Around District 11 with Pam and Guy: Choices, Choices
Tagged under: District 11, Gameday Hub, News, pfn, Playoffs
Guy Smith | November 25, 2025
Last weekend were the state quarterfinal games. Four District 11 champions advanced: Williams Valley in 2A, Northwestern Lehigh in 3A, Southern Lehigh in 4A, and Easton in 6A. Unfortunately, all four played on Friday at 7:00, meaning Guy could only attend one game. Pam was at a conference in Washington, DC Wednesday through Saturday.
Which game to attend? This was the thought process. Although Easton was playing at Guy’s old stomping grounds in Bethlehem, we had just seen them play there the week before and Guy didn’t think they had a legitimate chance to win. Not Easton. Southern Lehigh played at Blue Mountain. We had seen the Spartans play the previous two weeks, and had been to Blue Mountain twice this season. Not Southern Lehigh. The choice came down to Williams Valley or Northwestern Lehigh. We had not seen either team play this season, and of course wanted to. Guy figured Northwestern Lehigh would win and we still might get a chance to see them play, while he figured this would be it for Williams Valley. Plus, Lehighton is one of our favorite D11 stadiums, and we had not been there at all this season. Williams Valley it is.
With no high school games, the Saturday choice came down to two races or two NCAA national championship tournament football games. The choice was made easier when both races cancelled/postponed due to wet grounds. The football choices were the D2 undefeated #3 ranked PSAC champion Kutztown Golden Bears hosting unranked 7-3 Bentley, the champions from the much weaker Northeast 10 Conference. Guy didn’t expect much of a game there, and it was even worse than expected as K.U. chomped over 500 yards of offense in a cruise control 52-0 win.
That left Muhlenberg College, 8-2 but no longer ranked in the top 25, hosting Union College, also 8-2, also unranked. That seemed like a good matchup, and became the Saturday choice.
Pam returned home and Sunday was a wonderful day of sport for us. We headed to the D2 field hockey national championship game, pitting the number 3 seeded Shippensburg University (formerly Red) Raiders vs. the undefeated Newberry Eagles from South Carolina. In an instant classic, the two teams played superb field hockey, the game going into sudden death (We know, we know, now it’s supposed to be “sudden victory” tra la la) overtime, with Shippensburg winning the championship 3-2. As the number three of four heading into championship weekend, Ship knocked off number two on Friday and number one on Sunday. A couple from Newberry, riding high on a 20-0 season to that point, thus having never tasted defeat, were very telling at halftime when the wife turned to the husband with a deer in the headlight look and said: “You know, that team is good enough that they might actually win.” Damn straight. PSAC Strong. Row the Boat!
AFCA National College Football Polls.
FBS. Pittsburgh (8-3): Rank—24 (NR). Pitt returns to the Top 25 again after beating #16 Georgia Tech 42-28. They play #13 Miami this week.
FCS. Lehigh: (12-0): Rank–3 (+1). Lehigh moved up one spot after the previous #2 Montana lost. Lehigh defeated rival Lafayette 42-32 to win the Patriot League championship. They have a bye in the first round of the playoffs this week.
FCS. Villanova (9-2): Rank–6 (+1). ‘Nova beat Sacred Heart 34-10 and picked up a spot when the previous #6 lost. They have a home game on Saturday in the first round of the tournament, hosting #19 Harvard.
D2. Kutztown (12-0): Rank–3 (+/-0). Kutztown remained in the top three nationally after destroying Bentley 52-0 in the first round of the national playoffs. They host Assumption this Saturday.
D3. Franklin & Marshall (9-1): Rank—18 (+/- 0). Franklin & Marshall had a bye last week in the first round of the playoffs. They host Eastern this Saturday.
OUT. Lafayette. Lost to Lehigh.
District 11 vs. the State. We went 2-2, with Southern Lehigh and Northwestern Lehigh winning, Williams Valley and Easton losing. The season record for the D11 teams vs. the state is 38-19.
Undefeated. Easton lost. But Northwestern Lehigh, Kutztown University, and Lehigh University will still all be unbeaten as of Thanksgiving Day. Northwestern Lehigh High School in the state, and both Kutztown and Lehigh Universities nationally, are all ranked in the top three. Pretty amazing.
Still Standing. Five D11 teams are still practicing football this season. Last week it was six, but the season ended for Williams Valley. Northwestern Lehigh and Southern Lehigh play Friday in the state semifinals in their respective classes, while Easton, Catasauqua, and Northampton play Thursday morning. Easton will be going for a school record 14th win.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21. LANSDALE CATHOLIC CRUSADERS VS. WILLIAMS VALLEY VIKINGS @ LEHIGHTON HIGH SCHOOL. PIAA 2A QUARTERFINAL. TURF. Guy headed to Lehighton to see Williams Valley for the first time this season. We had seen Schuylkill Haven basically run through the state-ranked Minersville defense almost at will, so were surprised when the Vikings defeated the Hurricanes for the D11 2A title. Williams Valley avenged their only regular-season loss while Lansdale Catholic had a pair of losses, but they were by just three points each.
Guy sure didn’t want to go the whole season without seeing a game at Lehighton, a former Guy & Pam “Snack Bar of the Year” grand champion. There are two separate refreshment stands at the stadium, one on the home side, the other on the away side. What most people don’t realize is that they are completely separate operations and thus have different menus. The home side is run by the music department boosters, and we believe the away side is by the football club boosters. With two great organizations and different menus, a mix and match meal is in order. Guy started with an outstanding shredded chicken sandwich with add your own onions and bbq sauce. Came with a bag of chips for $4. By contrast, the pork bbq sandwich at the game the next day was $6.25, no chips, and barely over half as much meat. Over on the band parent side, you aren’t at a game in Lehighton if you aren’t eatin’ filling and gravy.
Both sides brought a nice-sized crowd of vocal fans. For the first half, it seemed like it might be a pretty close game. Lansdale Catholic scored first but missed the PAT. Williams Valley turned a nice drive into a TD and had the lead at 7-6. At the half, it was 13-7 and the Vikings were just one score down.
In the second half, it was basically all Lansdale Catholic. They scored 20 unanswered points, while Williams Valley failed to score another point. Williams Valley moved the ball a few times and in fact ended with over 200 yards of offense, but four turnovers killed drives. They also went for it on fourth down several times out of necessity but were stopped. On the other side of the ball, the defense had Lansdale at third and long a number of times, but the Crusaders came up big when needed.
Guy sat on the side of the D11 school, until their supporters’ screaming profanity at the other side’s fans mid-third quarter became too much for him. He moved to sit on the visitor side, but couldn’t take that side’s fans screaming at the referees on nearly every play, even when up three and four scores with the victory secured, and even when they got the call they wanted. Guy ended up standing along the fence, away from both sides. Without fail we know that we should never hold the behavior of parents and supporters against the kids out there on the field playing the game, and never do so. Sometimes constant self-reminders are required.
Lansdale Catholic advances to the state semifinal and will return to Lehighton for the second week in a row to face Southern Columbia. Should be a great matchup. Williams Valley ends their season a very impressive 12-2 with a district championship to show for it.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22. UNION COLLEGE GARNET CHARGERS (DUTCHMEN) @ MUHLENBERG MULES. NCAA D3 NATIONAL TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND. TURF. When Guy was a kid growing up in Allentown, he used to ride his bike to the west end on Saturday afternoons, sometimes pedaling right by the stadium while the games were in progress. However, in all the years he lived in Allentown, until the age of 28, Guy never went to a football game there.
In fact, Guy was well into his 40s before seeing a game at Scotty Wood Stadium. This Saturday was the sixth, an even split between high school and college games. We went to a Thanksgiving morning Catasauqua vs. Northampton game there when Northampton’s field was being renovated, over a decade ago. More recently, we went to a pair of Executive Education Academy games as they have been using that field (and for a few games Lafayette) as their home field.
Both previous Muhlenberg home games attended were part of the NCAA D3 National Championship Tournament. We have never seen Muhlenberg play a regular season game at home, although we did go to see their big rivalry game vs. Moravian, but at Moravian.
Both teams entered the game 8-2. Muhlenberg’s only two losses were against top ten teams nationally. Union also entered the game 8-2. And Union’s only two losses were also against ranked teams, one in the top ten. Union’s losses were their first two games of the season, so they were on an eight-game win streak.
For decades, Union’s team nickname was the Dutchmen. A couple of years ago, they decided that Dutchmen wasn’t inclusive enough, and dropped Dutchmen for the tepid Garnet Chargers name. Gag.
With both teams having identical records and both teams’ only losses to ranked opponents, this seemed to stack up to be a contest between evenly matched teams. An excellent crowd of over 3,000 turned out, although it should be noted that the stadium seats far fewer than many, many high schools. Particularly lacking is seating on the away side, rivaling a community park little league field. With that in mind, it would have been nice if all of the host school’s students were welcoming to the visitors on the home side, the side with much more seating. They were not. A second day of “F-bombs” were endured when perfectly well-mannered Union supporting adult couples were told to go back to their own effin’ side. When Union fans on the home side left their seats, adults ran to put their blankets there so the Union people couldn’t return to the spot. Seemed a petty action for grownups. It’s disheartening to see how many people at games can’t just enjoy the many positives of high school and college sports. They have to be aggrieved about something wherever they go, and make sure everyone around them is aware. Sad that this is what so many games have become.
The admission for Guy as a “senior” was just $7, less for an NCAA national tournament playoff game than for the high school playoff game the day before. Can’t beat that! And it was absolutely great football.
The two teams had played ten times previously, but none since 2009. This season, the pair had no common opponents. Union was the Liberty League champions. Muhlenberg did not win the Centennial Conference, finishing third behind Franklin & Marshall and Johns Hopkins.
The two teams were evenly matched as hoped. Amazingly, both teams scored one touchdown in each of the four quarters. It was 14-14 at the half. The scoring difference was that in the second half, Muhlenberg added a field goal in both quarters, and Union missed both of their PATs.
The final score was the Mules 34, Union 26. A back and forth one-score game almost all the way from start to finish. It was a very quick game. Without the kowtowing to TV advertiser time outs, the game lasted just 2:35. Muhlenberg had a more balanced run/pass attack, which worked to their favor at the end when a drive on the ground ate up most of the remaining time. Union relied more heavily on the pass. Union ended the game with more total yards gained, but two interceptions really hurt them. The game had just eight total penalties, a perfect example of the referees being in control of the game without inserting themselves into the game. Would like to see more of that.
An amazing stat is that in all of the NCAA, Muhlenberg is the only team that has not lost a fumble all season.
With the win, Muhlenberg travels to Ohio to face 13-time national champion Mount Union, the number two ranked team in NCAA D3. Ruh roh.
Horizon. Another tough choice this Friday for the PIAA Semifinals, and Saturday for the NCAA Tournament.
Wednesday: Since family comes first on Thanksgiving, we haven’t been able to attend a Thursday morning game in several years. Our replacement has been the SCFCA All Star game for all Schuylkill County teams, annually held the night before Thanksgiving at Schuylkill Haven. This will be our fifth year attending this game, and it has become an important part of our holiday tradition.
Thursday: Pam’s 98-year-old stepfather is the last of our parents still with us, and of course spending Thanksgiving with him trumps all football choices.
Friday: Guy wants to go to Wall Stadium Speedway, NJ on Friday afternoon for the first day of the annual Turkey Derby races. He’s hoping to be able to see most of the show before having to leave to head back to PA and meet Pam at Whitehall for the 4A Semifinal pitting Cardinal O’Hara vs. Southern Lehigh.
Saturday: Lehigh has a first round bye. Kutztown plays Assumption, who beat the team that Kutztown beat 52-0 last weekend. Our choice is going to be NCAA D1 FCS round one, as Harvard visits Villanova. Villanova is one of the two PA college football teams that Guy has seen but Pam has not (the other being Delaware Valley). Guy went solo last season when Pam was recovering from her knee replacement surgery. Time to correct that omission.
Sunday: Not much going on in local sports on Sunday. Our choice is Creekside Raceway in Glenmoore for their “Turkey Gobbler” Quarter Midget races. That is unless Wall Stadium gets rained out on Friday or Saturday, then Wall will take precedence.
2025 District 11 Varsity or JV Teams Seen at Home or Outside D11. 1) Minersville Battlin’ Miners. 2a) Freedom Patriots (varsity field.) 2b) Freedom Patriots (JV field.) 3) Stroudsburg Mountaineers. 4) Whitehall Zephyrs (both varsity and JV). 5) Pocono Mountain East Cardinals. 6) Pleasant Valley Bears. –) Holy Cross Crusaders (D2SR). 7) Allentown Central Catholic Vikings. 8) Pen Argyl Green Knights. 9) Jim Thorpe Olympians. 10) Saucon Valley Panthers (both varsity and JV). 11) Bangor Slaters. 12) Pine Grove Cardinals. 13) Wilson Warriors (both varsity and JV). 14) Schuylkill Haven Hurricanes. 15) Executive Education Raptors. 16a) Bethlehem Catholic Golden Hawks (JV field). 16b) Bethlehem Catholic Golden Hawks (varsity field). 17) Parkland Trojans. 18) Panther Valley Panthers. 19) Southern Lehigh Spartans. 20) Catasauqua Rough Riders. 21) North Schuylkill Spartans. 22) Nativity BVM Green Wave. 23) Minersville Battlin’ Miners. 24) East Stroudsburg South Cavaliers. 25) Marian Catholic Colts. 26) Shenandoah Valley Blue Devils. 27) East Stroudsburg North Timberwolves. 28) Blue Mountain Eagles. 29) Pocono Mountain West Panthers. 30) Liberty Hurricanes. 31) Northern Lehigh Bulldogs. 32) Norte Dame Green Pond Crusaders. 33) Easton Red Rovers. 34) Williams Valley Vikings.
Still Possible: Northwestern Lehigh Tigers
Season Finished: Did Not See Varsity or JV at Home or Outside D11 (12). Dieruff Huskies. Emmaus Hornets. Lehighton Indians (saw away). Mahanoy City Golden Bears (saw away). Nazareth Eagles (saw away) Palisades Pirates (saw away). Palmerton Blue Bombers. Pottsville Crimson Tide (saw away). Salisbury Falcons. Tamaqua Blue Eagles (saw away) Tri Valley Bulldogs (saw away) William Allen Canaries (saw away).
2025 Pennsylvania College Teams. 1) Keystone College Giants. 2) Kings College Monarchs (JV & Varsity). 3) University of Pennsylvania Quakers. 4) Muhlenberg Mules.
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