Allen, Dieruff look forward to level playing field in finale
Throughout the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, football teams are preparing for rivalry weekend and in games such as Liberty-Freedom, Emmaus-Parkland and Northampton-Whitehall, much more than bragging rights are at stake.
In Allentown at 1:15 p.m. Saturday, Allen and Dieruff will renew their rivalry that began in 1959.
But as has been the case almost every year for the last 17, little is at stake other than a chance for one of the two scuffling programs to close the season with a feelgood moment.
The Canaries and Huskies are not only a combined 0-8 in their COVID-19 shortened seasons, but they have been outscored 386-20. Dieruff has allowed an average of 52 points per game. Allen has yet to score.
While the Allentown School District was the last to opt in to playing a fall
sports schedule with a school board vote on Aug. 27 providing the green light, the temporary change in divisions to keep teams only playing opponents from the same county put both Allen and Dieruff at a disadvantage from the start.
The Canaries and Huskies left the Lehigh Valley Conference for the Mountain Valley Conference in 2012 because they were no longer competitive in the LVC. Then when a new version of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference was formed in 2014, Allen and Dieruff went to the EPC North where they found a more competitive fit.
But instead of facing East Stroudsburg North and Monroe County teams this year, Allen and Dieruff had to deal with Central Catholic, Emmaus, Parkland and Whitehall, the same teams they wanted to escape in 2012.
Both head coaches, Allen’s George Clay and Dieruff’s Dave Lutte, respect the other teams and coaches in what was the EPC North until this year.
But they both acknowledge the obvious. “East Stroudsburg South is good enough to have contended for a 5A state title this year, but the EPC North and EPC South are two totally different universes right
now,” Lutte said. “That’s just reality.”
“In terms of demographics, we’re a better fit in the North Division,” Clay said. “That’s a better spot for us. It’s tough for us to be in the EPC South and play this type of football. We’re just not quite in the same class.”
Clay said that with the schools shut down for months due to the pandemic, players were left to fend for themselves with equipment and the students at the other schools in Lehigh County have more means to get in their work on their own.
“We gave our kids body workouts to do,” Clay said. “They just did pushups, situps, stuff they can do against a wall ... things like that. We couldn’t give them any weight options because they couldn’t do that at home. And once again, it’s a big, strong league. If you’re not strong and ready to compete, you’re going to struggle and we did because of the level of competition in the South.”
In addition, the Allentown schools were behind many others in terms of getting permission to get out on the field to do football-related activities.
All of the obstacles aside, both Lutte and Clay said they heard compliments from other veteran coaches like Parkland’s Tim Moncman, Whitehall’s Matt Senneca and Central Catholic’s Tim MGorry for how hard the players have competed even when things weren’t going well on the scoreboard.
“It is nice to hear that stuff and it is appreciated,” Clay said. “It’s a good thing. But at some point, you want it to go a little further than just being noticed.”
Finally, Allen and Dieruff feel they have a level playing field on Saturday in the 64th meeting between the programs.
To the coaches and players involved, it doesn’t matter that Dieruff hasn’t had a winning season since 2002 or that Allen hasn’t since 2003. Allen has won more games in the series, 33-30, but Dieruff has won six of the last eight.
It’s about putting forth a spirited, competitive effort and showing what you can do in a rivalry that has meant so much to generations of Allentown families. Even though fans will be limited due to COVID19 restrictions, it’s still the biggest stage of the season.
Lutte and Clay both said they are proud of the effort their players have given them and how they’ve shown up day after day through unusual circumstances.
“I’ve had pretty muchevery kid show up every day for practice,” he said. “They’re all there, giving me everything they’ve got. Even after each game, they come back and keep pushing and keep trying. They’re struggling with the virtual learning and trying to get on computers and everything else they’re dealing with at home, but they show up for football practice every day.”
Lutte looks at Saturday’s game as a chance to show appreciation to the players for fighting through obstacles to play a season.
“Both of us have some nice players while we’re dealing with the same ‘quote, unquote’ types of issues,” Lutte said. “But I’ll be honest. As muchas I want to win this game because it’ll be a great springboard into the offseason, this day to me is more than just a game. It’s a celebration of the resiliency of Allentown kids.
“With everything they’ve had to endure from the shutdown to the ‘will we, won’t we’ uncertainty, to not having parents at games, to the virtual learning struggles ... what we see Saturday is a celebration of the fortitude and tenacity of Allentown kids. With a lot of things going on in their lives, it would have been easy for them to pack it in. But you have to take your hats off to those kids, knowing they are up against better competition week in and week out.”
Lutte said it’s easy to knock Allentown kids. But the detractors don’t know them.
“This Saturday is proof that our kids are just as tenacious and just as into sports as kids from any other school,” he said. “We just need to support them more and give them a boost to get them going in the right direction.”