On the GEFA Trail—Keystone Bowl XX
Tagged under: Gameday Hub, GEFA, News
Guy Smith | July 16, 2024
2024 Episode 13. After an almost month-long break for us (we skipped the two weekends of playoffs), we were back on the GEFA trail for the Keystone Bowl. It’s not like we sat home for a month, as from the final regular season game on June 15 to the championship game on July 13, we attended two dozen races, baseball, or soccer games.
But it was nice to get back to the gridiron for GEFA’s big dance. Both Pam and Guy are Kutztown University grads, and it’s also always nice to return to our former stomping grounds. We did overlap our time in Kutztown by one semester, but didn’t meet until nine years later.
The defending Keystone Bowl champions, the Lancaster County Cyclones, folded after their 12-1 championship season so there would be no repeat champion team this year. A new champion would be crowned.
GEFA changed their previous playoff format, which would have pitted the two conference champions against each other in the Keystone Bowl, instead seeding all teams together for the playoffs. The top two teams earned byes in the first round, and those teams were both from the Mountain Conference. The Moshannon Valley Vikings ran the regular season table and went 10-0, while the Bedford County Buffaloes lone blemish was a loss to the Vikings. Both top seeds won their semi-final (formerly conference championship) game to earn the right to face off in Kutztown. This was the third straight year for the game to be held at Kutztown University, the only college to have hosted a GEFA game in their 20-year history.
GEFA went the extra mile to try to make the experience a bit special for the players and fans. Besides the chance to play in an NCAA D2 stadium, there were other special activities as well. Former University of Maryland star who was briefly with the Dallas Cowboys, Charlie Wysocki, was the Honorary Marshall. Wysocki has authored two books dealing with his personal struggles. Greg Medina, Jr was recruited to sing the National Anthem. Rapper Sammy Sno was the halftime show performer, along with special guest DJ 610 Problem. The winningest coach in GEFA history, Brett Melhorn, was back to do the P.A. announcing. Of course, the GEFA Ambassador to the Special Olympics, Danny Morales, was on the sidelines doing interviews.
One cool addition to GEFA was the introduction of the GEFA Champions Belt. What makes the addition of the belt interesting is that it does not just pass from one Keystone Bowl champion to the next year’s champion. The belt has to be defended at every single game all season long. A loss at any time will result in a new team being awarded the belt.
Not everything went exactly as planned. They had lined up a pair of bagpipers to play while leading the Vikings on to the field at the start of the game. However, the pipers didn’t show up until the middle of the halftime show. Then they proceeded to play at the same time the paid halftime entertainment was in progress.
Game time was set for 7:00 p.m. so that the game would end under the lights. Admission was $5, a real bargain. They had one food vendor on hand and although offering a limited menu, their skinny fries were excellent.
When the two teams met during the second last week of the regular season it was a Vikings blowout to the tune of 88-48. It’s not often that you can say that a game decided by 40 points wasn’t as close as it looks, but this one qualified. The story was that the Buffaloes were missing key players due to illness. We hoped that was the case and that the one loss Buffaloes would be much more competitive in the championship game.
However, it really wasn’t all that much different. Medina, Nyhart, and company had things pretty much in control from the start, as the Vikings scored on the first offensive play from scrimmage. The Vikes docked the ship early and won again by over 30, up 44-16 at the half with the final being 62-28. Parity is not a viable concept in this league; the Vikings team is head and shoulders above the rest, completing a perfect season. They put up 292 points in their last four games (average of 73), two being playoff games. And that’s with the starters working part time.
Greg Medina and two teammates won their 8th championship as players, an amazing accomplishment. Medina also won another Keystone Bowl MVP. His play as both a passer and a runner is quite simply a joy to watch. I wonder what his all-time win/loss record as a starting quarterback in GEFA might be?
Although hoping for a closer game, it was a good night for GEFA, in their 20th season. They crowned their season champion under the lights at an NCAA stadium. A stadium that had plenty of good seats, clean restrooms, plenty of paved parking, great lighting/public address system/scoreboard, etc.
The championship now decided, this Saturday is the last week of the GEFA season which began back in March. The “GEFA Games” and the league all-star game will be held Saturday afternoon into early evening at Southern Columbia High School in Catawissa. We’ve been “On the GEFA Trail” most Saturdays since the freezing cold Kickoff Classic in March, and plan to ride those rails to the very end. Feedback Welcome: rtryfbar@aol.com.
GUY & PAM 2024 FOOTBALL SCORECARD (19 Games)
Week 0—GEFA: Kickoff Classic (Central Columbia High School, 3 Games)
Week 1—GEFA: Bedford County Buffaloes (Claysburg-Kimmel High School)
Week 2—GEFA: Dauphin County Comanche (Koons Park, Linglestown)
Week 3—AIF Arena Football: Harrisburg Stampede (PA Farm Show Complex)
Week 4—GEFA: Berks County Raptors (Exeter Township High School)
Week 5—GEFA: Hazleton Mustangs (Gene Della Croce Memorial Field)
Week 6—GEFA: Wilkes Barre Warriors (Exeter Panther Junior Football Assoc. Field)
Week 6–High School: Schuylkill / Colonial All Star Game (North Schuylkill High School)
Week 7—GEFA: Coal County Nightmare (St. Clair Veteran’s Memorial Stadium)
Week 7–WFA Women’s Football—Harrisburg Havoc (Palmyra High School)
Week 8—High School: PSFCA All Star Games (Cumberland Valley High School)
Week 9—GEFA: Williamsport Wildcats (Roundhouse Field)
Week 9—High School: PSFCA Big 33 (Cumberland Valley High School)
Week 11—GEFA: Moshannon Valley Vikings (Phillipsburg-Osceola Area High School “Old Stadium”)
Week 12—GEFA: Indiana County Crusaders (Indiana Area High School)
Keystone Bowl—GEFA: Championship (Kutztown University)
On the Spring Radar. GEFA: All-Star Game.
Missed. GEFA: Somerset County Miners, Monroeville Titans (team folded), Bedford County Buffaloes (played one game at alternate home field in Everett). WFA: Harrisburg Havoc @ McCaskey High School (last minute site change).
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