EDITOR’S NOTE: As a step in getting ready for the upcoming 2022 fall sports season, NEPASportsNation.com is taking a look back at the 2021 season in District 2.
Team champions
Delaware Valley, Scranton Prep and Old Forge each won both Lackawanna Football Conference division and District 2 titles.
Delaware Valley won District 2 Class 6A and Lackawanna Football Conference Division 1.
Scranton Prep 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 in Class 5A, Valley View in Class 4A and Lackawanna Trail in Class 2A.
Lakeland won LFC Division 3.
The Wyoming Valley Conference champions were Hazleton Area in the Class 6A/5A Division, Dallas in the Class 4A Division and Wyoming Area in the Class 3A Division.
Top players/coach
Our partner site, NEPAFootball.com, named Scranton Prep’s London Montgomery District 2 Offensive Player of the Year; Lakeland’s Lacota Dippre Defensive Player of the Year; Wyoming Area’s Nick Elko Lineman of the Year and Valley View’s George Howanitz Coach of the Year.
State impact
Old Forge defeated Williams Valley, 26-7, in the first round of the state Class A tournament before having a 14-point fourth quarter lead get away in a 20-14, overtime loss to Canton.
The Blue Devils were the only District 2 team to win a state tournament game.
Because of the make-up of the brackets, Valley View and Scranton Prep joined Old Forge in the quarterfinals. Bishop Shanahan eliminated Valley View, 35-25, in Class 4A and Wyomissing defeated Scranton Prep, 35-14, in Class 3A.
Standings
(division, overall regular-season records)
LFC Division 1: Delaware Valley 4-0, 7-3; North Pocono 3-1, 8-2; Scranton 2-2, 4-6; Wallenpaupack 1-3, 4-6; Abington Heights 0-4, 2-8.
LFC Division 2: Scranton Prep 4-0, 9-0; Valley View 3-1, 9-1; Western Wayne 2-2, 4-6; Honesdale 1-3, 4-6; West Scranton 0-4, 0-10.
LFC Division 3: Lakeland 4-0, 9-1; Mid Valley 3-1, 8-2; Dunmore 2-2, 3-6; Carbondale 1-3, 5-5; Riverside 0-4, 2-8.
LFC Division 4: Old Forge 4-0, 9-0; Lackawanna Trail 2-1, 6-3; Susquehanna 2-2, 3-7; Holy Cross 1-3, 4-6; Montrose 0-3, 0-9.
(overall regular-season record)
WVC Class 6A/5A Division: Hazleton Area 7-3, Williamsport 5-5, Wilkes-Barre Area 4-6, Wyoming Valley West 3-7.
WVC Class 4A Division: Dallas 7-2, Berwick 6-4, Tunkhannock 3-7, Pittston Area 3-7, Crestwood 3-7.
WVC Class 3A Division: Wyoming Area 8-1, Lake-Lehman 4-5, Nanticoke 4-6, Hanover Area 2-7, Holy Redeemer 2-8.
Playoffs
There were four District 2 championship games.
Those results: Class 6A, Delaware Valley 35-20 over Hazleton Area; 4A, Valley View 42-7 over North Pocono; Class 3A, Scranton Prep 28-0 over Wyoming Area; Class 2A, Lackawanna Trail 14-10 over Dunmore.
There were a total of 19 playoff games in the four District 2 tournaments, with the higher-seeded teams going 18-1 on their home fields. The exception was North Pocono’s 41-26 win over Dallas in the Class 4A semifinals.
Arguably the best game of the playoffs came in the Class 3A semifinals where Wyoming Area held off Lakeland, 35-32.
Old Forge won the Class A title uncontested.
District 2 was part of a subregional with District 11 in Class 5A.
Power Rankings
Valley View and Scranton Prep were the final No. 1 teams in the Gaughan Auto Store Super Six Power Rankings compiled by NEPAFootball.com.
Valley View led the Big Schools, followed by: No. 2 Delaware Valley, No. 3 North Pocono, No. 4 Hazleton Area, No. 5 Dallas; No. 6 Berwick.
Scranton Prep led the Small Schools, followed by: No. 2 Old Forge; No. 3 Wyoming Area; No. 4 Lakeland; No. 5 Mid Valley; No. 6 Lackawanna Trail.
Noteworthy
Six District 2 players made the Pennsylvania Sports Writers All-State team in Class 3A. Four other players made it in Class 4A while one each were selected in 6A, 2A and A. Scranton Prep running back Montgomery, linebacker Michael Golay and athlete Robert Rossi made it in Class 3A, along with Lakeland quarterback Dominico Spataro and defensive lineman Dippre and Wyoming Area offensive lineman Elko. Valley View offensive lineman Tyler Swartz and running back Connor Hilling made the Class 4A team along with Berwick defensive back Dray Wilk and Pittston Area tight end Adam Shovlin. The others were Delaware Valley tight end Aiden Black in 6A, Lackawanna Trail offensive lineman R.J. Schirg in Class 2A and Old Forge offensive lineman Cyllel Rose in Class A. … Old Forge was 13-0 and Scranton Prep was 11-0 going into 6the state quarterfinals. … Montgomery was the only District 2 players with more than 2,000 rushing yards and more than 200 points scored. He ran for 2,360 yards and 35 touchdowns while scoring 224 points. … Spataro and Hazleton Area’s Tyler Wolfe each threw for more than 2,000 yards. Spataro passed for 2,264 yards and 25 touchdowns while Wolfe passed for 2,181 yards and 23 touchdowns. … Wyoming Valley West lost in the first round of the four-team District 2-11 Subregional, making Class 5A the only one in which District 2 did not have a state tournament team.
