#2 North Penn Panthers ( '11 Prediction 8-3)

Dehaven to Stiner.
      That was a fun and exciting new combination in the NTL last season, wasn't it? Best part about it is, they will have one more year with that combination. North Penn has been a team on the rise the past decade. The Panther's only blemish last season was an October loss in Towanda 28-7, besides that, perfect in the regular season. North Penn has had a few solid teams the past few years and this next season looks no different to me. Watch out NTL, Dehaven to Stiner lives on! Atleast one more year that is. And don't forget about that Panther rushing attack (200 ypg in '10).

THE GOOD: Specialist. A good quarterback (Dehaven) , scat back (Delgado), and a good Mr. Everything (Stiner). It looks safe to say that North Penn will be just fine on offense in '11. Dehaven had the best quarterback TD/INT ratio in '10 with 22/4. That is pretty darn good. He has recievers to throw to, he can run, and he has running backs to take the pressure off of him. Ding Ding!

THE BAD: Defense. It's not terrible, but it can improve. North Penn was statistically in the middle of the pack on defense in '10. They looked good vs bad teams, and bad vs good teams. They allowed 28 to Towanda, 45 to Mount Carmal, and 31 to Milton. The North Penn offense is ready, now the D needs to give them the ball. A few losses on the line and Dinger at backer will also hurt.

THE UGLY: Playing for the NTL Championship vs Towanda. The fact that they are playing Towanda isn't entirely it, it's just where. North Penn has had plenty of success vs Towanda playing in Towanda. Not so much in North Penn. It has been over a decade since North Penn has defeated Towanda on their home turf. The last five have been tough losses. Total scores of those games? 153-60.

LAST COMMENT: North Penn will have a very experienced team, and will have another successful season. I have them in at 8-2 and right around the #4 or #5 spot in the District 4 bracket. I have them falling in their first game vs the reciprical in that match-up. Big numbers on offense, middle of the pack again on defense. Will play home vs Towanda on Sept. 23rd for the NTL title.

#3 Athens Wildcats ( '11 Prediction 5-6)

One step at a time!
        Athens had their first losing season in almost a decade in '10 at 3-7. The Wildcats are a young, quick, and athletic team. Like Troy and the Oldroyds, Athens was without a Raupers at QB last season, you didn't see that much the last what? decade? 2010 was undoubtably a rebuilding year for the young cats. However, Athens does have a core group of youngsters who are great athletes and will only improve as they gain experience. Casey Shiposh had an excellent season last year rushing for more then 1,000 and being the work-horse for this team. He will have even more talent around him this year. Athens will improve and climb to the top of the league again. Give them time people, give them time.

THE GOOD: Youth, depth, and an easy early schedule. This team is absolutely loaded with young talent. It's kind of like a farm system in baseball. Give the kids a little time to develop in the minors and watch them explode on the scene in the bigs. These kids are good, and they may be a year away. Yeah, I'm talking about you Wright, Birdsall, Clark and Moore. Team has a lot of depth everywhere, and it's nice to start with Wyalusing, Cowanesque, Troy, and Wellsboro.

THE BAD: Quarterback. Need a little more consistent play out of Carl and Wright. These two have the stuff, but need to work on the TD/INT ratio (4-10). Nick Carl will be the senior signal-caller next year, and him improving going along with Shiposh could be a nifty little one two punch.

THE UGLY: I have been praising the youth of this team. Besides Carl, Schlosser, and Shiposh, the team is very young. That can be a very good thing in the future; not so much in the present. They may be a year away, but it might be another non-traditional year for the Wildcats.

LAST COMMENT: The black and silver will make the playoffs this year. I think they will muster up enough points at 5-5 to lock up a possible eight seed in the District IV bracket. That means a date with #1 in D4. Whoever that may be, that will be a problem. Under Jack Young, the Athens defense is always very good, lights out even. Expect Shiposh to put up huge numbers, Nick Carl to prove me wrong and become a star, and Athens to slowly put the wheels back on the track heading into the future.

#4 Troy Trojans ( '11 Prediction 3-7)

Double Trouble!
      Oh, you must know I speak of those Oldroyd twins Mark and Matt. These two have excited Trojan fans the past few years with their blazing speed, option attack, tackeling abilities, and playoff pushes. The only problem for Troy is that Mark and Matt will be throwing their graduation hats high in the air come June. Double trouble is the term, but not in the twins sense anymore. Troy is losing a "boat-load" of seniors this year and spells for a difficult season for the boys of Alapron Park. Troy is going to have to depend on their run and gun senior signal caller Luke Havens, and some youngsters to step on, in a hurry.

THE GOOD: Who is next to step up? Every year Troy seems to bring a new young stud to fill in the hole of an exiting senior. Oldroyd filled the shoes of Parker, who filled Wright's, who filled May's shoes. Who will step up this year and take the title as the "go-to-guy" for the Trojans? Keep your eyes on sophomore Jed Wright, you heard it here first! Also returning and leading tackler senior Tanner Bulkley. Bulkley racked up 126 tackles in 10 games and will be the leader of the Troy defense. Also, All-State kicker Mason Jones will aid the Trojans on special teams.

