OLYPHANT – Returning starters at three offensive line positions could hold the key to the hopes of the Susquehanna football team for the upcoming season.

“I’d say our offensive line is our strength right now,” Sabers coach Kyle Cook said during Lackawanna Football Conference Media Day at the Regal Room August 1.

Senior David Armitage and junior Ryan Carmody return at guards. Tim Sweeney, a two-way tackle, was already developing into the team’s top linemen when he started his first three games as a freshman last season before missing the rest of the year with an illness.

“It’s our best asset,” Carmody said of the offensive line unit.

The Sabers graduated players who produced more than 80 percent of the rushing, passing and receiving yards last season on a team that won its first two and last two games to finish 5-6.

“A lot is going to depend on them,” Cook said of the line. “I think if we can open some holes, we have guys who can hit them.”

Sam Cosmello

Sam Cosmello, who like Sweeney made an immediate impact last season, is back to lead two position groups – running back and linebacker – otherwise thinned out by injury. He had a sack and a fumble recovery in the season-opening win over Montrose and developed into the team’s second-leading receiver and third-leading rusher while making some starts and rotating in at both positions.

“I was expecting to take more of a back seat at the beginning,” said Cosmello, a junior, “but I picked up the game fast and (defensive) coach (Carl) Zukus was a big help to me. He showed me what to do at what times.”

C.J. Stone, who made some starts as a freshman and got playing time as a back-up last season, is working at quarterback along with Devon Dubanawitz, another junior.

Dubanawitz also has played some at running back and, if not at quarterback, could be there along with Cosmello and Adam Roe, the most experienced returnees there.

Adam Rockwell returns to fill one wide receiver position with Mason Deakin likely to take the other.

Brock Blodgett, who was in the junior high program at Susquehanna before moving to Tennessee where he played basketball and football, has returned to the area for his senior season. He is expected to take over at tight end and defensive end.

“He’s a real athletic kid and a hard worker,” Cook said. “He’s really going to help us a lot.”

Billy Perry is back at nose guard. Sweeney and Carmody are the tackles.

Roe, who has been a starter at nose guard and defensive end, is likely to join Cosmello at linebacker. Travis Craig could join them or play strong safety.

Deakin returns in the secondary and will play free safety or cornerback.

Rockwell, Dan Baker and Anthony Dolfini are working to fill two other defensive backfield spots.

The Sabers open their season at home Aug. 26 at 1 p.m. against Montrose in the Battle for the Bluestone.

They play their only non-league game Sept. 1 against Holy Redeemer at Wilkes-Barre Memorial Stadium.

The rest of the schedule is: Sept. 8, at Riverside; Sept. 16, OLD FORGE; Sept. 23, CARBONDALE; Sept. 29, LAKELAND; Oct. 6, at Dunmore; Oct. 13, at Lackawanna Trail; Oct. 20, at Mid Valley; Oct. 28, HOLY CROSS.

THE WEEK AHEAD

The high school sports season will get underway in District 2 with the annual Jackman Memorial Boys’ Golf Tournament at Scranton Municipal Golf Course Friday.

The Lackawanna League will open its schedule Monday, Aug. 21. The Class 2A Division schedule includes Forest City at Old Forge, Holy Cross at Elk Lake, Mountain View at Lackawannna Trail, Montrose at Mid Valley and Lakeland at Blue Ridge.

The Jackman Girls’ Golf Tournament is set for Tuesday, Aug. 22.

In girls’ tennis, the Lackawanna League schedule opens Aug. 22. Montrose, Susquehanna County’s only team, is home against Riverside that day.

In youth sports, the Little League Baseball World Series makes its annual trip to Pennsylvania with games beginning in Williamsport Thursday and continuing through the Aug. 27 championship. There are eight regional champions from around the United States and eight international teams in the field.

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.

