that includes becoming the youngest driver to ever win an ARCA title in 2012. Buescher scored his first NASCAR win last season at Mid-Ohio and followed up his rookie-year performance with wins at Iowa and Dover this season en route to the championship.

During the season Buescher never ranked lower than third in the driver championship standings. The Prosper, Texas native finished the season with zero DNFs (Did Not Finish). He did not finished outside of the top-20 in any of the 33 races on the season, completing 99.9 percent of the laps during the 2015 campaign, while leading a total of 263 laps.

“It is every bit as stressful as I thought it would be,” Buescher said. “You know, it's always difficult. There is a tremendous depth of talent through the Xfinity Series right now. I think that makes it that much more special knowing that we beat some of the best guys coming up through the sport right now and able to pull it off here at the end. It's a very special, very humbling experience, but it's not easy.

“This is a very difficult thing to get to, and you know, it was a lot of hard work. A lot of time put in, a lot of after hours by the guys at the shop, and making sure that we did everything we could to be here, and when everybody is willing to do it and they have that drive and everybody is happy and works well together, it puts together an awesome team that has the will power to go do this.

“So it was hard, but we did it better than anybody else, and that's why we get to sit here right now.”

Chris is the cousin of 2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion James Buescher. He began his professional racing career in 2005, driving Legends cars in Texas for Speedway Legends, winning over 100 races.

In 2008, Buescher moved to North Carolina to be mentored by NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver David Ragan and signing as a development driver for Roush Fenway Racing. He began competing in ARCA competition in 2010; and went on to win the series championship in 2012, becoming the only driver to compete in every lap in a season of competition in the series.

Buescher made his debut in NASCAR competition for Roush Fenway Racing in 2011, driving two races in the Nationwide Series. He returned to the series in 2013, and drove in seven races for the team, in addition to a limited ARCA schedule with Roulo Bros. Racing.

In 2014, he moved full-time to the Nationwide Series, driving the No. 60 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing. After failing to qualify at Daytona, Buescher had a solid rookie season after winning at Mid-Ohio, for his first career win.

He started off the 2015 season with a runner-up finish to teammate Ryan Reed at Daytona.

Buescher will run select Sprint Cup races in 2015 that do not conflict with his Xfinity schedule.

PETTY NONCOMMITAL ON DRIVER CHANGES

A week after indicating that Sam Hornish Jr. is unlikely to return as driver of the No. 9 Sprint Cup Ford for 2016, Richard Petty was very iffy about future plans.

“Right now we're just sort of in limbo,” Petty said “We're talking to a couple or three different drivers and a couple different sponsor deals, so all of it's got to come together. The way it is today you might want a driver but you can't get sponsors. Then you might get a sponsor and then that'll get the driver.

“It's a chess game right now.”

Unless a driver can bring sponsorship, he's probably not going to get much consideration from Petty.

“It's the same way with other teams,” Petty continued. “You go talk to Hendrick, they're out there struggling right now, Roush is struggling, and Gibb’s is struggling. Every team is struggling to try and fill their particular cars. It's just a trend of the times right now, and it's tough on everybody. It doesn't make any difference if you're winning races or not winning races; it's just tough.”

Weekend Television Schedule: The NASCAR Sprint Cup Awards Banquet will be held Friday, Dec. 4 in Las Vegas. It will be broadcast live on NBCSN, beginning at 8 pm ET. Drew Carey will host the show, along with musical artists Andy Grammer, Sam Hunt, Rachel Platten, and Sabrina Carpenter.

Racing Trivia Question: How many Cup championships did Richard Petty win?

Last Week’s Question: Where is Martin Truex Jr.’s hometown? Answer. It is Mayetta, New Jersey.

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