Here’s a look at the quarterfinal matchups:
(No. 1 seed) Northwestern Lehigh (13-1 overall, 9-1 CL) vs. (8) Salisbury (6-8, 5-5): The Tigers won a surprisingly close game on their home court against the Falcons on Jan. 21 by a 43-35 score. Salisbury, coming off a winless season, is easily the surprise team of the area this season let alone the league.
“After last season I’m just happy we made the league playoffs,” Falcons coach Dan Reichenbach said. “Hopefully we’ll play Northwestern tough again.”
“We’re playing well,” Tiger coach Chris Deutsch said. “Especially on the defensive end. The girls have accepted their roles and are playing like a team.”
Northwestern last won a league title in 2014 while Salisbury’s last title came in 1994 when it won its third in five seasons.
(2) Notre Dame (9-3, 8-1) vs. (7) Palisades (8-6, 6-4): The biggest question of the tournament is whether Pirates’ 1,000-point career
scorer Trinity Williams will be available to play. With Williams in the lineup Palisades pulled off the biggest upset in the league this year with a 39-35 victory over the Crusaders but have lost all four of its games since the NJIT recruit has been out with a severely sprained ankle.
“We ended the season with some major injuries and we’re looking forward to getting those players back so we can compete like we did most of the season,” said Pirates coach Gregg Dietz, who indicated Williams will be a game-time decision. “It won’t be easy against Notre Dame but the kids are looking forward to the challenge.”
“One of our goals was to have the opportunity to defend our league title,” Notre Dame coach Josh Kopp said. “Without injuries, Palisades is a top four seed. We’re excited to get a chance to atone for our lone league loss this season.”
(3) Palmerton (10-4, 8-2) vs. (6) Southern Lehigh (6-6, 6-4): The Blue Bombers beat the Spartans 48-37 on Jan. 30 so expect another competitive game.
“We’ve had some great practices leading up to this and the girls are excited and know what we need to do to be successful,” said Southern Lehigh coach Matt Cooper, who will step down after this season after seven seasons. He is tied with the most league championships won by a coach with four. “We’re looking forward to it.”
“We’re excited to play in the playoffs again,” Blue Bomber coach Dan Beck said. “We’re playing better defensively and with more composure on offense. We’re taking it one game at a time.”
Palmerton’s three Colonial League titles came during a three-peat from 1996-98.
(4) Wilson (7-3, 7-3) vs. Bangor (9-3, 7-3): For the first time in league history these two teams did not meet in the regular season. The Slaters have won nine of the last 10 games played between the two including a 44-37 decision in 2019 in their lone league playoff matchup.
“We’re looking for a competitive game,” Bangor coach Bill Bisci said. “Since we didn’t play them we’re scrambling for information on Wilson. I know one thing, they are playing very well.”
Coach Sondrine Gutierrez Warriors’ are coming off a 48-47 loss to Notre Dame in a game they held a 20-3 lead at one point. The Slaters are coming off a 58-32 loss to the Crusaders.
Bangor last won a title when it went back-to-back in 2008 and 2009 while Wilson’s two titles came in 2003 and 2010.
The Lehigh Valley was shut out when the Pennsylvania roster was announced last week for the Big 33 Classic set for Memorial Day, May 31 at Central Dauphin School District’s Landis Field in Lower Paxton Township near Harrisburg.
But local schools will be well-represented the day before when for the first time two Pennsylvania State Football Coaches Association (PSFCA) All-Star games are played at the same location.
The first game is set for noon on May 30 and will feature players in Classes A, 2A and 3A. The second all-star game, which will kick off at 5 p.m., will showcase players from 4A, 5A and 6A.
The East’s big school team will feature former Bethlehem Catholic head coach Joe Henrich as head coach and his assistants include Tim McGorry of Central Catholic and Jim McCarroll of Pocono Mountain West.
The East roster features Easton running back Nahjee Adams, East Stroudsburg South wide receiver Christian Sapp and linebackers Christian Shelton of Bethlehem Catholic and Shane Hartzell of Pennridge.
The small school team will feature four players from Notre Dame-Green Pond — running back Matt Frauen, offensive linemen Lex Rivera and Brandon Guffy and defensive end William Jordan. In addition, Salisbury wide receiver Chad Parton, Palisades defensive back Zachary Smith and Northern Lehigh linebacker Joe Abidelli earned spots.
Jim Thorpe’s Allen Bailor also earned a roter spot as an offensive lineman. Mike Farr of Schuylkill Haven will serve as the East’s smallschool head coach.
The Big 33 Classic, pitting the top seniors from Maryland against the best from Pennsylvania, will kick off at 2 p.m. on Memorial Day and will feature Freedom’s Jason Roeder and Bethlehem Catholic graduate John Donnelly, currently the head coach at Central Bucks East, on the Pennsylvania coaching staff.
You can make the call
Longtime area football official Tom Kichline said there’s a shortage of football officials.
“We’re losing them each year,” he said. “It fluctuates. Sometimes, we lose one or two; sometimes we lose 15. With COVID-19 hitting, we’re going to lose between eight to 10 this year, which is really almost 15% of our staff. When you’re struggling to put new guys on the field, that’s a problem.”
It is not at just the high school level; it’s at every level.
“This is not just football in the District 11 chapter that’s hurting for officials; this is a nationwide problem in every sport,” Kichline said. “They’re canceling games in Ohio because they can’t get enough football officials. They’re having trouble staffing softball, swimming, track and field, volleyball. It’s not just the commitment, but it’s how they’re being treated. It’s a culture thing. People get frustrated because we’re there to work games and not get yelled and screamed at.”
How do you avoid those situations and handle them when they arise?
Kichline will cover that and much more at his fifth annual “Football Officiating 101 course, which runs over six weeks from 6:30 to 8:15 p.m. on Tuesday nights and has the goal of getting potential officials ready to pass their PIAA exam.
The course, which begins on March 23, is free. The class will be held virtually and also in a classroom at Parkland High School and on the field.
The course covers everything from the role of officials to preparation and conduct, wearing the proper uniform, dealing with players and coaches, proper signaling, penalty enforcement, working in three, four-five or seven-man crews and the kicking game. The course will provide everything you need to know to progress from the pee-wee youth football ranks right through high school and college.
Handouts, manuals, extensive video review are all featured.
Guest instructors will include PIAA and NCAA Division I college football officials, league assigners, and coaches at all levels.
To learn more about the football officiating class, email Kichline at TKichlineREF@yahoo. com or call him at 210-602-7572
Naomi Osaka’s Australian Open championship moved her up one spot to No. 2 in the WTA rankings Monday, while men’s finalist Daniil Medvedev rose to a career-best No. 3 behind winner Novak Djokovic on the ATP list. Jennifer Brady, the 25-year-old American who was the runner-up to Osaka, jumped 11 spots to No. 13, her first time inside the Top 20. Aslan Karatsev’s historic run from qualifying to the final four before losing to nine-time Aussie champ Djokovic allowed him to vault 72 places from 114th to 42nd. He’s the first man in the professional era to reach the semifinals in his debut in the main draw of a major tournament. Despite winning the last two Grand Slam tournaments she entered, Osaka still trails No. 1 Ash Barty — who lost in the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park — because of the way the tennis tours are calculating what they’re calling “frozen” rankings following last season’s hiatus caused by the pandemic. In order for players’ rankings not to be hurt if they skipped events as a result of the outbreak, the WTA gives credit for someone’s best 16 tournaments since March 2019. Serena Williams climbed four spots from No. 11 to No. 7 to get back into the Top 10 after making it to the semifinals in Australia.