After having last week’s game canceled because of COVID concerns within the program, Pleasant Valley is ready to take the field for the first time this season Friday night against East Stroudsburg North.

Elsewhere, Palmerton travels to Jim Thorpe, while Lehighton hosts Tamaqua and Marian visits Minersville.

ES North at Pleasant Valley

When: Friday, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: The Bears are ready to get started

The start of Pleasant Valley’s football season came to a screeching halt last week. The PV-Parkland game was postponed due to COVID, and now the Bears face the East Stroudsburg North Timberwolves Friday night in Brodheadsville. The Bears can finally start the 2021 season with an additional week to prepare. “We’re business as usual,” PV head coach Blaec Saeger said. “Last week was difficult. As of Wednesday, we thought we were playing, and excited to play and found out we had a COVID issue. Moving forward, it is business as usual, and we’re trying to put that behind us. We all wanted to play, we were excited to play. These kids are very perseverant, and they can fight through anything.” ES North already began the season last Friday in a 57-0 loss to Nazareth. The Timberwolves lost to the Bears 43-0 the last time the two teams played against each other last October. However, ES North’s last win-to-date came two years ago against PV in a 28-21 game. “They’re a very young team, but a very aggressive team,” Saeger said of ES North. “They have a couple of solid athletes. We’re going to have to match their athleticism and speed. We’re going to have to tackle well defensively. Offensively, we’ll have to do what we do, control the line of scrimmage and tempo and get big-play opportunities when they arrive.”

Players to Watch:

Robert Papaleo, Pleasant Valley

Papaleo (164 yards, two TDs) returns to quarterback for the Bears. To go along with his passing, Papaleo (69 carries, 407 yards) is a threat on the run. He will also line up in the Bears secondary.

Ryan Blass, Pleasant Valley

Blass (nine passes, 250 yards) is expected to be Papaleo’s main target this season. The Bears weren’t much of a passing team in 2020, but Blass caught some big passes from Papaleo throughout the abbreviated season.

Jake Gethen, Pleasant Valley

The senior (21 carries for 110 yards in 2020) will be part of a three-running back rotation with juniors Jarod Moore and Fela Olaniyan. Gethen is also a captain of the team.

Palmerton at Jim Thorpe

When: Friday, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week:

Can the Olympians bounce back, and can the Bombers keep their momentum going?

Entering this week’s contest are two very different football teams when it comes to momentum. Palmerton was impressive in its Week 1 win over Lehighton, defeating the Indians 46-13, while Jim Thorpe lost its opener on the road to Blue Mountain, 30-20. Turnovers could prove to be a decider in this one. Palmerton forced three turnovers a week ago, and Thorpe committed two against the Eagles. The Olympians’ Red Swarm defense will have its work cut out for them, having to contain Bombers’ quarterback Matt Machalik, who accounted for 318 total yards and four touchdowns and was named the week one Times News POW. “Obviously, the QB is a tremendous athlete. He throws the ball well, he scrambles well, and he’s a tough runner; he’s a huge dual threat. We’re going to need to do a much better job of setting the edge this week, and we need to be more fundamental defensively. With that said, as poorly as we played and with as many players as we were missing, we still had opportunities. But you can’t hurt yourself with turnovers and penalties and expect to beat a team the quality of Blue Mountain. Controlling the line of scrimmage will be important in this game, and establishing the run,” said Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger. Thorpe gave up 370 yards of total offense last week. The battle in the trenches will be key, with Thorpe - a historically successful running football team- only rushing for just over 100 yards against Blue Mountain. Palmerton gave up just 79 yards rushing against the Tribe. “Jim Thorpe is always big and physical. I think it comes down to taking care of the football and executing with high efficiency. We have to go out there and make plays, and try and spread the ball out to our playmakers. It’s one of those games where you better buckle up in the trenches and be ready to earn everything you get,” said Palmerton head coach Chris Walkowiak. Look for a packed house at Olympians’ Stadium this week, as this marks the first time these two teams have met since 1975.

Players to Watch:

Matt Machalik, Palmerton

This past Friday night, Machalik threw for 196 yards and a touchdown, ran for 122 yards and three scores, and also intercepted a pass and returned it for a TD in a win over Lehighton.

James Denicola, Palmerton

Denicola had three catches for 85 yards and a touchdown in last week’s season-opening win over Lehighton.

Brett Balliet, Jim Thorpe

Balliet completed 12-of-26 pass attempts to go along with two touchdowns in last Saturday’s 30-20 loss to Blue Mountain.

