Around District 11 With Pam and Guy: 2024 All Snack Bar Team
Tagged under: District 11, Gameday Hub, News, pfn
Guy Smith | December 23, 2024
2024 Episode 33. Just for fun after the 2021 season, we came up with our first District 11 All Snack Bar Team, since one of the ways we try to support local high school football is to eat dinner at the games. Readers got a big kick out of it, and our Snack Bar of the Year champions, the Shenandoah Valley Blue Devils, proudly promoted their title.
In 2022, since we visited far fewer of the D11 Stadiums, we did a shortened version of the All Snack Bar Team blog. That did not go over nearly as well. People wanted the full-blown blog. Our Snack Bar Grand Champion for 2022 was awarded to the Lehighton Indians.
The 2023 version was back to the full blog, and for the first time an EPC school came out on top. The Nazareth Blue Eagles impressed with their variety and organization to bring the title home to Northampton County.
Although Schuylkill County schools dominate the Top Ten rankings, in the first three years the virtual “Golden Fry Trophy” went to schools from Schuylkill, Carbon, and Northampton counties. What school would celebrate by hoisting the “Golden Fry Trophy” in triumph this year?
Of course, with 47 District 11 schools playing varsity football, it is not possible to visit even close to all of them for varsity games in a ten-game regular season. This year we probably went to fewer different D11 stadiums than in any of the first three years.
The schools/teams from D11 we were at for varsity games this year were Lehighton, Wilson, Marian Catholic, East Stroudsburg North, Shenandoah Valley, Minersville, Northampton, East Stroudsburg South, Allentown Central Catholic, Freedom, Blue Mountain, Catasauqua, Panther Valley, Old Forge (Subregion), Holy Cross (Subregion), Bethlehem Catholic, Lackawanna Trail (Subregion), Liberty, Whitehall, Allen, Southern Lehigh and Schuylkill Haven. Of course, all three Bethlehem teams play at the same stadium, as do William Allen and ACC.
Schools from outside D11 or colleges attended were Wilkes Barre, Columbia Montour Vo Tech, Central Columbia, Williamsport, North Pocono, Wilkes University, Shamokin, Berwick, Central Bucks West, Villanova University, Cumberland Valley and Susquehanna University.
Notice that last year’s champion, Nazareth, is not on the list this year. Sadly, we did not make it to see the Blue Eagles play this season.
We were asked if we thought it fair to rank school snack bars and claim some are better than others, and since it was just our opinion, and if that was fair to those not mentioned. Of course. Some ARE better than others. A lot better. The teams themselves are ranked weekly during the season by PA Football News. No reason not to celebrate the best refreshment stand operations as well.
Of course, this is all for fun and not meant to step on anyone’s sloppy joes. Obviously, everyone’s tastes are different. This blog reflects ours. Snack bars earn bonus points for having fresh cut fries, fresh popped popcorn, and outdoor grills. And away we go.
Best Burger. There are only a few teams we go to see that a burger is a “must buy” item. We usually look for something more unique to sample whenever possible. Three places where burgers are a must are Panther Valley, Schuylkill Haven, and Blue Mountain. In a close call between the three, the edge goes to the “Screamin’ Eagle burger at Blue Mountain. If you include the college games, the burger at Wilkes University topped them all.
Best Dog. The best dog was at Susquehanna University, but for D11, Panther Valley comes back from the narrow burger defeat to claim the hot dog title.
Best Cylindrical Roll Sandwich (Non-Hot Dog). The Kielbasa at Shenandoah Valley is always a winner, but we didn’t have a lot in this category this year as we are trying to cut back on too much bread. If you include the stadiums outside of D11, the porketta sandwich at Berwick blows them all away by double digits.
Best BBQ. Last year’s champ was not back to defend their title. The Catasauqua band parents stand won the BBQ gold medal last year with a double threat of both pork and hamburger. But when we went there this year no barbeques were available, forcing us to go with the “recruit” from Chik-Fil-A. Minersville, with so many delicious options, had such good barbeque that Guy went back for a second helping. Former champ BASD turkey BBQ definitely had an up and down year, with the product very inconsistent from one visit to another. You don’t win snack bar awards that way.
