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Hittin’ The Road With Travelin’ Matt – Week Four (The Cream Rises To The Top)

Tagged under: District 11, District 2, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

| September 22, 2025

Each week Travelin’ Matt traverses Pennsylvania attending the hottest high school football games and best matchups in the Commonwealth.  Follow his exploits each week as he documents his journey from Week Zero to the Pennsylvania State Football Finals!

 

Thursday, September 18

2A #10 Minersville (3-1) at 2A #3 Schuylkill Haven (4-0)

 

Friday, September 19

6A #5 Parkland (4-0) at 6A #10 Nazareth (4-0)

 

Saturday, September 20

4A HM North Pocono (4-0) at 5A HM Abington Heights (4-0)

4A Bethlehem Catholic (3-1) at 4A Allentown Central Catholic (2-2)

 

ROUNDTRIP – 475 MILES

 

Thursday, September 18

We’re already one-third of the way through the PA Football Season and it’s time to start separating the contenders from the pretenders.  This week my schedule featured several matchups that would begin to sort out some of the Conferences and Districts as we head into Fall Football.

The District 11 Colonial Schuylkill League features some of the most competitive small-school squads in the State with Schuylkill Haven, Williams Valley, Minersville, Tri-Valley and Marian Catholic all fielding dangerous squads this season.  My Thursday matchup featured two of those Skook titans facing off as the Hurricanes of Schuylkill Haven hosted the rival Battlin’ Miners of Minersville in a rematch of last season’s regular season high-flying affair that saw Haven defeat Minersville 72-52!

This year’s chapter gave the fans all they could handle as the two teams once again used every lightbulb on the scoreboard as Haven outlasted Minersville 48-38 in a classic back-and-forth battle of schools separated by just 10 miles.  While Haven was missing the services of their star running back Niko Carestia due to injury they were bolstered by outstanding performances by backs Colton Reber who ran for 353 yards and four touchdowns and Nico Castillo who hustled for 169 yards on the ground and two tallies while also adding a score on a catch as well.

Check out some highlights from the Schuylkill Haven vs. Minersville game…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s an outstanding photo gallery from the Haven vs. Minersville contest…

 

 

Friday, September 19

One of the biggest matchups of the week across the State of PA pitted 6A undefeated and 5th ranked Parkland traveling to 6A undefeated and 10th ranked Nazareth for a battle of District 11 EPC squads.  What appeared on paper to be the Game of the Week ended up being a 36 point drubbing by Parkland over Nazareth.  While Nazareth was without their Division 1 and Auburn-bound quarterback Peyton Falzone Parkland took full advantage with an outstanding performance on both sides of the ball to remain unblemished with a 5-0 record.

From the outset the Trojans came out confident and had their way with the shell-shocked Blue Eagles.  A 28-6 Parkland halftime lead was more than enough to get the win and the Trojans added some insurance in the second half for a 42-6 victory led by their superstar back TJ Lawrence.

Check out some highlights from the Parkland vs. Nazareth game…

 

 

 

 

Check out the full game story for Parkland vs. Nazareth here…

 

 

And here’s some sharp images from the Parkland vs. Nazareth contest…

 

 

Saturday, September 20

My Saturday double-header was an opportunity to watch games in two of the most unique and iconic stadiums in the State beginning with “The Pit” of Clarks Summit where District 2 undefeated squads Abington Heights and North Pocono squared off for a leg up in the Lackawanna Conference.

Here’s some pre-game video featuring a couple views in “The Pit”…

 

On a sun-drenched day in a beautiful setting for Saturday football North Pocono proved too much for Abington Heights emerging with a 24-10 victory.  The Trojans were solid on both sides of the ball en route to a 5-0 record.  Here’s some highlights from their win over Abington Heights.

 

 

 

 

 

Click below for a full wrap-up of Abington Heights vs. North Pocono…

 

 

My Saturday nightcap took place at Allentown’s legendary J. Birney Crum Stadium a nod to the past of long-ago football cathedrals.  J. Birney Crum Stadium is a 15,000 seat multi-purpose facility that’s been a staple to the Allentown community since it opened in 1948.  The massive coliseum is the largest high school stadium in the state by seating and the 14th largest in the nation.  The stadium is named for the man who, for 25 years, was head football, basketball and baseball coach at Allentown High School (now William Allen High School).  Crum’s legendary football teams won nearly 200 games over his tenure including amassing a 60-3-3 record in the early to mid 1940’s.  His football teams and their games were so well attended the stadium was expanded in 1948 to 22,500 seats to handle the crush of fans.  In 1981, a year after his death, the stadium was officially named to honor his contributions to Allentown athletics.  Since then, the stadium was again renovated retracting the seating back to its present-day capacity of 15,000.

 

On this night J. Birney Crum would play host to “The Holy War” an annual clash between Bethlehem Catholic and Allentown Central Catholic.  The grudge match has been highlighted by numerous epic outcomes and the fans were treated to another fantastic finish in a long line of ruckus tussles in this series.

Check out the scuffle between Bethlehem Catholic and Allentown Central Catholic…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read all about the Holy War in the article below…

 

 

A full weekend of PA high school football games complete and nearly 500 miles driven I wrapped up my fifth of 16 weeks and headed home to plan for next weeks schedule of contests.

Follow along next week as Travelin’ Matt takes you across the state on another PA High School Football journey.

 

 

2025 SEASON RECAP – 1620 TOTAL MILES (19 GAMES)

Week 0

North Allegheny 28 – Woodland Hills 26

LaSalle College 23 – Pittsburgh Central Catholic 6

McKeesport 51 – Delaware Valley 24

Westinghouse 22 – Steel Valley 12

Elizabeth Forward 28 – West Mifflin 14

 

Week 1

Northern Highlands 27 – Holy Spirit 12

Ocean City 32 – Oakcrest 0

Bergen Catholic 22 – East St. Louis 21

IMG Academy 35 – Winslow Township 14

Abraham Lincoln 43 – Germantown Academy 34

LaSalle College 42 – Malvern Prep 35

 

Week 2

Pocono Mountain East 45 – Scranton 0

 

Week 3

Jim Thorpe 35 – Tamaqua 27

Shamokin 43 – Jersey Shore 42 (2OT)

Easton 35 – Bethlehem Catholic 9

 

Week 4

Schuylkill Haven 48 – Minersville 38

Parkland 42 – Nazareth 6

North Pocono 24 – Abington Heights 10

Bethlehem Catholic 28 – Allentown Central Catholic 24

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