The next few weeks will be a very important series of games on the local high school football scene as a number of teams in our polls will be playing each other, and the teams just BEHIND those in our poll are jockeying for the remaining positions for the upcoming playoff season.

Among those big ball games will be our #1 team in our EPC poll (Parkland) playing our #4 squad (Bethlehem Catholic) live on Friday night.  Two teams tied for our #5 spot (Whitehall/Central Catholic) squaring off against each other live on Saturday night on the Astound TV Network.

Before we look at this week’s high school football polls, here’s a look at recent games seen on ATVN.

Astound Sports: Central Catholic vs. Northampton (8/23)

Astound Sports: Catasauqua vs. Northern Lehigh (9/23)

Astound Sports: Dieruff vs. Liberty (8/23)

Now here’s a look at our polls along with our criteria that we use.

I’m proud to say (and no, I don’t vote myself) our football polls have proven to be among the most accurate, year after year, among all media organizations that attempt to rank teams in our coverage area each fall.  (Check out our archived polls from previous years if you’d like proof).

We never announce nor release the names of our non-media voters to get their honest opinions on the local football landscape while avoiding any thoughts of retribution or potential “bulletin board” material.  Our “media voters” usually reveal themselves when we have the pleasure of having them on our weekly SportsTalk program, seen on Thursday nights on the Astound TV Network and available to watch at any time for free through ATVN on Demand.

This year, we are once again going to break down the two polls into EPC and Colonial League schools, within the Astound TV broadcast area.  With the Colonial teams cross-scheduling and playing teams from the Schuylkill League and the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference playing different “cross-over” teams, our poll will be an interesting barometer for teams in the Lehigh Valley since many local teams will not have the same opponents throughout their schedules.

Below we have high school polls for both leagues in the ATVN viewing area, along with the listing of all of the teams that are included in our respective categories.

EPC TOP 5

1. Parkland
2. Nazareth  
3. Northampton
4. Bethlehem Catholic
5. (Tie) Whitehall/Central Catholic

Eligible Teams (in no particular order):

Northampton, Bethlehem Catholic, Easton, Freedom, Liberty, Dieruff, Allen, Allentown Central Catholic, Parkland, Whitehall, Emmaus, and Nazareth.

COLONIAL TOP 4

1. Northwestern
2. Southern Lehigh
3. Bangor
4. Notre Dame

Other teams receiving votes: Pen Argyl

Eligible Teams (in no particular order):

Bangor, Pen Argyl, Notre Dame – Green Pond, Wilson, Catasauqua, Salisbury, Saucon Valley, Northwestern, Northern Lehigh and Southern Lehigh.

Be sure to check back to the “upcoming events” section here on our website and check it frequently for any changes and for our ongoing broadcast schedule information throughout the postseason.

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.

As I plan my weekend and, of course, my Friday adventures to attend a high school football game, I find myself wondering why there are so many games being played on Thursday nights?

At first, I considered that maybe, like in the southern states, Pennsylvania has decided to play on Thursday in addition to Friday nights to offer fans a full complement of football that they can enjoy over the course of a long weekend, including Saturday early afternoon games. 

Well, then I discovered that many Saturday games are scheduled for 7pm instead of early afternoons like in past years. Initially, it seemed odd to me that this is happening. Was the PIAA really looking to grow the game? But to my surprise, it is a reaction to what has been a problem in amateur sports for several years. 

There is a shortage of officials to officiate games.

I would like to take this time to speak to the parents and fans of this great sport of football and address our ability to help make changes and to treat officials with the dignity and respect they deserve. My passion for the sport as a former player, coach and a parent of a formal player has contributed to personal “not-so-great” moments – yelling at an official about what I perceived to be a blown or missed call. On those occasions, I have felt embarrassed after the fact. After calming down, I was able to recognize that the officials can sometimes make mistakes and make bad calls. 

After all, they are human and it’s really just a game.

In order for this dynamic to change and inspire more people to become officials without the threat of being belittled or subjected to verbal and potentially physical violence, I want to encourage fans and parents to contemplate their input, and how little it actually matters.

