OLYPHANT – Returning starters at three offensive line positions could hold the key to the hopes of the Susquehanna OLYPHANT – Soccer’s growth in the Lackawanna League was on display Wednesday when the boys’ and girls’ leagues combined to hold their first Media Day at the Regal Room.
“This day is huge for soccer in this area,” Master of Ceremonies Dennis Mishko, a local referee and former Keystone College and Abington Heights coach, who won 10 titles in his 11 years in the league. “The Lackawanna League keeps getting bigger and stronger.”
Much of that strength is in Susquehanna County.
Blue Ridge was the undefeated Lackawanna Division 3 boys’ champion last year when Forest City went 10-2, losing only to the Raiders, to finish in second place.
Both Montrose teams finished second in their divisions – Division 2 boys and Division 3 girls.
Mountain View is coming off an off season and has two new coaches in place, but both its programs have enjoyed recent success.
The Eagles gave the league its only state champion with the Class A boys’ title in 2012 and returned to the state championship game the following season.
Even after a losing season that left it as a fifth seed a year ago, Mountain View won another District 2 Class A boys’ title.
The County teams combine prominent returning players with new faces in the coaching ranks as they prepare to again have an impact on league races.
Blue Ridge returns nine starters from its unbeaten team, making it the favorite in Division 3 boys where Forest City is again likely to be the top challenger.
Senior strikers Axel Mejia returns after earning all-star honors.
Mansfield, Conklin, Blue Ridge soccer players
Senior midfielders Garrett Mansfield and Jon Blueht and senior defender Hunter Conklin were all first-team division all-star selections by coaches. Junior defender Fred Lewis was a second-team, all-star choice.
Junior goalie Eric Hall, the only Susquehanna student in the starting lineup as part of the cooperative sponsorship of the sport by the two schools, is also back.
Other returning starters are: junior defender Ben Budykunst and sophomore midfielders Kaleb Folk and Ben Bleck.
“I feel confident that these kids are going to come through,” Raiders coach Eric Stallings said.
Both Mountain View teams and the Montrose boys have new coaches.
Joe Scanlan and Todd Calabro have returned to their alma mater to coach the boys’ and girls’ teams.
Mike Fowler is the new Montrose boys coach and Chris Rezykowski was recently named as his assistant.
Scanlan, a 2007 Mountain View graduate, played soccer at Misericordia after playing soccer, basketball and volleyball for the Eagles. He was an assistant to Roger Thomas for four seasons before taking over from the coach, who guided the program to its state championship.
A fifth-grade teacher in the Mountain View School District, Scanlan is also an assistant volleyball coach.
“I knew going into college that I wanted to coach some day,” Scanlan said.
Scanlan takes over a veteran team with eight return starters, seven of which are seniors.
Nick Pellew returns at forward, Cooper Meagher, Luke Schmidt and Alex Showalter at midfield, Stephen Mordent as a midfielder/defender and both Nate Salansky and junior Jason Seamans on defense.
“We have some returning seniors,” Scanlan said. “We’re look to build around them while looking at little formation changes.”
Justin Rowe is Scanlan’s assistant.
Calabro is a 2003 graduate who has served as assistant in both the boys’ and girls’ programs at the school. He is being assisted by Becky Herbert.
The girls also bring back a veteran team with nine returning starters.
Senior midfielders Lucy Adams and Erika Freely are back along with senior forward Sam Jones, senior defender Talia Stockdale, junior goalie Sydney Newhart, junior midfielders Devin Burney and Lily Virbitsky, junior defender Makenzie Bell and sophomore defender Abby Neri.
The Montrose girls return key players from a team that won a pair of District 2 Class 2A playoff games to reach the semifinals where it fell to top-seeded Dunmore, 1-0, in overtime.
Second-year head coach Jenton Ensworthy welcomes back junior forward Madison Gilhool, who earned all-state honors as a freshman and division Player of the Year honors as a sophomore.
Fellow juniors Gabby Davis, a defender, and Brianna Spencer, a midfielder, were also first-team division all-stars.
Sophomore forward/midfielder Annalise Ely was a second-team, all-star.
The Lady Meteors could be building a powerhouse.
They have just two seniors, one of whom is new to the game. Lauren Andre, the other senior, is back after missing last season with an injury. She has some starting experience as a midfielder.
“I took the position last year with the knowledge that I had a big (current) junior class,” said Ensworthy, a former University of Buffalo player who trains players at his business, Athelite Peformance Training, in New Milford. “A lot of these kids train year-round outside of high school.
“I know the girls put the work in during the offseason.”
The Montrose boys bring nine starters back, including seven seniors.
