Hittin’ The Road With Travelin’ Matt – Week Ten (Monster Matchups for Halloween!)
Tagged under: District 11, District 4, Gameday Hub, News, pfn, The STATE of PA Football
Matt Herring | November 2, 2026
Each week Travelin’ Matt traverses Pennsylvania attending the hottest high school football games and best matchups in the Commonwealth. Follow his exploits each week as he documents his journey from Week One to the Pennsylvania State Football Finals!
Friday, October 30
3A #8 Mount Carmel (9-0) vs 4A #8 Shamokin (8-1)
Saturday, October 31
6A #3 St. Joe’s Prep (6-1) vs 6A #6 Roman Catholic (6-2)
ROUNDTRIP – 256 MILES
Friday, October 30
The final week of regular-season high school football is often reserved for rivalries, and none is bigger in Pennsylvania than District 4’s Coal Bucket Game featuring Mt. Carmel vs. Shamokin. For well more than 100 years, these Coal Country rivals have faced off, and since 1951, they’ve battled for the Coal Bucket Trophy. Like many high school trophy game rivalries, the annual matchup represents generations of community pride and local bragging rights.
Once again, the Mt. Carmel and Shamokin communities packed the stands to cheer on their hometown heroes and on this occassion it was the visiting Red Tornadoes that recaptured the Coal Bucket in a 23-7 victory over the Indians in the 75th Game of this storied rivalry. With the victory, Mt. Carmel ended a two-year winning streak by Shamokin and increased their overall record in Coal Bucket contests to 56-17-2.
Check out some highlights from a raucous Kemp Memorial Stadium as Mt. Carmel battled Shamokin…
🏈 Friday Game Day! 🏈
🚨 BIG GAME ALERT 🚨
🪣 Coal Bucket 🪣The annual clash of Coal Country foes takes place tonight at Kemp Memorial Stadium as 4A #8 Shamokin (8-1) hosts 3A #8 Mount Carmel (9-0) for the Coal Bucket…kickoff is 7pm!
Follow for live game updates and follow @PaFootballNews for statewide coverage!
@PaFootballNews @JaylenDelaney6 @ShamokinSports
— CC Hastings (@CCHastings1863) October 30, 2026
Jaylen Delaney takes off and runs 51 yards all the way to the end zone for the touchdown! Mount Carmel takes a 7-0 lead with 9:00 left in the first quarter.
@PaFootballNews @JaylenDelaney6 https://t.co/rI37FNB36W
— Davin Ridall (@dridallmedia) October 30, 2026
Cooper Karycki bounces in from 4 yards out and Mt. Carmel extends their lead to 14-0 over Shamokin 1Q 5:14
@PaFootballNews @JaylenDelaney6 @Cooperkarycki1 @ShamokinSports https://t.co/pqER6AunRr
— CC Hastings (@CCHastings1863) October 30, 2026
SHAMOKIN IS ALIVE!!! Evan Pancher takes it in from 2 yards out for the touchdown! Shamokin cuts Mount Carmel’s lead down to 14-7 with 2:05 left in the third quarter.
@PaFootballNews https://t.co/qCdyMF0lz2
— Davin Ridall (@dridallmedia) October 31, 2026
Cooper Karycki dashes 45 yards to paydirt and Mt. Carmel take a 23-7 lead over Shamokin 4Q 5:17
@PaFootballNews @JaylenDelaney6 @Cooperkarycki1 @ShamokinSports https://t.co/Okmzy6hdWv
— CC Hastings (@CCHastings1863) October 31, 2026
FINAL Mt. Carmel recaptures the 🪣 Coal Bucket 🪣 with a 23-7 victory over Shamokin
@PaFootballNews @JaylenDelaney6 @ShamokinSports https://t.co/0oomqRh6A7
— CC Hastings (@CCHastings1863) October 31, 2026
Saturday, October 31
There are few more historic settings for a football game than Philadelphia’s Franklin Field, and on this day, I was treated on Halloween to a monster matchup featuring Philly Catholic League goliath St. Joseph’s Prep battling Roman Catholic for the league title.
Franklin Field is a 131-year-old coliseum and a stunning throwback to yesteryear located on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. The iconic multi-purpose stadium has hosted a seemingly endless list of major sporting events, including football, track and field and numerous professional sports. Some of these include Army-Navy, the NFL and the Penn Relays, just to name a few.
Here’s a glimpse of the oldest operating college football stadium in the country…
Saturday Game Day at historic Franklin Field as 6A #3 St. Joe’s Prep (6-1) tackles 6A #6 Roman Catholic (6-2) in a District 12 duel…kickoff is 1pm!
