Around District 11 with Pam and Guy: 2023 Annual Review

Tagged under: District 11, Gameday Hub, News

Guy Smith | December 28, 2023

2023.25. Guy and Pam wish everyone a peaceful holiday season and Happy New Year! We always enjoy feedback from readers at RTRYFBAR@aol.com.

It was another great year for Pam and Guy following local football. We both saw 60 or more games this season, with one more still to follow. Although all games we went to were local, we managed to see games in the NFL, WFL, NCAA, PSAC, GEFA, and of course the PIAA.

NFL. We went to one NFL game, to see Whitehall grad Saquon Barkley and the New York Giants clinch a playoff spot on New Year’s Day. The atmosphere at the Meadowlands that day was electric, and we sure picked a good day to make one of our infrequent NFL appearances. Guy’s NFL claim to fame is that he has seen the Philadelphia Eagles play home games at three different stadiums: Franklin Field, The Vet, and The Link. We really need to go to a Penn Quakers Ivy League game at Franklin Field next year, which would make it 56 years between stadium visits for Guy. We actually did have a NISA Philadelphia Fury pro soccer game at Franklin Field on our 2019 schedule, but the team never made it home, folding after a couple of away games to start the season.

WFL. While at the Big 33 Game, we saw a group of women wearing Harrisburg Havoc shirts. Guy went over to talk to them and learned they were a women’s football team playing their home games at Harrisburg High School’s Severance Field. Later that day, team owner Tiffany Thomas came down to talk with us and invite us to a game. We took her up on that invitation, and saw the Havoc easily defeat the Northern Connecticut Nightmare. Another Havoc game is definitely in our 2024 summer plans.

High School All-Star Games. We try to support all six games that had players from District 11, but our busy sports schedule outside of football only allowed us to make four of the six this year. Of course, THE game is “Big 33,” the Superbowl of high school All Star games. We also love the Thanksgiving evening SCFCA game at Schuylkill Haven.

GEFA. We had never heard of GEFA before spring, but when PA Football News started covering their games and Billy Splain advocated everyone to “give it a try,” we did. GEFA plays an 8-Man semi-pro game on a shorter field. We ended up going to four games, all different home teams. The games we went to were all free, and the on-field product was pretty good. The league does have some issues: Too many games are blowouts, there are too many fights, and too much profanity.

We think their biggest issue is volatility. The closest team to us, the Carbon County Savages, dropped out of the league before we made it there. The Susquehanna Valley Bolts folded the night before we were going to see them play. Two of the four teams we did see, the Lancaster County Cyclones and the Snyder County Spartans have left the league. Another team less than an hour away from us, the Electric City Skyhawks, are also gone. A couple of new teams have joined, and they are farther to the west, giving the league a more “statewide” presence. That makes it tougher on us, as we live to the east of all 11 teams for 2024. But we enjoy the games and plan to visit as many of the teams as possible next year. It all begins with the Kickoff Classic on March 23, a triple-header at a location TBD.

College. We didn’t go to too many college games this year, as our Saturday card was filled with high school games or other sporting events. We did manage to continue our “Tour de PSAC” with visits to Lock Haven, West Chester, Shippensburg, and Slippery Rock. We are currently 11-6 for PSAC schools. With so much happening on Saturdays, it will probably take us two more years to visit the remaining half dozen. The only non-PSAC college game this year was a Guy solo trip to see the Susquehanna University Riverhawks play in the NCAA national championship tournament while Pam was at a conference in Boston.

High School Varsity. The majority of our football games this year were high school varsity games involving District 11 teams. The times we ventured outside of the 47 D11 school home fields were to see D11-related teams, D11 teams in playoff games played outside of the district, or the state championship games held at Cumberland Valley.

High School JV. We went decades without going to JV football games, but when we started the blog three seasons ago, we added the Monday JV games to our weekly schedule and had so much fun at those lower-key games we haven’t been able to stop. This year we went to JV games on nine of the ten weeks of the JV season, skipping only one Monday to go to a varsity game that was halted mid-game by lightning the previous weekend. On Labor Day weekend, the JV game was Saturday morning. Our favorite thing about the JV games is when they play on a field different from where the varsity plays. In District 11, there are seven teams that played JV games on different fields, and this year we completed the sweep of seeing them all. The highlight for Guy was seeing Allentown Central Catholic play at Percy Ruhe Park in Allentown. The last time Guy was there was in 1971 when he played youth football on that field at what was then known as Alton Park.

