SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — Only one Schuylkill County team is left standing as we enter Week 13 of the high school football season — the Marian Colts.
For 75 area senior football players, however, there’s still one more chance to showcase their skills in front of their family, friends and fans.
The annual Schuylkill County Football Coaches’ Association North-South Senior All-Star Game is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday at Schuylkill Haven’s Rotary Field.
Players from Jim Thorpe, Lehighton, Mahanoy Area, North Schuylkill, Panther Valley, Shenandoah Valley and Tamaqua will comprise Team Jungle (North), which is sponsored by BRB Specialties.
Players from Blue Mountain, Minersville, Nativity, Pine Grove, Pottsville, Schuylkill Haven, Tri-Valley and Williams Valley will make up Team Ortho (South), which is sponsored by Phillips and Brayford Orthopedic.
Five players from Marian — Aaron DeAngelo, Ryan Malarkey, Hunter Nause, K.J. Snerr and Josh Skotek — were selected to participate in the game, but will not play due to the Colts’ PIAA Class A first-round playoff game against Bishop McDevitt on Friday at Germantown High School in Philadelphia. The players will be recognized pre-game, but will not play.
Lehighton’s Tom McCarroll will guide Team Jungle, while Pine Grove’s Jeff Sampson will coach Team Ortho.
McCarroll directed his
Indians to an undefeated regular season and the school’s first Anthracite Football League championship this season. Lehighton finished 11-1, losing to Saucon Valley in Saturday’s District 11 Class AAA championship game.
Sampson has been the Cardinals’ head coach for 10 seasons, compiling a 58-51 career mark that includes the 2010 Eastern Conference Class AA championship and a trip to the Eastern Conference finals in 2014.
At halftime of the North-South game, the SCFCA will induct four new members into its Coaches Hall of Fame: North Schuylkill’s Bob Moyer, Blue Mountain’s Jim Shields, Pine Grove’s Tom Renninger and Walter Farquhar of Pottsville.
Tri-Valley coach Mike Ulicny and Jim Thorpe’s Mark Rosenberger will serve as honorary captains for the game.
The game will be broadcasted live on WMGH 105.5 FM radio, Lansford. Eight members of the Schuylkill Chapter of PIAA Football Officials have volunteered to work the game: Jim Toomey, Mike Klembara, Fred McDonald, Jeff Newhard, Matt Revenis, Jim Carney, Greg Mentzer and Jay Richmond.
Additional sponsors for this year’s game are Schuylkill Valley Sports, Mystic Screen Printing and Embroidery, and Minersville Auto Parts.
Last year’s game was postponed several times before being rescheduled to May 30. The North defeated the South 27-14.