Around District 11 with Pam and Guy: Good Things Come in Threes
Tagged under: District 11, Gameday Hub, News
Guy Smith | September 20, 2023
2023.11. This week Pam and Guy again made it to five more games. Our sporting week started on Wednesday with a DeSales University women’s volleyball win over Moravian. On Thursday we were planning on going to see the New Hope Solebury Lions play but that game was cancelled, so we headed to North Schuylkill High School for the Nativity BVM home game. Friday it was Pam’s pick, and she chose Shenandoah Valley. Saturday often means a double. Post Labor Day, it’s likely a football double. And so it was. In the afternoon we headed north for our first-ever trip to see Abington Heights. After a brief stop at home to feed the cats, we were off to Pine Grove for the evening game. Sunday was again planned to be spent at Evergreen Raceway, but they canceled Saturday night on the forecast. So we ended up at the Oreville Kart Club where they completed their entire racing program before rain arrived. Finally, on Monday it indeed was “Finally!” on Monday. After trying all last season, we finally were able to catch an Allentown Central Catholic JV game at Percy Ruhe (aka Alton) Park.
They say good things come in threes. After last week, we tend to think that to be true. After seeing all the D11 teams play a varsity home game, for this year we decided to take turns picking which Friday game to attend, five games each. Right from the start, Pam said there were four teams she definitely wanted to choose: Catasauqua (her alma mater), Shenandoah Valley (because they invited us back after winning our 2021 Snack Bar of the Year award), Pine Grove (because she worked at summer camp there for almost a decade) and Nativity BVM, (because that was our first “new” team to attend when we started the blog in 2021 and one of their assistant coaches was the first to befriend us). Neither of us would ever have guessed that we would visit Pam’s final trio on Pam’s list on consecutive days. Three.
This was our third time to see Nativity BVM play a home game, and all three were at different locations. In 2021 we saw the varsity play at Veterans Memorial Stadium in St. Clair. In 2022 we saw the JV team play at their high school in Pottsville. And now in 2023 we saw the varsity play at their new home field of North Schuylkill. Three.
After visiting every varsity home field in D11, we set out to see the seven we know of where the JV team plays at a different location. We were able to visit four of them last season. Thus, three to go. This year in the first four weeks, we added Pocono Mountain West on their grass field, Blue Mountain on the East Field at the middle school, and ACC at Percy Ruhe Park. Three.
It was our third time at North Schuylkill, all for different teams. Our first trip was for a neutral site playoff game, the second to see the home school in their 2022 opener, and the third to see the Green Wave this year at their adopted home. Three.
It was also the third week in a row that we were able to see Thursday night D11 football: Jim Thorpe, Pleasant Valley, Nativity. Three. And we saw consecutive varsity games on grass fields Friday, Saturday afternoon, and Saturday evening. Three.
GAME 21. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2023. THE GEORGE SCHOOL COUGARS VS. NATIVITY BVM GREEN WAVE @ NORTH SCHUYLKILL HIGH SCHOOL. After the New Hope-Solebury game against Jenkintown was forfeited by the Drakes, we opted for an interesting matchup pitting the Green Wave against The George School, a non PIAA team.
The game was at North Schuylkill High School, which is the home of the Green Wave this season. From what Guy was told, their traditional home field in St. Clair was not available to them this season due to some work projects being completed there. At first they contacted Schuylkill Haven about playing their home games there, but Haven was already hosting Blue Mountain until their new turf field was finished. So they are playing at North Schuylkill, and seem quite content there. A return to St. Clair does not appear a done deal if they have the opportunity. We were told that they love playing on the turf field at North Schuylkill.
We had not heard of The George School before but in researching it learned that it is a very expensive private Quaker school near Philadelphia. Apparently Bill Cosby sent at least one of his children there. Our friend Brad, former defensive coordinator at Catasauqua told us he actually went there to scout when a Cougar opponent was a potential playoff foe for the Rough Riders.
The game had an early 6:00 start time, which was great for us old retired folks. Admission was $5. While North Schuylkill has a nice facility, it didn’t have the atmosphere of the games at the stadium in St. Clair. Both of us raved about some of the homemade food there (especially soup and chili). Meanwhile, at NS, there were no refreshment stands open giving it more of a JV game feel. Nativity brought in a couple of tables and sold a limited menu (like at many JV games), but were out of both hot dogs and Chic-Fil-A before halftime.
