Hughesville at Towanda

Hughesville wants to build off the defensive success it showed against Montgomery last week, while coming alive offensively. Do that, and the Spartans (0-1) could be a tough opponent this season. That was the case last year when Hughesville produced its first winning season since 2015 and handed Towanda one of its only two regular season losses, defeating it, 42-6.

The Spartans did not allow a second half point against Montgomery and only allowed one touchdown which was not set up by a turnover. Dylan McConnell intercepted a pass and linebacker Chase Fowler is back after making 115 tackles last year. So is junior lineman Jerry Barton who was among the area’s sack leaders with nine over his eight games. Connor Anstadt gives Hughesville a versatile offensive weapon, leading the team in rushing and receiving last week.

Towanda (0-1) is one of District 4’s youngest teams and is coming off a 38-0 loss at Cowanesque Valley last week. The Black Knights were limited to 90 yards as most players made their first varsity starts. Quarterback Reese Sluyter has varsity experience, making two starts a year ago. A mobile threat, Sluyter ran for 262 yards and four touchdowns.

North Penn-Mansfield at Sayre

North Penn-Mansfield (1-0) is seeking its first 2-0 start since 2016 after holding off Wyalusing, 21-14 last Friday. The Panthers avenged a defeat against the Rams and Luke Kreger intercepted two passes, including one which sealed victory late. North Penn-Mansfield never trailed and twice opened up 14-point leads against the Rams.

Quarterback Bradley Brooks made his first varsity start, but North Penn-Mansfield kept the ball almost exclusively on the ground, throwing just twice. All-state receiver Kreger moved to the backfield and ran for 109 yards, while Jeremiah Lawrence added 56 yards on 14 carries. Skyler Everetts and Patrick Youmans both sparked the defense, making nine tackles each, and Lawrence and Ian Snyder combined for 15 tackles.

Sayre could not have asked for a much tougher opening-night opponent, hosting defending Class AA state champion Troy last week. It was a difficult matchup for anyone, especially a young team. The Redskins do return quarterback Karter Green who threw for 1,074 yards and 11 touchdowns last year. North Penn-Mansfield likely will see a heavy dose of Hudson Malanoski after he carried 17 times against Troy.

Cowanesque Valley at

Wyalusing

Cowanesque Valley (1-0) dominated Towanda, 38-0 in its season opener and will try improving to 2-0 for the first time in the 2000s. Luke Sottolano and Stevie Olsen were two of the linemen who helped CV control things up front last Saturday as both Dave Hess and Kegan Lane reached 100 yards rushing. They also combined for three touchdowns.

Levi Stahli shined at tight end last year but seems to have made a smooth transition to quarterback, completing all but one of his eight passes against Towanda. He also ran for a score. Hess has been one of the NTL’s more versatile backs the last two seasons and Lane is coming off a 100-tackle season at linebacker.

Wyalusing twice cut 14-point deficits to seven against North Penn-Mansfield in a 21-14 loss. The Rams feed off their running game and both Ethan Vanderpool and Jon Earle went over 70 yards last week. Quarterback Reuben Kinney also likely will run more than he throws as the Rams try to beat CV for a second straight season.

Shikellamy at Lewisburg

A week after playing a Class A state title contender, new-look Lewisburg opens its home schedule against a vastly improved Shikellamy squad which could be a sleeper in the District 4 Class AAAA field. Lewisburg is young up front and that showed against Line Mountain, but the passing game clicked at times as Xavier Carter threw for 152 yards and a touchdown. Jaylen Walker caught an area-high seven passes and also ran for a score.

Walker has gone over 50 catches for his career and the junior has made a nice impact since his freshman year. So has Nick Coleman who caught a 38-yard touchdown from Carter. Linebacker Ethan Long made a career-high 13 tackles against Line Mountain and Carter intercepted a pass. Owen Fellon and David Bozella each added six tackles.

Brody Rebuck is a four-year starting quarterback at Shikellamy and threw for a career-high 301 yards and two touchdowns in a 33-15 win against Milton. Rebuck also led the team in rushing with 71 yards and has thrown for more than 3,000 yards his last two seasons. Junior Thomas Pollock has led the team in receiving in each of his first two seasons and has 1,681 yards for his career. He had a big game last week, catching seven passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns. Bobby Felmy sealed Shikellamy’s win when he returned an interception for a late touchdown.

Bloomsburg at Central Mountain

Central Mountain (0-1) is hoping the home field will be kind to it after struggling a week ago when Mifflin County opened its new stadium. The Wildcats gained just 42 yards in that game, although the defense showed some promise at times.

Kole Corman picked up where he left off last season and the junior linebacker made 15 tackles, including 10 solos. Dalton McDermott also excels at linebacker and had 12 tackles, while Jacob Reimbold collected a sack. Hayes Donley broke up two passes.

Central Mountain will be facing an explosive Bloomsburg team which returns most of last year’s roster. Quarterback Wyatt Brosious is a three-year starter coming off a big sophomore season (2,228 yards) and was locked in as Bloomsburg thumped Danville, 30-10, throwing for 282 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore Jharee Moore-Stewart has scored touchdowns in all 12 of his varsity football games and returned an interception for a score last week. He added another interception later as did Brosious and Krue Wheadon.

Brosious threw for 269 yards and three touchdowns in last year’s 41-7 win against Central Mountain with Jack Katulis catching five passes for 146 yards and a score.

Bucktail at Renaissance Academy

Bucktail is hoping a long road trip three hours South will be a fun one and help produce the team’s first win since 2023. The Bucks have a good nucleus of young talent and freshman quarterback Corbin Pentz totaled 115 yards and a touchdown in last week’s debut at Cameron County. Sophomore Teagan Stone is a versatile weapon and totaled 90 yards and a score. Stone led the team in receiving and was second to Pentz in rushing.

Stephen Hesiser likely will play a big role against Renaissance Academy as well after carrying it nine times last week and adding three catches. Evan Ransom helps anchor the line and has helped Bucktail have 1,000-yard rushers the past two seasons.

Renaissance Academy is seeking its first win ever. The Charter school first had a program in 2021 and is 0-31 lifetime, coming off a 46-6 loss against Thomas Edison. Renaissance Academy played CMVT last year, losing 58-22, but producing 207 yards through the air.