Adding the 2022 PIAA Championships to History
I have always been interested in history (except in school when I should have been), and have always been interested in stats and lists, i.e., “the 25 most”; “the 20 worst”; “the 25 states with”, et al. I see these on the Net and almost always have to read them no matter what the subject. […]
Discussing Districts, Classifications, and Playoff Brackets
When the PIAA State Football Championship season comes around there are always many conversations regarding the title subjects above and of course, how they affect the teams that are to play. Let me state at the outset that greater minds with greater resources than I have; have worked, and are I am sure […]
Looking Back at Sixty-Five Seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football (Part 30 of 30)
“Here’s a look back at 65 – seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football through the eyes of Kmac” WHAT HAS IT ALL MEANT? When I first went to a game in 1951, just past age 10, I had no comprehension at all that I would develop a hobby out of high school football. It was […]
Looking Back at Sixty-Five Seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football (Part 29 of 30)
“Here’s a look back at 65 – seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football through the eyes of Kmac” My thoughts about my high school football hobby continued on October 30th when I made the Tennent at Truman game my choice for the night. But Pennsbury, both Rocks, Neshaminy, and even Bensalem were all “away”, my […]
Looking Back at Sixty-Five Seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football (Part 28 of 30)
“Here’s a look back at 65 – seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football through the eyes of Kmac” I was very much looking forward to the 2015 season, and my Suburban One League thumbnail team write-ups for easternPAfootball that ran in January 2015 were an expression of that feeling. It would be my 65th season […]
Looking Back at Sixty-Five Seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football (Part 27 of 30)
“Here’s a look back at 65 – seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football through the eyes of Kmac” The Titans of Central Bucks South with Notre Dame-bound Josh Adams were coming to Falcon Field for Friday night 10/24/2014. Both clubs were 7-1 at the time. Bill Heller and Tony Schino, coaches I knew from past […]
Looking Back at Sixty-Five Seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football (Part 26 of 30)
“Here’s a look back at 65 – seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football through the eyes of Kmac” Monday, June 23, 2014, I took in my first-ever 7 on 7 at Council Rock North at 6:00 PM. A three-way round-robin among CR North, Father Judge, and Harry S. Truman was the slate. Of course these […]
Looking Back at Sixty-Five Seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football (Part 25 of 30)
“Here’s a look back at 65 – seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football through the eyes of Kmac” On Friday October 25, 2013, I returned to Doylestown and the Continental Conference of Suburban One for the first time since the opening night of the season. The attraction was the North Penn Knights (5-0 league) versus […]
Looking Back at Sixty-Five Seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football (Part 24 of 30)
“Here’s a look back at 65 – seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football through the eyes of Kmac” I seemed to rally for the 2013 season from the following note I made prior to it: I am again looking forward to 2013 and again plan to stay mostly at Pennsbury, Council Rock, Truman, and the […]
Looking Back at Sixty-Five Seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football (Part 23 of 30)
“Here’s a look back at 65 – seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football through the eyes of Kmac” Following the disastrous season of 2011 I began to use the computer to organize my thoughts so I could read and ponder on them and make some analyses. I came up with the following, among other thoughts: […]
Looking Back at Sixty-Five Seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football (Part 22 of 30)
“Here’s a look back at 65 – seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football through the eyes of Kmac” The 2011 HSF season was a total disaster from my usual perspective. In 2011, I fell back 50 years to the same amount of games I saw in 1961; and these two years were the only years […]
Looking Back at Sixty-Five Seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football (Part 21 of 30)
“Here’s a look back at 65 – seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football through the eyes of Kmac” The day after the Friday night 10/29/2010 Abington-Council Rock South game I was back to Rock North for an expected even game between Bensalem (2-6) and Council Rock North (0-8). It was a day game between two […]
Looking Back at Sixty-Five Seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football (Part 20 of 30)