Your child/athlete has more control of the final outcome than any blown call an official can make. These officials are not compensated enough to tolerate feeling belittled or to put up with threats of violence when they make a call. 

To the parents who are upset about not being able to attend their athletes’ Thursday games, please be mindful that these games are a direct result of the actions of the fan base which has contributed to the officials shortage. The vast

majority of officials have full-time jobs and chose to officiate because of their love for the game and are often committed to do their best to demonstrate excellence and proficiency when officiating. 

To the fan or parent in the stands that berates and belittles the officials, the PIAA is hiring and looking for officials. Please apply if you can do a better job.

Let’s get back to the basics and just enjoy the game.

Folks, it is really just a game. Please be respectful of the men and women who dedicate their time to officiate high school football. Football is Life!

EDITOR’S NOTE: Be on the lookout for ways to help support local referees and officials during the PIAA initiative, “Officials Appreciation Week” across the state of Pennsylvania, from October 9th through October 15th!

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.

A few people asked me last week why we were not going to broadcast the Parkland vs. Whitehall football game last Friday.

There were actually several reasons, but the shortest explanation–and the biggest reason–came down to one word…research.

I’ve seen Parkland a few times and talked to people very familiar with the Trojans program.   Same for Whitehall.  And the overwhelming opinion AND feedback was that the Zephyrs simply do not match up with Parkland well this year.

It’s not a knock against Whitehall.  Plus, to be honest, we probably will do that game next year.  But this year, the timing wasn’t quite right and all the signs pointed to a Parkland big victory.

Thus, we went with Nazareth vs. Central and Becahi vs. Emmaus.

The results?

Nazareth/Central was 7-7 with under three minutes left in the game and Emmaus had a 10-0 lead but with Becahi driving deep into Hornet’s territory midway through the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, Parkland mercy-ruled Whitehall 36-7.

My point in explaining this is that we do take people’s opinions very seriously.  We also put a lot of time and effort and use several different methods into selecting, what we believe, will be the best possible games for as many of our viewers as possible.  This weekend, I feel very confident in saying that we made the right decisions.

And fear not, Parkland and Whitehall fans…we’ll have Whitehall coming up twice over the next two weeks and we’ll have Parkland coming up at least two more times in the regular season (and probably see both of these teams quite often come postseason time as well!)

As always, your feedback is welcome – feel free to email me at chris.michael@astound.com with any questions or suggestions for upcoming sports programming decisions!

We had a very spirited conversation with new ATVN announcer/blogger Melvin Thomas Jr on last Thursday’s “SportsTalk” show, with one segment focusing on issues facing football programs at inner-city schools and another segment discussing the negative effects of the NCAA’s new transfer/portal process and how it will make things tougher on high school prospects going forward.

If you missed that show or watch to hear Melvin’s wise observations again, Astound video customers can watch the show for free through ATVN on demand (look under “Sports” then “SportsTalk” on our VOD tab.)

Now here’s a look at our polls along with our criteria that we use.

I’m proud to say (and no, I don’t vote myself) our football polls have proven to be among the most accurate, year after year, among all media organizations that attempt to rank teams in our coverage area each fall.  (Check out our archived polls from previous years if you’d like proof).

This year, we are once again going to break down the two polls into EPC and Colonial League schools, within the Astound TV broadcast area.  With the Colonial teams cross-scheduling and playing teams from the Schuylkill League and the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference playing different “cross-over” teams, our poll will be an interesting barometer for teams in the Lehigh Valley since many local teams will not have the same opponents throughout their schedules.

EPC TOP 5

1. Parkland
2. Nazareth  
3. Bethlehem Catholic
4. Central Catholic
5. Whitehall

Other teams receiving a vote: Northampton

Eligible Teams (in no particular order):

Northampton, Bethlehem Catholic, Easton, Freedom, Liberty, Dieruff, Allen, Allentown Central Catholic, Parkland, Whitehall, Emmaus, and Nazareth.

