North Pocono Football 2020 Season

The school board voted 6-3 on Aug. 27, 2020, to keep fall sports. Bryan McGraw could still pause them. Football’s first official practice was Sept. 14, and the first game was Oct. 2.

Abington Heights and Carbondale opted out. The amended Lackawanna Football Conference slate sent North Pocono to Scranton on Oct. 2, brought Riverside to Trojan Stadium on Oct. 9, sent the Trojans to Wallenpaupack on Oct. 16 and to Delaware Valley on Oct. 23, and closed at home against Western Wayne on Oct. 30.

The opener at Scranton was closed to the public. The cap was 250 people, counting players, coaches, and officials, and the game was streamed at ssdtvlive.com. MaxPreps lists that game as a 27-0 win.

Riverside won 19-13 at Trojan Stadium and left the sixth-ranked Trojans at 1-1. Sam Smith’s 10-yard touchdown made it 7-6 with 14 seconds left in the first quarter. Riverside took a 13-7 lead, then William Soma found Ty LaFave for a 75-yard touchdown and a 14-13 lead. Ryen Vassell intercepted in the end zone on fourth-and-goal at the 4. Michael Rickert’s 38-yard touchdown with 3:47 left made it 19-13. North Pocono drove to the 6, and Rickert broke up Soma’s pass.

MaxPreps has the other three results: a 20-14 win at Wallenpaupack, Delaware Valley won 35-7, and Western Wayne won 27-3. The year finished 2-3 and 2-2, second in Lackawanna 1. No playoff game is on the log.