SCHUYLKILL PLUS SPORTS

New Faces on top of the
Plus Publications Football Ranks
by Steven Young, Schuylkill Plus! Sports

So much so, that we have but only one unbeaten team in It’s over and the champion….
Drum roll please….. ta… ta… ta…
Cougars!!!
How ‘bout them Cougs.
Hazleton Area is the new king in the Final Schuylkill Plus Football Poll for 2007.
It was the finest season in the history of the jointure, which began in the mid-1990s. Coach Rocco Petrone has elevated this big school into one of the best in the region.
The only time the Cougars were felled, came on Week 1 and on Week 13. In between, it was all Hazleton Area, as it ran off a string of 11 straight wins.
This edition knocked off some of the fabled names in the region, including Berwick, Wyoming Valley West coached by the famous George Curry.
At post-season time, the Cougars knocked off what many thought to be one of the best in the Lehigh Valley, Bethlehem Liberty, and they also hit Easton with a roundhouse knockout punch in the opening round of the tournament in a thrilling two overtimes.
The Cougars take over the top spot that was held by Southern Columbia. The Tigers slipped some in 2007, but it will not last for long, watch this team roar back with a vengeance next fall.
Marian continued to mine for more gold, after it won the District 11, Class A championship, then squared off with our No. 2 team in the Schuylkill Plus Football Poll Bloomsburg.
Our December edition is our final, even though both Marian and Bloomsburg still had a chance to advance and play at least one more game. And the winner would move onto the state finals with two more wins.
Will tuck away the pigskins for 2007, rest up for a long winter’s nap.
And for all of our readers Merry Christmas to all and to all a good season and a Happy New Year.!!
!
1. Hazleton Area (11-2) – Great year; The King for 2007. Roccon Petrone and his staff did a super job. Nate Eachus all-state player; only loss came at the start of the season then at the end to undefeated Parkland in week 13.
2 Bloomsburg (12-1) – Panthers are still at it. New champions of District 4, unseating Southern Columbia. If they got by Marian in Week 13, they faced what many feel is the best of the east, Steelton in Class A.
3. Line Mountain (10-2) – Eagles flew higher than most expected this fall. Eliminated by Bloomsburg in the District championship game, 14-12. Terrific season.
4. Southern Columbia (10-2) – May have been down for the first time since the mid-1990s. This program is the best in Class A; forget about the two losses. Watch these Tigers in 2008.
5. Berwick (9-2) – Bulldogs are back where they belong One of the top Dawgs in the Wyoming Valley Conference. Coach Campbell has put the fight back in the program, not that any was ever lost.
6. Jim Thorpe (10-2) – Another sensational run for this program, and coach Mark Rosenberger. Captured the Anthracite Legue title and should be a contender next fall.
7. Marian (11-2) – Colts have bounced back after mid-season and late-season losses. Team captured the District 11 Class A championship before running into Bloomsburg in the state playoffs.
8. Minersville (10-2) – No one thought this team to be in the running this fall. Coach Pat Mason and his club made a lot of believers. Losses came to Marian in overtime and in the D-11 title game.
9. Pottsville (5-6) – When the season began, Tide had a plethora of holes to fill. Solid job after losing nearly the entire line to graduation and were Eastern Conference II playoff entrants.
10. Mount Carmel (5-6) – Tough team to figure out. Had some solid players, but at times were like a yo-yo up and down. But with a bevy of players back in the fold, could be a noisemaker next time around.