Around District 11 With Pam and Guy: Back Home and New Territory

Tagged under: District 11, District 2, Gameday Hub, News

Guy Smith | October 9, 2024

2024 Episode 22. We only made a pair of games this week. On Thursday we returned to the old stomping ground at the Bethlehem Area School District to see the Freedom Patriots run their record to 7-0, fairly easily defeating previously two-loss Bethlehem Catholic in a city rivalry matchup. On Friday we ended up at North Pocono for the first time ever, which is a story in itself.

No football on Saturday as Guy was covering a race in western Pennsylvania while Pam stayed home to babysit workers beginning a home improvement project at our house. And no JV on Monday this week as we scheduled Wilkes University NCAA Women’s Volleyball this time around. Other events this past week were high school girls’ volleyball on Tuesday, and Evergreen Raceway on Sunday.

We ended September having been to more sporting events than days in the month. Enjoying it while we can. A major pause is looming on the horizon. Pam has bad arthritis in both knees which hinders mobility and has caused daily pain for a number of years. She finally has a date for knee replacement scheduled for November 19. If all goes well, the other knee will be done approximately six weeks later. Seven weeks and counting.

2024 GAME 39. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3. BETHLEHEM CATHOLIC GOLDEN HAWKS (4A) @ FREEDOM PATRIOTS (6A). After six weeks of football, Freedom was one of four of 47 District 11 teams without a loss. By the end of the weekend, they would be one of just two.

The BASD Stadium was our home field for many years when Guy taught in the district. Current coach Jason Roeder and Guy were colleagues on the front lines of public education for a number of years.

The Bethlehem Area School District stadium has dropped on our list of favored stadiums to visit. Not for the reasons that East Stroudsburg South is not very fan friendly for the visiting team fans. BASD has parking, an admission gate, a refreshment stand, and restrooms on the visitor side as well as on the home. But this year, they instituted a no cash policy for admission, even though they will take your cash for any purchases once inside, which seems a bit hypocritical. We do not support no cash events as a rule, but it’s not a deal breaker for us, just a factor that turns our attention elsewhere when there are options.

There was one other no-cash game we attended this year, and that was in Williamsport. But there was a big difference between that one and the BASD. At Williamsport, tickets were $6 and the credit card charge for two tickets was $12 with no additional fee. At BASD, a pair of $6 tickets cost $14.73, as even though processing takes just a few seconds and is all done electronically, they added $2.73 in “processing fees.” Since this was the only Thursday D11 game, we paid it. On Fridays, we look elsewhere where our money is good. Oh, and instead of spending $20+ to eat at the game as is our standard practice of support, we stopped on the way for dinner.

The Bethlehem Area School District has one of the very best music programs in District 11. One of the ways they foster the great high school bands they produce is to nurture the middle school students so they want to continue to participate in high school. One of the ways they do this is to have the high school students interact with the middle school kids. An annual high school band highlight is at the Freedom vs. Liberty game, when during pregame all six BASD secondary school bands march out one at a time until all six are on the field and play together. Tonight was not quite so dramatic, but the East Hills Middle School 8th graders played with the Freedom high school band all night. The same was done with the cheerleaders and twirlers.

One highlight that everyone should see in person is Shadow, the Freedom tee-retrieving dog. On every kickoff when Freedom is at BASD, as soon as the play is blown dead, Shadow darts from the sideline, grabs the tee, and returns it back to the sideline. We haven’t seen that at any other high school. If Shadow sold his own tee shirts, we’d buy them!

The BASD Stadium is one of the largest high school stadiums in the state, seating 14,000. It was built in 1939 by Bethlehem Steel. Not many remember but at one time there were also seats in the end zone, and they filled them all when steel was king.

The stadium is not known for its food selection. At one time they had fresh cut fries at every game, but have not had fries, fresh cut or otherwise, in a number of seasons. They used to have fresh popped popcorn too, but that has been gone for even longer. They did have an ice cream truck on hand and as it was a gorgeous early October night, that truck did an amazing business all night long.

The refreshment stand offerings are the same on both sides. Pretzels $2 (add cheese $.50), Hot Dogs $2 (cheese, chili, kraut $.25 each), Pizza $3, Turkey BBQ $3.50, Nachos $4.

