Astound TV Network Sports: Whitehall vs. Wilkes-Barre (8/25) 

Programming Note:
We have two competitive games on ATVN this week: Allentown Central Catholic will be facing Liberty on Thursday night and Parkland vs. Freedom will be our Friday night live game. Be sure to tune in to both games on the Astound TV and also on the Astound TV Network’s YouTube page! 

It’s time for our first in-season rankings of the top teams in the District XI region. 

Our pollsters this fall will be giving their selections for who they believe are the top 10 performing football teams that you’ll see on the Astound TV Network this fall. 

Each voter will select the top 10 teams – with each team getting 10 points for the top team, 9 for the second best team, 8 for third and so forth.  The voting committee itself consists of media members, football coaches and athletic directors in this region. 

One caveat – in order to balance the bigger and smaller schools in the region, each pollster MUST include at least three teams that are NOT a 6A-sized school. 

It’s a different way to gauge the top teams in Eastern Pennsylvania this fall, and we invite you to check back each week throughout this football season to see which teams make our poll…and who’s listed where, as decided by our diverse group of voters. 

One other unique aspect to our poll…the coaches and athletic directors’ names are never revealed so they can vote with their minds…and also avoid any potential “bulletin board” material, so each one can make selections without repercussions. 

Throughout the years that we have done our poll, the coaches and athletic directors have always maintained very objective opinions.  If you look back through our archives, you’ll notice that our pollsters have been amazingly accurate and unbiased in their selections, and our polls’ top teams very often finish similarly in the same order as the “power points” system that District XI uses when compiling its standings and playoff positioning’s. 

As far as which media members have a say?  Don’t be surprised if they identify themselves on our Thursday SportsTalk show, which, this fall, will be streamed live on YouTube on Thursdays at 7pm, in addition to being broadcast each week on ATVN. 

So without any further delay, here’s the grand unveiling of this week’s new “Astound 10” poll….(the number in parenthesis is the average points received for each team, with ‘10’ being the maximum.) 

1. Parkland (9.8) 
2. Nazareth (7.3) 
3. Easton (7.2) 
4. Emmaus (6.1) 
5. Southern Lehigh (4.9) 
6. Northwestern (4.7) 
7. Whitehall (3.9) 
8. Freedom (3.8) 
9. East Stroudsburg South (3.3) 
10. Notre Dame-Green Pond (1.7) 

Other teams receiving more than one mention: Liberty, Northampton  

Bookmark and return to our page each week and check back after this weekend’s game to see if your favorite teams moved up or down in the minds of our pollsters! 

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound Broadband or any other agency, organization, employer or company. 

VIDEO: ATVN Sports Talk – Central Catholic Football 

 Last fall, we tried a brand-new way to feature local teams in our coverage area: the “Astounding 10’’ high school football weekly poll! 

With so many media outlets, bloggers and pretty much anyone now with a laptop in Eastern Pennsylvania ranking teams in the standard manner, we tried something new – and were thrilled to hear our audience appreciated our efforts. 

 Hearing our viewers/readers’ positive feedback to this new idea, we are once again bringing back our unique (and comprehensive) ranking of the top teams in the ATVN viewing area. 

Our pollsters this fall will be giving their selections for who they believe are the top 10 performing football teams that you’ll see on the Astound TV Network this fall. 

 Each voter will select the top 10 teams – with each team getting 10 points for the top team, 9 for the second best team, 8 for third and so forth. 

One caveat – in order to balance the bigger and smaller schools in the region, each pollster MUST include at least three teams that are NOT a 6A-sized school. 

It’s a different way to gauge the top teams in Eastern Pennsylvania this fall, and we invite you to check back each week throughout this football season to see which teams make our poll…and who’s listed where, as decided by our diverse group of voters. 

One other unique aspect to our poll…the coaches and athletic directors’ names are never revealed so they can vote with their minds…and also avoid any potential “bulletin board” material, so each one can make selections without repercussions. 

Throughout the years that we have done our poll, the coaches and athletic directors have always maintained very objective opinions.  If you look back through our archives, you’ll notice that our pollsters have been amazingly accurate and unbiased in their selections, and our polls’ top teams very often finish similarly in the same order as the “power points” system that District XI uses when compiling its standings and playoff positioning’s. 

As far as which media members have a say?  Don’t be surprised if they identify themselves on our Thursday “SportsTalk” show, which, this fall, will be streamed live on YouTube on Thursday at 7pm, in addition to being broadcast each week on ATVN. 

So without any further delay, here’s the grand unveiling of this year’s new “Astound 10” for our preseason poll….(the number in parenthesis is the average points received for each team, with ‘10’ being the maximum.) 

