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Hittin’ The Road With Travelin’ Matt – Week Zero (Jaguars, Saints and Marauders)

Tagged under: District 1, District 12, District 6, District 7, pfn

| August 26, 2024

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

 

Tuesday, August 20

The STATE of PA Football: Rankings Show

 

Friday, August 23

5A #6 Garnet Valley (0-0) vs. 6A Coatesville (0-0)

 

Saturday, August 24

3A Imani Christain Academy (0-0) vs. 2A West Catholic (0-0)

1A #2 Bishop Guilfoyle (0-0) vs. 2A #3 Bald Eagle Area (0-0)

 

ROUNDTRIP – 645 MILES

 

Tuesday, August 20

The crisp morning temperatures and dew-laced grasses have returned to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and with that…thankfully…so returned has high school football!

Travelin’ Matt kicked off the 2024 campaign participating on a panel of guests at the PA Football News “STATE of PA Football Rankings” show to discuss all six classes and their rankings of teams from across the state.  The show presents a tremendous opportunity to shake off the rust of the off-season and dive headlong into a pre-season take on the pending 15 week football schedule.

This edition of the show took place at C3 Sports in State College…a massive and impressive venue located mid-state and featuring premier indoor space for sports, meetings, ccelebrations and conferences.  If you missed the Rankings Show last week click the video below to get caught up on the teams and players that will be fighting this season for supremecy in each classification.

 

 

Friday, August 23

The first week of high school football contests, as Pennnylvania defines them, are dubbed Week 0.  Not so many years ago teams would participate in two scrimmages prior to the start of the regular season but that was altered to only one scrimmage leaving the possibility of an added game to the schedule should teams choose to play it.  And forth came…Week 0.

For ardent PA high school football fans Week 0 has provided a bevy of game options not limited to cross state out of district play and gatherings of numerous teams at one venue for a full slate of games throughout the weekend.  I was fortunate to experience three games in Week 0 that included two District cross conference contests and one cross state matchup.

I dove straight into the fray Week 0 logging more than 600 miles over two days to take in three games.  The first battle of the week took place at a school I’ve never visited prior and pitted Coatesville at Garnet Valley in Delaware County.  The Garnet Valley campus in Glen Mills is vast and my first hint of that was turning into the school entrance and my GPS announcing the football field was still more than half a mile away.  As I journeyed through the property I passed numerous teams playing and practiciing on a vibrant campus…an eight court tennis match, kids dribbling soccer balls in the fields nearby and others playing loss toss on a baseball field.  Garnet Valley certainly values athletic competition and it was refreshing to see all of the kids participating in their various sports.

As for the game, it was also evident the hometown Garnet Valley fans appreciate their gridiron Jaguars as well based on the attendance.  Fans packed the stands and spilled into the areas surrounding the field to cheer their squad to an early 17-0 lead that finished with a resounding 34-19 victory at Moe DeFrank Stadium (seating capacity 3600).  It was encouraging to see so many fans in attendance who were engaged with the game from start to finish.

Check out a highlight from Garnet Valley…

 

Saturday, August 24

My Saturday high school football schedule began early in York at the Rose Bowl Kickoff Classic featuring four games that day being played at York High’s Smalls Athletic Field.  I attended the first of four games slated to be played there and was treated to a 1030am cross state matchup pitting two hyper-athletic squads in the District 7 (Pittsburgh area) Imani Christian Academy Saints and the District 12 (Philadelphia area) West Catholic Burrs.

Imani Christain Academy is an interesting study as a small 1A team that is playing up in the 3A classification.  While they only have a little over two dozen players on the roster they feature several dynamic players including a couple who should join Division 1 teams at the next level.

Imani Christian Academy was dominant in a 45-6 victory against their cross state foes.  The Saints potent attack tallied scores on the ground and through the air while also tacking on a TD with a 99 yard punt return.

I would encourage your future attendance at a multi-game/single venue event like the York Football Kickoff Classic for many reasons for the simple fact you can watch teams from all over the state play ccompetitive games at the same field over the course of a couple days.  Well worth the price of admission!

Check out this spectacular Imani Christian Academy TD pass and catch…

 

The second half of my Saturday doubleheader brought me to Mansion Park in Altoona where 2A #3 Bald Eagle Area was slated to challenge 1A #2 Bishop Guilfoyle in a District 6 matchup.  Mansion Park is utilized by numerous organizations throughout the football season and commonly hosts PIAA post-season football games each year.  It’s somewhat central PA location and high seating capacity in addition to decent parking and facilities are some of the reasons Mansion Park played host to the PIAA State Football Finals in the late 1980s and early 1990s prior to the games being moved to Hersheypark Stadium.

As for the game, Bishop Guilfoyle was stout on defense posting a shutout 21-0 win over Bald Eagle Area.  They also were highly efficient on offense with a solid run/pass mix to keep Bald Eagle Area on their heels throughout the contest. The BG Marauders have the look once again of a championship contender as they are looking to add to their previous four state titles (2014, 2015, 2016 and 2021).

 

A full weekend of PA high school football games complete I journeyed home two hours east to complete my 2024 Week 0 scchedule and will be looking forward to many more games to come!

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

Follow PA Football News on Twitter @PaFootballNews

 
 
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