Best Fresh Cut Fries. The 6A of snack bar foods. This was a down year, not for the fries but for us as we didn’t go to stadiums that have some of our favorites. The undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, Williams Fries, are found at Williams Valley, Tri-Valley, and Pine Grove. Sadly, we did not make it to any of those three schools, which are located at the far end of D11 territory for us, this year. We went to Whitehall, but no Island Expressions this time. We didn’t make it to Northern Lehigh this year and missed out on Jackie’s. Nor did we cross paths with Phil’s. Since the state finals are no longer at Hershey, we no longer get Bricker’s, the only truck that can cover the spread against Williams. Perennial favorites at permanent stands, as opposed to trucks, are Tamaqua, Nazareth, North Schuylkill, Mahanoy, and Jim Thorpe. We attended none of those either. Wilson added fresh cut fries last season, but they were gone already by this year’s visit. This year’s winners are Smitty’s at Panther Valley in the truck category, and Marian Catholic in the refreshment stand category. Outside of D11, Jackie’s (I don’t think it’s the same Jackie as at Slatington) at Columbia Montour Vo Tech, was best of show.
Best French Fries (Non-Fresh Cut). The fries at the Allentown School District (JBC) stadium are our favorites in this category, but they are also among, if not the most, expensive. At the state championships, Cumberland Valley does a nice job too. Villanova had Chickie and Pete’s crab fries, but at $15 for a small cup, didn’t seem a prudent investment. And chicken was another $15 so chicken and fries were $30. Hard pass.
Best Non-Fried Potatoes. Any easy choice here: Lehighton filling and gravy over Panther Valley stuffing and gravy. Panther Valley grabs two of the podium spots with their baked potato in third place. Marian Catholic had a similar item as the winner, but it technically fits into another category, or it would have beat them all.
Best Cold Sub. No winners this season. We did not have any cold subs at any of the games.
Best Salad. New category this year on a probationary basis. On a hot afternoon early in the season, we tried the pasta salad at Columbia Montour Vo Tech, which was just two bucks. A nice alternative to hot food on a day that was so hot they ran out of water and the sugary drinks were all warm because they couldn’t chill them fast enough.
Best Soup. Soups seemed to more popular this year, and we did not make it to last year’s soup champ Tamaqua. But one soup stood out as not only the best soup of the season but was definitely in the top three of all food items. That was the ham and bean soup at Shenandoah Valley. Outside of D11, you can’t go wrong with the pot pie at Shamokin.
Best “Other” Side. Guy never eats macaroni and cheese at football games, Pam usually does. Pam made the call for this one and was happy to give the Wilson Warriors at least one win this season, for their mac & cheese. Outside of D11, we were impressed by the excellent buffalo chicken bites at North Pocono.
Best Chili. There were a LOT of really good chilis this year. And we tried most all of them, while as mentioned, trying to cut back on our bread consumption. In D11, it would be hard to beat the chili at Schuylkill Haven. Real hard. But if any place did, it would be outside the district at Central Columbia where we traveled to see Executive Education take on the Blue Jays.
Best Mexican. We had this category in 2022 but removed it last year as we had sampled no examples during the season. This year it’s back, but only outside of D11 as we had some good empanadas when following Whitehall to Wilkes Barre.
Best Pizza. Not easy to judge, as almost every place has pizza delivered and it is hit or miss whether it’s already cold when served. A tossup, but we’ll go with the pizza at Catasauqua; we don’t know from which shop it’s delivered. Outside of D11, DaVinci’s at Cumberland Valley is a lock.
Best Popcorn. The only good deal at Villanova was the popcorn, where a large for $8 was “bottomless” and included free refills all game long. Except they shut down the stand before the end of the third quarter. Still, it was so good I took a couple boxes home for Pam. For D11, hard to top the fresh popped at Minersville, but Lehighton does, edging them out by a kernel.
Best Bowls. This is the “up and comer” of D11 snack bar categories. It seems we are not the only ones interested in eating healthier. We struck gold in this category this year, as a number of snack bars are offering their sandwich options as an either/or roll or bowl. Highlights were the meatballs with peppers and onions at Marian Catholic, barbeque at Lackawanna Trail, sausage with peppers and onions at Old Forge, and the grand champion, shredded chicken and filling, also at Marian Catholic.
