Around District 11 with Pam and Guy: 2025 All Snack-Bar Team
Tagged under: District 11, Gameday Hub, News, pfn
Guy Smith | December 22, 2025
Welcome to the 5th and final Guy & Pam All-Snack Bar Team. Will we see a repeat champion for the first time, or will another first-time winner emerge? In actual on the field action last weekend, Villanova, the final PA team playing for a championship, lost in their home semifinal game to the Illinois State Redbirds 30-14, and were thus eliminated from the tournament. Also, the Harding Bison from Arkansas, the team that eliminated Kutztown last week in the D2 semifinal, lost to Ferris State in the championship game. Both Penn State and Pittsburgh play in consolation “opt out” bowls on Saturday. We’re opting out as well, on watching those games.
With football season over, last week we hit three more of the ten District 11 schools that do not offer football, for boys’ basketball. On Monday we visited Lehigh Christian Academy to see the Mustangs, Thursday the Wreckers of Weatherly, and Friday the Bethlehem Christian Academy Panthers. All three teams won. The latter was a last-minute replacement for Salem Christian, whose game was a late cancelation. The previous Friday we were at Moravian Academy, and this Monday will be Lincoln Leadership Academy. That will make five of the ten teams in December, with a plan to finish off the other five in January. On our “off day” Wednesday, we went to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms AHL hockey.
PREVIOUS CHAMPIONS. The Shenandoah Valley Blue Devils became our first Snack Bar Grand Champion in 2021. Their kielbasa, chili, soup, and fresh cut fries were a tough combination to beat, but their “special” of pork chop on a stick put them over the top. The pork chop on a stick remains Guy’s all-time favorite D11 refreshment stand single item. The second year the title moved from Schuylkill County to Carbon, as the Lehighton Indians brought home the title on the backs of the music parents’ stand on the home side. Year three the championship moved to the EPC and the fantastic variety offered by the Nazareth Blue Eagles. Finally, in 2024 the Minersville Battlin’ Miners brought the title back home to The Skook. Four years, four champions.
DISCLAIMER. 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-week regular season plus playoffs. This year we might even have gone to fewer different D11 stadiums than in any of the first four years. Also, now in our mid 60s, we flat out don’t eat as much as we did when we were younger. And hungrier. Specific apologies to two schools. Nazareth, one of our former winners, was not a school we were able to visit this season. And Tamaqua was certainly one of the preseason favorites for the overall, but we never were able to make it there either.
We were asked if we thought it fair to rank school snack bars and make claim that some are better than others, and since it is just our opinion, if that was fair to those not mentioned. We believe so. Some ARE better than others. A lot better. The teams themselves are ranked weekly during the season. 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. 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. Points are lost for using the term “Hamburgs.”
SCHOOLS VISITED. The following schools were the ones visited this season. We always plan to have dinner at the stadium to support the schools.
D11 High School Varsity. Freedom Patriots. Whitehall Zephyrs. Pocono Mountain East Cardinals. Allentown Central Catholic Vikings. Jim Thorpe Olympians. Pine Grove Cardinals. Wilson Warriors. Schuylkill Haven Hurricanes. Bethlehem Catholic Golden Hawks. Parkland Trojans. Panther Valley Panthers. Southern Lehigh Spartans. Catasauqua Rough Riders. North Schuylkill Spartans. Nativity BVM Green Wave. Minersville Battlin’ Miners. Marian Catholic Colts. Shenandoah Valley Blue Devils. Blue Mountain Eagles. Pocono Mountain West Panthers. Liberty Hurricanes. Northern Lehigh Bulldogs. Norte Dame Green Pond Crusaders (@ Lafayette College). Lehighton Indians (for Williams Valley).
D11 High School JV. Freedom Patriots (JV field). Whitehall Zephyrs. Pen Argyl Green Knights. Saucon Valley Panthers. Bangor Slaters. Wilson Warriors. Bethlehem Catholic Golden Hawks (JV field). Southern Lehigh Spartans. East Stroudsburg South Cavaliers. East Stroudsburg North Timberwolves.
High Schools Outside D11. Halifax Wildcats (Minersville). Wallenpaupack Buckhorns JV (Stroudsburg). Exeter Eagles (Pleasant Valley). Holy Cross Crusaders (Subregion). Biglerville Canners (Executive Education). Strath Haven Panthers JV (Southern Lehigh). Academy of the New Church Lions (Executive Education). And of course, Cumberland Valley for the state championships.
Pennsylvania College Teams. Keystone College Giants. Kings College Monarchs (JV & Varsity). University of Pennsylvania Quakers. Muhlenberg Mules. Villanova University Wildcats. Kutztown University Golden Bears.