COLONIAL TOP 4

1. Northwestern
2. Southern Lehigh
3. Bangor
4. (Tie) Notre Dame/Catasauqua

Other teams receiving votes: Pen Argyl

Eligible Teams (in no particular order):

Bangor, Pen Argyl, Notre Dame – Green Pond, Wilson, Catasauqua, Salisbury, Saucon Valley, Northwestern, Northern Lehigh and Southern Lehigh.

Be sure to check back to the “upcoming events” section on our website and check it frequently for any changes and for our ongoing broadcast schedule information throughout the postseason.

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.

For the first time in a few weeks, our live Friday night match-up will NOT be feature a pair of two undefeated teams.

Instead, this Friday on the Astound TV Network we will have two teams with one loss each face each other (both lost to undefeated Parkland)–Nazareth vs. Central (teams number 2 and 3 in our poll–see more below).  Our #4 team, Bethlehem Catholic, will also be featured against Emmaus this weekend.  The 5-0 Hawks, predicted to be last in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference by one local newspaper, looked impressive when we saw them three weeks ago against Whitehall, who also comes into this weekend with a 5-1 record.

We will also have several interesting editions of “SportsTalk” coming up on the next few Thursdays, live at 7pm on ATVN.

This week, our new high school football blogger Mel Thomas will be in-studio to talk about this new experience and get his thoughts on the local high school football season to date.

Next week, ATVN’s John Leone will be in-studio to talk about both Lafayette College and local high school football.

Then, on October 12th, we’ll have our first ever fall sports “all-features” edition of our show, featuring multiple non-football sports interviews from a variety of schools from within the ATVN viewing area.

If you have a question or comment about local sports issues, please email us at chris.michael@astound.com and we might read and respond to your email live on the show!

Now here’s a look at our polls along with our criteria that we use.

I’m proud to say (and no, I don’t vote myself) our football polls have proven to be among the most accurate, year after year, among all media organizations that attempt to rank teams in our coverage area each fall.  (Check out our archived polls from previous years if you’d like proof).

This year, we are once again going to break down the two polls into EPC and Colonial League schools, within the Astound TV broadcast area.  With the Colonial teams cross-scheduling and playing teams from the Schuylkill League and the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference playing different “cross-over” teams, our poll will be an interesting barometer for teams in the Lehigh Valley since many local teams will not have the same opponents throughout their schedules.

EPC TOP 5

1. Parkland
2. Nazareth  
3. Central Catholic
4. Bethlehem Catholic
5. Whitehall

Eligible Teams (in no particular order):

Northampton, Bethlehem Catholic, Easton, Freedom, Liberty, Dieruff, Allen, Allentown Central Catholic, Parkland, Whitehall, Emmaus, and Nazareth.

COLONIAL TOP 4

1. Northwestern
2. Southern Lehigh
3. Bangor
4. Notre Dame

Other schools receiving votes: Pen Argyl

Eligible Teams (in no particular order):

Bangor, Pen Argyl, Notre Dame – Green Pond, Wilson, Catasauqua, Salisbury, Saucon Valley, Northwestern, Northern Lehigh and Southern Lehigh.

Be sure to check back to the “upcoming events” section here on our website and check it frequently for any changes and for our ongoing broadcast schedule information throughout the postseason.

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.

Football fans, this year has been one of the most exciting years in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference. 

Every week we are viewing seemingly epic match-ups. Games are being played at their highest level. These young men have been impressive. For an average fan it is easy to see how the skilled backs have virtually dominated every week. 

Most notable is the running attack of Parkland and Nazareth, along with the recent onset of an effective passing attack at Whitehall and Central Catholic. Even teams like Freedom and Liberty continue to make progress offensively. But that is excitement for the average fan.

Then there is the fan who likes to watch the game from the inside out. There is something really special happening in the Lehigh Valley. I am talking about the offensive line play. 

Specifically, I am talking about the guys that often have no name, who often receive no recognition. 

I was THAT guy I was when I played. The guys who just do their job every play, and never get the credit for their teams’ success. I am talking about the game inside the game.