State Ranked by PA Football News. The following schools from District 11 made the final state rankings. Only three of our teams made the top ten. Congratulations to all nine teams mentioned.

2 3A—Northwestern Lehigh
10 6A—Nazareth
10 3A–Palmerton
HM 6A—Parkland
HM 4A—Allentown Central Catholic
HM 4A—Bethlehem Catholic
HM 3A—North Schuylkill
HM 2A—Williams Valley
HM 1A–Minersville

D11 Team of the Year. No brainer, the Northwestern Lehigh Tigers ran the table in the regular season, then won five straight playoff games to set a school record of 15 wins, and advanced to the state championship game, the first time for a D11 team since Parkland in 2015. Honorable Mention to Nazareth, and also to Palmerton.

High School Game of the Year (D11 Team). Taking into consideration that we were supporting the D11 entry, our game of the year was the state semi-final pitting the Northwestern Lehigh Tigers against the Wyomissing Spartans on the drizzly neutral field at Kutztown University. The Spartans took it to our champs in the first half, taking a two-score lead into the locker room. And they got the ball to start the second half. Another score and a second-half three-score lead would have been almost insurmountable. The Spartans got the ball and were driving, but an interception ushered in an almost total momentum swing. The Tigers then scored four second-half touchdowns to one by Wyomissing, who saw their return to the championship game hopes ended by the kids from New Tripoli, who won their school record 15th straight.

High School Game of the Year (Outside D11). We saw some good ones, some bad ones, and some wet ones. But it wasn’t until the second last day of the entire season that we saw what was without question the game of the year: The 2A state championship game between the Southern Columbia Tigers and the Westinghouse Bulldogs, in a rematch of the previous year’s slugfest.

Southern Columbia jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead, scoring on both their first possession and also on Westinghouse’s first possession via a pick six. Then for the next three quarters, the Tigers were outplayed, and found themselves down 20-14. They needed to force a punt, use their final possession to drive for a TD, and kick the extra point. The task was made harder when after accomplishing the first portion of the task, the Bulldog punt rolled to the one-yard line.

Then those gutsy kids from Catawissa and their “refuse to lose” attitude took over and they drove 99 yards to score in the final minute. The PAT sealed the victory in an amazing game. People will talk about “The Drive” for years to come.

Southern almost got burned by being too one dimensional, amassing almost no passing yardage (they finished the game with just 27 total), and taking a long time to stop relying on running counters, and the Bulldogs were doing a great job in plugging the holes for little gain. But in the end, it was being too one dimensional that hurt the Dogs even more. They outgained Southern by over a hundred yards, 368-267. However, when one person accounts for 321 of 368, that can be a problem. But going for two after every TD and only converting once proved to be the difference in the end.

When it counted most on the final possession, Southern converted through the air when they absolutely had to, and Westinghouse did not. What a game!

For a quick mention of a JV game of the year, Freedom traveled to East Stroudsburg South and in a back-and-forth game, scored in the last minute to take the lead and the win.

College Game of the Year. We would almost have to call this a tie, but one game has to be given a slight edge. In the NCAA D3 national championship playoffs, Grove City game to Susquehanna in a first-round game. Both teams entered the game with undefeated 10-0 records. With Pam presenting at a conference in Boston, Guy made our first trip to this stadium solo.

Susquehanna led at the end of the first quarter. Susquehanna led at the end of the second quarter. Susquehanna led at the end of the third quarter. And they led most of the fourth quarter as well. But it ain’t over till it’s over. Faced with a fourth and goal from the 13, the Wolverines QB threw a perfect strike in the end zone with 0:07 left for an amazing comeback 21-20 win.

