It has been a big season so far for area teams in the Slate Belt area. The Slate Belt area is made up of three teams, Bangor, Pius X and Pen Argyl. All three teams made the playoffs and have combined for a record of 32-5.
Pen Argyl leads the way with a 13-0 record and is led by All-State running back Dylan Evans who has rushed for almost 2,000 yards and 28 touchdowns so far this season. When they are not running with Evans they are throwing with quarterback Conor Gum who has passed for 1,045 yards and 12 touchdowns.
The Green Knights are one of two teams that are undefeated in Eastern PA. So far in the playoffs they have defeated Pine Grove 49-13, Northern Lehigh 26-7 and Wilkes-Barre GAR 50-20. This Friday night they travel to Philadelphia to take on the defending Class 2A state champs West Catholic.
Pen Argyl is averaging 41.6 points on offense and their stingy defense is giving up on 13.3 points.
Bangor ripped off seven straight wins and are led by running back Josh Wing who rushed for 1,853 yards and 20 touchdowns. The Slaters season came to a end when Pottsville defeated them 35-13 in the first round of District 3A playoffs.
Pius X’s head coach Phil Stambaugh has the Royals offense running on all cylinders. The Royals are led by Sophomore quarterback AJ Long. Long has passed for 3,368 yards and 43 touchdowns. He has multiple targets to throw to. Matt Camilletti has 712 yards, Drake Freeman has 701 yards and Boise Ross has 1,017 yards receiving.
The Royals are averaging 49.0 points in the playoffs. Friday night the Royals host Southern Columbia at Andrew S. Leh Stadium in Nazareth. Can the Royals defeat the Tigers who have dominated Class A ball the last decade? Time will tell. No matter what happens this weekend High School Football is alive and well in the Slate Belt area.
One Response
Even Bangor looked pretty strong this year. But as far as what’s in the water, I don’t think there are too many kids on the Pius roster that actually drink slate belt water on a regular basis…..at least not in their homes.
It would have been awesome to see Pius and PA get together again like they used to before the state playoffs. It was always a great game.