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2022 Season recap, a look through the PFN lens (video)

Tagged under: Gameday Hub, News

| December 28, 2022

For the most part, the 2022 season was dry. But a soaker of a weekend left some memories for our staff

The 2022 season has come and gone. Tailgates were had. Concession stand food was consumed. Bands played. Cheerleaders cheered. Homecoming Kings and Queens were crowned. Seniors were honored. Fans cheered and booed. Referees did their parts to the best of their abilities. Athletic Directors scheduled the games, stadium personnel got the fields ready, games were played, coaches coached. Injuries were tended to by medical staffs. Booster moms fed the players. Bus drivers got the gang where they needed to go. And eventually, Champions were crowned. We at PAFootballNews.com would like to thank everyone involved in high school football. Without you, we wouldn’t get to have the greatest jobs on the planet, covering high school football, the players, their teams and the coaches. As someone once said “it’s a tough job but someone has to do it.”

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT OUR VIDEO REVIEW AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE

And did  our staff ever do it! We’d like to take the time to tell you all what our favorite games from the 2022 season were. We covered over 700 games this year in the great state of Pennsylvania, so don’t be disappointed if we don’t mention your team. Visit your schedule on our schedule pages or our gameday hub page to see if we were at your game. Every corner of every district saw someone from our staff on the sidelines at one time or another. We covered JV, HS and College games and even ventured outside the state for a game. It’s our honor and pleasure to do this. We all love what we do. The following is a summarized account from our staff of their favorite games from the 2022 season (we’ve included each game recap link in bold:

From one of our newest staff members, Jared Samuel: Best game I covered this season was the Dunmore at Lakeland D2 2A Championship game.  Lakeland was great all year, Dunmore is a storied team with some history.  It looked like Lakeland was going to dominate, but Dunmore never gave up and the game was never settled until the final 2 minutes.  Great atmosphere, my first playoff game and a nail-biter.  What more can you ask for?

Brian “Hollywood” Ptashinski says “My best game of the year was Catasauqua vs Executive Education District XI 2A championship. Jyhmiek Roman’s 91yd Kickoff return for Executive Education with 9:46 left in the game gave the Raptors a 25-21 lead. Christian Fye scored from 7yds then Anthonie Hunsicker covertiing 2pt conversion giving Catty 29-25 lead 2:03 left. Then EE scoring on a 62yd pass with 3 seconds left Darmel Lopez to Jyhmiek Roman for 32-29 win!

 

For our D11 duo, Guy and Pam, that game also left a mark in their memories. Catasauqua vs. Executive Education for the D11 2A championship at Whitehall. Catty came off several lean seasons and Exec made it to the final in only their second year. And for a little bit of extra interest, I (Pam) went to Catty, while Guy is from Allentown. Catty scored to take the lead with two minutes remaining, but Exec connected on a 63 yard TD pass with three seconds remaining to earn district championship gold. And it was cool seeing the Exec kids staying for the next game sitting in the stands wearing their medals.

For our site engineer, Ed Weaver from Circle W Sports, it was the Jersey Shore & Allentown Central Catholic overtime thriller in the snow in the 4A opening round. It was cold and snowing, typical high school playoff football, but this game was special. Jersey Shore came in undefeated, and perhaps a slight favorite over ACC (7-5). The game was tied 31-31 at the end of regulation in a back-and-forth shootout that saw the Bulldogs erase a 10-point deficit and tie the game on a 34-yard field goal. Shore won the toss and elected to play defense, but ACC’s Caiden Shaffer scored on an 8-yard run to give the Vikings the lead, meaning Shore had to score to keep going. Shore got all the way down to 4th-and-short, but a goal-line stand by the Viking defense kept Shore out of the end zone, and advanced the Vikings to the next round.

Coach Weider says “My favorite game to cover this year was Hempfield’s 17-14 win over Manheim Township. Hempfield scored in a hail mary pass at the end of the 1st half and the opening kickoff of  the 2nd half to take a commanding 17-0 lead. In the Second half Township caught fire and scored 2 Touchdowns and were driving to tie the game at the end and they missed it. Hempfield had beaten there Rival for 2nd year in a row. Ironically Township would get revenge and beat Hempfield in the playoffs later in the year.

