Wilkes-Barre Area and Wyoming Valley West are scheduled to open the football season against each other on Sept. 11 pending a vote on fall sports by Valley West’s school board on Monday.
                                 Times Leader file photo

Wilkes-Barre Area and Wyoming Valley West are scheduled to open the football season against each other on Sept. 11 pending a vote on fall sports by Valley West’s school board on Monday.

Times Leader file photo

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EDWARDSVILLE — The Hanover Area School District’s decision to cancel fall sports due to COVID-19 concerns punctured several holes in the Wyoming Valley Conference football schedule. Three Lackawanna Football Conference teams helped patch some up Friday.

Riverside, Lakeland and Holy Cross will fill five of the eight voids created when the Hanover Area school board voted 5-3 Thursday night to suspend sports until further notice.

Riverside will play at Wyoming Area on Sept. 11, host Holy Redeemer on Sept. 18 and host Lake-Lehman on Sept. 25. Lakeland will travel to Tunkhannock on Oct. 30, which is the final day of the regular season. Holy Cross will play at Holy Redeemer in a night game on Saturday, Oct. 24.

Three holes remain because of Hanover Area’s decision, leaving three teams currently with seven-game schedule. Nanticoke Area has no game on Oct. 2, Wilkes-Barre Area has no game on Oct. 9 and Crestwood has no game on Oct. 16.

Wilkes-Barre Area athletic director Mike Namey, who helped craft the fifth revision of the schedule, said the conference is working to get opponents for those teams.

Of course, the new schedule could be obsolete by Monday morning as the Wyoming Valley West school board has a meeting to decide the fate of fall sports. A motion to approve/disapprove fall sports tied 4-4, meaning it failed and causing confusion because of the wording on the agenda. The sports teams were allowed to resume practice.

The LFC voted to play conference-only games, but got in a bind when Abington Heights and Carbondale announced they were cancelling fall sports. Abington Heights is allowing cross country, golf and girls tennis.

The LFC was slated to start at five-game schedule on Oct. 2, but its schedule on the District 2 website has both those schools on it.

Riverside was a strong proponent for playing fall sports and it will be able to meet the three WVC teams before playing what will be a revised LFC schedule. Class 3A Lakeland and Class A Holy Cross were scheduled to play Carbondale on those dates. If they would have simply played Abington Heights’ opponent those dates, they would be playing Class 6A programs.

A couple other football-related topics were addressed at the WVC athletic directors meeting.

• Bands and cheerleaders will not travel to away games.

• A visiting team will be required provide the home team with a travel packet listing the number of players, coaches, managers and other team personnel who will be entering the stadium. This would allow the home team to adhere to Gov. Tom Wolf’s guideline of 250 people maximum at outdoor events.

• The athletic directors also want the home team to provide the visiting team safety measures such as hand sanitizer, the ability to social distance, an outdoor team area and viable locker room facilities.

• No spectators will be allowed per Wolf’s mandate. If there are any changes to it, each school will deal with them on an individual basis. Thus, the WVC will not be giving out passes for now.

• All individuals entering the stadium will be screened for COVID-19 symptoms. The away team can either do this prior to leaving for the game or upon arrival.

Barletta new president

Hazleton Area athletic director Fred Barletta was elected the president of the WVC athletic directors.

Barletta replaced Cliff Jones, a long-time athletic director in the Wilkes-Barre Area School District who died Aug. 16.

Revised schedule

All Friday night games begin at 7 p.m. Saturday games start as listed.

WVC Division 1 will consist of Berwick, Dallas, Hazleton Area, Pittston Area, Wilkes-Barre Area, Williamsport and Wyoming Valley West.

WVC Division 2 will consist of Crestwood, Holy Redeemer, Lake-Lehman, Nanticoke Area, Tunkhannock and Wyoming Area. Tunkhannock moved from Division 1 where it was in the last schedule.

There will be two sets of standings — divisional and overall. The divisional standing will determine champions. Since Wilkes-Barre Area and Wyoming Valley West play twice, only the first meeting will count toward a divisional championship. The second meeting would count only toward the District 2 playoff and overall standings.

WEEK 1

Friday, Sept. 11

Berwick at Lake-Lehman

Hazleton Area at Crestwood

Riverside at Wyoming Area

Tunkhannock at Dallas

Williamsport at Nanticoke Area

Wyoming Valley West at Wilkes-Barre Area

Saturday, Sept. 12

Pittston Area at Holy Redeemer, 1 p.m.

WEEK 2

Friday, Sept. 18

Berwick at Pittston Area

Crestwood at Tunkhannock

Hazleton Area at Wilkes-Barre Area

Holy Redeemer at Riverside

Nanticoke Area at Lake-Lehman

Williamsport at Wyoming Area

Wyoming Valley West at Dallas

WEEK 3

Friday, Sept. 25

Berwick at Williamsport

Crestwood at Nanticoke Area

Holy Redeemer at Wyoming Area

Lake-Lehman at Riverside

Pittston Area at Wyoming Valley West

Tunkhannock at Hazleton Area

Wilkes-Barre Area at Dallas

WEEK 4

Friday, Oct. 2

Dallas at Lake-Lehman

Hazleton Area at Pittston Area

Holy Redeemer at Crestwood

Wilkes-Barre Area at Williamsport

Wyoming Area at Tunkhannock

Wyoming Valley West at Berwick

OPEN – Nanticoke Area

WEEK 5

Friday, Oct. 9

Berwick at Hazleton Area

Dallas at Pittston Area

Tunkhannock at Nanticoke Area

Williamsport at Wyoming Valley West

Wyoming Area at Crestwood

OPEN – Wilkes-Barre Area

WEEK 6

Friday, Oct. 16

Hazleton Area at Dallas

Holy Redeemer at Tunkhannock

Lake-Lehman at Wyoming Area

Nanticoke Area at Wyoming Valley West

Pittston Area at Williamsport

Wilkes-Barre Area at Berwick

OPEN – Crestwood

WEEK 7

Friday, Oct. 23

Crestwood at Berwick

Dallas at Williamsport

Holy Redeemer at Hanover Area

Pittston Area at Wilkes-Barre Area

Tunkhannock at Lake-Lehman

Wyoming Area at Nanticoke Area

Wyoming Valley West at Hazleton Area

Saturday, Oct. 24

Holy Cross at Holy Redeemer, 7 p.m.

WEEK 8

Friday, Oct. 30

Dallas at Berwick

Lakeland at Tunkhannock

Lake-Lehman at Crestwood

Nanticoke Area at Holy Redeemer

Wilkes-Barre Area at Wyoming Valley West

Williamsport at Hazleton Area

Wyoming Area at Pittston Area