“Here’s a look back at 65 – seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football through the eyes of Kmac” Once again it was my wife that was the catalyst for a rebound of my HSF viewing hobby; just as it had been in 1984. In 2010 she wanted to see the Lion’s All-Star game in Doylestown […]
Looking Back at Sixty-Five Seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football (Part 19 of 30)
“Here’s a look back at 65 – seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football through the eyes of Kmac” While I did not go to the Lions game again in 2009, I did do a solitary pre-season visit to Falcon Field and spoke with a bunch including Bill Heller, Tony Schino, Justin Fee, and Mike Elko. […]
Looking Back at Sixty-Five Seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football (Part 18 of 30)
“Here’s a look back at 65 – seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football through the eyes of Kmac” In early 2008 I received a call from Bud 1’s wife informing me that he was in a nursing home in the Langhorne-Penndel area and recuperating (no information on what/why). I got directions and made a visit […]
Looking Back at Sixty-Five Seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football (Part 17 of 30)
“Here’s a look back at 65 – seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football through the eyes of Kmac” My first post-season note in 2006 was that I noticed recent newspaper articles that announced the pending arrival (in 2008) of the Philadelphia Catholic League teams to the PIAA. Likely private schools St Joes Prep and LaSalle […]
Looking Back at Sixty-Five Seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football (Part 16 of 30)
“Here’s a look back at 65 – seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football through the eyes of Kmac” In 2006, for the fourth consecutive season I caught the early June Bucks County Annual Lions’ All-Star game, this year at Falcon Field. Once again Bud 1, Bud 2, and Bud 4 and I were together for […]
Looking Back at Sixty-Five Seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football (Part 15 of 30)
“Here’s a look back at 65 – seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football through the eyes of Kmac” The 2005 season had no indication of any let down as the June North-South all-Star game at Truman had our normal posse of me, Bud 1, Bud 2, and Bud 4. It was a great way to […]
Looking Back at Sixty-Five Seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football (Part 14 of 30)
“Here’s a look back at 65 – seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football through the eyes of Kmac” In 2004, I again caught the Lions’ All Star game in June; and Bud 1, 2, and 4 were there at Council Rock North this time. The North turned the tables this time 17-14. Many times it […]
Looking Back at Sixty-Five Seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football (Part 13 of 30)
“Here’s a look back at 65 – seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football through the eyes of Kmac” My 53rd season in 2003 began earliest ever as I, along with Bud 1 and Bud 4, took in the annual Bucks County Lions All-Star game at Bensalem in early June. This was a North versus South […]
Looking Back at Sixty-Five Seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football (Part 12 of 30)
“Here’s a look back at 65 – seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football through the eyes of Kmac” I did not write up any preseason notes for the 2002 season which may have still been part of what I called the “possible erosion of interest” to a degree in 2001. But two of us, and […]
Looking Back at Sixty-Five Seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football (Part 11 of 30)
“Here’s a look back at 65 – seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football through the eyes of Kmac” Coaching changes this year were Art Barrett in at Wood; Biz Keeney moved from Bensalem to Tennent, Dan McShane was hired at Bensalem; and Tim Sorber was made permanent, from interim, HC at Abington for the 2001 […]
Looking Back at Sixty-Five Seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football (Part 10 of 30)
“Here’s a look back at 65 – seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football through the eyes of Kmac” For the 1999 season still in progress for a few playoff teams, I wrote a series of notes about what I had thought to be an “odd” season. It was on November 26th, a Friday. I noted […]
Looking Back at Sixty-Five Seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football (Part 9 of 30)
Looking Back at Sixty-Five Seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football. Part Nine Our pre-season visit in 1999 was brief this season, just one school- CB East where we had made so many friends of the coaching staff. It was the only staff that called us by name regularly; others did from time to time. We […]
Looking Back at Sixty-Five Seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football (Part 8 of 30)
