Montgomery celebrate a turnover against Hughesvill late in the third quarter at Hughesville High School Friday night. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

1. Jersey Shore (3-1): As freshmen last spring, Nolen Pauling and Carter Rhinehart made big impacts while displaying strong chemistry on the baseball field. Different sport now, but same results. Pauling connected with Rhinehart seven times for 91 yards and two touchdowns against Shamokin.

2. Montoursville (3-1): Montoursville and Mount Carmel have played some memorable games with the most recent thriller coming in 2016 when the Tornadoes missed a last-second field goal try and the Warriors prevailed, 31-29. Brycen Mussina threw for 253 yards and Mitchell Rothrock turned two catches into 138 yards and two touchdowns.

3. Williamsport (3-1): Williamsport held a 10-point lead entering the fourth quarter before Selinsgrove rallied and won last year’s game, 21-20. It’s been a long wait but the Millionaires finally have a shot at exacting a measure of revenge. If it can do so, Williamsport would solidify the team’s hold on first place in the District 2-4 Class 6A standings a year after capturing the championship.

4. Warrior Run (3-1): It’s pretty impressive scoring touchdowns three different ways in a season, let along doing so in four weeks. Cohen Zechman has done that, returning the year’s opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown, returning a fumble for a score and taking a punt 76 yards for a touchdown a week ago.

5. Muncy (3-1): Muncy returns home for the first time since its season opener and the next two weeks will feature an exciting atmosphere. First, is tomorrow’s Homecoming and then the main event follows next Friday when the Indians host Montgomery in the annual Old Shoe Game.

6. Montgomery (3-1): Year No. 1 running the Wing-T offense is going quite well. Former Southern assistant Joel Knoebel brought the Wing-T with him and the wealth of ball carriers utilized in that offense has helped produce four runners who have more than 200 yards.

7. Loyalsock (2-2): When last year’s leading receiver Jalil Coates moved to the backfield, Loyalsock needed someone to pick up the receiving end. Nahmir Thomas has done just that, entering the area’s top 10 in catches after hauling in seven passes for 95 yards and a touchdown against Midd-West.

8. North Penn-Mansfield (4-0): I wonder how many people, if asked, would have picked North Penn-Mansfield to enter Week 5 as the area’s last undefeated team? The Panthers have proven good and gutsy, winning three games by 10 points or fewer, while already exceeding last year’s victory total.

9. Lewisburg (1-3): While many have focused on teams like Mifflinburg, Montoursville and Mount Carmel–for good reason–as the most serious District 4 Class AAA title threats, I get the feeling that Lewisburg and Danville are two that are sneaky sleeper candidates. Both proved they are better than their record indicates last week and Lewisburg has improved every week thus far.

10. Milton (1-3): One could say the same thing about Milton which navigated a tough early-season schedule and put everything together last week. The defense is loaded with exciting underclassmen and the offense has become more dangerous since Monty Fisher moved to quarterback. Speaking of, it’s a long shot but now at quarterback, Fisher has a shot at becoming the area’s first player to top 1,000 career yards as a runner, receiver and passer.

11. Wellsboro (2-2): A win tonight and Wellsboro would move above .500 for the first time since closing the 2021 season, 5-4. And like Milton, Wellsboro has a good foundation to build upon, making both the present and future look exciting.

12. Cowanesque Valley (2-2): In his last two games against Sayre, Dave Hess has totaled 478 yards and seven touchdowns on 25 touches. That’s a whopping 19.1 yards per touch with a score every 3.5 touches. I need production like that on my NFL fantasy team.

13. South Williamsport (1-3): South stood in this exact spot last year, having lost three straight games. It turned things around and went 4-2 down the stretch, reaching districts for a 13th straight season. Count out the Mounties at your own risk.

14. Hughesville (1-3): Maybe Hughesville is actually happy to be hitting the road tonight. The home confines have not been kind with the Spartans going 0-3 and their lone win coming at Towanda.

15. Canton (1-3): Uriah Tallada is playing football for the first time but he looked like a veteran last Saturday against North Penn-Mansfield. The defensive lineman was all over the field, finishing among the game’s leading tacklers and making a lot of players near or behind the line of scrimmage.

16. Central Mountain (0-4): Dalton McDermott has been a workhorse for Central Mountain, never tiring while carrying the ball 45 teams and making more tackles than any Wildcat except dynamic junior Kole Corman.

17. Bucktail (1-3): Talk about making your first high school football touch count. Sophomore Branson Getz scored the first time he touched the ball, hauling in Corbin Pentz’s six-yard touchdown pass last Friday against Coudersport.