Top Dog. Recruiting comes to the snack bars. The best hot dog of the award for 2025 was a tie. Earning co-champion status was the one at Southern Lehigh. But that was not a “born and raised Spartan” dog. Those dogs were recruited from “Potts’ Doggie Shop,” a Lehigh Valley icon. The problem with hot dogs at most high school refreshment stands is that to serve hungry patrons in a timely manner, they are not cooked long enough. By getting them from Potts, their cooking standards were upheld and the dogs were well done. Just the way we like them. However, the rolls did get a little soft from the steam being wrapped in foil. That opened the door for the dogs from the visitor side outdoor grill at Panther Valley, whose fresh rolls elevated them to co-champion status.
Best Burger. Once again, a team recruits and wins the championship. At the Eastern Conference title game held at Pocono Mountain West, PMW brought in a refreshment stand “ringer” in the form of the Barley Creek Brewing Company, a restaurant and brewpub in Tannersville. We hate to say it, but that recruit was the best burger in a very strong burger field. Don’t blame the recruit burger. It isn’t their fault.
Discounting the ringer-burger, the field of must-buy champions include Panther Valley, Schuylkill Haven, and Blue Mountain. In a close call between the three, the edge goes to the powerhouse visitor side grill at Panther Valley.
Special recognition to the “stew burger” at Minersville for adding some extra pizzaz to a very competitive field.
In all Seriousness. Expect the internet posters to demand Southern Lehigh to be “forced” to play in 5A hot dog next season. No, seriously. Bringing in outside food for concessions is nothing new. Aren’t all fry trucks recruited? Almost any stadium that sells pizza? Chic-Fil-A? Nothing nefarious in bringing in Potts’ dogs or Barley Creek burgers. Just joking around.
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. We have started to ask for a number of items in the sandwich category to be turned into a “bowl” for us so we can at least try to eat a little healthier during football season.
Best BBQ. For the second year in a row, the Catasauqua band parents stand, a former winner in this category, did not offer BBQ either of the times we were there. There is no longer dinner gold on the visitor side of Alumni field. However, there were a lot of good BBQ sandwiches elsewhere. The one that stands out in our minds was from Lehighton, not from the band parents stand on the home side, but the other stand, we believe football boosters, on the away side. That sandwich was packed with shredded chicken, had onions and barbeque sauce on the side as options, came with a bag of chips, and was only four bucks. College refreshment stands are usually subpar compared to high schools, but the BBQ sandwich at Muhlenberg was right up there. Guy likes the BBQ at BASD, although Pam dubs them “unsavory” to use a polite term.
Best Fresh Cut Fries. The 6A of snack bar foods. So many good fries are available in our area. But one stands out as easily the best. Williams French Fries are clearly the “St. Joe’s Prep” of fresh cut fries. We were lucky enough to get them at two games this year, a pleasant surprise at Halifax and as expected at Pine Grove. The only french fry that can cover the spread against Williams is Brickers, and we didn’t have them at any game this fall.
That doesn’t mean there are not a number of other excellent fresh cut fries available. Runner up goes to Smitty’s at Panther Valley, followed by Jackie’s at Northern Lehigh and Island Expressions at Whitehall. Those three were all from outside vendor fry trucks.
For those made at the permanent refreshment stands, we’ll go with Marian Catholic over Shenandoah Valley. North Schuylkill has great fries, but received a personal foul flag for letting multiple people butt in line and doing nothing to support the honest customers who wait their turn. Outside of D11, the fries were a fresh-cut above at Exeter.
Best French Fries (Non-Fresh Cut). Once again, the ringer wins out. The best non-fresh cut fries were those from Barley Creek Brewing Company at the Pocono Mountain West championship game. There is not much standout at J. Birney Crum Stadium in Allentown, but their “string fries” are excellent, albeit far pricier than almost any other area high school. Outside of D11, the gravy fries at Biglerville were a treat. And at the state championships, Cumberland Valley does a nice job too. Good enough that we patronized their fry stand for three straight days. Villanova had Chickie and Pete’s crab fries, but at $15 for a small cup, they are penalized for Incidental gouging.
Best “Non-Fries” Potatoes. The top three here are all completely different items: Lehighton filling and gravy over Panther Valley baked potato and pierogies at Whitehall. All three five-star refreshment stand fare.
Best Salad. Pam is more of a salad fan than Guy. She says the best she had this year was the pasta salad at Nativity BVM, and only $2!