There is an impressive shift in the advanced techniques that these big fellas are playing with consistently. I must admit that I am a little biased. I am noticing absolute poetry as these big fellas are now able to pin and pull with ease, lead step and zone step, pass off stunts on both the first and second level, track down DB’s without hesitation. It is just a beautiful thing to watch, and a higher level than I recall seeing in past years. The average fan won’t recognize these things simply because it’s not a part of the fanfare of the game.

I would like to recognize these hardworking big fellas and their respective o-line coaches for the work that they do and the techniques that they are refining. 

To my fellow big fellas, people will never know your name or recognize your greatness, but right now this guy appreciates the mastery that you are showing to us old lineman. So keep working and adding quality to this great game. 

Rather it be 11 personnel (one back and one tight end), 12 personnel (one back two tight ends) or 13 personnel … do what you do best, big fellas! Dominate and control the outcome of the game. To the number 50’s, 60’s and 70’s thank you for giving us old linemen something to brag about. Keep producing 300 yard passers and 200 yard rushers. And continue to take pride without recognition. 

We are watching. Job well done!

Ok folks. Show these big fellas some love, and start watching the game inside the game. I look forward to your feedback. Until next time…

Football is Life!

PROGRAMMING ALERT:

One of our most popular annual shows of the fall sports season will be coming up this Thursday at 7pm on the Astound TV Network.

District XI Football Chair / Northwestern Athletic Director Jason Zimmerman will be our special guest on ATVN SportsTalk this week. As always, Jason will be talking about the latest news concerning the local high school football scene, the current football season, playoff implications and other items of interest to local sports fans.

He’ll also have insights on his own Tigers success this season on the gridiron.  Another topic will be the major scheduling change for next year’s EPC season and how that will affect district rankings, playoff positions and other “usual” local football items that will be altered for 2024.

If you have a question or comment for Jason about local football issues, please email us at chris.michael@astound.com and we might read and respond to your email live on the show!

Additionally, I had the pleasure of hosting this year’s Lehigh Valley Polo event at Braden Airfield in Easton. Astound was once again the broadcast sponsor of the charity event to help raise money for Equi-librium.  To check this out and find out ways you can support this great local charity, tune in for our broadcast this Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. on ATVN.

Now here’s a look at our polls along with our criteria that we use.

I’m proud to say (and no, I don’t vote myself) our football polls have proven to be among the most accurate, year after year, among all media organizations that attempt to rank teams in our coverage area each fall.  (Check out our archived polls from previous years if you’d like proof).

We rotate asking different contributors to our poll along with some “veterans,” consisting of local athletic directors, coaches and media members.  We never announce nor release the names of our non-media voters to get their honest opinions on the local football landscape while avoiding any thoughts of retribution or potential “bulletin board” material.  Our “media voters” usually reveal themselves when we have the pleasure of having them on our weekly SportsTalk program, seen on Thursday nights on the Astound TV Network and available to watch at any time for free through ATVN on Demand.

This year, we are once again going to break down the two polls into EPC and Colonial League schools, within the Astound TV broadcast area.  With the Colonial teams cross-scheduling and playing teams from the Schuylkill League and the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference playing different “cross-over” teams, our poll will be an interesting barometer for teams in the Lehigh Valley since many local teams will not have the same opponents throughout their schedules.

EPC TOP 5

1. Parkland
2. Central Catholic
3. Nazareth
4. Bethlehem Catholic
5. Whitehall

Eligible Teams (in no particular order):

Northampton, Bethlehem Catholic, Easton, Freedom, Liberty, Dieruff, Allen, Allentown Central Catholic, Parkland, Whitehall, Emmaus, and Nazareth.

COLONIAL TOP 4

1. Northwestern
2. Southern Lehigh
3. Notre Dame
4. Bangor

Other schools receiving votes: Catasauqua

Eligible Teams (in no particular order):

Bangor, Pen Argyl, Notre Dame – Green Pond, Wilson, Catasauqua, Salisbury, Saucon Valley, Northwestern, Northern Lehigh and Southern Lehigh.

