Democrat File Photo Brad Dreher leads Roscoe into the Section IX, Class D championship game tonight at Kingston’s Dietz Stadium against powerhouse Chester, currently ranked No. 3 in the state.

Roscoe braces for Chester

Story by staff
KINGSTON — November 8, 2013 — When Roscoe/Livingston Manor/Downsville meets Chester tonight at Dietz Stadium for the Class D championship, it will be a rematch of a game played earlier this year which Chester dominated, 64-0.
Still Roscoe coach Fred Ahart has optimism for his team.
“We are preparing to play a competitive game and expect positive things to happen,” said Ahart. “We are extremely proud of their accomplishments so far this season. For a first year team to have a 5-3 season and to have earned the honor to play in the championship game is a reason for optimism.”
Ahart has personally watched Chester (8-1) and ranked No. 3 in the state, play three times this year. He and his staff have been spending a lot of time breaking down tapes of the Hambetonians, which lost only its first game of the season to O’Neill.
“From a strategy standpoint, we plan to control the ball on offense and have the time of possession be in our favor. To do this we must limit penalties and turnovers. The real key is defense. We believe our defense this time is capable of controlling the skilled players on Chester's offense.
“We definitely have improved and are much better than the first time we played. In fact, we have won three straight since then and have scored 34 or more points in each of those games.”
On the flip side, Chester coach Ron Stover is not looking past Roscoe.
“We’re not taking anything lightly and they have improved since the first time we played,” said Stover. “We’ve had a very good week of practice. “
Stover who has coached previous Chester teams deep into the state playoffs, including the championship game in 2011, is hesitant to predict where this team ranks with the others.
“I really don’t know how good this team is. We’re going to find out in the next few weeks.”