Our guy Dan Reed says “My favorite this year would have to be the Clash of 61 Rival Game between Pottsville and Blue Mountain. Why…. well, first of all, it’s a rival game, and since I went to BM up until only my Sophnore year, they’re still my team… the Eagles ended a 4 game losing streak to the Tide that night, winning 17 to 0, made it even more special. Junior(ATH)-Tyler Miller was starting his first ever game at QB and led the team to victory rushing for over 150 yards in first start as the Eagles QB along with Peyton Fasnacht going for over 150 as well on the ground.

Dylan Johnson, our new intern sensation, tells us “My game of the year this year was Interboro vs. Bonner in the state playoffs. It was my game of the year this year because it was the first comeback I witnessed all season. Before that game I’d have never in my life been to a state playoff game. The first time I got to go to a state playoff game was the first time I reported on one too. Bonner was trailing 21-7 at the half and they either had to comeback or home they went kissing the playoff run goodbye. They didn’t want to go home just yet as they held Interboro to a scoreless second half and tacked on 26 unanswered points to seal a win 33-21 in the state playoffs. It was a game like I’ve never seen. I saw star power in Abu Kamara of Interboro and Bonner’s Justin Shepard along with his herd of talented players beside him.”

Nate Grella has been with the site as an intern for a long time. His contributions have become a staple on our site. This was likely his last season with us as he graduates from Waynesburg U: “My favorite game from the 2022 season was the “rain game” in the WPIAL 5A semifinals between Upper St. Clair and Bethel Park. Although neither team made a deep run beyond that game, it was a fantastic environment.

With the rain pouring down for three hours straight, the game was the type of “old school football” that people like to reminisce about. Upper St. Clair ended up winning and exacting revenge on their biggest rivals from a loss in the regular season. The best part of the game was seeing one of the best student sections in the WPIAL, the USC student section, out in full force and filling out the stands despite the weather.”

Photographer Bill Spicher has captured some great games this year, here is his stand out game: A game that isn’t the best to photograph from the sidelines in the weather – rain.
Rather have snow. Hot. Cold. Constant heavy to moderate rain over an entire game isn’t the best. Can do it. Have done it. Most likely will do it again but would much prefer anything but a game where it rains from beginning to end without any let up. So it might be a shock to find my favorite game of 2022 season was on Veteran’s Day 11/11/2022 where Freeport hosted West Mifflin when it rained entire game and at times very heavily. It’s fun to photograph a rain game – freeze water droplets in air around the players. Have fog on the field. It’s different. But yet rather it either rain early and stop or start late in fourth quarter – not for entire game. The reason I pick this game as my favorite – the rain filtered out the fans & left those that really wanted to be there & support their team.
Umbrellas, ponchos, rain gear, & more were out to help keep those in stands or along fences as dry as possible. The “younger” crowd that attended or stayed – they watched the game. They were engaged. At halftime the people in charge of band & cheerleaders told their kids if they wanted to leave they could.  Band could stay where they were in bleachers. Large number left – over half of each group. The few marching band members that stayed for Freeport still played and STILL sounded great. Many of the cheer team that stayed were not wearing any rain head gear and were completely soaked through. Freeport’s (assistant?) principal & AD were on sidelines.  It wasn’t only about what was on the field but rather the entire experience of “going to a game” – all the good stuff that I remember as a kid being there myself.

Phil “Protime” Myers witnessed something he’s never seen in all his years enjoying HS Football. State College 57 Erie McDowell 50 in triple OT!
– Four reasons for it to be my game of the year.
1. It was a hard-hitting playoff game between 2 top ten 6A teams.
2. It was played on a snowy field in freezing cold conditions and there were only 2 turnovers.
3. McDowell scored with 24 seconds left to tie the game.
4. OT games are not that common. Triple OT games are rare. Triple OT games in the playoffs are extremely rare.


Probably ranks in the top five of all-time for me.

