NEW NIGHTS
The Lackawanna League begins a new routine with boys playing primarily on Mondays and Thursdays after decades of playing mainly on Tuesdays and Fridays.
The boys have reversed regular dates with the girls schedule in the Lackawanna.
AN EARLY START
The 12-game Lackawanna League Division 4 schedule begins with three Monday games, Lackawanna Trail at Susquehanna, Blue Ridge at Montrose and Forest City at Elk Lake.
With Lackawanna Trail too short on players to have a junior varsity game, its game at Susquehanna will begin at 6 p.m. and get the Lackawanna League season started across all divisions.
Mountain View has the bye and hosts Susquehanna in its opener Thursday.
ON THE BENCH
Wes Parks, a former youth coach in the district and championship-winning junior high coach at Susquehanna, is in his first varsity head coaching assignment as Blue Ridge’s first-year coach.
FAVORITE
Elk Lake was the unquestioned favorite entering the start of non-league play.
December’s action – including Blue Ridge’s win over a Wyalusing Valley team that then defeated Elk Lake – has altered the picture, making the Raiders seem like a more serious threat to the Warriors than originally considered.
Although apparently unlikely, Mountain View and Susquehanna are the regarded as the next-most likely teams to enter the mix.
2021 STANDINGS
Elk Lake won the division at 11-0, followed by: Blue Ridge 7-3, Susquehanna 7-3, Mountain View 4-7, Forest City 3-8, Montrose 3-8, Lackawanna Trail 3-9.
CLASSIFICATIONS
Montrose is the division’s only Class 3A team and Forest City is the only Class A team. The other five are in Class 2A.
FOR THE RECORD
After going 1-8 in the limited non-league games last season, division teams have fared a better so far, this season, going a collective 11-24. The rural, small-school nature of the division means the majority of non-league games are played against schools with bigger enrollments.
Blue Ridge and Elk Lake had the best December records at 3-3 while Susquehanna went 2-4, Mountain View 1-3, Forest City 1-4, Montrose 1-4, Lackawanna Trail 0-3.
Going into the start of league play, Montrose ranks fifth out of seven teams in the District 2 Power Rankings race for seeding position in Class 3A.
Forest City is fifth out of nine teams in District 2-11 Class A Subregional playoff standings.
After Division 3 members Holy Cross and Old Forge take the top two spots, Blue Ridge, Elk Lake, Mountain View, Susquehanna and Lackawanna Trail are third through seventh, in that order, out of seven in Class 2A.
RANKINGS
Blue Ridge enters league play as the No. 6 Small School boys team in the My City Mortgage Super Six Power Rankings of District 2 teams.
Elk Lake had been ranked in the preseason.
REMEMBERING THE GREATS
December activities honored the memory of coaching greats who helped defy the odds and make divisional members a major force on the statewide level in the 1960s, ‘70s and beyond.
Elk Lake’s last game of the month was the Michael “Red” Wallace Memorial Scholarship Game, held for the 44th time in recognition of the former Boston Celtic who coached the Warriors to a pair of state championships, including a 36-0 season.
Forest City honored coach Julius Prezelski, who died in early 2021, during a ceremony at its first home game. The Foresters are wearing shooting shirts this season with “Prezelski” and “757” on the back for the number of coaching wins that Prezelski had, allowing him to retire with the state record (since broken) in that category.
RETURNING STARS
The improved non-league winning percentage could be traced to the number of top players from within the division who are returning this season.
The top 6 and 9 of the top 11, according to the NEPABasketball.com all-star team, return.
Leading the way is the return of Matt Mowry at Elk Lake.
Mowry was the Division 4 Player of the Year and 1 of 3 underclassmen among the 11 selected to the all-District 2 team.
The entire first team is back with Blue Ridge’s Connor Cranage, who made it as a freshman, joined by Lackawanna Trail’s Brycen Decker, Elk Lake’s Trevor Graham, Mountain View’s Ryan Henke and Montrose’s Connor Watkins.
The second-team returnees are Forest City’s Dylan Bezek, Susquehanna’s Spencer Beamer and Elk Lake’s Jake Gustin.