Be sure to check back to the “upcoming events” section here on our website and check it frequently for any changes and for our ongoing broadcast schedule information throughout the postseason.

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.

It’s showdown week!

Most people had this weekend circled on their calendar with Parkland and Nazareth playing each other.  Neither of our #1 and #2 teams have disappointed so far–winning all three of their games by double digits.

The Astound TV Network will be bringing you their contest live this Friday night…and it should be a good one!

I’ve asked a few of our ATVN football analysts about the matchup and to see if there’s one area in which one team has a strong advantage over the other, and everyone seems to agree these teams are very evenly matched.

In addition, we are going to have a competitive Colonial League game as Saucon Valley plays Bangor (both teams tied for 4th in our Colonial poll–see below) on ATVN this weekend.

On this Thursday’s “SportsTalk” our in-studio guest is going to be new Parkland Athletic Director Andy Stephens, who’ll talk about his decision to give up his head coaching of the Trojans’ basketball team–a perennial district champion–in order to take over as the school’s “AD.”

Make sure you tune in for our local sports coverage all week long!

Now here’s a look at our polls along with our criteria that we use.

I’m proud to say (and no, I don’t vote myself) our football polls have proven to be among the most accurate, year after year, among all media organizations that attempt to rank teams in our coverage area each fall.  (Check out our archived polls from previous years if you’d like proof).

We rotate asking different contributors to our poll along with some “veterans,” consisting of local athletic directors, coaches and media members.  We never announce nor release the names of our non-media voters to get their honest opinions on the local football landscape while avoiding any thoughts of retribution or potential “bulletin board” material.  Our “media voters” usually reveal themselves when we have the pleasure of having them on our weekly SportsTalk program, seen on Thursday nights on the Astound TV Network and available to watch at any time for free through ATVN on Demand.

This year, we are once again going to break down the two polls into EPC and Colonial League schools, within the Astound TV broadcast area.  With the Colonial teams cross-scheduling and playing teams from the Schuylkill League and the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference playing different “cross-over” teams, our poll will be an interesting barometer for teams in the Lehigh Valley since many local teams will not have the same opponents throughout their schedules.

Below we have high school polls for both leagues in the ATVN viewing area, along with the listing of all of the teams that are included in our respective categories.

EPC TOP 5

5. Parkland
6. Nazareth
7. Central Catholic
8. Bethlehem Catholic
9. Freedom

Eligible Teams (in no particular order):

Northampton, Bethlehem Catholic, Easton, Freedom, Liberty, Dieruff, Allen, Allentown Central Catholic, Parkland, Whitehall, Emmaus, and Nazareth.

COLONIAL TOP 4

1. Northwestern
2. Southern Lehigh
3. Notre Dame
4. (Tie) Saucon Valley / Bangor

Other schools receiving votes: Catasauqua

Eligible Teams (in no particular order):

Bangor, Pen Argyl, Notre Dame – Green Pond, Wilson, Catasauqua, Salisbury, Saucon Valley, Northwestern, Northern Lehigh and Southern Lehigh.

Be sure to check back to the “upcoming events” section here on our website and check it frequently for any changes and for our ongoing broadcast schedule information throughout the postseason.

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.

Well, there’s no doubt right now about the top two teams in our EPC poll!

With our #1 and #2 teams playing the previous week’s #3 and #4 teams in our high school football poll, the result was the top two teams winning…and winning big.

Our top football analyst on ATVN, Mike Joseph, said on-air last Friday if someone told him on Monday that Nazareth would mercy-rule Emmaus, he would have told them they would be crazy…but that’s exactly what the Blue Eagles did.

Parkland also dominated Bethlehem Freedom in their contest and made for two impressive performances on offense and defense last weekend.

Those weren’t the only lopsided contests last week in both the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and the Colonial League.  Among the blowout games included Saucon Valley winning 36 points, Northwestern winning by 48, Northampton won by 51, Liberty won by 33, Palisades shut out Wilson 48 -0, Tri-Valley won by 30, Pine Grove won by 42, Southern Lehigh beat Notre Dame 68 to 28, East Stroudsburg South scored a 41 point-win, Pen Argyl won by 29, Pleasant Valley won by 28 and Bangor won by 25.