New intern Todd Ross was also at that game: “My most memorable game was McDowell State College because it was possibly the best game I had ever seen at any level of football. Both teams gave it there all for every snap. A triple overtime game with 107 points scored is pretty crazy. Also a minor part of it was when D’Antae Sheffey got hurt seeing Matt Wall come in and just his next man up mentality was great. Being able to cover such a great game was a lot of fun and thank you for that opportunity.”

Karlee Feger is an intern in the D11 area: My favorite game of the season was North Schuylkill vs. Palmerton. It was an entertaining game against two very competitive teams. Flail and Mentzer were two NS players that stood out to me and gave off strong energy. It was overall a great game for me to experience and watch!

Another PFN Photographer, Leo Murray, chimed in with his favorite: “My favorite Game was Bishop Guilfoyle at Penn Cambria. For one it was was great game and a big win for PC after beating Central the week before. So back to back Huge victories was nice. But mostly my favorite was because it was a Patriotic theme whee the student section wore all Red White and Blue. And they honored a local Marine at the Game which was a huge deal for him. The community showed a lot of pride and support for the Marine. I have pride in our Military and Love the Patriotism shown by all.

Willie McGonigle says “it’s a tie for me with most memorable game I covered this season.


Game 1 West Chester Rustin-Strath Haven 5A District 1 Semi. Rematch of last years classic. Two heavyweights that ran the wing-t engaged in another epic battle. Games opening kick off was returned 92 yards by Nelson Murray of Rustin from there both teams battled and it took a fumble on the two point conversion on overtime to seal the win for Rustin. This was also one of the most memorable of the year for another newbie to the site, Brendan Riccardi, being that it was a rematch just a year after Haven eliminated Rustin.

The other game was Penncrest Marple thanksgiving eve. Both teams coming off lengthy stretches of not playing. Penncrest jumps out to a 21-0 lead and Marple came storming back. Whole game you had feeling that there was no way that penncrest could possibly blow another lead like they did against haverford but sure enough they did and the win made Marples Chris Gicking the winniest coach in Marples history.

Anthony Franklin said his favorite game was the Neumann Goretti/Wyomissing 3A semifinal “because of the weather elements being so cold windy and damp and of course the final 90 seconds both teams scoring touchdowns and NG scoring last to earn their first state title game berth.  Wyomissing scored with less than a minute remaining and the NG crowd went silent and all signs pointed to them once again falling short before they got a decent kick return then the miraculous catch and run for a TD with 8 seconds remaining to earn their first state title game appearance in school history”.


Another of our great photographers goes by the nickname @sykotyk on twitter. His favorite? Warren v. Girard at Youngsville

“Youngsville had lost their football team. To many schools, their football team is their identity. Friday Night Lights are extinguished without a football team to play them. The Eagles had low numbers in 2016, And that was the last season the Youngsville Eagles varsity team would see the field.

An emergency co-op was coordinated the following season to combine with Warren. The much larger school in the Warren County School District swallowed up any pretense of a co-op, and was much more an absorption. Youngsville’s Friday Night Lights were no more, games at Mike Shine Field were a thing of the past. Until September 9th of 2022. The Warren Dragons’ home field–War Memorial Field–was undergoing renovations. And though they could play host to the first game on the schedule. The next game was certainly looking for another venue to host the game. And possibly the one after.

And that’s when favor fell upon Youngsville. The school reopened their field to the clamor of fans filling the stands. The lights blazing brightly in the night. The hills around town festooned with green, towering over the town, school, field and game.

Little Mike Shine Field was all dolled up and ready to go on that Friday night. The Dragons were hosting the Girard Yellowjackets. The cheerleaders practiced their pregame behind the old stands in the large field. The players walked their way back to the school up past the concession stand and ticket booth brought back to life. The band filling the air with melodic emphasis. The cheerleaders formed a run through. And there was the red and white Youngsville Eagles’ banner being carried onto the field of battle by a Warren Dragon player.

The game itself was great. After some back and forth, the home-away-from-homestanding the Dragons blew it open with a 43-13 halftime lead. Girard would score early in the third quarter to make it interesting. But the Dragons would slam the door shut on a 68 yard touchdown pass to answer. The fourth was a back-and-forth struggle to drain the clock. Before Girard would add on more touchdown. The Dragons would win, 50-28.

