The last of the divisions in District 2 sports gets underway Monday just as the first sport that got started takes important steps toward the conclusion of the regular season.
Division 1 of the Wyoming Valley Conference, annually home to some of the state’s – in not the nation’s – top field hockey teams, is the last to begin league play among the various divisions in the nine sports across two local conferences.
Montrose and Dallas look to repeat the Friday accomplishment of the Scranton Prep golf team. They face their top challengers with a chance to clinch at least a tie for first place in their divisions.
As is now the case almost every day other than Sunday, there are more than 50 events spread across a half-dozen sports.
There are intriguing openers in field hockey, title-deciding matches in golf and some early-season match-ups that could help establish early favorites in boys and girls soccer and girls volleyball.
Wyoming Valley West is at Crestwood in a rematch of the District 2 Class 2A field hockey championship game that the Lady Comets won in an upset. The Lady Spartans, who are 0-2 in an ambitious non-league schedule, are ranked fourth in the Golden Dome Abstract Super Six Power Rankings of District 2 teams. Crestwood (4-0) is fifth.
Another game matching ranked teams has No. 3 Lake-Lehman at No. 6 Lackawanna Trail. Both are 1-0.
Three-time defending Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class A state champion Wyoming Seminary opens at 2020 District 2 Class 3A finalist Hazleton Area (0-1). The Blue Knights, unbeaten overall in 2020, are the only one of 19 district teams that has not yet played its first game.
There are seven golf divisions between the WVC and Lackawanna League. The top two teams meet each other in four of those divisions Monday.
Mid Valley (6-0-1 in the division, 7-0-1 overall) is at Lackawanna Trail (6-0-1, 9-1-1) in Lackawanna Division 3. They tied in their first meeting and are tied for first place.
Montrose (5-0, 6-0) is at Blue Ridge (3-1, 4-1) with a chance to assure itself of no worse than a tie for first place in Lackawanna Division 4.
Dallas (5-1, 5-1) is home with Pittston Area (4-3, 4-3) with the same opportunity in WVC Division 1.
Dunmore (4-1-2, 4-3-2) is at Riverside (5-1, 6-2) in Lackawanna Division 2.
Lackawanna Trail, Montrose, Dallas and Riverside are all trying to work toward title repeats.
Two teams from the Small School boys portion of the Riverfront United Super Six Power Rankings of District 2 soccer teams meet in Lackawanna Division 2. No. 4 Mountain View is at No. 3 Holy Cross. Both are 1-0 in the league and 2-0 overall.
The girls soccer schedule includes the top two teams in the Big School rankings playing their division leaders.
No. 6 Wilkes-Barre Area (2-0, 4-2) shares the WVC Division 1 lead with Wyoming Valley West going into its game at No. 2 Berwick (0-0, 2-0).
Scranton Prep (2-0, 2-0) has the sole lead in Lackawanna Division 1 as it heads to No. 1 Delaware Valley (1-0, 3-0).
The Lakeland at Western Wayne meeting of ranked teams in Lackawanna Division 2 has been postponed. Western Wayne has also postponed its Wednesday game.
Two of the WVC’s four unbeaten girls volleyball teams meet when Berwick (2-0) plays at Tunkhannock (3-0).
Berwick is the top team in the Electric City Volleyball Academy Elite Eight Power Rankings of District 2 teams.
There are two matches between ranked teams that are all 1-1.
Seventh-ranked Dunmore is at fifth-ranked Blue Ridge in the Lackawanna League. Fourth-ranked Nanticoke is at eighth-ranked Crestwood in the WVC.