The story didn’t end there. The next week, the same thing happened in reverse. It was Grove City that lost by one point, giving up the lead with just 1:23 left, and falling to Cortland 25-24. Cortland then went all the way and won the D3 national championship. That’s how close Susquehanna was! Entering the game, the Riverhawks were ranked ninth nationally, and they ended up 14th. Grove City ended in the top ten. No D3 team ran the table undefeated.

The other game was the NCAA D2 Super Region One Championship game pitting Kutztown U. vs. Slippery Rock. An inexcusable error by the K.U. athletic department meant the Golden Bears had to travel. That they did, and they handed the Rock only their 2nd loss of the season (both to Kutztown), won their first ever Super Region One title, won their 12th game in a row, and while being unranked defeated nationally ranked top 25 teams for four consecutive weeks. The season ended the following week in Colorado when they fell to the national #1 ranked Colorado School of Mines. But Kutztown finished 7th in the final rankings, their highest national finish ever in football.

Event of the Year. Not the NFL game. Not the NCAA national championship tournament. Not the PIAA state championships. Our event of the year was the Big 33 game. Big 33 is more than just a game. It’s an event. It’s a happening. The atmosphere is amazing. The game was held at Rocco Ortenzio Stadium on the campus of Bishop McDevitt High School. It has that “IT” factor. If you are there in person, you know you are a part of something special. This has become close to a “can’t miss” event for us now.

Honorable Mention goes to the Thanksgiving Morning 100th Meeting between the Catasauqua Rough Riders and the Northampton Konkrete Kids. As rumors swirled this would be the last, the place was packed and was a nice reminder of what Thanksgiving morning football used to be, not just for these two communities but in so many others around the state. Of course, the downside is that a large 6A school playing a small 2A school makes the actual game uncompetitive. In terms of the enrollment number used by the PIAA for determining classification, Northampton is more than four times larger than Catasauqua (788 to 193) and however you slice it, that’s a mismatch.

Worst Weather Games. The worst weather “day” was a rainy double. In the afternoon, we got soaked by a hard steady rain at West Chester University. It rained hard enough that the band sent only their brass section. By the time we finished eating them, our fries container had to be drained of standing rain water several times. Already soaked, we then headed to Allentown for an evening game pitting Allentown Central Catholic against Whitehall. The rain continued throughout the whole game, not a downpour like at West Chester, but in varying states of light to heavy drizzle/mist. We stepped out of the car in the rain at 11:30 a.m. and didn’t get home until eleven hours later, wet that entire time.

The most disheartening wet game was when Guy insisted on going to Wyoming Valley West, even though it was Homecoming and they were severely mismatched against a very good Scranton Prep team. It started raining hard just before kickoff. They sell a burger and fry combo that they call a “boat,” which was very apropos on this evening. The disheartening part was that Scranton Prep could basically score at will and built up a Mercy Rule lead in the second quarter. We felt that at least it would be a short one with a running clock for the entire second half. But then Prep pulled their starters and WVW didn’t, and Prep lost the needed 35-point lead before halftime and never got it back. Thus, the running clock never started and there was no early exit on this rainy Friday night. Sigh.

Finally, if we are talking about temperatures, the coldest game was the Week 14 Friday night game where Northwestern Lehigh hosted Scranton Prep. It was already in the mid 30s by the time we arrived, and well into the 20s by the time we got home. The strong wind made the “real feel” even worse while we were there. Hey, it’s football. And they don’t call it “football weather” for nothing.

We will be back next week with our 26th and final blog for 2023, as we head to Annapolis, MD for the Military Bowl.

“BLOG YEARS” SCORECARD: 2021 – 2023 (100 / 181 Games)

PIAA District 11 Schools (48)

1-48. All 47 D11 football schools plus a second stadium for Executive Education, who played multiple home games at two locations (Muhlenberg College and Lafayette College) not already included for another D11 team.

D11 Alternative JV Game Sites (7). 49. Allentown Central Catholic Vikings JV (Percy Ruhe Park), 50. Bethlehem Catholic Golden Hawks JV (High School), 51. Blue Mountain Eagles JV (East Field), 52. Freedom Patriots JV (FHS Turf Field), 53. Lehighton Indians JV (Old Football Stadium), 54. Nativity BVM Green Wave JV (High School), 55. Pocono Mountain West Panthers JV (Old/West Stadium Grass Field).