The only “close” game of the weekend was the Whitehall versus Bethlehem Catholic contest on Saturday afternoon, which was 14-7 midway through the third quarter before the Golden Hawks scored three consecutive touchdowns and put the game away.

Needless to say, with so many teams at the very top of our poll from last week putting on solid victories, there isn’t a whole lot of movement in our polls for this week.

******

Now here’s a look at our polls along with our criteria that we use.

I’m proud to say (and no, I don’t vote myself) our football polls have proven to be among the most accurate, year after year, among all media organizations that attempt to rank teams in our coverage area each fall.  (Check out our archived polls from previous years if you’d like proof).

We rotate asking different contributors to our poll along with some “veterans,” consisting of local athletic directors, coaches and media members.  We never announce nor release the names of our non-media voters to get their honest opinions on the local football landscape while avoiding any thoughts of retribution or potential “bulletin board” material.  Our “media voters” usually reveal themselves when we have the pleasure of having them on our weekly SportsTalk program, seen on Thursday nights on the Astound TV Network and available to watch at any time for free through ATVN on Demand.

This year, we are once again going to break down the two polls into EPC and Colonial League schools, within the Astound TV broadcast area.  With the Colonial teams cross-scheduling and playing teams from the Schuylkill League and the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference playing different “cross-over” teams, our poll will be an interesting barometer for teams in the Lehigh Valley since many local teams will not have the same opponents throughout their schedules.

Below we have high school polls for both leagues in the ATVN viewing area, along with the listing of all of the teams that are included in our respective categories.

EPC TOP 5

1. Parkland
2. Nazareth
3. Central Catholic
4. Emmaus
5. Freedom

Eligible Teams (in no particular order):

Northampton, Bethlehem Catholic, Easton, Freedom, Liberty, Dieruff, Allen, Allentown Central Catholic, Parkland, Whitehall, Emmaus, and Nazareth.

Catasauqua’s loss to Palmerton dropped the Rough Riders out of our top 4 poll for this week, while the remaining top three teams all scored big wins last weekend…

COLONIAL TOP 4

1. Northwestern
2. Southern Lehigh
3. Bangor
4. Notre Dame

Other schools receiving votes: Pen Argyl 

Eligible Teams (in no particular order):

Bangor, Pen Argyl, Notre Dame – Green Pond, Wilson, Catasauqua, Salisbury, Saucon Valley, Northwestern, Northern Lehigh and Southern Lehigh.

Be sure to check back to the “upcoming events” section here on our website and check it frequently for any changes and for our ongoing broadcast schedule information throughout the postseason.

Among our upcoming broadcasts include our first look at the Easton Red Rovers as they take on Whitehall this Friday.  It’s usually an honor for the Pennsylvania Cable Network to select a network for a game to air during the season, but PCN will be picking up our broadcast for a second time already this season, as that game will air across the Commonwealth!

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.

This past weekend I had the privilege of attending a Friday night football game for the first time in quite a while. The game did not disappoint. It was the Whitehall Head Coach Andy Marino’s first game in a head-to-head match with the William Allen first year head coach Joel Rupp Jr’s first game. 

To my surprise the atmosphere was absolutely electric in Whitehall. I noticed their fans and the student body really provided a lot of energy and presented an exciting start to the season.

At kick-off it was noticeable also that both of these new high school head coaches seemed anxious as they would kick-off their new programs. The game started fast as Allen kicked off to Whitehall. The initial play resulted in an offside penalty by Allen. Perhaps it was just the first game jitters. Allen had to re-kick the opening play and just like that, Whitehall was able to capitalize and scored their first touchdown of the year on their opening kick-off, down the right sideline. This would be an indication of how the game would progress for the rest of the night. Whitehall had control of the game from the first whistle to the last. Their defense only allowed one first down the entire first half, while their offense was able to take advantage of an Allen defense that had young players in some key spots.

