Around District 11 With Pam and Guy: Thinking Outside the District

Tagged under: District 11, Gameday Hub, News

Guy Smith | September 11, 2024

2024 Episode 18.

As we reached the third week of the high school football season, football was our most attended sport last week. We kicked it off with Reading Fightin’ Phils minor league baseball Wednesday, Marian Catholic football Thursday, Executive Education football on the road Friday, NCAA women’s soccer in the Saturday afternoon rain, racing on Saturday and Sunday evening, then Guy-Only JV football on Monday.

We had an amazing choice of five different games involving District 11 high school teams on Thursday, plus NCAA D2 PSAC college games as well. Our friend Don got the Thursday pick and he chose Marian Catholic, a school we had only visited once before.

Our latest chase is to see District 11 teams play away games against teams outside the district, a chance to visit more schools for the first time, something we really enjoy. A good source for that is going to be Executive Education Academy, since they are not in a league and have a much more challenging task to book a full schedule of games. On Friday we followed them to Central Columbia.

For all of 2024, we have been going to a Monday evening yoga class. Now that JV football is in full Monday swing, we have split our schedules. Pam is sticking with the yoga class, Guy JV football. After Plan A was canceled, he ended up at Pocono Mountain West, hosting Dieruff.

2024 GAME 26. PANTHER VALLEY PANTHERS (3A) @ MARIAN CATHOLIC COLTS (1A). Our second visit to the Men of Marian Stadium. In our first, we saw an outstanding game that ended in OT. This one was a four-score differential shutout.
Marian Catholic has the absolute best program, full of school football history. Did you know that in 1954, Marian Catholic was created as the combination of three separate high schools: Jerome High School in Tamaqua, St. Ann High School in Lansford, and St. Mary High School in Coaldale.

The “Colts” nickname was allegedly derived from the first letter of the original towns: ‘C’ for Coaldale, ‘L’ for Lansford, ‘T’ for Tamaqua, ‘S’ for Summit Hill, and the vowel ‘O’ for the “other towns” of students who attended Marian.

The incredible stats in the book have the school’s all-time records against every school they have ever played, as well as the game results of each individual game. Going into the season, the school has 423 wins and has scored 14,839 points. Of all the schools they have played, the second most wins were against tonight’s opponent, Panther Valley. The only school the Colts have beaten more often is Mahanoy Area, where they are 41-9.

Marian maintains the Schuylkill County tradition of excellent refreshment stands. Guy enjoyed an amazing bowl of chicken, stuffing, and gravy. That’s going to be hard to top for best item of the year. Pam had the bowl-o-meatballs with grilled onions and peppers. We both had fresh cut fries.

For those with other tastes: The Menu. Hamburger $4.50 (add peppers and onions .50), Cheeseburger $4.50 (add peppers and onions .50), Hot Dog $2.00, Chicken Fingers $5.00. Chicken Fingers & Fries $8.00 (add cheese .50), Chicken & Stuffing $5.00, Fries $4.00 (add cheese .50), Pierogies $4.00., Sausage & Peppers $6.00, Pizza $3.00, Walking Taco $4.00, Snacks/Candy/Drinks $1.00 – $2.00. Specials: Mac & Cheese $3.00, Bowl O Meatballs $4.00, Pasta Salad $3.00, Fries & Pulled Pork $6.00 (add cheese .50).

Fan quote of the game: “Why do we have to stand for the other school’s alma mater?” Oh, brother. How about sportsmanship, respect, principles, etc.?

For a 1A school, they had a nice turnout of spectators. Unfortunately, it wasn’t much of a game. Panther Valley had nothing for them on offense, and the final was 27-0. Interesting stats: In three games for Marian, all have been shutouts. They shut out winless Hanover Area and Panther Valley, and were shutout by unbeaten Tri-Valley. Panther Valley on the other hand has been outscored 112-6 in three games, none against unbeaten teams.

2024 GAME 27. EXECUTIVE EDUCATION ACADEMY RAPTORS (2A) @ CENTRAL COLUMBIA BLUE JAYS (3A). We have been to this stadium twice before, but time to make it official with D11 related high school football. Our first visit was for girls’ soccer, the second for the GEFA 8-man semi-pro football Kickoff Classic.

A family friend’s son is the Blue Jays kicker, so we promised to attend a game at some point anyway. What better time than when a D11 team comes to town?

