__"" TET 9 Football '84 Well, here it is — Football '84! The Dallas Post's first- ever special football edition. Inside these pages of Foot- ball ’84, you will find previews of six area high schools, an Eastern college roundup, spe- cial features, special columns rosters, schedules and lots of pre-season photographs. Dallas and Lake-Lehman, our two Back Mountain schools, have received exten- sive coverage in Football ’84 since the Back Mountain is where the heart of our cover- age area lies. However, you will also find four West Side schools featured as our circu- lation also reaches the outly- ing areas of such school dis- tricts as Bishop O’Reilly Wyoming Valley West, Wes Side Tech and Wyoming Semi- nary. The 24 pages of Football '84 serve as a pre-season warmu to the upcoming football season and will tease you foot- ball fans as you gear up for next week’s first game. Foot- ball ’84, however, will also let you in on what area high school coaches expect this season, what players are expected to shine on the high school gridiron as well as the collegiate circuit. Football ’84 is our gift to you sports fans. It is a special publication into which our staff members have put their heart and soul. Sure, there may be some rough spots, but we think we did rather well for our first effort. Members of The Dallas Post staff would like to offer a round of applause to the coaching staffs of the six area high schools featured in Foot- ball ’84 for their patience and understanding in helping us to meet our deadlines. With practice sessions not etting underway until mid- ugust, there was a certain amount of difficulty in round- ing up all the gridders for pictures and finding time to Interview coaches. We found, however, that all of the coaches were extremely help- ful and certainly did every- thing they could to make our jobs easier. We’d also like to thank our advertisers for the space they have purchased so that we may bring Football '84 to you. These people were confident that we would present a qual- ity publication and helped make it all possible with their advertising dollars. All in all, Football ’84 has been a tremendous accom- lishment for all of us at The allas Post. We put our best foot forward and have presented our readers with, prohany. the best special edi- ion we've done yet. And we're mighty proud of it! We hope you enjoy readin Football ’84 and invite all o our readers to join us in wish- ing our area high school foot- ball players the best: of luck during the 1984 gridiron Season. — DOTTY MARTIN @ Wilkes-Barre Fats DALLAS POST FOOTBALL ’84 DALLAS Conyngham Ave., Dallas ‘Mountaineers’ Blue and White 675-5201 Principal: Dr. Thomas Cypher LAKE-LEHMAN Lehman “Black Knights” Black and gold 675-2165 Principal: John M. Zaleskas BISHOP O‘REILLY ‘“Queensmen’’ Blue and gold 288-1404 Principal: Fr. Theodore M. Marcinko WEST SIDE TECH Evans and Pringle Streets, Kingston “Titans” Navy and Gold 288-8493 Principal: Thomas F. Feeney WYOMING VALLEY WEST Wadham Street, Plymouth “Spartans” Burgundy and Gold 779-5361 Principal: James F. Ferris On the cover by Ed Campbell) By LEE L. RICHARDS Sports Columnist As the 1984 football season approaches, I find it hard to simply sit back and wait for it to get here. So, instead, I've dug deep into my notebook and pulled out the following thoughts: — Syracuse, by far, has the toughest grid schedule in the East. The Orange will square off against seven bowl teams from last year. They entertain Nebraska, while facing road games at Mary- land, Florida, West Virginia and Penn State. — Boston College won the mythical Eastern Crown last season despite bowing to West Virginia and Syracuse, but defeated Penn State and Alabama. Eagles have some rugged opponents and will be fortunate to finish 7-4. They have a trip to Alabama, then entertain North Carolina. They're on the road to West Virginia, Penn State and Miami late in the season. — East will have three cnadidates for the Heisman Trophy in Boston College’s Doug Flutie, Navy’s Nap McCullum and Pitt’s Bill Fralic. Barring any unforseen complications, Fralic will win the Out- land Trophy, Lombardi Trophy and even the Maxwell Award. He could be the first player selected in the draft, too. Flutie and McCullum may not have the horses around them to really challenge for the