Looking Back at Sixty-Five Seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football. Part Eight For the 1998 season I noted in July that I had a scheduled pre-season school visitation date already but I made no further notes about it. Once we started doing this, we continued for years until it finally stopped. Since this would be […]
Looking Back at Sixty-Five Seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football (Part 7 of 30)
“Here’s a look back at 65 – seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football through the eyes of Kmac” I made my first-ever job change after 38 consecutive years technically with one organization, but through a succession of mergers. February 2, 1997 I began with a new bank, but for a boss who had moved there […]
Looking Back at Sixty-Five Seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football (Part 6 of 30)
“Here’s a look back at 65 – seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football through the eyes of Kmac” Little did I know that the 1996 season would be the most exciting season I had to that time, and among the top three high school football seasons of my life. For January through August I had […]
Looking Back at Sixty-Five Seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football (Part 5 of 30)
“Here’s a look back at 65 – seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football through the eyes of Kmac” My 1993 season started on August 21st when my wife presented me with a Morrisville schedule she obtained at the bank. This gave me the idea to visit schools and gain additional schedules as it was still […]
Looking Back at Sixty-Five Seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football (Part 4 of 30)
“Here’s a look back at 65 – seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football through the eyes of Kmac” The 1990 season would be my 40th tour and I thought I should commemorate it by trying to set a record for number of games seen. After all, who knew if there would be a 50th? This […]
Looking Back at Sixty-Five Seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football (Part 3 of 30)
“Here’s a look back at 65 – seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football through the eyes of Kmac” The season of 1980 would be my 30th season of high school football. But in May 1980 I bought the home I still live in; in Washington Crossing, PA; and was in it only 3 months come […]
Looking Back at Sixty-Five Seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football (Part 2 of 30)
“Here’s a look back at 65 – seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football through the eyes of Kmac” The 1970 decade got off to a great start for me, I thought I was going to be back to high school football. I was offered a ride to the Pennsbury at Coatesville opener by an older […]
Looking Back at Sixty-Five Seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football (Part 1 of 30)
“Here’s a look back at 65 – seasons of Pennsylvania High School Football through the eyes of Kmac” I was 11 days past my 10th birthday on October 27, 1951 when my older cousin from down the street suggested I go to the local high school football game that night. It was in then bucolic […]
A Treatise on Pennsylvania High School Football Championships 1988-2019
I have been a fan of high school football in Pennsylvania since my first game in 1951. It was of course because I lived here and I am sure if I lived in some other state I would have been hooked on the sport wherever it may have been. I have detailed my first 65 […]
A look back at the 2018 State Championship games
Another State Championship series is history and its time to enter some stats in the records books. It was certainly not unfamiliar territory for teams and viewers as only Lackawanna Trail was new to the dance. Fully 11 of 12 teams had been there before, and 6 of those just last year. Both the 2A and 4A […]
Way Too Early Look at SOL Continental Conference
Once again we have a parallel to the National Conference in that the top team in each conference lost the most talent of any team in the conference; but, with qualifications. That said there is an historical distinction between the two conferences. And that is that North Penn has dominated their division, however it was […]
A Way Too Early Look at Suburban One National for 2017
Last year was the first time I dabbled in such predictions and I did not feel overly confident in my predictions. However, I did a pretty good job based on the results of the 2016 season, so I thought I should try again; and likely spoil my record. This year appeared to pose a different […]
Our Favorite Sport is in Trouble
This may come as a surprise to no one, but I wanted to address it for off-season reading and discussion purposes. First, I have no numerical statistics either Pennsylvania, or nationally, to emphatically prove that participation is down in high school football; but I believe it is from what I have observed from a local […]
Adding the 2016 Championships to History