D11 Related–Special Events, Sub Regional, or Former EPC teams (6). 56. Easton vs. Phillipsburg @ Lafayette College (Thanksgiving Day Game), 57. New Hope-Solebury Lions: D1-3A (Sub Regional), 58. Abington Heights Comets: D2-5A (Sub Regional), 59. Wyoming Valley West Spartans: D2-5A (Sub Regional), 60. Hazleton Cougars: D2-6A (Sub Regional) 61. Phillipsburg Stateliners (Former EPC).

All Star Games with D11 Players (6). 62. Colonial vs. Schuylkill League All-Star Game, 63. Lehigh Valley All-Star Football Classic, 64. PSFCA East vs. West Small School All Star Game, 65. PSFCA East vs. West Big School All Star Game, 66. PSFCA Pennsylvania vs. Maryland Big 33 Game, 67. Schuylkill League All-Star Game.

Out of District Playoff Game Sites with D11 Teams (8). 68. (G) Dunmore High School (Northern Lehigh Bulldogs), 69. Bald Eagle High School (Allentown Central Catholic Vikings), 70. Steelton-Highspire High School (Northern Lehigh Bulldogs), 71. (G) Governor Mifflin High School (Pleasant Valley Bears), 72. (G) Delaware Valley High School (Whitehall Zephyrs), 73. Northeast High School Supersite (Nazareth Blue Eagles), 74. Kutztown University (Northwestern Lehigh Tigers), 75. Cumberland Valley (Northwestern Lehigh Tigers).

Pennsylvania State Finals (6). Both Hershey and Cumberland Valley. 76. 1A State Championship, 77. 2A State Championship, 78. 3A State Championship, 79. 4A State Championship, 80. 5A State Championship, 81. 6A State Championship.

NCAA D2 PSAC Colleges (11). 82. Bloomsburg Huskies, 83. Clarion Golden Eagles, 84. East Stroudsburg Warriors, 85. Edinboro Fighting Scots, 86. Kutztown Golden Bears, 87. Lock Haven Bald Eagles, 88. Millersville Marauders, 89. Shippensburg Raiders, 90. Slippery Rock, The Rock, 91. West Chester Golden Rams, 92. Mansfield Mountaineers (former PSAC).

NCAA Bowl Games / National Playoffs / or NFL (6*). 93. (G) D3 Delaware Valley Aggies, xx–D2 Kutztown University Golden Bears, xx–D2 Slippery Rock, The Rock, 94. (G) D3 Susquehanna River Hawks, 95. New York Jets, 96. New York Giants.

GEFA 8-Main Semi Pro (4). 97. Wilkes Barre Warriors (The Bog), 98. Snyder County Spartans (East Snyder Park), 99. Dauphin County Comanche (Koons Park), 100. Lancaster Cyclone (Manor Middle School).

Other / Not Classified (5). NCAA D1 Rutgers Scarlet Knights, NCAA D 1AA Lehigh Mountain Hawks, WFA Harrisburg Havoc, Selinsgrove High School (PIAA Playoffs), Fleetwood High School Tigers.

D11 Related / PSAC Missing Active (8). WILKES-BARRE WOLFPACK: 2022-23 D2-6A Subregion team, WILLIAMSPORT MILLIONAIRES: 2022-23 D4-6A subregion team. PSAC CALIFORNIA VULCANS, PSAC GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS, PSAC INDIANA CRIMSON HAWKS, PSAC MERCYHURST LAKERS, PSAC SETON HILL GRIFFINS, PSAC SHEPHERD RAMS (WV).

Missed for Now (6). Nazareth Blue Eagles JV (Played a game at the middle school in 2021 when the main field was used for a varsity soccer playoff game), Cardinal O’Hara (North Schuylkill Playoff Game 2021), Berks Catholic (Pine Grove Playoff Game 2022), Trinity (Executive Education Playoff Game 2022), South Philly Supersite (Northwestern Lehigh Playoff Game 2022), Germantown Supersite (Whitehall Playoff Game 2022).

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