Best Dessert. Our all-time champ, the apple dumpling à la mode at Pine Grove was missed this year as we didn’t make it there, but a great substitute was the apple cobbler at Old Forge, who had an entirely separate dessert window. Most creative was the cocoa krispy treat made to look like a turkey leg for Thanksgiving at Schuylkill Haven. Although we don’t do too many desserts, we always try to support any school group, usually cheerleaders, selling homemade baked goods. Tops there was the group at Shenandoah Valley.
Junior Varsity. Many JV games have no food options, and if they do, a very limited offering. Pen Argyl had the best this season.
Oddest Food Item. The oddest food item, not only for this year, but all-time at high school football games, was the “rivel soup” at Berwick. Sixty years ago, when Guy was a kid, his nana used to make rivel soup, which was potato soup with tiny dumplings (the rivels) and corn. It was a Pennsylvania Dutch (German) staple during the depression, because it was filling and could be made for a very low cost. I’ve only ever seen it on a menu three times, and never before at a high school football game. At Berwick, they added ham. We have also heard of it being made with chicken. Oddball runnerup was a “pepper sandwich” at Holy Cross. Not even sure what that actually was.
Overall Best Item. Always an almost impossibly tough call, but we are going to go with 1) Chicken and filling at Marian Catholic; 2) Ham and bean soup at Shenandoah Valley, and 3) Smitty’s fries at Panther Valley. Outside of D11, the porketta sandwich at Berwick would have made the top three.
Best in Class. 1A. It was an epic battle of two snack bars both playing above their weight class. Marian Catholic held off the Old Forge subregion challenger from District 2. 2A. Just about the most competitive classification. Powerhouse Minersville, with four separate refreshment stands, takes down Shenandoah Valley. Minersville’s snack bars are so good with so many items, the PIAA might force them to snack bar in 3A next year. 3A. We didn’t make it to a lot of the 3A schools this year, but Panther Valley claims the top spot of those that we did. If we had been there, Tamaqua would certainly have given them a run for the money. 4A. Another epic battle between Blue Mountain and Lehighton, with the Indians pulling away in the fourth quarter. 5A. Weakest classification by far. Whitehall pretty much wins by default, although without Island Expressions, wouldn’t win in any of the other classifications. 6A. Sorry, can’t pick a winner. We only went to JBC, BASD, and Northampton this season. And from past experience we know the best eats in a weak field are at Nazareth, Easton, Emmaus, and Parkland.
2024 Grand Champion. For the fourth straight year a different overall District 11 Snack Bar of the Year. This year the folks from Minersville are awarded the coveted Golden Fry Trophy. Rounding out the podium were Panther Valley, and a tie for third between Marian Catholic and subregion team Old Forge. Honorable mention: Lehighton, Shenandoah Valley, Schuylkill Haven, and Blue Mountain.
GEFA. We spent a lot of time in spring at the GEFA 8-man semi-pro games. They deserve a mention too. A number of teams have no refreshment stand. Top individual items were 1) Chicken Parm Bowl from Tag’s Foods truck at Williamsport. 2) Burrito bowl from Deez Tacos truck at the Kickoff Classic held at Central Columbia. 3) Raptor Burgers (sloppy joes) at Berks County Raptors. Best overall permanent refreshment stand (not food trucks): 1) Berks County Raptors, 2) Moshannon Valley Vikings, 3) Hazleton Mustangs.
Feedback always welcome at RTRYFBAR@AOL.COM.
GUY & PAM BLOG ERA TEAM SCORECARD
2021-2024
47/47. All District 11 Varsity Football Teams at Home.
7/8. District 11 JV Teams Playing at Different Locations Than Varsity.
11/11. D11 related: Subregional Teams, Special Events or Former EPC Teams.
6/6. All-Star Games with D11 Players.
11/17. Outside D11 State Playoff Game Sites with D11 Teams.
2022-2024
11/19. NCAA D2 PSAC Colleges Including Former PSAC Schools.
- NCAA Bowl Games, National Playoffs, or NFL.
2023-2024
14/20. GEFA 8-Man Semi Pro football.
2024
2/18. D11 Teams Playing Regular Season Games Outside D11. This is where the fun will be next year.
Total: 117 (Pam 108)
Plus 9 “Other”
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