First impressions from the first weekend of the HS boys basketball season

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/ FROM KEITH GROLLER Might as well say this now because I will likely say it again come February. It's a shame that Easton, Freedom and Liberty are in the same division because one of the three are not going to make the Lehigh Valley Conference tournament. All three are off to impressive starts. . Easton is 2-0 after beating Pocono Mountain West and Emmaus. Liberty dominated Dieruff and Freedom was impressive in beating Parkland on Saturday night. Derike Chiclana's dunk (see photo) was one of just many highlights for the Patriots in their win over the TrojansParkland-freedom-boys-basketball-14of14 Parkland, despite its loss, remains the clear-cut favorite to win the LVC North. Whitehall had to work hard, but got past Bethlehem Catholic. Nazareth posted a solid win over Catasauqua, but was overmatched by Allen and Northampton has much work to do. In the West, Central Catholic, Allen and Emmaus all look very good. It didn't surprise me that Dieruff lost to Liberty, but I was surprised that game wasn't more competitive. ***In the Colonial League, Wilson is off to a terrific start. I was surprised, but not totally shocked that Pius X beat Notre Dame in the finals of the Jeff Dailey Tournament. The Royals are very, very good as they should be with a Ewing and Marbury playing. Foul trouble for Vincent Eze proved costly for ND. Palisades has to feel good about beating Quakertown after losing to Notre Dame. It's nice that Al Blount and Pen Argyl were able to get a win on the board in the first weekend, although I am not sure how good Notre Dame-East Stroudsburg is these days. Southern Lehigh sure had an interesting weekend with a 68-6 win and a 60-25 loss. Northwestern, losing to both Moravian Academy and Lincoln Leadership, indicates a lot of work to do in New Tripoli. Catasauqua may still have football in the system and didn't play well at all against Nazareth. Saucon Valley may be in for a rebuilding year. And, at least Salisbury won't have the pressure of taking an unbeaten record into January this year. I am headed to Bangor for the Northern Lehigh-Slaters game on Tuesday night to see who is the true favorite in the North Division. ***Ex-Bulldogs coach Rich Oertner must have felt like it was old times when his Lehighton team beat Palmerton. And finally, Pocono Mountain West, taking Easton to overtime and beating Scranton, still has to be considered the favorite in the MVC and one of the best teams in District 11 4A.