Football Game Preview: Hazleton Area Cougars vs. Wilkes-Barre Wolfpack

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Previous Games

09/26/25 - Away	21-35 L
09/27/24 - Home	26-0 W
09/15/23 - Home	8-27 L
09/16/22 - Away	20-7 W
11/05/21 - Home	24-3 W
+ 3 more games

Hazleton Area and Wilkes-Barre are an even 4-4 against one another since September of 2019, but not for long. The Cougars will venture away from home to square off against the Wolfpack at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Hazleton Area has now lost seven straight, leaving the team hunting for their first win since September 5.

Hazleton Area is headed into the game out to prove that what happened against Abington Heights on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. The Cougars were dealt a 44-14 loss at the hands of the Comets. While losing is never fun, the Cougars can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania football rankings (they are ranked 472nd, while the Comets are ranked 201st).

Meanwhile, Wilkes-Barre came up short against Williamsport on Friday and fell 28-21. The defeat continues a trend for the Wolfpack in their meetings with the Millionaires: they've now lost three in a row.

Loss or not, Wilkes-Barre got some senior leadership from JAKE HOWE and KEVON CREECH. HOWE threw for 305 yards and one TD, while CREECH gained 49 total yards and two touchdowns. Those 305 passing yards set a new season-high mark for HOWE. 84 of HOWE's passing yards were hauled in by TREYVON GEMBITSKI.

Hazleton Area's defeat dropped their record down to 1-9. As for Wilkes-Barre, their loss dropped their record down to 6-4.

Hazleton Area ended up a good deal behind Wilkes-Barre in their previous meeting back in September, losing 35-21. Can the Cougars avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.