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Hittin’ The Road With Travelin’ Matt – Week One (Headin’ To The Beach)

Tagged under: District 12, Gameday Hub, News, pfn, The STATE of PA Football

| September 2, 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!

 

Wednesday, August 27

The STATE of PA Football: Live From X-Golf (Easton, PA)

 

Thursday, August 28

Northern Highlands-NJ (0-0) vs. Holy Spirit-NJ (0-0) 

Ocean City-NJ (0-0) vs. Oakcrest-NJ (0-0) 

National #17 Bergen Catholic-NJ (0-0) vs. National #25 East St. Louis-IL (0-0)

National #6 IMG Academy-FL (1-0) vs. Winslow Township-NJ (0-0) 

 

Friday, August 29

PA 6A Abraham Lincoln (0-1) vs. PA 2A Germantown Academy (0-0)

PA 6A #2 LaSalle College (1-0) vs. PA 5A Malvern Prep (0-0)

 

ROUNDTRIP – 415 MILES

 

Wednesday, August 27

My week began in Easton, PA as a guest on The State of PA Football show which was live at X-Golf a tremendous setting for not just the show but also a great opportunity to take some swings with the sticks!  Side note: I took about 20 hacks with the driver and got one to sail more than 300 yards which is decent considering I’ve only played about a half dozen rounds of golf this year.

On the show, we covered the first week of football action and results across the state and had some lively debate on several topics including the current state of high school football in terms of player transfers, rankings in all six classes and also a look ahead to the next week of games.

Check out the show in the video below!

 

Thursday, August 28

There’s few settings for high school football more unique or iconic than Carey Stadium at Ocean City High School of New Jersey which is situated adjacent to the OC Boardwalk/Amusement Park and just a couple hundred yards from a sprawling beach and the Atlantic Ocean.  Seeing the school so close to the inviting beach activity always brings to mind the question “How do Ocean City HS students even begin to attempt to concentrate in classes with the beautiful beach and ocean so close?”.

Just how close is the beach and Atlantic Ocean to Carey Stadium on the campus of OCHS…take a look!

 

A quadrupleheader of games kicked off at 10am on this day and the 12+ hour marathon of gridiron battles and sunshine was all the football and heat I could handle from morning til night.  Here’s a couple posts from the first two games on the day that featured four New Jersey teams squaring off in their first games of the season.  Check out the ferris wheel behind the stadium and a big win for the host Ocean City Red Raiders!

The second half of games on the day pitted two of the top 25 teams in the country meeting at the Battle of the Beach showcase.  Perennial New Jersey powerhouse Bergen Catholic sought to defend its home soil against the invading Flyers of East St. Louis HS from Illinois.  This matchup of highly ranked squads ended in one of the most thrilling finishes possible with Bergen Catholic notching the victory.  Check out some highlights from the game!

 

 

 

 

While many in the stadium believed Game 3 on the day couldn’t be topped for excitement those who jammed the locale for Game 4 were treated to a display of athletic prowess as superstar players from #6 nationally-ranked IMG Academy and local Winslow Township took to the field.  These top tier football programs are comprised of some of the most dynamic athletes who don a helmet and nearly every play showed exactly why thousands of fans packed the stands to watch this contest.

IMG Academy picked up the 35-14 win but the score didn’t tell the entire story as nearly every snap of the ball was a highlight-reel type play.  Here’s some of the handiwork from IMG vs. Winslow…

 

 

 

 

While there wasn’t a score on this play it exemplifies just how special the players were on the field on this night.  When is the last time you saw a jaw-jarring hit this intense and the wideout popped back up with a handspring?  Special, special players on the field for IMG Academy and Winslow…wow!

 

 

Friday, August 29

Day Two of being a beach bum featured a doubleheader of dynamite Pennsylvania school contests that ended in last-minute scores for the game-winners.

The noon kickoff in the opening contest brought Abraham Lincoln of District 12 to the field to face Philly-burg Germantown Academy of the Independent Inter-Academic League.  While Germantown brought the high-powered offense led by Rutgers-bound QB Xavier Stearn it would be the Railsplitters of Lincoln who would prove victorious with a late-game 43-34 comeback win.

Here’s some highlights from the Lincoln vs. Germantown game…

 

 

 

 

 

 

The crown-jewel matchup of the weekend was the 6th and final game of my two-day Jersey football escapade as PA 6A #2 ranked LaSalle of Philadelphia battled Independent Inter-Academic League stalwart Malvern Prep.  In this talent-rich faceoff the two teams traded punches all night until the final seconds with LaSalle proving victorious with a defensive stop on the final play of the game to preserve a dramatic 42-35 win en route to a 2-0 record to take the top spot in the PA Football News 6A classification.

Check out these big-league highlights in front of a sold-out crowd in this back and forth donnybrook from the LaSalle vs. Malvern Prep game!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click the link below to read the game story from LaSalle vs. Malvern Prep…

 

Here’s some top-notch galleries from Scip’s Photography this weekend at The Battle at the Beach…

 

 

 

 

A full weekend of PA high school football games complete and more than 400 miles driven I wrapped up my second 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 – 845 TOTAL MILES (11 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

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