Best Soup. It’s tough to declare a best of in this category as Guy screwed up, waiting too long to go to order last year’s soup champion, the ham and bean at Shenandoah Valley. By the time he did, they were sold out. And we didn’t get to Tamaqua, the soup champs from 2023. For this year’s limited field, we’ll go with the taco soup at Nativity BVM over the surprisingly strong contender of the potato soup at Lafayette.
Best “Other” Side. A surprise “first-time at D11” for us was cheese steak eggrolls at Minersville, topping the usual mac n cheese suspects sold at many games.
Best Chili. We had never tried the white chicken chili at North Schuylkill. It was fabulous and the best of the season. A number of other schools had excellent chili. You can’t go wrong at Schuylkill Haven, unless you wait too long and they are all sold out. Nativity had good chili. At states, we had the Cumberland Valley chili all three days.
Best Hispanic Food. Not a lot of schools have much Hispanic offerings, but Keystone College had a Puerto Rican food truck at their game. We had chicken wings, empanadas, and yellow rice that was an unexpected treat for a small college game.
Best Pizza. Not easy to pick a winner as almost every place has pizza delivered and it is often more whether it’s hot or cold when served than anything. A tossup, but we’ll go with the pizza at Catasauqua. Outside of D11, DaVinci’s at Cumberland Valley is a lock. We headed there in person after the first state final on Friday for takeout.
Best Popcorn. Parkland has great popcorn, as does Pen Argyl. Panther Valley is as good as either. In the college division, the popcorn at Villanova was really good.
Best Bowls. 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, as well as meat and potato bowls. Highlights were the meatballs with peppers and onions at Marian Catholic, shredded chicken and filling, also at Marian Catholic, and the best of the best, turkey, filling, and gravy at Minersville.
Best Dessert. Our all-time champ, the apple dumpling ala mode at Pine Grove returns to the top of the mountain this year after we missed visiting Pine Grove last season. Although we try not to do too many desserts, we always try to support any school group, usually cheerleaders, selling homemade baked goods. Many of them make excellent cookies or brownies, but if we had to pick just one, it would be Jim Thorpe. Or Panther Valley. Or Nativity. Schuylkill Haven. Or…
Value for Money. A lot of schools offer great homemade food for a very low cost, as usually the refreshment stand workers are volunteers, and in many cases the food is donated. However, it’s not possible to beat Nativity BVM. $4 burgers, $2 hot dogs, $3 buffalo chicken dip, $3 mac n cheese, $4 soup, $2 pierogies, $2 pasta salad.
Junior Varsity. Many JV games have no food options, and if they do, a very limited offering. Some go above and beyond. Saucon Valley was the best with their pork barbeque over mashed potatoes bowl. Bangor was the only JV game with chicken tenders and fries. Pen Argyl and Southern Lehigh earn honorable mention.
Overall Best Item. Always a tough call, but we are going to go with 1) Turkey, filling, and gravy at Minersville, 2) White chicken chili at North Schuylkill, 3) Chicken and filling at Marian Catholic, and 4) Williams Fries at Pine Grove. Outside of D11, still Williams Fries, this time at Halifax
County Champions. Schuylkill and Carbon are head and shoulders above the others. Fairly handily, with Schuylkill on top. Northampton a distant third, followed by Lehigh, with Monroe trailing.
Best in Class. 1A. They may be small, but they snack bar big. Marian Catholic over Nativity BVM, two schools that could easily defeat some of the 6A school snack bars to the east. 2A. A very competitive classification. Defending overall champion powerhouse Minersville, with four separate refreshment stands, takes down Shenandoah Valley. 3A. Perennial overall contender Panther Valley over North Schuylkill. Again, so sad we didn’t make it to Tamaqua. 4A. Another epic battle between rivals Jim Thorpe and Lehighton, with the Indians pulling away late. 5A. Weakest classification. Whitehall pretty much wins by default, although without Island Expressions, they would barely eke out a win over an unimpressive field. 6A. Parkland wins the big school championship over a much, much improved Pocono Mountain West.
2025 Grand Champion. It’s time for our final District 11 Grand Champion Snack Bar. This year’s winner is…for the first time ever, we have co-champions! The Minersville Battlin’ Miners repeat as back-to-back champions, to become the only two-time winners. Sharing top honors is Panther Valley. In full disclosure, Minersville is probably a bit better than Panther Valley, but the Panthers are being recognized for being “oh so close” year after year. To end this award without them ever having been recognized for their excellent refreshment stand food offerings would have left us feeling unjust about the whole five year all-in-fun contest.
So that’s a wrap on five years of District 11 First Team All-Snack Bars. Our champs were Shenandoah, Lehighton, Nazareth, Minersville twice, and Panther Valley. Very deserving but never quite making it were Tamaqua and Marian Catholic. Thanks for reading.
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