Larson Steals Win At Michigan

Kyle Larson Steals Win at Michigan (Furnished by NASCAR)

BROOKLYN, Mich.--Kyle Larson out drove Martin Truex Jr., on the last restart of Sunday's Cup Series race to claim his third win of the season.

The race was sent into a green-white-checkered overtime finish after a caution on lap 197 of the 200-lap race. Larson, who had not led any laps up to that point was lined up fourth on the outside, behind Truex, the leader. As soon as the green flag was given, Larson moved down on the track and was able to pull alongside Truex's No. 78 Chevrolet.

By the time the front runners had reached turn-2, Larson was the new leader, and pulled away from the other cars. Truex, who appeared to have the faster car was able to regain his momentum, but it was too late. Larson crossed the finish line .31-seconds ahead of him.

“There was only a few options for me to win” said Larson. “I knew his car was probably faster than mine, so I had to get a run on him and slip by him on the restart. Things worked out and this is an awesome win for us.”

It was a winning week for Larson. In addition to winning Sunday's Cup race, he won two sprint car races Saturday night in Iowa, then flew back to Michigan.

Truex, led 3 times for 57 laps.

“I tried to do something different and it didn't work,” said Truex. “I spun my tires. He hit me and got the run he needed. It was just one of those deals, where you wish you had done something else. Today wasn't our day.”

Truex's teammate Erik Jones finished third.

“Wow, a win would have been really great,” said Jones. “But today wasn't too bad. We struggled, but there at the end we had a pretty good run.”

Ryan Newman, who has one Cup win this season was fourth.

“We ended the race pretty good,” said Newman. “We came from a 25th starting spot, worked through a lot of things, both on the track and in the pits, so I'm happy.”

Trevor Bayne was fifth, followed by Chris Buescher, Austin Dillon, Chase Elliott, Jamie McMurray, and Kyle Busch.

Polesitter Brad Keselowski won Stage 1 and led 105 laps, while Truex was the winner of Stage 2.

Except for the final restart, the race wasn't one of the most exciting of the season, but it was fast. Several cars reached speeds of 215 miles per hour on the 2-mile oval, while Brad Keselowski hit 217 mph, the fastest attained during a race by any driver this season.

There were only three caution periods for wrecks. The biggest one came during lap 143. Kasey Kahne got loose coming out of turn-2 and slid up into the rear of Daniel Suarez. Kahne slammed into the outside wall, while Suarez slid down into the inside wall. Both drivers were done for the day.

“I don't know what happened,” said rookie Suarez. “I was holding my line coming out of the turn. When he got into me, I started spinning, and there was nothing I could do.”

Top-10 leaders after 23 of 36 races. The points will be reset after the Richmond race on Sept. 9, and only the top-16 will be eligible for this year's Chase. 1. Truex-933, 2. Larson-804, 3. Kyle Busch-797, 4. Harvick-787, 5. Keselowski-720, 6. Hamlin-710, 7. Elliott-685, 8. McMurray-675, 9. Kenseth-654, 10. Bowyer-623.

Results of the NASCAR Xfinity Series road course race held Sat., Aug. 12 at Lexington, OH: 1. Sam Hornish, 2. Daniel Hemric, 3. Matt Tifft, 4. James Davison, 5. Andy Lally, 6. Elliott Sadler, 7. Brendan Gaughan, 8. Brennan Poole, 9. Justin Marks, 10. Dakoda Armstrong.

Top-10 Xfinity leaders after 21 of 33: 1. Sadler-763, 2. Byron-682, 3. Allgaier-621, 4. B. Poole-581, 5. Hemric-567, 6. Custer-505, 7. Tifft-494, 8. Reed-457, 9. Armstrong-431, 10. Koch-431.

Results of the Truck Series race held Sat., Aug. 12 at Brooklyn, Mich.: 1. Darrell Wallace Jr., 2. Christopher Bell, 3. Kyle Busch, 4. Ryan Truex, 5. Austin Cindric, 6. Matt Crafton, 7. Noah Gragson, 8. Grant Enfinger, 9. Chase Briscoe, 10. Justin Haley.

