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 […]