Heisman, despite being quite productive performers. — On paper, Pitt receives a slight nod over Penn State in the race for the Eastern title. However, the Panthers must solidify their secondary and come up with a consistent punter. The key to Pitt’s success will come if one of the in coming freshmen runners can give them the breakaway speed the offense lacked the previous two years. — Right now I'd rate D.J. Dozier as the best running back in the East. He's explosive and can break it for the dis- tance from any spot on the field. I like the way he can cut and juke in traffic. Penn State is going to have to rely on his running more this season. — The Nittany Lions have a formidable schedule. There's a three game stretch in late September starting with Texas, Maryland and Alabama that will give us indication of the Lions’ strength. In comparing personnel, State has perhaps four or five teams that could lineup and beat ’em head to head, so an 8-3 season is the worst my crystal ball sees the Lions going. — Pitt, on the other hand, has four teams capable of knocking them off. Oklahoma is the first step and will give us an indication just how good the Panthers will be on Sept. 15. They have Miami and Penn State, too. Many presea- son polls rank the Panthers among the top 10 in the nation. My own method sees the Panthers as still having to prove themselves that they belong. — The East has five steller QBs worth watching. Flutie is the catalyst that makes things happen. Colgate’s Steve Calabria is another top-notch performer. Princeton has a slinger in Doug Butler and my scouts tell me he’s a winner. Penn State’s Doug Strang improved with every outing and is dangerous. Pitt's PER aH Tae “RRA RRIF LTRs Ee eal John Congemi has the potential to be the best of the lot. — Here’s some players to watch with All-Star potential: Holy Cross’ Gill Fenerty, Penn State’s Dean DiMidio. — Pitt is the sixth winningest team in the country over the last 10 years with a 94-23-2 record. — Penn State’s record of 45 straight winning seasons is a “lock” in ‘84 as the Lions extend it to 46. — QB Warren Moon will turn the Houston Oilers into a winner in time and perhaps even this season. He’s a heckuva athlete in my book. — Dallas Cowboys are cut above the ordinary, but sorry drafts by Gil Brandt in past five years has done little to bolster sagging team. Brandt has been living off his past reputation. Butch Johnson will be missed, too. — Will Phil Simms in his sixth try finally prove he’s capable of being an NFL caliber QB for the Giants? A losing season and Coach Bill Parcells is gone. — Dotto for Jets’ Coach Joe Walton. He must bank on QB Ken O’Brian, who was selected in draft ahead of Dan Marino. — Please don’t tell me how the Charg- ers are going to be a standout team when their defense is like Swiss cheese with so many holes. — Look for the Saints to be more competitive this season and QB Richard Todd to lead them to a winning record. — I look for Denver’s John Elway to be more productive his second time around. He’s not blessed with a heap of talent to work with either. — The Eagles will continue to struggle. With Coach Ted Marchibroda calling the shots on offense they will be a bit more unpredictable, but QB Ron Jaworski is only an also-ran with his best days behind him. — Why do I keep hearing negative things regarding the handling of the football program at Alabama by Coach changes in his first year which has alienated many of the Tide's biggest backers. — “Once they’ve paid the price. the investment of work and preparation to be good, most football players won't give up easily,” Coach Bear Bryant. — The difference in parity between the pro grid teams around the NFL is so small that the use of ‘upset’ is kind of an obsolete term. — Here's our Top Five Schoolboy teams for the upcoming season: 1-Valley West: Needs some blockers but has plenty of scoring punch. 2-Wyoming area: Always one of the best prepared teams in the WVC. Need some tackles on defense, but will challenge. 3-GAR-Last year I said if your going to beat the Grenadiers, you'd better get ’em now. 4- Meyers: Could be the surprise of the WVC if the Mowhaks jell early. 5-Cough- lin: Heap of new things going on with Crusaders, but there is still some talent remaining.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers