Around District 11 with Pam and Guy: Southern Lehigh Now 23-0
Tagged under: District 11, Gameday Hub, News, pfn
Guy Smith | October 14, 2025
Four football and one race for us this week. All four football were District 11 high school, three varsity, one JV.
We were able to score a new stadium as the Southern Lehigh Spartans traveled outside of D11 for a JV game at Strath Haven High School. For the second time this year, Southern Lehigh’s scheduled JV game was canceled, this time vs. Bangor. And for the second time, they searched outside the district to find another game for their kids to be able to play a game.
This “going the extra mile” so that the kids get to actually play football is yielding exceptional results for the Spartans. After eight weeks, their three teams: Varsity, JV, and Middle School are an amazing 23-0. Both the varsity and JV are a perfect 8-0, while the middle school team has had one fewer game and is 7-0. So far this season, the three Southern Lehigh teams have scored 779 points! Try to wrap your head around that one! There are two weeks left in the regular season. Can all three Spartan teams run the regular season table? The Northwestern Lehigh Tigers are going to have something to say about that!
In the final game of the regular season, Southern Lehigh, the number one 4A team in the state faces Northwestern Lehigh, the number two 3A team in the state (from PA Football News) with a 24-game win streak. Could be a classic!
Last week we mentioned not being sold on Parkland being the number five 6A team in the state. A week later, after eight weeks, they still are only the third ranked team in the D11 6A Power Rankings, behind Easton and Nazareth. Just sayin’.
PA Football News Polls. After eight weeks of football, and after last weekend’s games, the following District 11 and related teams were ranked by “PA Football News.”
6A) Parkland–5 (+/- 0)
6A) Easton–10 (+/- 0)
6A Nazareth—HM (Returned)
4A) Southern Lehigh–1 (+/- 0)
3A) Northwestern Lehigh–2 (+/- 0)
3A) Notre Dame–3 (+/- 0)
2A) Schuylkill Haven–3 (+/- 0)
2A) Williams Valley–6 (+/- 0)
2A) Minersville—9 (+ 1)
1A) Lackawanna Trail (D2 team, but combined with D11 for playoffs) –7(+1)
Of the ten teams from District 11 (and D2 Trail) that appear in the rankings, all won last weekend. D11 still has five teams ranked in the top five in the state.
District 11 Power Rankings (After Eight Games).
1A. 1) Lackawanna Trail (D2). 2) Tri-Valley. 3) Marian Catholic.
2A. 1) Schuylkill Haven. 2) Williams Valley. 3) Palisades.
3A. 1) Notre Dame of Green Pond. 2) Northwestern Lehigh. 3) North Schuylkill.
4A. 1) Southern Lehigh. 2) Bethlehem Catholic. 3) Allentown Central Catholic.
5A. 1) Whitehall. 2) Pocono Mountain East. 3) Pleasant Valley.
6A. 1) Easton. 2) Nazareth. 3) Parkland.
AFCA National College Football Polls. Rough week for PA colleges in the national rankings. Three of eight dropped out, and two of the remaining five dropped positions with losses. Kutztown remains the highest ranked PA college in fourth, while Lehigh is in the top ten and advanced one spot to seventh. Villanova, in the second ten, also advanced, by three positions.
FCS. Lehigh: Rank–7 (+1)
FCS. Villanova: Rank–14 (+3)
D2. Kutztown: Rank–4 (+/- 0)
D2. Slippery Rock: Rank–25 (-1)
D3. Carnegie Mellon: Rank–19 (-4)
FBS. Penn State: Rank—OUT
D2. California: Rank—OUT
D3. Muhlenberg: Rank—OUT
District 11 vs. the State. The only game scheduled for outside the district was again Executive Education. Going into the game at 3-3, they faced the School of the Future Firebirds, who were riding a five-game winning streak. Streak ended, another win for D11. The season record for the D11 teams is an impressive 33-14. Can any other districts top that?
Undefeated in District 11. All six unbeaten teams won last week to increase their records to 8-0. Still unblemished: Easton, Northwestern Lehigh, Notre Dame Green Pond, Parkland, Schuylkill Haven, Southern Lehigh. That’s 24 straight for Northwestern Lehigh. Only four teams were winless going into the weekend. All four lost and they are almost out of chances for this year.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9. BLUE MOUNTAIN EAGLES (4A) @ NORTH SCHUYLKILL SPARTANS (3A). TURF. Although we have been to this stadium a number of times, this was only the second time there for a North Schuylkill regular season home game. The first was the 2022 season opening loss to Mount Carmel. We were there for a state playoff game, a Nativity BVM home game, and an all-star game. We have also seen North Schuylkill play on the road many times. There was a very strong fan turnout, especially considering it was a Thursday night game.
This game looked like a good matchup. If you ever wanted an example of team records not reflecting their true ability, look no further than the two teams playing this game. The Spartans were a pedestrian 4-3, yet looking at who those three losses were against, you’d find they fell to 8-0 Notre Dame, 8-0 Southern Lehigh, and 8-0 Northwestern Lehigh! And the loss to NDGP was by only one point! Blue Mountain entered the game with an identical 4-3 record, and their three losses were also against unbeaten teams! Two of the three teams were the same as North Schuylkill, with the other being Schuylkill Haven instead of NDGP.
We sampled the pierogies and white chicken chili pre-game. The white chicken chili was superb, and on the way home Pam was already searching the internet for recipes to make it at home this winter (or sooner).
The stadium is known for their exceptional fresh cut fries. Can’t argue with that, but the long lines and slow service, made worse by kids letting their friends cut into the already long lines, made us question whether it was worth it after waiting for the majority of the second quarter well into halftime. They did an amazing business all night long.
The teams may have looked evenly matched on paper, but North Schuylkill was the dominant team. It was a pleasure to watch North Schuylkill running back Luke Miller carry the ball. He has some real speed, as evidenced by several times outrunning defenders who had the angle on him. His 379 yards on the ground were slowed only by the fact that the Spartans danced to a 42-14 lead. We are very hopeful to see this team again come playoff time.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10. MINERSVILLE BATTLIN’ MINERS (2A) @ NATIVITY BVM GREEN WAVE (1A). BATTLE IN THE BACKYARD. GRASS. Pam’s pick, and if you know Pam, you know she would never let a season go by without using one of her picks to go to Nativity. Nativity was the first “new” school we visited in 2021, the year we started the blog. Nativity coaches have been, without question, the nicest to us of any of the staffs in D11. At least one coach always seems to find us in the stands or walking around, thank us for coming to see them play, and tell us how much they enjoy reading our blog. We don’t ask any school for free admission or anything like that because we want to support our D11 programs, but a thanks and a “we enjoy reading” what you spend a whole day writing mean more than any perks.
The Nativity varsity does not play at the site of the Pottsville school, but in a stadium in Saint Clair. We have seen Nativity varsity play there, their JV team play at the school, at North Schuylkill when they played there for a year while the stadium was closed for renovations, and on the road. We had also been to the stadium to see the GEFA Coal County Nightmare play.
Minersville entered the game 5-2, and again may be better than the record shows. They lost to 7-1 Williams Valley by three, and by ten to unbeaten Schuylkill Haven. The 38 they scored that night were the most points given up by Haven this season so far.
Nativity was 4-3, but all four of their wins came against either winless or one-win teams. Having seen Minersville and QB Dante Carr twice already this season, the opening day win against Halifax and the loss to Haven, we didn’t really expect this one to be that close.
Nativity offers a great refreshment stand and they do it all with no grill or fryer. It’s all volunteer and homemade. By the end of the night, they sell out of virtually everything, and have a stack of crock pots piled up outside the trailer. By the time we got there, they had already sold out of their famous chili. Guy went with the hamburger barbeque and pierogies, Pam the vegetable soup and pasta salad. Add a dollar drink and a pair of dollar desserts, and dinner for two at Nativity cost us $15 total.
As expected, Minersville didn’t have too much of a challenge in this one. They seemed a bit sluggish and not as sharp as usual, perhaps because they didn’t need to be. A missed PAT and calling off the dogs were the only things that prevented another Mercy Rule game. However, it was a shutout. Minersville 34, Nativity BVM 0.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11. POTTSVILLE CRIMSON TIDE (3A) @ WILSON AREA WARRIORS (4A). GRASS. Not our original pick for this day. We were planning to make a first-ever visit to see Lafayette College in Easton, although we had been to the stadium for the famous Easton vs. Phillipsburg Thanksgiving Day game, and an Exec Ed game there.
The plan was to go to their 12:30 game, then hustle to Lehighton for Guy to honor his commitment to Mahoning Valley Speedway. Mahoning cancelled in the morning due to weather, forcing the evening choice to Plan-B, the Evergreen Raceway. Evergreen started earlier than Mahoning would have, making it almost impossible to do both without having to leave the football game early.
It would have been an interesting game to attend, as Bucknell was visiting Lafayette. Pam’s late brother went to Bucknell and her sister went to Lafayette, where she excelled in both field hockey and lacrosse. But it was not to be, and we’ll save the ‘Pards for another day.
The change to Plan-B in the evening forced a change to Plan-B in the afternoon. The time-friendliest game was the noon starting Wilson game. On the way, we stopped to watch a little baseball as a high school age tournament was taking place at Easton High, just on the other side of the dilapidated Dixie Cup factory from Wilson.
This was not a high priority for us, since Guy had already been to Wilson earlier in the season for a JV game, in which Wilson defeated visiting Pen Argyl. The varsity is on track for a fourth-straight 0-10 season, their last win coming in the second last game of 2021. Heading into this game, they had lost 38 straight. Such a far cry from 19 years ago when they won the state championship behind QB DJ Lenehan. The crowd was small, but both the cheer squad and the band represented the school well.
The main refreshment stand is nothing to write home about, but the little band booster stand at least has Chick-Fil-A and mac & cheese.
While Wilson was 0-7, Pottsville at 2-5 appeared to be their best chance left to get a win this year. Their final two games are against teams with winning records, one unbeaten Notre Dame. Pottsville’s two wins going in were against a decent Jim Thorpe squad, and winless Bangor.
Wilson had a good first half, and moved the ball but got no points. Their defense played well too, and at the break it was only 7-0 Pottsville. Maybe they had a chance? But after the last grandfather clock was wheeled off the field and the second half began, before we knew it, it was 35-0 and another Mercy Rule game and shutout. Running clock: On; Guy & Pam: OFF (to Evergreen).
MONDAY, OCTOBER 13. SOUTHERN LEHIGH SPARTANS (JV) @ STRATH HAVEN PANTHERS (JV). TURF. Another schedule change for us. We had originally planned to go to Pocono Mountain West, but when an opportunity arose to visit a new stadium, we jumped at the opportunity and headed south on the PA Turnpike to Wallingford.
After Southern Lehigh’s JV game against Bangor was cancelled, they hooked up with Strath Haven, who was originally scheduled to play Harriton, and a great matchup was born. Not only was Strath Haven’s game this week against Harriton postponed, so is their JV game next week that was to be against Lower Merion.
The game was played in a light mist, one that soaked the metal bleachers but didn’t seem to affect play. Admission was free. Southern Lehigh’s JV team entered the contest undefeated but soon found they had a tough adversary in the Panthers.
If you go to JV games every week at different places like we do (and we realize that probably no one else does), you know there are numerous different ways a game can be structured. This game had 12-minute running clock quarters in the first half, and 10-minute regulation quarters in the second half. That was a first for us.
Southern Lehigh scored first to go up 8-0, but Haven came back and tied it. Just before halftime, Haven scored on a fourth and long pass into the end zone batted by the Spartan defender, but batted up and not away, and it landed right into the hands of the Panther receiver, who were then up 14-8 at the break.
The Panther run game was working, but the Spartan’s was not. At the end of Q3 it was still 14-8 Panthers. Southern Lehigh scored in the final quarter to tie (two-point conversion no good) then picked off a pass and returned it to the five. One play later they scored on a QB keeper. This time the conversion was good and the Spartans went up 22-14. The Panthers moved into Spartan territory on a long completion with less than two minutes remaining, but another interception sealed the deal.
Many thanks to both schools for getting together to reschedule to play each other when their original games fell through, and for playing even in the inclement weather. Once again this week, the JV game was the best game we saw all weekend.
Saquon Watch. Saquon Barkley from Whitehall High School rushed for 58 yards in the Eagles loss to the New York Football Giants. He has yet to have a 100-yard rushing game this season, has just 325 yards in six games, and is 22nd among league rushers to date. His rushing total is now 7,541, still behind Jamall Charles for 59th place all-time.
Horizon. Looking at Thursday (Whitehall), Friday (Minersville), Saturday (Northern Lehigh JV) and Monday (East Stroudsburg South JV). Most weeks changes are made in real time for a never-ending list of reasons.
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. 5) Pocono Mountain East Cardinals. 6) Pleasant Valley Bears. 7) Holy Cross Crusaders (D2: Subregion team with D11). 8) Allentown Central Catholic Vikings. 9) Pen Argyl Green Knights. 10) Jim Thorpe Olympians. 11) Saucon Valley Panthers. 12) Bangor Slaters. 13) Pine Grove Cardinals. 14) Wilson Warriors (both varsity and JV). 15) Schuylkill Haven Hurricanes. 16) Executive Education Raptors. 17a) Bethlehem Catholic Golden Hawks (JV field). 17b) Bethlehem Catholic Golden Hawks (varsity field). 18) Parkland Trojans. 19) Panther Valley Panthers. 20) Southern Lehigh Spartans. 21) Catasauqua Rough Riders. 22) North Schuylkill. 23) Nativity BVM. 2025 Pennsylvania College Teams. 1) Keystone College Giants. 2) Kings College Monarchs (JV & Varsity).
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