Historic were the high school football championships in Pennsylvania for the 2016 season. We crowned the first-ever class 6A and 5A champions. In addition, we saw the first-ever team that has competed in THREE different classes, being District 12’s Imhotep Charter School (2A, 3A, & 4A). Naturally, all statistics in the 6A and 5A games […]
Further analysis of the Suburban One Continental Division
Continental Division North Penn. I see almost a parallel situation in this division to the National; a clear favorite and all of the rest. However, this division seems to have the credentials to be a little more competitive overall. And there are NO coaching changes compared to three in the National. Four teams in this […]
Further analysis of the Suburban One National Division
National Division Neshaminy is my choice as the team to beat in the 2016 National. The reasons are many; but first they return 11 experienced players, 8 on offense and 3 on defense. Although Bensalem returns 14 and Abington 12; these two teams do not return near the numbers recognized for all league honors in […]
Adding 2015 to State Championship History
The 2015 State Championships was in itself special in that it was the last time for four classifications – A through AAAA. In that vein, we had NOT A SINGLE TEAM participating that had not been there before. All 8 teams had been there before, many holding prior championships. It was the first time for […]
Worth the Price of Admission
Outstanding high school athletes lure me to certain games; I try to see as many as I can in my local area each season. Friday night, September 11, I chose Central Bucks South at Council Rock North for my second look at Rock QB/S Brandon McIlwain. I do not like the label “one-man team” because […]
Throwback Thursday: The 2001 Neshaminy State Champion Season
As a Suburban One League fan and follower I was at once thrilled and surprised by the Redskins 2001 climb to gold. The thrills were, 1) seeing a team I had first begun to follow in 1951 win it, and, 2) seeing a second Suburban One team win a state championship. The surprise was that […]
IF it happened
If the PIAA did decide to go to 6 classes for 2016, or beyond, I wondered what the difference in class breakdowns would mean for District One, which is my base of operation. How would the teams be sorted out? But I have only current enrollment figures – the enrollment figures will certainly be different, […]
The Importance of High School Football
High school football is important to those for whom this narrative is directed. The followers of, and posters on, EasternPAfootball have, in the majority of cases, shown to have a keen interest in Pennsylvania high school football. And there is no doubt that it is important to many young men and their parents for various […]
Adding 2014 to State Championship History
The 27th set of state championships in 2014 presented both new; and familiar. New was the fact that three 2013 champions successfully defended their titles. It was the first ever repeat of three defending champions – St Joes Prep (D12) 4A; Archbishop Wood (D12) 3A; and South Fayette (D7) 2A. New was the fact […]
The Level Playing Field
Many posts have been made to this site regarding the “recruiting” issues; or the open enrollment question; and the right to quality education thoughts. They have been enlightening and entertaining for certain. I must be a true Libra, because I try to see both sides of the coin in the various posts and have refrained […]
Polls, Rankings, Opinions and College
Without the various high school football polls and weekly rankings from various sources we would have much less to talk about each season. Many posts on EasternPAfootball.com are in regard to someone’s thoughts on who has been “missed’ in the rankings; who does not deserve their position in the rankings; or “obvious” errors in placement […]
Suburban One after the non-league schedule
(National and Continental Conferences) I wrote an article in March on a very early look at Sub One, and I wanted to see how I fared after the non-league portion of the various teams schedules. A few of Sub One teams still have a turkey-day game and some schedule contingency games for the 11th week […]
Throwback Thursday: The 1977 Bensalem Fighting Owls
The Bensalem Owls have had a checkered existence, and before we take up the fine 1977 edition a little history is in order. Bensalem Township abuts the City of Philadelphia in the river Northeast area. The Owls began football in 1930 as an independent squad, going 1-4-1 (a). They were in the old Lower Bucks […]
Throwback Thursday: The 1988 Suburban One National Conference Season
The 1988 season was one of great expectation for all high school football fans; this year we would crown on-field champions in all four classes for the first time. At this time the Sub One League was divided into two conferences, each with two divisions. The National Conference was Patriot Division – Bensalem, Council Rock, […]
Throwback Thursday: One Great Game Day