The George School was 0-1 entering the game, having lost to the aforementioned New Hope-Solebury. They have a small squad with very few reserves. There were only a half-dozen or so fans in the stands on their side. Nativity pretty much cruised to a 39-8 Mercy Rule win. With the early start and the Mercy Rule in effect, this game was over at 7:45, which was earlier than the lightning-delayed Pleasant Valley game had even kicked off the Thursday before.
Smith Snack Bar Pick—Homemade Green Wave Cupcake for 50 cents. Don’t wait until halftime.
GAME 22. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2023. PANTHER VALLEY PANTHERS @ SHENANDOAH VALLEY BLUE DEVILS. It was the Battle of the Valleys as Panther visited Shendo. Both teams entered the game at 1-2, Shenandoah playing just five days after getting shellacked by Minersville in the rain the previous Sunday.
We looked forward to making our second visit to Shenandoah Valley, which has one of the very best refreshment stands in D11. The variety is tremendous. Guy ordered kielbasa (rare enough at high school football games) and was asked if he wanted his kielbasa fresh or smoked. Now that’s variety! Guy also tried the Haluski and dare he say it, thought it was better than his mom’s. Sorry, dear mother! And of course the fresh cut fries there are also among the finest in the district. Shendo may be 2A, but they snack bar at 6A.
For a program that has been struggling to put games in the win column for the past few years, Shenandoah has a following of loyal fans. They hung in there, but penalties at the most inopportune times really hurt them, and Panther Valley slowly took control and ended with a 39-21 win. The mascot race between the Blue Devil, Panther, and event sponsor Mrs. T. Pierogie was unusual for HS football.
Smith Snack Bar Pick: Overheard while in line—You can’t come to a game here without having a kielbasa. Can’t argue with Skook logic.
GAME 23. SATURDAY AFTERNOON, SEPTEMBER 16, 2023. WESTERN WAYNE WILDCATS VS. ABINGTON HEIGHTS COMETS. In our ever-expanding search for teams related to District 11, for 2023 we have included the six schools that have been added to the D11 subregional playoffs during the past three years, three teams in 2021, and three different teams in 2022/23. Abington Heights, a 5A team from District 2 is the first of the six for us to visit. Do we recall Bethlehem Liberty playing there in the playoffs a number of years ago, before the change to six classifications?
Not knowing any better, we drove to the high school and found the turf football field deserted. It didn’t look like they had enough seating there to play varsity games. So we had to do a bit of research on the fly and learned that Comet Stadium is not at the school, but not too far away.
This one is not convenient for parking, and arriving later than normal multiplied that issue for us. Adult admission was $4, the lowest we have encountered for varsity games this season, all the rest being $5-$7. A very nice crowd was on hand for a hot Saturday afternoon game. It had a neat look, feel, and atmosphere.
The main thing noticed from first look at this stadium is how tight it is. The field barely fits in the stadium, and that’s on all four sides. We entered at the top and both the refreshment stand and restrooms were in one crowded corner at the bottom. That chaos corner prevented us from our usual amount of food sampling, but that may have been the case regardless as our evening destination is one of the state’s elite when it comes to feeding their fans.
We did try a cold sandwich which was delicious. I wouldn’t call it a hoagie as it had no lettuce, tomato, or onion. Just the meat, cheese, and red pepper on an outstanding roll. Perfect for a hot day. We also tried the chicken wing bites which were also delicious. I believe both were brought in from local eateries.
The opponent was the 3A Western Wayne Wildcats. Both teams entered the game at 2-1. The Cats hung around for a while, but the Comets slowly pulled away and scored a comfortable 34-14 victory.
Smith Snack Bar Pick: Salami, Ham and Cheese Cold Sandwich for $4.
GAME 24. SATURDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 16, 2023. NORTHERN LEHIGH BULLDOGS @ PINE GROVE CARDINALS. After the Abington Heights game and feeding the cats we headed to Pine Grove for our second ever visit. It was homecoming and the place was packed on the home side, so we sat on the visitor side with the Northern Lehigh folk. Admission was $6.