1. Parkland (9.8) 
2. Emmaus (8.5) 
3. Nazareth (6.2) 
4. Freedom (6.1) 
5. Easton (5.8) 
6. Northwestern (5.2) 
7. Southern Lehigh (5.1) 
8. Liberty (2.2) 
9. Whitehall (1.8) 
10. East Stroudsburg South (1.7) 

Other teams receiving more than one mention: Notre Dame-Green Pond, Northampton  

 Bookmark and return to our page each week and check back after this weekend’s game to see if your favorite teams moved up or down in the minds of our pollsters! 

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound or any other agency, organization, employer or company. 

The countdown is underway to another exciting season of high school football in the Eastern Pennsylvania region — our first broadcast will be  Friday, August 22nd at 7pm on the Astound TV Network, featuring Wilkes-Barre vs. Whitehall.

So many media outlets are focusing only on the marquee players coming into this fall’s football season.  However, there are a number of players flying under some people’s radars that look to be major contributors to their team and stand out athletes in district 11 that are probably not getting as much pre-season attention as they deserve.

Here is part one of our list of the underrated players who could have outstanding seasons to keep an eye on for 2025 campaign:

Emmaus’s Robert Edwards.  The Green Hornets two-way all-star was double teamed for nearly every game in 2024 (and played through a bad case of the flu in his final playoff game last year).  Despite the heavy concentration and manpower against him versus all opponents last fall, he amassed some amazing numbers: 92 total tackles (68 solo), 23 TFL, 6 sacks, a forced fumble and interception returned for a touchdown.  Emmaus is rightly getting a lot of attention on their talented offensive returning core, but don’t overlook the blocking of Edwards (who recently committed to Richmond for next season) up front and the contributions he’ll make on “D.”

Liberty’s Gabe Green.  The Hurricanes had a breakthrough season in 2024 under the direction of Head Coach Shaun Daignault, complete with players who have bought into his system and have worked very hard to turn the program around.  Among that group include Gabe Green, who shared time in a crowded but talented running back corp.  Green is looking to build on his junior season (nearly 1,300 all-purpose yards, 15 TDs) and become a leader to prove Liberty’s resurgence is for real.

Pen Argyl’s Mason Soos & Caiden Faust.  The Green Knights were another team that pushed themselves to a new level a year ago–advancing in the district playoffs before losing to a very talented team from Williams Valley.  Soos took over the quarterback position for the first team last year (and combined for over 800 yards passing AND 800 yards rushing) and orchestrated an amazing comeback in district over Northern Lehigh was the architect of a talented offense that averaged 200 yards rushing per game.  Soos hardly came off the field as he contributed at defensive back and averaged over 36 yards per punt.  Faust was even more of a force on both sides of the ball: carrying the ball over 200 times for over 1,100 yards, showing good hands as a receiver AND ranking among the top three in key defensive categories. Look for both of these seniors to take an even more prominent role “up on the hill” this fall.

Parkland’s TJ Lawrence.  Lawrence was on this list last year when I called him the best two-way player in the area, and he did nothing in 2024 to reduce that claim.  Helping his team to a 6A championship, Lawrence rushed for over 1,200 yards, had over 300 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns on offense.  On defense he once again led the team in tackles, was among the team leaders in tackles for a loss and made some clutch plays on both sides of the ball in the post-season.  There’s a lot of talent once again on Parkland’s roster, but TJ will once again be a key as they look to defend their titles in 2025.

Whitehall’s Henry Schultz.  While his offensive stats from his freshman season last year didn’t break any records, the inside word is that he could have a breakout season this fall in whatever role he earns, thanks to great athletic ability and a strong work ethic.  He came on strong defensively last year, finishing with over 40 tackles despite not getting a lot of time early on.  Furthermore, he’s meshed well with upperclassmen in three different varsity sports as a ninth grader and progressed as each season went on.  Continuing that progression could make him a standout player on a team that’s looking to recapture a district title.

Southern Lehigh’s Colton Sams and Sean Steckert.  The rising junior quarterback had a breakout season in 2024, passing for a yard shy of 3,000, 34 touchdowns and threw just 7 interceptions.  Steckert compiled 278 rushes for 2,048, 34-TD, had 19 catches for 234, 4-TD and defensively had6-INT (one for a TD).

Despite guiding the team to a 4A championship, Sams and Steckert’s efforts were overshadowed by Colonial League rival Northwestern, who won a PIAA 3A state title.  Despite losing some big names to graduation, the Spartans are looking for a repeat performance and these two Spartans will be key in continuing the solid offensive performance that combined for nearly 400 total yards through last season.

Check back to The SportsTalk Shop for more names of special players to watch for this year, along with video highlights of different teams throughout the fall and more notes and honors for teams in the Astound TV Network viewing area.

