Another exciting weekend of action wraps up the 12th week of high school football throughout Pennsylvania. Many District Champions were crowned and the competition is heating up with reservations for Hershey the weekend of Dec. 18 and 19 at a premium.
In the A category, NORTHWEST outlasted RIVERSIDE in a 40-30 shootout. The Rangers used big plays from Steve Merth, Jeff Moss and Bret Rutkowski to capture the A Honors. Next up for NORTHWEST is a date with SOUTHERN COLUMBIA on Friday evening at 7 p.m. at Shamokin High School. The Tigers of SOUTHERN COLUMBIA are back on the prowl courtesy of a nice 42-14 win over host, LINE MOUNTAIN. SOUTHERN COLUMBIA, of course, no stranger to State Playoff competition, beat BLOOMSBURG on the road in Week No. 11. Remember well the Tigers State Record of 5 Consecutive State Titles from 2002-2006. Head Coach, Jim Roth, one of the area’s finest, has SOUTHERN COLUMBIA again heading for a possible State Crown.
In AA competition, DUNMORE made it a 3-peat with a convincing 35-8 win over LAKELAND. Yes, the great rivals met again, but this time around it was all DUNMORE, with an aggressive defense capitalizing on several early miscues, namely interceptions and taking one of them back for a TD. Michael Ehnot delivered the first dagger to the Chiefs in the first quarter returning the ball 30 yards for the score. This interception and return seemed to turn the game early in DUNMORE’S favor, and quite frankly, the Chiefs never recovered. In fact, the second pick, a brilliant grab by Morgan Holmes was returned 48 yards to the LAKELAND 1, where Bucks’ RB sensation, Michael Perry followed with a 1 yard burst giving DUNMORE a 21-0 lead only 5 minutes into the 2nd quarter. DUNMORE will now meet WEST CATHOLIC, A 21-7 winner over BOK TECH, on Friday at 7 p.m. at Palisades High School in Kintnersville, just south of Easton. DUNMORE Head Coach, Jack Henzes, who suffered some heart complications along the sidelines on Friday night and was taken for treatment and observation at the hospital, is reportedly doing better and was released from the hospital the following day, Saturday. The Bucks are happy that their long time mentor will be at the helm again this Friday night with the big rematch showdown with WEST CATHOLIC.
In the AAA Class, ABINGTON HEIGHTS rose to the head of the class with a very impressive 35-6 win over DALLAS AREA. The Mountaineers were impressive and surprising all year, especially with coming off a disappointing 2-8 campaign in 2008. On Saturday afternoon, however, it was all ABINGTON HEIGHTS with the Comets massive offensive and defensive lines making things difficult for DALLAS all day long, including 2 goal line stands which left the Mountaineers scoreless for most of 4 quarters in the game. ABINGTON HEIGHTS was led by RB, Paul Gallagher, who scored 3 TDs on the afternoon. The Comets advance and will now meet ALLENTOWN CENTRAL CATHOLIC on Friday evening at 7:00 p.m. at Bethlehem Liberty High School.
In AAAA action, EASTON handled HAZLETON AREA 28-6, while PARKLAND advanced with a 59-30 victory over EAST STROUDSBURG SOUTH.
Good Luck to all teams in the upcoming Week No. 13.
See You On The Sidelines!
Larry Spegar