Top-10 Truck leaders after 13 of 23: 1. Bell-572, 2. Sauter-535, 3. Crafton-510, 4. Briscoe-509, 5. R. Truex-431, 6. Rhodes-426, 7. Enfinger-412, 8. Nemechek-404, 9. Gragson-382, 10. Cindric-361.

NASCAR AND TEAMS GOING TO YOUTH

It seems like NASCAR is becoming more youth oriented.

Each year fans see more and more of the old drivers put out to pasture. The latest move came last week, when Hendrick Motorsports announced that 37-year-old Kasey Kahne would not be returning to the team's No. 5 Chevrolet in 2018.

Replacing him will be 19-year-old William Byron.

Kahne had another year to go on his contract, but  Rick Hendrick said he is paying Kahne for the entire 2018 season.

“It's not so much the money, it's about building for the future, getting a fresh start,” said Hendrick.      “We talked to people. It got close to some deals (for Kasey Kahne), we had some deals that drug out too long and it wasn't fair to Kasey or me. … But when William is running like William is running, to me, I don't do this for the money. I do this to win and it's our brand. So I'm investing in the future all the time.

“At every step, William has proven how quickly he can adapt. Some drivers have raw talent and some have a strong work ethic. William has both. It's impressive to see a young guy who never gets rattled and instinctively knows how to communicate with his team. That level of commitment, poise and pure ability is rare at any age. I think he's just scratching the surface.”

Hendrick Motorsports 2018 teams will consist of Byron, 21-year-old Chase Elliott, 24-year-old Alex Bowman, and “Old Man” Jimmie Johnson, who will turn 43 in November.

What's the meaning of NASCAR teams suddenly going to younger studs? From what I understand it's been happening very gradually in the past, but now younger drivers are all the rage. The bottom line is about sponsorship. I don't think Hendrick would have replaced Kasey Kahne had he been able to land a sponsor. We can only assume that the big corporations want to identify with the younger generation. The people that provide the money are dictating the terms.

My daddy used to say, 'the tail is wagging the dog'. It is what it is. That's the way the sport is going.

Meanwhile Ron Thornton of Speedway Media came up with some interesting statements made by Kevin Harvick last week about Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Harvick made some headlines on his radio show when he laid blame for the sport’s lack of progress in recent years in the lap of Dale Earnhardt Jr.

“For me, I believe that Dale Jr. has had a big part in kind of stunting the growth of NASCAR because he’s got these legions of fans and this huge outreach of being able to reach different places that none of us have the possibility to reach, but he’s won nine races in 10 years at Hendrick Motorsports and hasn’t been able to reach outside of that,” Harvick said.

In an interview prior to the Michigan race, Earnhardt refused to elaborate on Harvick's comments, but did say his words were “hurtful”.

So, is Junior a “big part in kind of stunting the growth of NASCAR?” Send us an e-mail (hodges@race500.com) giving your opinion. In turn, we'll send you a photo of Junior.

Weekend Racing: The NASCAR Cup, Xfinity, and Truck teams are at the .54-mile Bristol Motor Speedway.

Wed., Aug. 16; Truck Series race 14 of 23; Starting time: 8:30 pm ET; TV: FoxSports 1.

Fri., Aug. 18; Xfinity Series race 22 of 33; Starting time: 7:30 pm ET; TV: NBCSN.

Sat., Aug. 19; Cup Series race 24 of 36; Starting time: 7:30 pm ET; TV: NBC.

Racing Trivia Question: Which track is the largest on the NASCAR circuit?

Last Week's Question: Where does the final race of the 2017 Cup Series end? Answer. Homestead, Florida on Nov. 19.

Gerald Hodges is a syndicated NASCAR writer and author. You may contact him by e-mail at: hodges@race500.com.