Ice Cream Truck: Ice Cream $5-$6, Waffle Cones $6-$7. Sundaes $7-$8, Floats $6.50, Italian Ice $4.50-$5, Shakes $7-$8, Smoothies $7, Parfait $8, Banana Split $8.

People don’t line up for those turkey barbeques, but Guy swears by them.

The Hawks entered the game at 4-2. But none of their four wins were against an EPC team that currently sports a winning record. Freedom defeated three EPC teams with winning records: Parkland, Nazareth, and East Stroudsburg South. A win against Becahi would be their fourth.

Freedom did not play with the same verve as the week before on the road in East Stroudsburg. At least offensively. Defensively they played great. On offense, the running game was working, but the passing game was not clicking, especially in the first half. Becahi had four turnovers in the first half, but the Pates only tallied nine total points. They did keep the Hawks out of the endzone, and led 9-3 at the break, still a one-score game.

In the second half, they opened it up a bit and built a more comfortable lead. By the end of the third quarter, it was 17-3, a two-score lead. And by the time they had first and goal, went into victory formation and took a knee rather than score again in the last minute, they were up 24-3, or three scores at the final horn.

The Pates have a chance to run the regular season table, although after facing Northampton next they have a pair of one-loss teams, Easton and Liberty, to end the league season. All three teams left on their schedule have winning records.

Becahi also finishes the regular season with three games against teams with winning records, Nazareth, Liberty, and Northampton. We still don’t understand why they played their rivalry game against ACC in the middle of the season.

Freedom is on top of the D11 rankings over three 6-1 teams, two of whom they still have to play. Becahi is ranked third in 4A, behind 6-1 Southern Lehigh and Blue Mountain. Becahi is the only other 4A team in D11 with a winning record.

2024 GAME 40. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4. VALLEY VIEW COUGARS (4A) @ NORTH POCONO TROJANS (4A). How we ended up at this game is an interesting story. We switch off each Friday picking which game to attend. Pam always picks D11 games. Guy tends to look for places we have never been before that has some peripheral tie to our district.

Three new teams with ties to D11 appeared this year. Three single A teams from District 2 were matched with the D11 single A teams for a subregion come playoff time. Those three teams are Lackawanna Trail, Old Forge, and Holy Cross. We had never been to see any of those play at home, so when it was Guy’s pick last Friday, he looked on PA Football News to see if any of those three were home. The only one that was, according to the schedule, was Lackawanna Trail so off we went to Lions Pride Stadium.

Upon arrival, we found the place deserted. Guy asked a kid coming out of the locker room where was the game and was told it’s right here, but moved to tomorrow. We were later told the game was postponed by “cooperative agreement” due to a “schedule conflict.” That was a non-informative answer, but the point was moot. There was no game there.

Immediately we began pondering our options. We had four choices: A) Find the closest D11 game and go there. B) Find the closest game to Factoryville. C) Find the closest game to Factoryville for a school we had never visited. D) Return home in defeat. Haha.

Obviously ‘D’ was not our choice. The closest D11 game was Stroudsburg, and we basically like that stadium. But we would not have arrived until about 7:15 and then would have to find parking and make our way inside. Too much football missed. The closest game appeared to be Abington Heights. But we had already been there last year. We went with option ‘C’ and headed to Moscow to see North Pocono host Valley View.

That seemed like the perfect choice. First because we had never been there. Second because it looked like a decent matchup. And third because it was on the way home, and we had a 5:00 a.m. alarm so we could be in the gym by 6:00 for our workout as Guy had a 7:30 planned departure for the afternoon race across the state in Butler.

It is interesting that we had never been to North Pocono, as it is only 41 minutes from home. There are many schools in District 11 that are farther from home than that. But as we both grew up in the Lehigh Valley, we have always lived in District 11 territory and our visits to District 2 have been few and far between, even though a number of schools are within an hour or so from home. Maybe someday we will try to see all the District 2 schools as well. Either way, we were both satisfied with the North Pocono choice.

We arrived before kickoff, but until we parked and got inside, we missed the first couple of minutes of game. Admission for adults is still only $3. What a great deal to see high school football! We won’t go so far as to say the place was packed, but they had a very, very good crowd in the stands on both sides. We sat on the away side as that seemed a little more open.