THE BAD: Offensive Line/ Running back. Besides quarterback Havens, the Trojans do not return a player who ran more then 155 yards from last season. To make things worse, the new guy will not have a proven line to run behind next season. The loss of co-captain guard Muir and many others spells doom for the Trojan option attack.

THE UGLY: Lets be honest here. Troy loses every single one of their best players next year with the exception of Havens on offense. Marcus Oldroyd was also their second leading tackler on defense. Troy was a 5-5 team last year. It would be a real win for them to get to the .500 mark this year with the players they can field. It may not be pretty for these kids either, their first ballgame of '11, is at Towanda. Ouch! Troy had a decent at best junior varsity team last fall. It'll be tough to top that with the lack of experience this year.

LAST COMMENT: I have Troy in at 3-7. I think they can go as high as 5-5, and maybe as low as 2-8. It all depends on how fast this team can gel as a cohesive unit and win games. Thankfully, games that they should win vs Wellsboro and Cowanesque come near the end of the season. Havens needs to step up, and so do a lot of young kids around him.

Is there such a thing as a 5th year Senior in high-school Matt and Mark?

#5 Wellsboro Green Hornets ('11 Prediction 2-8)

He has Risen!
    Two years ago, I heard all the chatter about a young QB tearing up the ranks in nearby Wellsboro. His name was Ben Shaw. Shaw was the prodigy, the savior if you will, of a low Wellsboro football team. Ben, I can't talk badly of ya, but I can of the Green Hornets defense. Wellsboro's lone win last season came to the demise of Cowanesque Valley 33-28. Besides that, the Hornets were blown out and embarrassed by the rest of the league. Wellsboro has some key players returning, but they need to find some means of defense and the will to win to compete this season.

THE GOOD: You guessed it, Ben Shaw. Hey, stats don't lie. Shaw threw for about 1,500 yards and 16 TD's last season! 16?! Only one with those numbers was "Miller Time" out of Towanda (1,511 yards and 16 TDs). That's good stuff anyway you put it. To speak higher of this kid, he did it with one solid reciever (Callahan) and not much else. Hornet fans, grab on to your seats, he's only going to be a junior!

THE BAD: Defense, defense, and did I mention defense. Oh my, not even Shaw the Great can help this defense. Remember in my last post how I bashed Cowanesque for giving up 396 points? Yeah, well add 98 more and you got Wellsboro. That's 494 points and almost 50 points a game for you non-mathmaticians. Need I say more? Tackle, blitz, do something! Listen to returning senior Travis Johnston (132 tackles), he can't do it himself!

THE UGLY: Ugh, you have a new head coach, you have a thirty man roster, you lose Shaw's best reciever, and you give up more than 70 points a game twice in one year? Spells for disaster, doesn't it?

LAST COMMENT: In my opinion, I think Wellsboro will be a slightly better ball-club this fall. Give Shaw some help and patch up the defense and you have a team that can suprise SOME teams. Wellsboro has a tough schedule facing the best small school has to offer (Canton,Muncy) and Loyalsock. Hang in there Hornets!

P.S - Did I mention he's only a junior!

#6 Cowanesque Indians ('11 Prediction 1-9)

Oh! Those Indians!
    You have to love them don't you? The Cowanesque Indians have struggled in recent years in the NTL. Cowanesque is the victim of a very small picking pool as it could only muster up thirty-two players last fall. The Indians are a run heavy style offense, and a "beef" defense. Last season Cowanesque limped its way to a 0-10 season, and wasn't very competitive in many of their ballgames.

THE GOOD: Yikes, well Cowanesque is losing a lot from a bad team last season. However, the Indians will be returning starting junior QB Trevor Adriance. Adriance threw for 333 yards last season and 3 touchdowns; I guess you can say that is above average at this school.

THE BAD: Defense. 396 points allowed by the Indians in 2010. 396, are you kidding me? The Indians need to make changes on defense to help them in the quick NTL. You just can't allow almost forty points a game and be competitive.

THE UGLY: Did we mention they were 0-10 last season? The Indians best shot this year to win a ballgame should be, mark your calenders, Oct. 7th at home vs Freedom Village (N.Y). If you are looking for an NTL game, best bet is to make the Sept. 16th game at Wellsboro.

LAST COMMENT: There is always a brighter tomorrow! In '96 the Indians were 6-4!

Welcome to the 2011 NTL Football Preview

   It's getting warmer! As the weather changes we can slowly start to turn our heads to what is most important in Northern Pennsylvania, high-school football. The Northern Tier League is always a very competitive league and the upcoming year looks no different. Though the sounds of balls cracking bats and umps calling balls and strikes is still in the air; We decided it would be fun to put out some very, very early predictions for this years NTL season.

  We will format this slideshow/blog with a new team being introduced every day (we will start with the large school division). We will then rank the schools from #6-#1 and give you the good, the bad, and the ugly about each school this upcoming year.

  Again, this is an un-bias site and is just for fun to get us excited for Friday nights!

Enjoy!