Around District 11 With Pam and Guy: 3A GOLD!
Tagged under: District 11, Gameday Hub, pfn, Playoffs
Guy Smith | December 10, 2024
2024 Episode 31. Since Guy retired in 2015, he has gone to all the state championship games at all classifications. If he had gone to all six games this year, he would have set a new personal record for the number of football games seen in a year.
But this year was different. Pam had knee replacement surgery on November 19th, which put the brakes on her football game attendance, temporarily. Even before the surgery, Pam set a goal to make it to one of the state final games. When Northwestern Lehigh from our District 11 made it to the state final for the second year in a row, her determination increased and the chance to see the Tigers win states fueled her rehab.
Pam had physical therapy on Thursday and an appointment with her surgeon on Friday, so Guy was also at home to drive her to and from on those days. Her progress is so far ahead of schedule, the surgeon already scheduled her second knee replacement for next month.
We took sort of a dry run on Wednesday, heading to D3 college basketball at Wilkes University. Less than an hour away, at a venue we were quite familiar with and indoors, everything went as smoothly as possible.
For a football game at Cumberland Valley, it was over a two-hour car ride, a much larger crowd so parking would be further away, not to mention it would be the first test of the new titanium out in the cold for several hours.
But in the end, we made it happen and when Pam sat down in the stands on Saturday afternoon, she was absolutely beaming because one of her major post-op goals was achieved and we were back at high school football together on the final game day of the year.
DISTRICT 11 STATE FINALISTS (SINCE 1988)
Since actual state championship playoffs began in 1988, current District 11 teams have won 11 state championship out a total of 21 final appearances for a record of 11-10. Allentown Central Catholic has the most championships with three, while Parkland and Liberty join them with three state final appearances. Of the 47 current District 11 football schools, only 11 have made it to the championship game
Champions
Allentown Central Catholic: 1993, 1998, 2010
Bethlehem Catholic: 1988, 1990
Marian Catholic: 1990
Schuylkill Haven: 1991
Parkland: 2002
Wilson: 2006
Liberty: 2008
NORTHWESTERN LEHIGH: 2024
Runnerups
Liberty: 2005, 2006
Pottsville: 2005, 2006
Parkland: 2007, 2015
Pen Argyl: 2001
Northern Lehigh: 2003
Wilson: 2005
Northwestern Lehigh: 2023
PA COLLEGE FOOTBALL TEAMS
Of the eight PA college football teams still active as of last week, five lost, two won, and one was not playing.
Losing and eliminated were Villanova, Lehigh, California, and Carnegie Mellon. Losing but still playing for a national championship was Penn State. Not playing but still scheduled for a bowl game was Pittsburgh.
The D3 Susquehanna River Hawks traveled to Minnesota to play the undefeated and regional number one Saint John’s University and came away with a 41-38 victory. They now advance to the quarterfinals and will host the Bethel University Royals on Saturday.
In D2, the Slippery Rock Rock went on the road and took down a national top ten team for the second week in a row in defeating California 31-13. They travel again, this time to Michigan to take on the Ferris State Bulldogs.
And in D1, Penn State lost the Big 10 Championship to Oregon but was awarded the number six seed and will host the Southern Methodist University Mustangs in the first round of the 12-team playoffs on Saturday, November 21. And the Pittsburgh Panthers, although not in the playoffs after starting off 7-0 then losing five straight, play Toledo indoors in Detroit on December 26. We went to that bowl game one year.
One last college mention, albeit from a neighboring state. Congratulations to Pam’s alma mater the Ohio University Bobcats for winning their first MAC title since 1968.
2024 GAME 63. SATURDAY DECEMBER 7. 3A STATE FINAL. NORTHWESTERN LEHIGH TIGERS VS. AVONWORTH ANTELOPES @ CUMBERLAND VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL. We lucked out when testing Pam’s knee’s reaction to the cold, as several people told us the Saturday afternoon game was the warmest of the six.
We played the parking game to perfection, arriving early, and parking by the home side entrance. Northwestern Lehigh had far more supporters than Avonworth, and by parking on the home side then walking over to the Northwestern Lehigh visitor side, Pam actually had a shorter trek to the stands than if we would have hunted a spot among the Tiger throng.
Before we even got to the seats, we encountered Pennsylvania Football News head honcho Billy Splain, who welcomed Pam back to football with a hug and some french fries. In total, Pam only missed two weekends. Brian Ptashinski also came down to greet Pam on her return, and Ryan Scipio came off the sidelines to the stands to say hello. The team at PA Football News is truly special.
