Teammates reunite one last time

Tri-State Sports & News Service

David Green will be playing in the Big 33 Football Classic and it makes him sad. No, the game hasn’t lost its luster for the former Central Catholic standout who will stay in Oakland and play at Pitt. What bothers him is this will be the last time that he dons his pads with two of his beloved teammates.

Green, Liam Slattery and Khalil Weathers lifted the Vikings to WPIAL supremacy. Now, they get one last hurrah before heading their separate ways.

The trio will play for the Pennsylvania squad in the 61st annual Big 33 against Maryland at 7 p.m. Saturday at Central Dauphin Middle School’s Landis Field.

“This is the last time I get to play with them,” said Green. “It’s heartbreaking, really. You get to know somebody over this time period and all of a sudden it’s the last time you get to suit up with them. It’s kind of saddening.”

Green is a defensive tackle, Slattery a linebacker and Weathers a defensive back. Over the past four seasons, the Vikings played in the WPIAL championship game four times, winning two. They also made it to the PIAA title game twice, bringing home the gold in 2015.

During their senior year, Green had 23 tackles and three sacks; Slattery 44 tackles and 2.5 sacks; and Weather had 15 tackles plus an interception.

“It’s always great to know you played with somebody for so long and you know they got your back like you’ve got they’re back,” said Green. “I’m going to be leaning on Liam and Khalil to make impact plays.”

Slattery will play at Tufts and Weather is a Penn recruit.

Other WPIAL players on the Big 33 roster include receiver Naszhir Taylor of Woodland Hills, linebacker Darrell Mason of Penn Hills, linebacker Noah Plack of South Fayette, defensive end Will Mayr of Penn-Trafford, defensive tackle Ray Eldridge of South Fayette, offensive lineman Eric Neill of Central Valley, offensive lineman Derek Devine of North Allegheny, linebacker Layton Jordan McKeesport and running back Carlinos Acie of McKeesport.

The Big 33 used to pit Pennsylvania against Ohio all-stars. In recent years it has been Pennsylvania and Maryland, with the Keystone State holding a 4-1 series advantage.

In its heyday, the clash would draw nearly 20,000 fans and was played at a larger venue.

Nowadays, the crowds aren’t so big. About 6,0007,000 is expected for the event. Numerous factors played into that decline, like early college enrollment, competing all-star games, a risk of injury and the summer date.

Big 33 executive director Garry Cathall, a former coach at Peters Township and Butler, said plans are in the works to possibly move the game next year to Memorial Day with a military appreciation theme. He said that 14 Pennsylvania players turned down an invitation to play in this year’s game. However, nine of them said that if it wasn’t played during the summer, they would do it.

Unlike all-star games that take place in a warmer climate or dome, the Big 33 opts to wait until closer to the end of the school year and not directly after football season.

“If we had a Big 33 in Hershey in December and we had a snow storm, we’d have 10 people there and it would be a nightmare,” said Cathall.

While some other national games may overshadow the Big 33 for local standouts, one of the big selling points of the game is its rich history. In the 52-year run of Super Bowls, a Big 33 alum has been on a roster for every game.

That history is not lost on today’s players. Slattery said that the importance of the ofgame dawned on him while at teammate Gus Sunseri’s home. Sunseri’s father, also named Gus, played in the game.

“It really hadn’t hit me until I was listening to them and it really stretches back further than I realized at first,” said Slattery. “I take a lot of pride in this game and others take enormous pride in this game.”

Slattery said his coaches at Tufts called it an honor to be selected and encouraged him to play. Green had a similar experience that alleviated his doubts about playing.

“I was thinking if I should still be playing in the game,” said Green. “I didn’t want to bebehind schedule with Pitt. I talked to [Pitt defensive line] coach [Charlie] Partridge and he said, ‘You go play in this game. It’s an honor to play in that game.’ That gave me the confidence to go play in this game and then go down to Pitt and work my tail off.”