SCRANTON — No matter how much time football players spend together weight training, conditioning and practicing during heat acclimatization week, nothing compares to full-contact practices.
Scranton Prep players couldn’t wait to get started.
The afternoon session at Convery Field on Monday was filled with energy and an intense attention to detail.
This year’s group understands the high standard of a championship program, especially at practice.
“Obviously, a lot of guys got pulled up last year to get reps, and I think it is paying off now; we have been working hard every day down here,” Scranton Prep sophomore Chris Paris said. “We are trying to do what it takes to get back to what seasons before held up and just trying to be successful like the year before.”
Paris and Elijah Myers are returning starters on both sides of the ball in the trenches.
They serve as tutors and leaders for an inexperienced group. The linemen were intense and physical, as has been characteristic of Scranton Prep championship teams of the past.
Scranton Prep has a talented senior class. The players have worked hard to keep the streak of five straight championship seasons alive.
Braedon McPartland was a Lackawanna Football Conference Division I all-star linebacker last season. He is also one of the top all-around athletes in District 2, running for 554 yards and three touchdowns and catching 27 passes for 503 yards and five touchdowns.
“We have been waiting for this,” McPartland said. “We have been training all spring, all summer. The season is coming now. We are putting pads on and getting ready to hit. The boys just have to get amped, and we will be all right.”
Liam Haggerty is also a valuable senior weapon for the Cavaliers in the passing game.
He hauled in 11 passes for 201 yards and a touchdown last season.
“I am super excited,” Haggerty said. “We have a really good group of guys. As a senior, I am helping out with the younger guys. With full pads, we can finally hit, and everyone is pretty pumped up. We are all pretty excited for Week 1, and we are ready to go.”
Scranton Prep will be at East Stroudsburg South in a tri-scrimmage with Notre Dame Green Pond on Saturday at 9 a.m. The Cavaliers have a daunting first month of the season, with a Week 1 game at Loyola Blakefield on Aug. 28 at 4 p.m., followed by home games against Trinity and Fairfield Prep.
Buckhorns aim to make noise in LFC Division I
PALMYRA TWP. — Live defensive sessions often raise the intensity level during the battle against the summer heat during two-a-days.
At Wallenpaupack, a program that got a boost in confidence with a season-ending win over rival Honesdale in an Eastern Conference Class 4A playoff game, that certainly was the case on Tuesday morning’s session.
Players were running at full speed, tracking down runners, defending passes and swarming the football on the steamy artificial turf at Buckhorns Stadium.
It brought a smile to their faces.
“We are bringing energy during practice,” Wallepaupack senior running back and linebacker Edward Kiesendahl said. “We are hitting each other. That is the best thing that we can do.”
Kiesendahl is a three-year starter who made a significant contribution on offense and defense last season.
He racked up 74 tackles, nine tackles for loss, two sacks and an interception. Offensively, he had 824 yards rushing and 212 yards receiving. Kiesendahl is a leader for the Buckhorns and celebrated an interception with his teammates to wrap up an exciting practice.
“Right now, we are trying to get a better team chemistry,” Kiesendahl said. “Throughout my years, we have really developed that. We set the foundation for the program for Coach (Matt) Nawrocki in my sophomore year. Throughout the years, we are trying to build a stronger foundation for the kids to know this is the baseline and we need to stick to that and keep building off that.”
Ryan Vargo is also a returning starter. A multiple-time District 2 gold medal winner in the discus during track and field season, the tight end and defensive end likes what he sees from the Buckhorns during the first seven days of the preseason.
Last fall, he had 18 receptions for 223 yards and three touchdowns and is considered one of the top blocking ends in the LFC.
“Things have been going good,” Vargo said. “A lot of contact. I am very excited about the season. A lot of guys coming back. A lot of guys who didn’t play in the previous seasons and actually joined the team. It is exciting to have a couple of those guys back who played my freshman year and didn’t play their sophomore and junior years, and they came back for senior year. That is really exciting because there are some good players there.”
Niko Bowers is also back up front for Wallenpaupack. He showed aggressiveness and had two tackles behind the line of scrimmage during the defensive period.
“All of the hitting we are doing is wonderful,” Bowers said. “These two days have probably been the best time of my life. All of the team gets together, just hitting each other and having a great time. I am seeing a lot of promise; the younger kids are getting on it now. Just a lot of hitting.”
Wallenpaupack will scrimmage at Pleasant Valley on Saturday at 11 a.m. The Buckhorns open the regular season at home against Honesdale on Aug. 28 at 7 p.m.