Tamaqua at Lehighton

When: Friday, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: It’s bounce-back time for both programs.

Tamaqua and Lehighton both suffered one-sided defeats last week, and are looking to bounce back Friday when they face each other. Coach Sam Bonner - whose Raiders trailed 15-0 after a quarter and 35-7 at the half to Northwestern - sent out the alarm to his troops. “Nobody wants to go 0-2 to start the season,” he said. Bonner’s team is young and inexperienced, which he said caused communication breakdowns on defense that gave up 335 yards. “On offense, we wanted to move the chains and keep the ball away from their outstanding quarterback, but the “O” goes as the linemen go, and our guys are inexperienced up front so we gave them too many possessions.” Just like the Raiders, Lehighton got off to a poor start in its loss to Palmerton last week, trailing 20-0 after a quarter, and 28-7 at the half. “For as many plays as Palmerton made, we also shot ourselves in the foot a lot as well,” said Tribe coach Tom McCarroll, whose defense allowed 407 total yards. It wasn’t much better on offense, as the Indians fumbled once and threw two interceptions, including one for a pick six. It’s worth noting that nine different receivers caught passes, suggesting that Tamaqua will have to cover the entire field whenever Tribe quarterback Brady O’ Donnell drops back to throw. McCarroll, as did Bonner, cited youth and inexperience as huge issues in their Week 1 losses, and spoke the same words that Bonner said about this week’s focus at practice. “We need to clean a lot up, and focus on getting better as a football team. To play against Tamaqua, we have to bring more physicality,” said McCarroll, whose team missed more than 50 tackles last week. “I told my team that right now all we have is one loss, but two in a row can turn the season in the wrong direction. It’s about having the right mentality, and that’s our goal for Friday night.”

Players to Watch:

Zander Coleman, Tamaqua

The wide receiver rushed for 71 yards on only three carries, and caught one pass for another 20 yards last week against Northwestern.

Steven Kostecky, Tamaqua

Kostecky caught two balls for 37 yards and a touchdown against the Tigers.

Hunter Crum, Lehighton

A solid performance for Lehighton in last week’s opener against Palmerton came from Crum, who rushed for seven yards a carry, and also caught two passes for 70 yards and a touchdown

Marian at Minersville

When: Friday, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m.

Storyline of the Week

: Another step forward for the Colts

Last week’s season-opener at Men of Marian Stadium was a complete “washout.” The much-anticipated opening night contest was pushed back until Sunday night due to Mother Nature taking its toll. So, Coach Stan Dakosty and his Colts had to tweak their game preparation this week to get ready for a quick turnaround against Minersville, who also happens to enter Week 2 with a tough loss. The seasoned Dakosty already knows what to expect from the Battlin’ Miners, and had to completely change the defensive game plan. “They run a spread offense,” the Colts’ mentor said. “They throw the football quite a bit, as opposed to what Schuylkill Haven does, who pass very seldom.” The Colts expect a tough challenge, and Dakosty knows what quarterback John Adams and company will try to do against them Friday night. “They’re going to spread the field, and they’re going to threaten the entire field,” said Dakosty. While the Colts may be on the road this week, Dakosty said one of the bright spots in last week’s home game was the support his team received. “The one thing that really impressed me was the crowd at Sunday’s game,” he said. “It was tremendous. At one point, they told me the line to get tickets stretched from the back of the school to the stadium. After what we went through last year, it was great for our kids, and the Haven kids, to show what Coal Region football is all about. Even though we’re disappointed with the results, I want to thank our fans for coming out, and I encourage them to continue do so since we think we are a team that’s going to get better each week.”

Players to Watch:

Matt Martin, Marian

Martin ran for 120 yards on 21 carries, and scored the Colts’ lone touchdown in last week’s loss to Schuylkill Haven. At his secondary position on defense, Martin recorded three solo tackles, as well as three half-tackles.

Joey Walko, Marian

Walko finished with seven total tackles in last week’s setback, in which he finished with three solo, three half-tackles and one tackle for a loss.

John Adams, Minersville

Adams completed 13 of his 27 attempts, in which he distributed the ball to five different receivers, to finish with 153 passing yards and touchdown in last week’s loss to Tri-Valley. His lone TD pass to Logan Hutsko was a seven-yard reception in the third quarter.

Capsules compiled by Rich Strack, Brad Hurley, TJ Engle and Kyle Magda.