Inside North Pocono Football: Season Review and Future Outlook with the Head Coach
By: Steven Abbatiello | SportzWire | April 9, 2026
As the dust has settled on a historic season of North Pocono football, there’s plenty to reflect on—from hard-fought games to the growth of a developing roster. To get a deeper look at how the team progressed and where it’s headed next, I sat down with Head Coach Greg Dolhan for an inside perspective. In our conversation, Coach Dolhan broke down the key moments that defined the season, the lessons his players took away, and the mindset shaping the program moving forward. With a focus on building consistency and preparing for the challenges ahead, North Pocono football is already turning its attention to the future. Below is from my sit down interview with Coach Dolhan as we talked about this past season, how he and the team is feeling and a look ahead.
Q: How are you feeling after the historic season that you and the team had?
A: “We are walking on air. We felt we could be really good, and it happened. I believe in our kids and I believe in North Pocono. We have the turn the page, we have to be grateful for the seniors that gave us so much and the kids that are leaving us, but we have the turn the page and move on to the next season. We have to push forward and honor those players in the program, we have the be windshield people and not rear view mirror people, we have to look I front of us. We are working hard, we are in the weight room and are working hard. We are excited for the upcoming season, but 2025 will be in my mind forever.”
Q: As a fan myself and a member of the community, this team took us on a wild ride. Did that impact help the student athletes in anyway?
A: “You would have to ask the kids, I hope it did, but maybe a small glimpses of pride and what they are apart of. Kids take us on the ride, we are on the ride with them, they take us on that ride. I had so many people come up to me and tell me how great it felt, so I would imagine that the kids that are graduating and the kids that are coming back, it just increases the pride they have for a great school and a great community.”
Q: What would you say was the hardest call this past season?
A: “Laughing” “That’s a great question. I would say one of the hardest was really the Pittston Area Game, We lost Joe Briski two plays in, then three plays later we lost Josiah Gray, so we had to mix it around a little with Cole West in our back pocket and ran it a little with Jaden Taylor. You might think maybe the Prep call on 4th and 7. That it was a call i did not make, it was two players, Chase Zimmerman and Cole West. They Said, coach we have practiced it, you have it, let’s use it. Or the call against Delaware Valley in Overtime. That was another call i had help from Coach Hess and Coach Wolfe, they said hey let’s run this play, it will work. We did it and it worked. With that being said, I trust the coaches, I trust the players, If I didn’t listen to them, and I made the call, things could have went differently.”
Q: As you said the players have been lifting since the 2025 Season ended. Have the players shared their goal for the upcoming season?
A: “The kids that are coming back, it’s human nature, like wow this was fun, let’s get there again. We are as strong as we have been. Multiple kids of 300lbs, working everyday, and like you said we didn’t take much time off, at all, and it was not enforced by me, it was the kids saying coach lets go we got to get stronger. You can’t play the game with out strength, you cant play in our division with out strength or even our district, If we are strong with the skill kids we have coming back, we have a chance.”
A: “We can go on and on, Cole Zimmerman, Dylan Caster, Josiah Gray, Evan Wolfe, the Maguire Brothers, Warren Kramer, I don’t want to leave any one out, but we have a lot to replace, but we have a lot coming back too. How do we do it? the next kid has to fill up, we are not going to be weak, we are not going to be not too much smaller on the line, hopefully stronger. It’s hard to replace this senior class, they had the ability to step up when the moments mattered and they wanted to win so bad. I think that was our biggest strength this past year is let’s win and we have to win. I hope our senior carry that on, it wont be as easy.”
Q: I asked before what is the players goal this season, what is your goal?
A: “I think the goal always for me is need to make them grow as kids and grow as people. We have to push them in life aspects, that’s got to be the first thing we do. That important to me. Secondly as a football standpoint, let’s max out who we are. Whatever that is, I’m not saying it’s 16-0, 13-1, 10-3, I don’t know, but once we get together and get the pads on and seeing what we got. I don’t know what the potential of this team will be, we can not base it on 2025, we have the base it on what we are in 2026. My goal is to max out what we have become, lets due process over result, if you do that good things tend to happen. If you have good players and talented players which i think we have, the result will be what we want it to be.”
Q: What has this year's team taught to you as a coach?
A: “I think patience is the biggest thing you have to have as a teacher and a coach. I owe everything to football, I became a teacher because I love coaching football. I have been so grateful to be at schools like Wyoming Area, Lackawanna Trail, Dunmore, and now here. 14 years as a teacher, That’s more important to me, My father taught me hard work pays off. You work hard enough good things will happen.”
Q: You do not talk much in the way as you the coach, at North Pocono we are a family, if there is one thing from this historic season that you will always remember what was it and why?
A: “The community, you know me, I can emotional, I am getting emotional. What it’s about, what it became about was not just a football team and 51 kids playing, it’s a game. It’s how it creates community, when we spoke to the kids at the end and how we connected a community, the band, the cheerleaders, the parents, alumni, coaches, teachers, everybody. Every game, coach good luck, players good luck, everybody felling that sense of wow Friday night is something. It created an atmosphere and a community that you can’t just can’t find every single year, but it happened. I will never forget looking back at the game against bishop Shanahan, being over an hour and a half away from our home field and turning around and seeing our side of the stands packed. I will never forget the community involvement, the Thursday night team eats we do, the Friday nights, the people after the games, the alma mater being sung. I will also never forget in my heart of hearts how a community got connected together because 51 young men took us on in your words a wonderful ride, that will be in my heart forever.”
I thank Coach for his time and as a community we all look forward to what the 2026 season will have in store.
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