But the score wasn’t the point. A small town lives and dies with their football team. And though Youngsville may only have seen a light flickering of the flame that burns eternal; on two weekends in 2022 Youngsville had football again. And that made for a memorable game.”

For our Three Rivers Broadcasting correspondent Alex Fydryszewski, it was simple. House vs Steel Valley

A battle of teams separated by just a few miles played by kids who have competed for the same youth teams in the City. The atmosphere was electric in the stadium the entire night, especially from Westinghouse. It was the statement win for House and sent them to the finals. They came up short, but it was an incredible season and run for their seniors…I have watched these kids grow up every week for 3 years and they had a fine send off to HS football…Their last game in Pittsburgh was their best. The standard is rising in the City League and Donta Green’s Bulldogs are a big reason why.

Noah Stomsky, another new intern, tells everyone “My most memorable game from this season was most definitely Imhotep vs Upper Dublin in the semi finals. Leading up to the game there was plenty of trash talking and especially how UD game out with a “here kitty kitty” sign. Tep put up the 21 straight which UD hasn’t allowed once this year. UD coming back to bring the game into a one score game coming down to a final drive which led to a final play. The emotion from both sides with Imhotep advancing to its second straight state finals and UD not being able to complete their undefeated season. And we haven’t even gotten to the fan section, UD’s side having the entire bleachers filled out while the gate surrounding the stadium had at least two people every 2 feet apart. All the emotion coming into the game and throughout the game made it the most memorable.  ”

Carl Frederick saw a playoff preview game in Week 3, Manheim Township @ Harrisburg

The Blue Streaks stunned the Cougars on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Hayden Johnson threw a last second touchdown pass to give Manheim Township the thrilling win. The game had an electric atmosphere with both teams’ bleachers packed. From blocked punts to big time hits this game had it all. Harrisburg would get it’s revenge in the playoffs.

Mike “Mayhem” Pietrangelo is in the Pennridge area, and it’s no surprise here that his most memorable game this season was in Week 5 when the Pennridge Rams (2-2) took on the undefeated Central Bucks East Patriots (4-0). The Patriots came away victorious 16-13. The teams battled it out in a double overtime thriller that saw CBE’s senior running back Ethan Shine rush for 248 yards & 1TD. He also eclipsed the 1000-yard mark after only 5 games. Brennan Fisher of Pennridge had 175 yards on the ground as well. Game Highlights

Intern Mason Eddinger had a wing dinger of a game for his favorite, one of the best games of the year. “My most memorable game was Danville vs Wyomissing 21-19 playoff game. Wyomissing was up 21-0 at one point, Danville had a amazing comeback in the 2nd half to make it 21-19. And a missed kick to cap it off had Wyomissing sneaking out with the win. The magnitude of the game and seeing D-1 players like Jven Williams and Caleb Brewer made it special for me.”

For me, Billy, the season couldn’t start fast enough! (It never does) Then when it started, I headed to Juniata to see the home team take on Clearfield. I saw exactly 9 minutes of football that night as mother nature played havoc and many games were postponed till Saturday.  As the site owner I usually wait until the rest of the staff chooses their games before I pick mine. So way back in mid September I was surprised when nobody picked the monster game between two highly ranked 3A teams, Danville and Loyalsock. The Lancers were coming off a huge win over perennial power Southern Columbia, the Ironmen were burning up the scoreboard. The game was a battle from the opening kickoff to the game ending interception by Aaron Johnson of Danville.


And because I’m the site owner, I get to pick two games. This one was something that as a writer, you really appreciate. Watching a total swing of momentum from one side to the other is an amazing thing to see.  It was the last Mountain League game ever for Penns Valley and Tyrone. Next year they’re in the LHAC. Not only that, if circumstances played out the Rams or Tyrone could have captured a share of the last title. By the end of the game we knew Clearfield had won the title, but the finish for the Rams was crazy. Penns Valley scored 21 unanswered point to get the come from behind win.

Well, that’s our look back at the 2022 season. Again we thank everyone for following along on our website. We have some great stuff coming up in the off season so don’t tune out! We’ll see you all in 2023!

HIGHLIGHTS THROUGH THE PFN STAFF LENS

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