This is another school with an outstanding refreshment stand. More accurately, two outstanding refreshment stands. The main stand on the home side offered the following: French Fries $4.00 (large $6.00), Chicken Fingers $6.00, Chicken Finger Basket $9.00, Mozzarella Sticks $4.00, Walking Taco $5.00, Pierogies $3.00, Nachos with Cheese $3.00, Buffalo Chicken Dip $4.00, Hot Dogs $2.00, Mac & Cheese $3.00, Soft Pretzels $5.00 (add cheese .50), Halushki $4.00, Pickles/Drinks/Chips/Candy $1.00-$2.00.

On the visitor side is the band stand. They offered: Hamburger $4.00, Cheeseburger $5.00, Hot Dog $3.00 (add chili or kraut .50), Cheesesteak $6.00, Hot Sausage $5.00, Fries $3 (large $5, add cheese $1.00), Pizza $3.00, Pierogies $3.00, Chili $3.00, Soup $3.00, Mac & Cheese $3.00, Blue Jay Special $4.00, Buffalo Dip $4, Meatball Sub $5.00, Nachos $4.00, Soft Pretzel $5.00 (add cheese .50), Drinks $2.00-$3.00.

Fries were darn good, but the highlight was the excellent chili. It was so good Guy abandoned the usual practice of trying as many different items as possible, and doubled up on the chili.

Central Columbia has an excellent band and an enthusiastic student section. The turnout on the home side was excellent. Not unexpected, the visitor turnout was small, as it’s a three-hour roundtrip from Allentown to Bloomsburg and back home.

This was not an entertaining game to watch. Sloppy play, an extremely ugly number of penalties, and officials huddling to discuss them. The result was a game that should have gone fast (since the Blue Jays seldom passed) that again clocked in at nearly three hours. The college game played the night before across town, with 15-minute quarters, was played in less time than this high school game with 12-minute quarters. When we were students our games started at 7:30 and were always over before 10:00. Now games start at 7:00 and sometimes finish after 10:00. Something needs to be done to speed up a lot of these high school games.

Credit to the Executive players’ fathers. At that school, they stress personal responsibility and accountability. With yellow flags flying all night long, many fans would have been screaming at the referees with each penalty. From what we could hear sitting on the visitor side with our D11 team, parents were directing their comments to their children, urging them to be more disciplined and to concentrate on their play, rather than directing the blame away from their kids. Refreshing.

Not a game for the ages, but Exec. claimed the win 18-6 moving their record to 2-1. They could be 3-0, losing by four late to Berks Catholic. They have a lot of room for improvement and good coaching, so we expect them to improve as the season progresses. The Blue Jays fell to 1-2, and face Danville and Southern Columbia in their next two games. Yikes.

2024 GAME 28. DIERUFF HUSKIES (JV) @ POCONO MOUNTAIN WEST PANTHERS (JV). With Pam at yoga class, Guy looked for an after-school JV game. The choice was the Freedom Patriots vs. Allentown Central Catholic Vikings at Percy Ruhe Park. That choice was made because Freedom is my team and Percy Ruhe (formerly Alton Park) is a facility unique to the JV games, as ACC plays their varsity games at J. Birney Crum Stadium. Also, there are no lights at Percy Ruhe, so the games start and end early. The JV trend is for evening games instead of after school, likely because it’s hard to get officials for after school afternoon starts.

But as happens fairly often with ACC, the game was canceled, as ACC doesn’t have the numbers to field a weekly JV team. This was the second cancellation for Freedom JV, thus neither of the schools have played a JV game yet.

Guy looked for alternatives, still hunting for the early start games. He found the perfect game with Dieruff vising Pocono Mountain West. This game was attractive for a number of reasons. It had a 4:00 kickoff, Dieruff is a team Guy has had a long history with as his cousin Joe was an assistant coach under Bruce Trotter when Guy was young (Guy played against him as a coach when Guy was a player), and it’s only 19 minutes from home. But probably the biggest draw is that Pocono Mountain West has both turf and grass fields, and the JV games are played on both fields during the season. Love the variety. As there was varsity soccer on the turf field, this JV game was at the grass field stadium.

The games have free admission, and there are no concessions available. It was not much of a game though, as there were more turnovers than points. In fact, the only points were on a turnover. Dieruff fumbled on a punt play and the Panthers picked it up and ran it in for the score. That was all she wrote, as the final was PMW 6-0.