Northern Lehigh enrollment dropped them to 1A in the most recent recalibration, and they were a state powerhouse last year, making it into the final four before getting Steam Rollered. This year they are rebuilding, and entered the game with a rare losing record at 1-2. Pine Grove is 3A, but is struggling. They won their first game by three, but then gave up 48 points in Mercy Rule losses in each of the next two games.
Pine Grove has what may be the best band in the Skook. They also have what may be the best snack bar. The fresh cut taters are from Williams Fries, and they are both of our absolute favorites. The variety matches or exceeds Shenandoah. They even have spaghetti, which we had never before seen at high school football. Having also eaten at the first game, we didn’t sample too much. But Pine Grove is the runaway D11 dessert champion with their Bissinger’s Apple Dumpling ala mode for $6.
Pine Grove is another school that struggles on the field but doesn’t struggle one bit for school and community support. Like the Wildcats earlier in the day, they kept it fairly close into the second half, but Northern Lehigh was the better team and eventually hung at least 45 on the Cardinal defense for the third straight game. Final was Dogs 45, Cards 20.
Smith Snack Bar Pick: Can’t go wrong with Williams Fresh Cut Fries.
GAME 25. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2023. FREEDOM PATRIOT JV VS. ALLENTOWN CENTRAL CATHOLIC JV @ PERCY RUHE PARK. The fifth time was the charm as we tried again and again last year to see a game on this field and were thwarted for a number of different reasons.
For Guy it was his first time at this park since he played here in a 120 pound knee high game for the LCYA (Lehigh County Youth Association) aka “Jordan Park” Bulldogs 52 long years ago in 1971. The opponent then was the Alton Park (then the official park name, still the oft-used unofficial name) Comets. In chatting with Pates varsity head coach and former teaching colleague at Freedom Jason Roeder, he said he also played youth football at the field as a member of the Bethlehem Steelers.
There are lights at the field, but they don’t use them. Nor do they use the scoreboard. The refreshment stand was closed. Even the restrooms were locked, a tough deal when it’s a double header. Trying to fit in both a freshman game and a JV game after school at this time of the year can be a challenge.
By Q4 of the JV (second) game, it was getting pretty dark and they wound the game clock to finish before it was no longer safe to play. It was close. The two teams split on this day, each school winning one game.
By finally checking the Percy Ruhe box, we have now seen a game at all seven of the active D11 fields we know of where the JV team plays at a different location than the varsity. Those are Freedom, Bethlehem Catholic, and Nativity at their school. Lehighton and Pocono Mountain West at their old grass field stadiums. And Blue Mountain occasionally at their middle school. If ANYONE knows of ANY OTHER D11 JV games being played at other locations besides the above or where the school varsity team plays, PLEASE let us know. We are aware that we missed one for Nazareth at the middle school in 2021.
For the upcoming week, we have football penciled in on the calendar for Thursday, Friday, and Monday. We always welcome feedback at RTRYFBAR@AOL.COM.
PIAA DISTRICT 11 & NCAA D2 PSAC SCORECARD: 2021 – 2023 (75 of 89)
Varsity or JV Home Game in 2021/2022 with Varsity All-Time 1. Allentown Central Catholic Vikings (2021), 2. Bangor Slaters (2021), 3. Bethlehem Catholic Golden Hawks (2021), 4. Blue Mountain Eagles (2021), 5. Catasauqua Rough Riders (2021), 6. Dieruff Huskies (2021), 7. Easton Red Rovers @ Cottingham Stadium (2022), 8. East Stroudsburg North Timberwolves (2021), 9. East Stroudsburg South Cavaliers (2022), 10. Emmaus Hornets (2021), 11. Executive Education Raptors @ Muhlenburg College (2021), 12. Executive Education Raptors @ Lafayette College (2023), 13. Freedom Patriots (2021), 14. Jim Thorpe Olympians (2022), 15. Lehighton Indians (2021), 16. Liberty Hurricanes (2021), 17. Mahanoy Area Golden Bears (2021), 18. Marian Catholic Colts (2021), 19. Minersville Battlin’ Miners (2021), 20. Nativity BVM Green Wave (2021), 21. Nazareth Blue Eagles (2021), 22. Northern Lehigh Bulldogs (2021), 23. Northampton Konkrete Kids (2021), 24. Northwestern Lehigh Tigers (2021), 25. North Schuylkill Spartans (2022), 26. Notre Dame Green Pond Crusaders (2021), 27. Palisades Pirates (2022), 28. Palmerton Blue Bombers (2021), 29. Panther Valley Panthers (2021), 30. Parkland Trojans (2021), 31. Pen Argyl Green Knights (2021), 32. Pine Grove Cardinals (2021), 33. Pleasant Valley Bears (2021), 34. Pocono Mountain East Cardinals (2022), 35. Pocono Mountain West Panthers (2021), 36. Pottsville Crimson Tide (2022), 37. Salisbury Township Falcons (2021), 38. Saucon Valley Panthers (2021), 39. Schuylkill Haven Hurricanes (2022), 40. Shenandoah Valley Blue Devils (2021), 41. Southern Lehigh Spartans (2021), 42. Stroudsburg Mounties (2021), 43. Tamaqua Blue Raiders (2021), 44. Tri-Valley Bulldogs (2022), 45. Whitehall Zephyrs (2021), 46. William Allen Canaries (2022), 47. Williams Valley Vikings (2021), 48. Wilson Area Warriors (2021).