Follow for live game updates and follow @PaFootballNews for statewide coverage!
@PaFootballNews @SJPrep_Football @_RomanFootball https://t.co/z8j1xRJrWE
— CC Hastings (@CCHastings1863) October 31, 2026
On the field, Roman Catholic and St. Joe’s Prep put on a show for the Philly crowd as the two city stalwarts battled back and forth and took this one down to the wire. It would be Roman Catholic that would score the game-winner with just 27 seconds remaining en route to a thrilling 21-17 victory. The win for the Cahillites was their first regular-season win vs. St. Joe’s Prep since 1999!
Here’s the highlights from St. Joe’s Prep vs. Roman Catholic at historic Franklin Field…
Max Rogers connects with Jett Harrison down the sideline for a 74 yard touchdown! St. Joseph’s Prep takes a 7-0 lead with 11:05 left in the first quarter.
@PaFootballNews @SJPrep_Sports @SJPrep_Football @Maxwell_Rogers3 @Jettharrison18 https://t.co/gAERC2t7lb
— Davin Ridall (@dridallmedia) October 31, 2026
Roman Catholic gets on the board as Eisa Neally scoops up the fumble and carries it across for the TD. St. Joe’s and Roman even at 7-7 1Q 8:40
@PaFootballNews @SJPrep_Football @_RomanFootball @13upnexxt_ https://t.co/GUS14qmSOg
— CC Hastings (@CCHastings1863) October 31, 2026
Jayden Alford takes the jet sweep 32 yards to the end zone for the touchdown! Roman Catholic takes the lead, 14-7 with 4:48 left in the first quarter.
@PaFootballNews @_RomanFootball @JaydenAlford9 https://t.co/78J4CyTabt
— Davin Ridall (@dridallmedia) October 31, 2026
Jett Harrison hauls in the 41 yard TD toss from Max Rogers and SJP and Roman are knotted at 14-14 2Q 9:49
@PaFootballNews @SJPrep_Football @_RomanFootball @Jettharrison18 @MarvHarrisonJr https://t.co/w1rbUBSA0W
— CC Hastings (@CCHastings1863) October 31, 2026
Trey Montgomery hauls in the go-ahead score for Roman Catholic and they take a 21-17 lead over St. Joe’s Prep 4Q 0:27
@PaFootballNews @SJPrep_Football @_RomanFootball @1Tre_Montgomery https://t.co/GHMxWgSjv9
— CC Hastings (@CCHastings1863) October 31, 2026
FINAL Roman Catholic defeats St. Joe’s Prep 21-17
@PaFootballNews @SJPrep_Football @_RomanFootball https://t.co/Pcs5HunX60
— CC Hastings (@CCHastings1863) October 31, 2026
With 30 games of PA high school football games attended and more than 2500 miles traveled this season, I wrapped up my 10th of 16 weeks and headed home to plan for the start of the playoffs!
Follow along next week as Travelin’ Matt takes you across the state on another PA High School Football journey.
2026 SEASON RECAP – 2728 TOTAL MILES (30 GAMES)
Week 1
Bishop Canevin 40 – University Prep 0
Pittsburgh Central Catholic 45 – Bergen Catholic NJ 30
Westinghouse 20 – Hickory 6
Farrell 33 – Clairton 6
Woodland Hills 43 – New Castle 15
Week 2
Lehighton 35 – Pocono Mountain West 0
Notre Dame Green Pond 38 – North Schuylkill 7
Southern Columbia 30 – Williams Valley 12
Week 3
Pope John Paul II 26 – West Chester Rustin 14
State College 27 – Bishop McDevitt 20
Twin Valley 42 – Wyomissing 14
Montgomery 12 – South Williamsport 6
Week 4
Northwest 76 – CMVT 0
Parkland 35 – Stroudsburg 0
Shamokin 35 – Jersey Shore 14
Milton-Hershey 39 – Middletown 7
Easton 20 – Bethlehem Catholic 14
Week 5
Mount Carmel 42 – Danville 21
Week 6
Pottsville 22 – Tamaqua 0
Mount Carmel 27 – Southern Columbia 26
Week 7
Wellsboro 16 – Towanda 7
Twin Valley 34 – Solanco 17
St. Joe’s Prep 13 – LaSalle 3
Warwick 31 – Fleetwood 13
Week 8
Bloomsburg 36 – Lewisburg 32
Spring-Ford 28 – Pope John Paul II 0
Nazareth 52 – Bethlehem Catholic 49
Week 9
Southern Lehigh 17 – Northwestern Lehigh 14
Week 10
Mt. Carmel 23 – Shamokin 7
Roman Catholic 21 – St. Joe’s Prep 17
Schedules
