PIAA Playoffs: Previews for District 11 football in the Poconos

Micaela Hood, Pocono Record
·2 min read

It's time to root for your home teams!

It's playoff season, which means an extra week of games for three Monroe County football teams: Pleasant Valley, Stroudsburg and Pocono Mountain West.

Here's a preview of the local teams playing at 7 p.m. on Friday in Brodheadsville and in Lehigh Valley.

Class 5A: No. 3 Whitehall at No. 2 Pleasant Valley

A 14-13 win in the last regular finale secured Pleasant Valley Bears a home playoff spot.

Bears quarterback Valentino Byers-Robinson will need to hand off the offense to Fela Olaniyan to open up the run game.

PV has a trio of defensive linemen including Jarod Moore, Leadell Burpo, and James Barruzza that can stop the Whitehall Zephyrs from scoring.

However, Whitehall can control the field with their offensive lineman to create touchdown opportunities for running back Nigel Linton and quarterback Trey Dogmantis, plus the defensive line to stop PV at home.

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Class 5A: No. 4 Pocono Mountain West at No. 1 Southern Lehigh

Pocono Mountain West's Panthers defeated rival Pocono Mountain East's Cardinals 20-6 to close out the regular season, but are still in the last playoff spot in the Class 5A standings.

Southern Lehigh's offensive and defensive lines equip it to dominate over the Panthers (the Spartans ended their regular season 8-2 overall).

The Panthers will need to contain Spartans quarterback Cade Swayer and O-line standout Nick Ventresca from controlling the ball.

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Class 6A: No. 7 Stroudsburg at No. 2 Northampton

The Stroudsburg Mountaineers wrapped up their regular season with a crushing, one-point loss against the Bears.

Come Friday, it will be even harder from the Mounties' defense (players such as Kevin Polonia, Ben Jones and Nate Kloss) to stop Northampton's Konkrete Kids, who completed a second straight 10-0 Eastern Pennsylvania Conference season.

Mounties quarterback Aiden Herman (along with offensive line stars Andre Reames Jr., and Jordan Wilcox) will need to find a way to shut out the K-Kids' well orchestrated defense — if they can tackle through.

If you go: Tickets to PIAA playoff games cost $7. To purchase, go to districtxi.com/news/dxipt

This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: PIAA Playoffs: Previews for District 11 football in the Poconos