The seniors returning to the lineup are forward Jackson Griffiths, midfielders Danny Barclay, Zachary Dieck, Michael Henry and Tom Vaccaro and defenders Riley Birchard and Keith Ely.
Junior Brennan Gilhool and sophomore Nicholas Warriner also return to the defense.
The Elk Lake and Forest City teams were the only ones in the entire boys’ and girls’ leagues that were not represented at the Media Day.
WEEK IN REVIEW
WILLIAMSPORT – The first week of the 71st annual Little League Baseball World Series was marked by dominant performances.
Each team played two games as the field of contenders was trimmed from 16 to 12 with 16 games Thursday through Sunday.
North State, the Southeast Region champion from Greenville, N.C., was the most impressive team while joining Lufkin, Tex., the Southeast Region champion, as the 2-0 U.S. teams.
White Rock-South Surrey, the Canada Region champion from British Columbia, and Kitasuna, the Japan Region champion from Tokyo, were 2-0 in the international division.
Three pitchers from the Southeast team combined on a perfect game Friday night in a 6-0 win over Midwest champion Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
The Southeast made it through the weekend without allowing a hit.
Chase Anderson and Matthew Matthijs combined on the no-hitter in Sunday’s 16-0, five-inning win over Rancho Santa Margarita, California, the West Region champion.
Anderson threw six perfect innings and Matthijs threw 4 2/3 hitless innings in the two games.
Mexico used seven pitchers on its combined no-hitter Saturday when the Guadalupe Trevino Kelly team from Reynosa routed Emilia, Italy, the Europe & Africa champion, 13-0, in four innings.
Those were two of the four games ended early on the 10-run rule.
Canada’s Chase Marshall, the Southwest’s Collin Ross and Christian Mumphery, Asia-Pacific’s Jin Won Shin, the Mid-Atlantic’s Chris Cartnick all had two homers in a game.
In high school golf, Carbondale defeated Blue Ridge, 5 ½-3 ½, Thursday morning in a golf match that was the only Lackawanna League sports competition held through Sunday.
The Jackman Memorial Boys’ Golf Tournament, which was going to be the opener for most teams, was postponed Friday because of weather.
THE WEEK AHEAD
The high school football season gets underway Saturday at 2 p.m. when Montrose plays at Susquehanna in the sixth annual Battle for the Bluestone game.
Susquehanna County’s only two football programs play for a team trophy. The Sabers have won four of the five games since the trophy was created with the only exception coming in Montrose’s 3-0 victory the last time the game was in Susquehanna in 2015.
An additional honor is available to one player in the game. The third annual Thomas E. Robinson Memorial Award will go to a player who best exemplifies outstanding play while showing respect for officials and opponents. Seth Bulkley, one of Montrose’s top returnees, won the first award as a sophomore. Susquehanna’s Kyle Donovan, who has graduated, received the award last year.
The game also will be the head coaching debut of Montrose’s Steve Miller.
Once again this season, we will predict the outcome of all games involving Lackawanna Football Conference teams. Last year’s predictions were 115-26 (81.6 percent), including 95-21 (83.6 percent) during the regular season.
The opening weekend gets underway Friday night when most of the games will be played.
Predictions for the first week of the season, with home teams in CAPS: SUSQUEHANNA 16, Montrose 12 … LACKAWANNA TRAIL 30, Mid Valley 12 … Valley View 10, LAKELAND 7 … OLD FORGE 10, Hanover Area 6 … North Pocono 31, RIVERSIDE 6 … DUNMORE 24, West Scranton 15 … Carbondale 16, WESTERN WAYNE 10 … HOLY REDEEMER 28, Holy Cross 12 … GAR 30, HONESDALE 18 … Wyoming Area 24, WALLENPAUPACK 12 … Wyoming Valley West 32, SCRANTON 26 … Fort Pierce Central 28, Delaware Valley 20 … Scranton Prep 17, ABINGTON HEIGHTS 7.
Division 3 of the Lackawanna Football Conference is the only one to get started with divisional play on the opening week. The Montrose-Susquehanna and Mid Valley-Lackawanna Trail winners will share the division’s early lead.
Predictions for the Lackawanna Football Conference Division 3 final standings, in order: 1, Dunmore; 2, Old Forge; 3, Lakeland; 4, Carbondale; 5, Lackawanna Trail; 6, Susquehanna; 7, Montrose; 8, Mid Valley; 9, Riverside; 10, Holy Cross.
In high school golf, the Jackman Memorial Boys’ Tournament has been rescheduled for Thursday at 8:30 a.m. at Scranton Municipal Golf Course.
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.