Northwestern Lehigh had already won state gold in both boys’ and girls’ soccer, both teams finishing undefeated at 28-0. Could the football team also win state gold and complete the trifecta of three fall state championships and a combined 72-0 record in those three sports? Three teams with undefeated state titles in the same season had never been done in the annals of PA sports.
An interesting side story was that the guy sitting next to us wearing a NWL varsity jacket looked at the cover of our program and said: “Hey, that’s me!” It was 2024 Tiger graduate Blaine Snyder, a two-sport star in football and lacrosse.
We had a pretty good feeling about Northwestern Lehigh’s chances this season. This was their second straight championship appearance and they had a much better idea of what it takes to win at states this time around. They actually appeared to be even better than last season’s 15-1 state runner-up squad. In addition, Avenworth had three losses, so they were not above coming out on the short end of the scoreboard. Guy had just seen Avonworth play for a girls’ soccer title last year, losing to Central Columbia on this same campus last year.
Cumberland Valley had a decent snack bar lineup at states. Pizza $4 (add pepperoni $1), Walking Taco $7, Chili n Cheese Doritos $7, Macaroni & Cheese $6, Chili $6, Chili Mac $6, Cheeseburger $6, Sausage Sandwich $6, Hot Dog $3 (loaded add $2), Nachos $3. The CV fry truck offered fries and chicken strips, but we didn’t get the prices.
The first half demonstrated two evenly matched teams. Both teams had three possessions, and both teams scored two touchdowns and a field goal. A Lope missed PAT was the difference and it was 17-16 Tigers at the break.
Guy on the Soapbox. One thing we won’t miss about the high school football season is the continued criticism of the referees by fans of the top teams if they are in close games. On the second play of the game, a Tiger fan was already screaming that the refs were “retarded.” They wanted holding or some penalty called on Avonworth on what seemed like the majority of plays. This despite the fact that zero penalties were called on NWL the entire game. The pattern seems to be when teams that are used to winning big are in close games, some of their fans think it can only be happening because the officials are inept or corrupt and feel they must shout that out again and again. Disappointing.
In the second half, it looked like the Tigers were starting to pull away with a touchdown, and then another score following a fumble on the first play of the ensuing Lope drive. That put NWL up 30-16. The Tigers got the ball back with a chance to break it open, but the Antelope defense rose to the occasion and shut down the NWL offense for the rest of the third, and all of the fourth quarters.
Meanwhile, Avonworth roared back with two scores of their own, tying the game at thirty. A pick gave the ball back to Avonworth with over a minute to play and the momentum, but the Tigers held.
In overtime, NWL won the coin toss, and that is a big advantage. Playing defense first, they held Avonworth to a field goal. Knowing exactly what they needed to do to win, they got it done on the first play with a ten-yard scamper and a 36-30 victory. It was their first-ever state championship in football, and upped their two-year record to 31-1. That’s a record reminiscent of another group of Tigers.
Eli Zimmerman had almost 125 yards rushing for the Tigers, while quarterback Luca Neal, a junior, had over 250 rushing yards for the Antelopes. He rushed for 252 yards while the rest of the team combined tallied seven. Neal carried the ball 36 of the team’s 42 rushes, and he threw only one pass. Avonworth could have certainly won the game, but very often one-dimensional teams don’t go all the way.
Without question, it was the best game we had seen all season. Pam’s knee held up great, and she had no issues whatsoever. The decision to go proved to be the right choice for Pam, at least in this instance. On this day, we were all “just a bunch of kids from New Tripoli.”
On Sunday, Guy headed to the New York State Fairgrounds for the second day of the state indoor go kart championships. The day before, Hailey Eroh, racing in the event, won the feature race in her class. Haley’s hometown? New Tripoli. Haley is not there yet, but her father told Guy he is a Northwestern Lehigh High School grad. This season, Haley won an astronomical 91 feature races and nine track championships. What is it about New Tripoli?
We thought that our football season was over. But wait! The Susquehanna River Hawks, ranked fourth in region 2, traveled to Minnesota and took out region 1 top ranked Saint John’s. Meanwhile, Bethel beat higher ranked Wartburg 24-14. Because both lower seeds won, Susquehanna, ranked one spot higher than Bethel, will be back home this Saturday for the NCAA D3 national quarter final game. As long as it is not snowing or pouring, we should be able to sneak one bonus game in for 2024. 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 107)
Plus 9 “Other”
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