It was a quick game with ten-minute quarters, so after the final horn I wandered over to the turf field to watch the girls’ soccer. The varsity game over, it was Emmaus at PMW JV and that was ugly. Emmaus scored seven goals in almost no time, and with still many first half minutes remaining started passing the ball around and not shooting. That was no fun to watch, so out I went.

Planning on three football games out of nine sporting events on our schedule this week. Feedback always welcome at RTRYFBAR@AOL.COM.

PA FOOTBALL NEWS D11 STATE RANKED TOP 10 TEAMS

1. Northwestern Lehigh (3A–Same)
5. Minersville (2A—Same)
7. Williams Valley (2A—Up, was 8th)
8. Nazareth (6A—Up, was 9th)
9. Tamaqua (3A—Up, was HM),
10. Schuylkill Haven (2A—Up, Was HM),
HM. Freedom (6A–Same), Liberty (6A—New), North Schuylkill (3A—Same), Notre Dame Green Pond (3A—Was 10th), Nativity BVM (1A—Same)
Dropped Out. Allentown Central Catholic (4A—Was HM)

GUY & PAM BLOG ERA SCORECARD
(Addition This Week: Executive Education Academy @ Central Columbia Blue Jays)

PIAA District 11 Schools (2021-). Varsity home games for all District 11 schools that have football. (47/47)

D11 Alternative JV Game Sites (2021-). Seven of eight that we know of for schools that played JV games at fields other than where their varsity plays. Missed a 2021 Nazareth game when they played a JV football game at the middle school due to a conflict with soccer playoffs. (7/7 Active)

D11 Related–Special Events, Sub-Regional, or Former EPC Teams (2021-). Six schools placed with D11 in sub-regionals for district playoffs. Thanksgiving Day game at Lafayette College. One former EPC team. Missing one sub-regional team. (8/9)

All Star Games with D11 Players (2021-). Colonial vs. Schuylkill League, Lehigh Valley Football Classic, PSFCA East vs. West Small School, PSFCA East vs. West Big School, PSFCA Pennsylvania vs. Maryland Big 33 Game, Schuylkill League (6/6).

Out of District State Playoff Game Sites with D11 Teams (2022-) (G) Dunmore High School (Northern Lehigh Bulldogs), Bald Eagle High School (Allentown Central Catholic Vikings), Steelton-Highspire High School (Northern Lehigh Bulldogs), (G) Governor Mifflin High School (Pleasant Valley Bears), (G) Delaware Valley High School (Whitehall Zephyrs), Northeast High School Supersite (Nazareth Blue Eagles), Kutztown University (Northwestern Lehigh Tigers), Cumberland Valley (Northwestern Lehigh Tigers). Made this one retroactive and missed five from 2021-222 before adding this category. They were: 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). (8/13)

NCAA D2 PSAC Colleges (2022-). Eleven teams so far including former PSAC school Mansfield Mountaineers who now compete in Sprint Football. Still have six PSAC and two former PSAC colleges on the Hit List. (11/18).

NCAA Bowl Games / National Playoffs / or NFL (2022-). (G) D3 Delaware Valley Aggies, D2 Kutztown University Golden Bears, D2 Slippery Rock The Rock, (G) D3 Susquehanna River Hawks, New York Jets, New York Giants. D1 Military Bowl. (7)

GEFA 8-Main Semi Pro (2023-). 2024 Eight of 11 teams at home. 2024 three neutral fields: Kickoff Classic, Keystone Bowl, All-Star Game. 2023 three additional home fields. Note: 2023 Wilkes Barre Warriors (The Bog), 2024 Wilkes Barre Warriors (Exeter Panther Junior Football Assoc. Field) (14)

NEW FOR 2024! D11 Teams Playing Regular Season Games Outside D11 (2024-). Whitehall @ Wilkes Barre Wolfpack, Shenandoah Valley @ Columbia Montour Vo-Tech Rams. Executive Education Academy @ Central Columbia Blue Jays (3)

Other. NCAA D1 Rutgers Scarlet Knights, NCAA D 1AA Lehigh Mountain Hawks, WFA Harrisburg Havoc (Harrisburg High School & Palmyra High School), Harrisburg Stampede (PA Farm Show Complex), Selinsgrove High School (PIAA Playoffs), Fleetwood High School Tigers, Scranton Lions City vs. County Dream Game (Valley View High School) (8)

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