If you want to “nominate” a player for “part two” of our “players to watch” list, email them to chris.michael@astound.com

Plus, bookmark and come back to “The Shop” over the next couple days as we unveil our annual “Astounding 10 Football Teams” preseason poll — we have developed quite a reputation as having the most comprehensive (and accurate) local high school football poll in the area.  See which schools make our list for the upcoming season!

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

The Lehigh Valley high school summer basketball season is winding down.

Parkland, the defending District XI champions this winter, also won the local summer league regular season basketball title last week.  Ironically, the Trojans boys Head Basketball Coach, Eddie Ohlsen, and a team composed of many former Parkland players, also won the adult summer league championship last weekend, played at the Catasauqua playgrounds.

Meanwhile, Southern Lehigh, with a first-year head coach, was the only Lehigh Valley team to make it through the “Small School” summer league regular season without a loss.

Most local schools are now starting to make the transition from summer sports to preparing for the fall sports seasons (“heat acclimation week” starts at the beginning of August.)

Today here at The SportsTalk Shop, we bring you our final look at pictures from local basketball games involving the student-athletes in the Astound TV Network viewing area…

I will be heading out on vacation but when I return in a few weeks, the ATVN Sports crew and I will be busy bringing you the deciding games in the Blue Mountain League Baseball championship series, as well as getting you ready for a brand new season of high school sports broadcasts on Astound TV Network.

In addition to kicking off the season with the Opening Night of HS football on Friday, August 22nd, we’ll also have our annual football preview show on the Thursday, August 21st edition (live at 7pm) of ATVN SportsTalk, which will also be broadcast on our YouTube channel:  YouTube.com/@AstoundTVNetwork

And, we at Astound have some other exciting news for this new scholastic season involving students-athletes in our community.  Keep checking back to our website and The SportsTalk Shop for details and our broadcast plans for the first few weeks of the football season (along with our annual football “polls” as well, ranking the top teams in the ATVN viewing area!)

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

The local summer basketball season continues and our ATVN cameras have been out and about covering the local action on the hardwood – or concrete – depending on the locations!

Here’s a look at some still pictures of recent summer basketball action in the Astound TV Network viewing area…

Coming up on this Thursday’s ATVN SportsTalk, we have an exclusive interview with the new District XI Chairman, Steve Panczer.  We’ll discuss his background from his playing days at Bangor high school to becoming the school’s athletic director, along with discussing issues facing the area as well as his plans for the area’s local sports teams.  The show airs live at 7pm on ATVN.

If you have a question or comment for Steve or issues concerning District XI sports, feel free to email us at chris.michael@astound.com and we might read/respond to your questions on our live program.

You can watch the show for free from anywhere by going to youtube.com/@AstoundTVnetwork 

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

Before we look at more pictures from around the area at local basketball league and tournament action, a quick recap of last week’s “Bash at the Beach” (aka, held indoors at nice, climate-controlled gymnasiums…thank you, Whitehall-Coplay School District!)

The winners for the second straight year were the Parkland Trojans.  In addition to winning the district title and going further than any other boys team this past winter, they have a ton of people back for this year and show no signs of slowing down.

Ironically both Parkland and fellow defending district champion Central Catholic both lost the day before and found themselves in the ‘losers bracket’ for Sunday’s events.

Emmaus, under the direction of a brand new head coach, made a great showing, advancing into the winners bracket Saturday night by beating both the Trojans and the Vikings.  The Hornets then lost to Wilson WL, who lost to Parkland in Sunday night’s finale.

In the small school classification, both Salisbury and Southern Lehi had great weekends, with the Falcons beating the Spartans in the final game in overtime. Veteran Steven Lozada had the game-winning bucket.  Both teams have a ton of talent returning from last year and, as you saw on ATVN last winter, that game was also a close affair that went right down to the wire.

Now, a look at some still pictures of summer basketball action…

Check back for more pictures and updates on local summer basketball action here at The SportsTalk Shop! 

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

We continue our look at some of the top video highlights and moments from the spring sports season of games broadcast on the Astound TV Network.

Among today’s highlights include:

• Parkland baseball winning its first District XI 6A title since 2015 (and ATVN Sideline Reporter Gabrielle DiPaula helping to set up the team’s “ice bath” of Head Coach Kurt Weber)
• Southern Lehigh girls lacrosse winning its fourth consecutive 3A championship (and clips of our exclusive post-championship interviews)
• Northwestern girls reaching its first ever district title game – AND coming within a minute of going to overtime
• Central Catholic boys lacrosse winning its 8th district title in the last 15 years
• Easton going back-to-back with another 3A boys lacrosse championship
• A very young Notre Dame-Green Pond baseball team overcoming a slow start to win a title AND state playoff game

Here’s a look at all those big moments….