We were hungry, and immediately visited the refreshment stand for dinner. This was another larger school with much more limited offerings. But they did have some highlights. First, they had a fairly unique item in “Wing Bites.” For six bucks, we got a large dish of them, and they were delicious. They also had fries, not fresh cuts, but at least they got half credit for having them at all. And they even had fresh popped popcorn, one of the very few where we have seen that so far this year.

The Menu: Pizza $3, Hot Dog $2, French Fries $3, Nachos $3, Pretzel $2 (add cheese $1), Wing Bites $6.

North Pocono had a 3-3 record, but they won their first three against teams with a current aggregate record of 3-18. Next, they lost a pair to teams with current losing records, and a third to a team now 4-3. Valley View’s only loss was their opener to 6-1 and state top ten ranked Scranton Prep, then they ran the table after that. But their wins were all against teams that have at least three losses, save one.

Parking was a bit of a challenge because we had never been before, it was dark, and we arrived after 98% of the crowd had already parked. But once inside, there was a real electricity in the air. Despite having no dog in this fight, it was hard not to get caught up in the excitement of Pennsylvania high school football when it’s played in front of large and enthusiastic crowds on each side of the field.

Although on paper it looked like Valley View had the advantage, this was a back-and-forth game and could have gone either way. Valley View had a long pass that was caught in the back of the end zone for a touchdown right before halftime, and that may have been the deciding play as they won the game by just seven points, 21-14.

We didn’t set out to go to North Pocono, but that’s where we ended up. Very impressed by the atmosphere, and much closer to home than quite a number of the District 11 schools. We’ll not hesitate a return. Feedback always welcome at RTRYFBAR@AOL.COM.

DISTRICT 11 TOP RATED TEAMS. 1A) Lackawanna Trail (D2 Subregion team). The top ranked true D11 team is Nativity BVM in 2nd. 2A) Williams Valley. 3A) Northwestern Lehigh replaces Tamaqua. 4A) Southern Lehigh. 5A) East Stroudsburg South. 6A) Freedom replaces Liberty.

DISTRICT 11 UNDEFEATED TEAMS (7 GAMES). Freedom (6A), Northwestern Lehigh (3A). After seven games, only two of 47 teams are unbeaten, as Liberty and Tamaqua both lost their first last week. Five teams are still winless.

PA FOOTBALL NEWS D11 STATE RANKED TOP 10 TEAMS

One of our District 11 teams appears to have been overlooked by the committee. The Easton Red Rovers are 6-1, and have a higher rating in D11 than both Liberty and Parkland. Liberty and Parkland have both been voted Honorable Mention status in the state rankings, but not the Rovers who sit above them both.

Our positive mover this week was Notre Dame, up from HM to 10th.

1. Northwestern Lehigh (3A–Same)
6. Lackawanna Trail (1A—D2 in Subregion with D11, Same)
6. Freedom (6A—Same)
6. Schuylkill Haven (2A—Same)
9. Williams Valley (2A—Same
10. Notre Dame Green Pond (3A—Up, was HM),
HM. Parkland (6A—Same), Liberty (6A—Same), Nativity BVM (1A—Same)

Out: Tamaqua (3A–was 9th)

One interesting item to note is that as of now, Dieruff is leading for a position in the Eastern Football Conference 5A/6A championship game. Things can certainly change with three games to go, but if the season ended now, Dieruff would play Governor Mifflin, who hosted last year’s Big School championship, losing to another District 11 team, Pleasant Valley, who are currently in a district playoff position despite being 0-7. How’s that work?

GUY & PAM BLOG ERA TEAM SCORECARD
(Addition: None This Week)

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

7. 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)

8. D11 Related–Special Events, Sub-Regional, or Former EPC Teams (2021-). Easton vs. Phillipsburg @ Lafayette College (Thanksgiving Day Game), New Hope-Solebury Lions: D1-3A (Sub Regional), Abington Heights Comets: D2-5A (Sub Regional), Wyoming Valley West Spartans: D2-5A (Sub Regional), Hazleton Cougars: D2-6A (Sub Regional), Wilkes Barre Wolfpack: D2-6A (Sub Regional), Williamsport Millionaires D4-6A (Sub Regional) Phillipsburg Stateliners (Former EPC).

6. 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).

8. 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)

11. 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).

7. 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)

14. 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)

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

CURRENT TOTAL: 110

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), North Pocono Trojans

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