EDITOR’S NOTE: As a step in getting ready for the upcoming 2021 fall sports season, NEPASportsNation.com is taking a look back at the 2020 season in District 2.
Team champions
Delaware Valley, Crestwood, Lakeland and Old Forge each won both district and division championships.
Delaware Valley won District 2 Class 6A and Lackawanna Football Conference Division 1.
Crestwood won District 2 Class 4A and the Wyoming Valley Conference Class 4A Division.
Lakeland won District 2 Class 3A and LFC Division 3.
Old Forge won District 2 Class A and LFC Division 4.
The other District 2 champions were Wyoming Valley West, uncontested in Class 5A, and Dunmore, in Class 2A.
Scranton Prep, Valley View and Western Wayne tied for first in LFC Division 2.
Williamsport, in the Class 6A/5A Division, and Lake-Lehman, in the Class 3A Division, were the other WVC champions.
Top players/coach
Ryan Arcangeli was named Coach of the Year by NEPAFootball.com after guiding Crestwood to its second district championship and an unbeaten regular season.
Other awards from the website for the combination of the LFC and WVC went to Offensive Player of the Year Zane Janiszewski from Western Wayne, Defensive Player of the Year Jason Henderson from Delaware Valley and Lineman of the Year Mike Gecik from Delaware Valley.
State impact
Delaware Valley and Old Forge each won a game in the state Round of 16 to reach the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association quarterfinals.
Old Forge routed Bristol, 48-0, then lost on an untimed down after the clock ran out, 39-36, to eventual Class A state champion Steelton-Highspire.
Delaware Valley defeated Altoona, 35-14, but lost to Central York, 49-27.
Crestwood and Lakeland also played in the state quarterfinals, getting there by winning district titles in the classifications where District 2 has the most teams.
Standings
LFC Division 1: Delaware Valley 3-0, North Pocono 2-1, Wallenpaupack 1-2, Scranton 0-3.
LFC Division 2: Scranton Prep 3-1, Valley View 3-1, Western Wayne 3-1, Honesdale 1-3, West Scranton 0-4.
LFC Division 3: Lakeland 3-0, Dunmore 2-1, Riverside 1-2, Mid Valley 0-3.
LFC Division 4: Old Forge 3-0, Lackawanna Trail 2-1, Susquehanna 2-2, Montrose 1-1, Holy Cross 0-4.
WVC Class 6A/5A Division: Williamsport 5-0, Hazleton Area 4-2, Wilkes-Barre 3-3, Wyoming Valley West 2-3.
WVC Class 4A Division: Crestwood 7-0, Dallas 4-3, Tunkhannock 4-5, Berwick 1-5, Pittston Area 0-4.
WVC Class 3A Division: Lake-Lehman 7-1, Wyoming Area 5-3, Nanticoke 2-6, Holy Redeemer 1-4, Hanover Area 0-5.
Playoffs
The District 2 playoffs consisted of just three championship games.
Those results: Class 6A, Delaware Valley 55-30 over Hazleton Area; Class 4A, Crestwood 34-14 over Dallas; and Class 3A, Lakeland 14-11 over Lake-Lehman.
COVID Impact
Football was disrupted more than most sports during last season’s pandemic.
The start of the season was delayed on a state level and held up further, except for at Riverside, for District 2 schools.
The regular season was essentially cut in half with Abington Heights and Carbondale school boards deciding not to let their teams compete at all.
Additional games were lost as the season progressed with Montrose playing just twice in the entire season.
The state’s entire playoff structure was shortened, leading to the elimination of most district playoff games and forcing some district representatives in the state playoffs to be determined strictly by ratings.
Noteworthy
Two District 2 underclassmen received all-state recognition from state sports writers. Old Forge junior offensive lineman Cyllel Rose made the Class A team and Hazleton Area sophomore offensive athlete Matthew Cusatis was selected in Class 6A. … Seniors from the LFC and WVC that made all-state were: Williamsport defensive lineman Nassir Jones and Delaware Valley linebacker Henderson in 6A; Western Wayne running back Janiszewski and Lakeland tight end C.J. Dippre in 3A; Riverside quarterback Johnny Gilchrist in 2A; and Old Forge linebacker Colin Holzman and offensive athlete Michael DiGregorio in A. … Dippre was District 2’s top recruit, choosing the University of Maryland over Boston College, Kent State and Virginia. … Gilchrist completed a record-setting career at Riverside with 7,481 yards and 92 touchdowns passing.