ATVN Shorts: Parkland Trojans Win District 11 Gold

ATVN Shorts: Parkland Pitcher Sawyer Marsteller

ATVN Shorts: Parkland Manager Kurt Weber Celebrates District Gold

ATVN Shorts: Southern Lehigh Coach Eric Tesche Talks Titles

Astound TV Network Sports: Lacrosse – Northwestern Lehigh vs. Southern Lehigh (5/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: Lacrosse – Moravian Academy vs. Allentown Central Catholic (5/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: Lacrosse – Easton vs. Parkland (5/25)

Astound TV Network Sports: Baseball – Palmerton vs. Notre Dame Green Pond (5/25)

ATVN Shorts: Easton Red Rovers Strike In OT To Win District 3A Gold

Check back to “The SportsTalk Shop” for more memorable notes, interviews and highlights from this spring’s playoff season!

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

It’s been an eventful few weeks this month with ATVN covering a number of different District XI playoff games (when the weather allowed) in multiple sports this spring!

Before we start looking back at a number of special moments, plays and student-athletes during the district playoff season, a quick programming note…

Astound will be the exclusive video provider for the state 1st round baseball playoff game between Neshaminy and Parkland.  The game will only (and EXCLUSIVELY) be available through ATVN.  Per PIAA regulations, there is no “steaming” of this state games, so only Astound TV Network video customers can see this contest!

Be sure to tune live at 4pm on Monday!

Now, here’s a few of the biggest moments during this springs district playoff season…

The Bangor baseball team overcame a 7-0 deficit to capture its first ever district championship.  Here’s the rundown of highlights as they unfolded…

Astound TV Network Sports: Baseball – Bangor vs Whitehall (5/25)

Next, the Pleasant Valley girls lacrosse team continued its domination by winning its second consecutive EPC AND District XI title.  Here’s their Head Coach Toni Bush talking about her team overcoming adverse weather conditions en route to another mercy-rule playoff win…

Astound TV Network Sports: Pleasant Valley G Lax Postgame Interview (5/21/25) – Watch Here

Last but not least, here’s some amazing student-athletes’ performances in the District XI 3A girls lacrosse championship game…

Astound TV Network Sports: Lacrosse – Nazareth vs. Pleasant Valley (5/25)

Check back to “The Shop” for more memorable notes, interviews and highlights from this spring’s district playoffs!

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

Through all the rain we’ve had this month (Sunday was the first day in three weeks I was at a baseball game in which it did NOT rain!), we are busy getting ready for the District XI championships, and will be broadcasting a number of those games over the next several days on both ATVN and on the Astound TV Network’s YouTube channel: youtube.com/@astoundtvnetwork

Our first game will be the 3A final between Palmerton and Notre Dame-Green Pond, Tuesday at 4pm.

Our ATVN cameras caught up with the Blue Bombers’ winning pitcher Cameron Pengelly (6-innings, 2 runs and 4 hits allowed) and Shortstop Jason Carrelli, who had two hits and scored the first run in the team’s 3-2 victory over Pen Argyl in the semifinal game this weekend.  We ask for their thoughts on the win and insights into their rematch against the Crusaders (Palmerton defeated Notre Dame during the regular season back on April 10th)….

LV Baseball Notebook 25: Palmerton’s Cameron Pengelly

LV Baseball Notebook 25: Palmerton’s Jason Correlli

We’ll also be broadcasting the 5A championship between Bangor and Whitehall and the 6A final between Parkland and Liberty – a rematch of this year’s EPC title game.

For interviews with members of the Crusaders, Zephyrs, Trojans and Hurricanes, go back through our “SportsTalk Shop” archives and see more from our “Lehigh Valley Notebook,” to get insights and opinions from those teams before their championships.

Keep checking back to our ATVN website for possible changes – especially with rain probable in the forecast for both Wednesday and Thursday!

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound or any other agency, organization, employer or company.

Here at “The SportsTalk Shop” we continue with our look at honoring the top players in different spring sports in the Astound TV Network coverage area.

First, here are the listings for both the girls and boys lacrosse “all-stars” from the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference….

• Girls Lacrosse All-Stars 2025 EPC
• Boys Lacrosse All-Stars 2025 EPC

Next up we put the spotlight on girls softball from the EPC…

• EPC Softball All-Conference Team 2025

We have a few more sports in the ATVN area to highlight, so keep checking back to “The SportsTalk Shop” for more “all-star” listings as we receive them from the appropriate administrators, athletic directors and league/district chairs.

Also, be sure to check back to our website for our continuing coverage of local high school spring sports post-season action, the District XI playoff coverage of different sports in our region starting later this week!

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Astound or any other agency, organization, employer or company.