On the GEFA Trail: Wilkes-Barre Warriors, bonus coverage of the Schuylkill/Colonial All-Star Tilt
Tagged under: All-Stars, District 11, Gameday Hub, GEFA, News
Guy Smith | May 7, 2024
After six straight Saturdays of spring football, our streak was supposed to end this weekend. We had racing at the Chemung Speedrome, NY scheduled for Saturday afternoon, and the Kutztown Fairgrounds Action Track USA on Sunday evening. Throw in racing on Friday night and Sunday afternoon, and it was scheduled to be a 4-0 racing weekend.
But there is no sport fickler to weather forecasts than racing. Chemung cancelled on the forecast on Saturday morning, and both Sunday tracks cancelled, one already day before. Football was back in play.
We looked at the Saturday GEFA games. Had we known of the race cancellation in advance, we would have probably chosen the Somerset County Miners game. But by the time Chemung made their call, it was too late for us to get to the gym for our daily workout and make it to Somerset County. So we set a new plan of a yoga class in the morning, GEFA football in the afternoon, and local racing in the evening. That plan worked to perfection and the football choice this week was the Wilkes-Barre Warriors. Congrats to the Miners for getting the ‘W’ on Saturday though.
With all area racing rained out on Sunday, we looked to the high school football all-star game pitting the Schuylkill League teams against the Colonial League teams at North Schuylkill High School. We messaged Billy Splain of PA Football News, who would be broadcasting the game live, as to game status. Smith: Game tonight still on? Splain: It’s football. Enough said.
2024 GAME 9. SATURDAY, MAY 4. GEFA: DAUPHIN COUNTY COMANCHE @ WILKES-BARRE WARRIORS, EXETER PANTHER JUNIOR FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION FIELD, EXETER, PA. This was our second WB Warrior home game, but first at this location as last year they played their home games at “The Bog,” a neighborhood park in Wilkes-Barre. This season they moved their home field to Exeter.
This was our third time to see the Warriors this year. We first saw them in the final game of the Kickoff Classic, leaving in mid-third quarter with the Warriors seemingly having the game under control. However, the Williamsport Wildcats roared back to defeat the Warriors that night, 32-26. We also saw the Warriors on the road as they defeated the Berks County Raptors 46-34. The Warriors entered the game with a record of 3-2.
It was also our third time seeing the Comanche this season. They beat the Titans at home 28-6, and then defeated the gutsy Hazleton Mustangs on the last play, 25-24. They entered the game with a record of 3-1, losing only to the undefeated Moshannon Valley Vikings.
The Warriors’ new field is not much different than the old one. The parking is improved, and so is the fact that there are permanent restrooms. There is an electronic scoreboard at the field, but it was not operational. Thus, for the first time this season, we saw them using the old school flip chart scoreboard. The board was oddly placed where no one could see it from the home side, and even on the away side you had to be directly in line with it to see it, as it sat behind wooden railing posts. There were a few bleacher seats, but this was mostly a lawn chair or standing crowd. Admission was free. There was no public address system, and no refreshments. No food or drink was a step back for the team, as last year they operated a small table, and in addition there was an unaffiliated food truck parked on the street by the field.
This was a very enjoyable game for those of us that like to see defense and not touchdowns on most possessions. The Comanche looked like they might run away with it for a brief moment, scoring on their first possession. But then the Warrior defense held them scoreless for the rest of the first quarter and the next two. Meanwhile, during that time the Warriors scored twice and took a 12-7 lead into the final quarter. Frankly, the Warriors could have had a bigger lead, as they were oh-so-close on a number of long passes.
But the Comanche know how to win. They took the ball in the fourth quarter and marched down the field to score, taking a 14-12 lead. On the next drive, a pick gave them the ball back, and using mostly runs, ate up precious clock time while putting it in the end zone.
However, they missed the conversion, so the lead was still one score at 20-12. The Warriors had one last shot to send the game to overtime. They moved into scoring position, but on third and ten, Comanche John Stump, listed at only 5’ 9 ‘’ and 170 pounds, put a ball jarring hit on the Warriors receiver. It was a hit so loud they heard it in Moosic and so vicious it almost registered on the Richter Scale. One play later all that was left was to take a knee to secure the win.
It was a very entertaining game between two top-five ranked teams in the coaches’ poll. The Comanche moved to 4-1, atop the Valley Division, while the Warriors at 3-3 are in third place.
2024 GAME 10. SUNDAY, MAY 5. SCHUYLKILL COLONIAL ALL STAR GAME, NORTH SCHUYLKILL HIGH SCHOOL, ASHLAND, PA. We attended this game at Schuylkill Haven two years ago, and that time it looked as if the Colonial League team didn’t come prepared to play Skook-level football. And by that, we mean hard-hitting, real football, playing to win. The Colonial League seemed to think this was going to be like the NFL Pro Bowl. They learned rather quickly that this ain’t Honolulu. This year, they came back to the Skook ready to play.
A Sunday evening high school football game is not the norm, and we would have preferred an afternoon kickoff. But in this particular case, it worked out perfectly, as the day-long rain all but stopped by kickoff.
Admission was just $5. As Pam graduated from, Guy student taught at, and we both lived for over a decade in Catasauqua, we sat on the Colonial League side. We were happy to see the refreshment stand open and offering a full menu, including the famous Spartan fresh-cut french fries. Thus, North Schuylkill has taken the early lead for this year’s District 11 Fresh Cut Championship. There was some question as to whether or not all-star games counted for the fry championship, but the rules committee voted in favor for of all high school games played at a D11 stadium as being league games. The North Schuylkill fries are so good, they may be forced to move up to compete in 4A Snack Bar next season.
After seeing nine games this year played on fifty-yard fields, it was nice to see a game on a full-size field. The two teams seemed pretty evenly matched, and it was 14-14 at the half. In the second half, Colonial scored to take a 21-14 lead. In the final quarter, Schuylkill cut the lead to 21-20, but missed the PAT on a mishandled snap/hold with the wet ball.
After that, the Skook team seemed to lose momentum and even focus, and gave up two more TDs to the Colonial league, who ended up winning 36-20 in an entertaining game that was quite frankly, much closer than the final score indicated. Palmerton’s Matt Machalik was the MVP for the winners, and if they had an award for the player with the most fan support, it would have been Jacob Weaver of Bangor.
Spring football games on back-to-back days, the scheduled racing 4-0 weekend ended 2-2. Games for seven straight Saturdays. Let’s go for eight! Feedback Welcome: rtryfbar@aol.com.
GUY & PAM GEFA 2024 SCORECARD
Week 0—Kickoff Classic (Central Columbia High School, Bloomsburg) (3 Games)
Week 1—Bedford County Buffaloes (Claysburg-Kimmel High School, Claysburg)
Week 2—Dauphin County Comanche (Koons Park, Linglestown)
Week 3—AIF Arena Football: Harrisburg Stampede (PA Farm Show Complex)
Week 4—Berks County Raptors (Exeter Township High School)
Week 5—Hazleton Mustangs (Gene Della Croce Memorial Field)
Week 6—Wilkes Barre Warriors (Exeter Panther Junior Football Association Field)
High School–Schuylkill / Colonial All Star Game (North Schuylkill High School)
On the Radar. GEFA: Coal County Nightmare, Indiana County Crusaders, Williamsport Wildcats, Somerset County Miners, Moshannon Valley Vikings, Keystone Bowl, All-Star Game. WFA: Harrisburg Havoc, High School All Star Games: PA Small School, PA Large School, Big 33 Classic. Folded: Monroeville Titans.
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