We’re back!

Local high school football teams are set to kickoff their seasons, and that means the Times News sports staff is ready to get after the 2020 Grid Picks Cup.

Due to the COVID-19 guidelines and the late starts of many school districts, schedules have been abbreviated. Schools in our coverage area are scheduled to play anywhere between five and eight regular season games with limited or no fan attendance.

But if they’re playing, we’re picking.

So let’s dive into.

A look back and ahead

“Handy” Andy Steinmetz defends his title with his usual team of advisers working on his behalf. Last year, Team Stein defeated “Hot” Rod Heckman and “Bad” Brad Hurley, who were in hot pursuit right until the final playoff week.

Promises of redemption have been made by “Bossman” Emmett McCall and Pat “The Mat” Matsinko. McCall started strong and then faded so far behind, he was in danger of falling into the black hole of the Pundit Pit. He did manage a late-season surge to save face. Matsinko has a strong history of contention, but last season he labored in the middle of the pack and never got into position during the stretch run.

Speaking of also-rans, Yours Truly, Bob “Photo” Ford, and Justin “The Voice” Carlucci all had their moments. I sat on the king’s throne for a few weeks early, but the race is a marathon and not a sprint, and I soon got tossed off the mountain top. Carlucci was in good position, as was Ford, but a couple of dreaded 8-7 weeks set them back to the point they never recovered.

Chuck “What happened to his luck” Hixson and Sam “The Hang Man” Matta pushed each other in and out of the Pundit Pit all season long, and with that shame in their game, they look to pull off their oxygen masks and see the light of day this season.

Legends of the ball

Rivals Jim Thorpe and Marian clash tonight, in a game that figures to take on a special side story.

Legendary Colts’ coach Stan Dakosty - who has 40 years of heading coaching experience and 309 wins on his resume - returns to the Marian sideline to try and restore a program that fell on hard times last season. A small roster and numerous injuries led to Marian having to forfeit its last two games. But Dakosty’s return has created a renewed excitement at Marian, where the underclassmen-infused roster has swelled to nearly 40 players this season.

The Colts list just six seniors on their roster. One will be starting quarterback Julian Cerullo, a first-year player who will have to gain varsity experience while under fire. The Colts will run the ball through a rotation of four backs.

On the other side of the field is Jim Thorpe coach Mark Rosenberger. Rosenberger inherited an Olympian program in 1998 that had just six winning seasons in the previous 20 years playing primarily against small public and private schools. He almost immediately transformed the program into a perennial playoff contender that now faces the best programs in Carbon and Schuylkill counties on a weekly basis. The Olympians have had only three losing seasons in Rosenberger’s 22 years at the helm.

He begins his 23rd season steering the Olympian ship and will look to add to his 150-game win total.

Despite 35 seniors graduating in the past two years, the Jim Thorpe O-line is still big and powerful and should open holes for Rosenberger’s running back committee. The Red Swarm defense has many new faces as well, but their athleticism and speed should make up for early season tactical mistakes.

The two veteran coaches have a backstory as well, with Rosenberger having started his coaching career as an assistant coach under Dakosty nearly three decades ago.

How will the season-opening rivalry game play out? The staff unanimously sides with JT’s size and speed to put a damper on Dakosty’s return party.

Tribe time

This could be a big year for Lehighton head coach Tom McCarroll and the Indians. Senior J.J. McDowell has the speed to take it to the house. Quarterback Richard Fronheiser has plenty of talented targets in the passing game, which featured Zach Hunsicker, who caught 35 balls a year ago, and Hunter Crum.

McCarroll will also unveil his new defensive scheme that he hopes will produce quick pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

Coach Rick Jones has brought the snarl back in his Panthers as they look to improve upon their two wins from his first year at PV. His squad will miss 600 passing yards from the QB position and over 800 rushing yards, but Jones likes his receiving corps with the return of explosive senior Louie Clouser.

On paper, this looks like a dominant win for Lehighton, although Steinmetz, Matta and Hixson believe that Jones has a few more weapons in his bag of coaching tricks he’s been carrying around for the past 40 years.

Who are these teams?

Tamaqua lost starters at 15 of 22 positions, including its record-setting offensive trio of quarterback Brayden Knoblauch, running back Nate Boyle and receiver Matt Kistler.

Losses aside, the staff is unanimous in its belief that the 2020 Blue Raiders won’t be a team to sleep on and will open the season with a win over Shenandoah.

Northwestern lost record-setting QB Devin Bollinger and its entire offensive line to graduation, but Coach Josh Snyder has turned the page from a league championship season and is ready to reload. Justin Holmes, who caught 28 passes for 11 TDs and 700 yards last year, will now be throwing the ball as the new QB.

Snyder likes his revamped line, so look for some pound-and-ground offense from the Tigers. They open with Palisades, which played better than its three-win 2019 season indicates. But our money (but not the Bossman’s) is on this Tiger team to have the names on their roster become better known after a victory tonight.

Notables in action

Of the remaining opening games from out of our area, 10 teams made the post season in 2019. Most notable is Wyoming Area, the defending 3A state champions which knocked off Tamaqua in the semifinals. Perhaps one of the better matchups is Notre Dame Green Pond against Pine Grove Area, both playoff teams from last season. Yours Truly is trying to get a leg up on my colleagues with a PGA win.

I can’t help but mention favorite Williamsport, which opens against Nanticoke. How can you pick against a team named the Millionaires? I wonder if their mascot looks like Bill Gates or Warren Buffett?

Heads or tails

For Week 1 of the season, it’s a coin flip as to who will win these games. Our Grid Picks staff relies on past records, but rosters change from graduation each year.

This will certainly be a different kind of season due to guidelines and restrictions placed upon fan, band, and cheerleader attendance.

But once the ball is kicked off, the game will continue the tradition begun by Massillon, Ohio, High School in 1894 which played Canton Central in the first ever high school football game. To this day, as part of its proud history, Massillon’s town supervisors give every boy born a miniature football.

So let’s jump into this crazy year of 2020 and turn on the Friday night lights.

Good luck TN prognosticators!

Olympians out to build on record season