Active Alternative JV Game Sites. 49. Allentown Central Catholic Vikings JV—Percy Ruhe Park (2023), 50. Bethlehem Catholic Golden Hawks JV–High School (2022), 51. Blue Mountain Eagles JV—East Field (2023), 52. Freedom Patriots JV—FHS Turf Field (2022), 53. Lehighton Indians JV–Old Football Stadium (2022), 54. Nativity BVM Green Wave JV—High School (2022), 55. Pocono Mountain West Panthers JV—Old West Stadium (Grass Field—2023).
D11 Related (Special Events, Sub Regional Teams, or Former EPC). 56. Easton Red Rovers @ Lafayette College (Thanksgiving Day Game 2021), 57. 2021 NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY LIONS: D1-3A, 58. 2021 Abington Heights Comets: D2-5A (2023), 59. 2021 WYOMING VALLEY WEST SPARTANS: D2-5A, 60. 2022-23 HAZLETON COUGARS: D2-6A, 61. 2022-23 WILKES BARRE WOLFPACK: D2-6A, 62. 2022-23 WILLIAMSPORT MILLIONAIRES: D4-6A, 63. Phillipsburg Stateliners—Former EPC 2023).
All Star Games with D11 Players. 64. Colonial vs. Schuylkill League All-Star Game (2022 @ Schuylkill Haven), 65. Lehigh Valley All-Star Football Classic (2022 @ Nazareth), 66. PSFCA East vs. West Small School All Star Game (2022 @ Bishop McDevitt), 67. PSFCA East vs. West Big School All Star Game (2022 @ Bishop McDevitt), 68. PSFCA Pennsylvania vs. Maryland Big 33 Game (2022 @ Bishop McDevitt), 69. Schuylkill League All-Star Game (2021 @ Schuylkill Haven)
Neutral Field State Playoff Games with D11 Teams. 70. Dunmore High School (Northern Lehigh Bulldogs 2022), 71. Bald Eagle High School (Allentown Central Catholic Vikings 2022), 72. Steelton-Highspire High School (Northern Lehigh Bulldogs 2022).
NCAA D2 PSAC Colleges. 73. Bloomsburg Huskies (2022), 74. CALIFORNIA VULCANS, 75. Clarion Golden Eagles (2022), 76. East Stroudsburg Warriors (2022), 77. Edinboro Fighting Scots (2022), 78. GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS, 79. INDIANA CRIMSON HAWKS, 80. Kutztown Golden Bears (2022), 81. Lock Haven Bald Eagles (2023), 82. MERCYHURST LAKERS, 83. Millersville Marauders (2022), 84. SETON HILL GRIFFINS, 85. SHEPHERD RAMS (WV), 86. SHIPPENSBURG RAIDERS, 87. SLIPPERY ROCK THE ROCK, 88. WEST CHESTER GOLDEN RAMS, 89. Mansfield Mountaineers.
Missed (For Now). 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), Williamsport (ACC Playoff Game 2022), Trinity (Executive Education Playoff Game 2022), South Philly Supersite (Northwestern Lehigh Playoff Game 2022), Germantown Superside (Whitehall Playoff Game 2022).
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