In 2001 one of our football group and I motored from Bucks County out to Coatesville on Friday night November 30th for the Class 3A Eastern Final between Strath Haven D1 and Manheim Central D3. We were surprised on arrival to see no activity, no busses, no early crowd, and no lit field. It had […]
Throwback Thursday: The Woodrow Wilson Golden Rams 1959-1980
The great influx of population into lower Bucks County from 1950 to 1960 occasioned by the construction of the Fairless Steel plant in Falls Township fueled tremendous growth in local area school systems. The greatest growth was seen in the Pennsbury, Neshaminy, and Bristol Township School Districts. While Pennsbury and Neshaminy did not immediately establish […]
Throwback Thursday: The 1996 C B East Patriots
Central Bucks East was opened in 1969 in Holicong, PA, a rural setting, as the second Central Bucks School District High School. At that time coach Mike Pettine was in his third season at what then became Central Bucks West in Doylestown. Prior to 1969 the Doylestown school was Central Bucks High School. I did […]
Throwback Thursday: The Defense Rests
One of the joys of high school football is analogous to a line from the movies when Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump says, “Life is like a box of chocolates…you never know what you’re gonna get.” It is not always the case, as upsets do not seem common anymore; and favorites usually come through, but […]
Throwback Thursday: The Decade of the Bucks – Part Two
Following the Bucks as I did in the mid-1990s you got the sense of a snowball rolling downhill gathering momentum and size. The coaching situation was stable and committed, not that there weren’t changes as assistant and special coaches came and went. But there was also a sense of community, a very active booster club […]
Throwback Thursday: The Decade of the Bucks – Part One
The 1990-1999 decade of the nineties belonged to the Central Bucks West Bucks’. The Bucks played 129 games in this time, and won 121 of them posting a decade record of 121-8. This winning percentage of 93.8% was first in the state for the 1990s for 608 football-playing schools. Although Berwick was first in total […]
Throwback Thursday: The 1989 Abington Galloping Ghosts
I first saw Abington in 1978 at Pennsbury in an afternoon non-league game won by Pennsbury 28-14. I did not pick the Ghosts up for my records until 1988 when I added most of the teams I now follow; in addition to the Lower Bucks County League schools I began with in 1951. I did […]
Throwback Thursday: The 1958 Morrisville Bulldogs Spawns Two Pros
Current readers, unless they have some age on them, would not think that this struggling program today; once played on even terms with Neshaminy, Pennsbury, and other now prominent big schools. A small, Class A program, the Bulldogs now seem to have a constant struggle to even field a team. In fact, in 2001, a […]
Throwback Thursday: The 1998 CB West Bucks
I have been privileged to see many good high school football teams in my lifetime. I am not old, but I have been young for a long time now! While I cannot truly distinguish the “best” team ever on a basis of player-for-player, era-to-era, and other comparatives as well; as anyone else does I try […]
A Real Early Look at Suburban One
Readers probably know that I live in District One and follow the Suburban One League although I support, “May the better team win”, concept and try to give each team, league, and district its due respect. I got thinking about the recent realignment to the Suburban One League and the possible affect it might have […]
The Neshaminy-Pennsbury Rivalry – Part Two
I do not know when the present big Pennsbury High School in Fairless Hills opened, but the football field there opened in 1968. It had no lights, but it was a fine stadium overall. The Falcons opened it against Bishop John Neumann and recorded a 42-0 victory. But they did not hold the dedication with […]
The Neshaminy-Pennsbury Rivalry – Part One
I suppose most rivalries in high school football develop over propinquity. Closeness of school districts provides some personal knowledge among players, coaches, and families that lead to a natural competition rivalry. Then there were, and still are some, Thanksgiving game rivalries where the holiday atmosphere and long tradition of the game provides momentum for a […]
A Super Season
As high school football fans, many of us like to reminisce about good games we’ve seen, good teams or favorite teams we’ve followed, and great seasons we have experienced. Good company that adds to the experience is always welcome, and provides complimentary or sometimes differing viewpoints. As a football fan of some 63 seasons now, […]
A Slice of Public School versus Philadelphia Catholic League History
Early in February some interest was raised about Catholic schools in regard to separate championships in the past and also about wrestling and basketball, and Catholic school domination. I could be of little help then, but Jive and others that post on these threads came through beautifully. It got me thinking of what I might […]