I think it’s important to talk about what happened that night by shining a light on these twocoaches. I saw a Whitehall football team that seemed disciplined and well coached. I observed a coaching staff that engaged the kids with intensity and passion. I saw a team that had the ability to really do good things this season under the leadership of Coach Marino.

On the other hand, I observed from William Allen a team that had a tremendous amount of fight but lacked the experience of the Friday Night Lights. I observed a coaching staff that hustled to keep their athletes engaged and focused. I was proud mostly of Coach Joel Rupp, whom I observed coaching and teaching from the first whistle to the last. He was consistent despite the 53-0 outcome. There appears to be some growth happening at William Allen.

Whitehall High School thank you for an amazing experience last Friday night. Coach Marino keep up the good work and keep grinding. Coach Rupp, the sky’s the limit and I am looking forward to your program growing and your athletes having success.

Ok folks, this is my first attempt at blogging.  I look forward to your feedback. Until next time…

Football is Life!

Check back to the “SportsTalk Shop” throughout the high school fall football season for more commentary and observations from Mel Thomas Jr and feel free to post a comment or greeting below.

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.

What a weekend to kickoff the high school football season on the Astound TV Network!

Thanks to some creative scheduling, ATVN was able to bring you a network-record four high school games this weekend–three of them live!

We look to bring you four more games coming up next week–Thursday through Saturday.

But first, a look back on an entertaining first weekend to start the scholastic year off with a bang!

In the Colonial League, there were a number of big performances: Northwestern, Notre Dame, Bangor, Catasauqua and Pen Argyl all started off their fall seasons with very impressive victories (the latter two teams were on ATVN and we’ll see the TIgers coming up this week).

There were a few surprises (see this week’s poll below) and there should be some great battles for both league and district playoff positioning throughout the season.

In the EPC, the results were pretty much as expected with Parkland, Nazareth, Emmaus, Freedom and Central Catholic (our top five teams last week) all securing victories in week one, with the Vikings win over Northampton in overtime also broadcast on our network.

In addition, we brought you a very entertaining game between big city schools Liberty and Dieruff–a contest that was 0-0 with 3 minutes left in the third quarter and Dieruff stopped just outside the red zone midway through the fourth quarter trailing 7-0.

Things will get interesting this weekend as ATVN will be you the great “Blue Mountain” rivalry on Thursday, and our top four EPC teams all playing against each other on Friday.

Saturday, two teams with brand new coaches looking to win their first divisional game square off.

Like last week, it should be a fun week coming up!

*****

Now here’s a look at our polls along with our criteria that we use.

I’m proud to say (and no, I don’t vote myself) our football polls have proven to be among the most accurate, year after year, among all media organizations that attempt to rank teams in our coverage area each fall.  (Check out our archived polls from previous years if you’d like proof).

We rotate asking different contributors to our poll along with some “veterans,” consisting of local athletic directors, coaches and media members.  We never announce nor release the names of our non-media voters to get their honest opinions on the local football landscape while avoiding any thoughts of retribution or potential “bulletin board” material.  Our “media voters” usually reveal themselves when we have the pleasure of having them on our weekly SportsTalk program, seen on Thursday nights on the Astound TV Network and available to watch at any time for free through ATVN on Demand.

This year, we are once again going to break down the two polls into EPC and Colonial League schools, within the Astound TV broadcast area.  With the Colonial teams cross-scheduling and playing teams from the Schuylkill League and the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference playing different “cross-over” teams, our poll will be an interesting barometer for teams in the Lehigh Valley since many local teams will not have the same opponents throughout their schedules.

Below we have high school polls for both leagues in the ATVN viewing area, along with the listing of all of the teams that are included in our respective categories.

EPC TOP 5

1. Parkland
2. Nazareth
3. Emmaus
4. Freedom
5. Central Catholic

Eligible Teams (in no particular order):

Northampton, Bethlehem Catholic, Easton, Freedom, Liberty, Dieruff, Allen, Allentown Central Catholic, Parkland, Whitehall, Emmaus, and Nazareth.

COLONIAL TOP 4

1. Northwestern
2. Catasauqua
3. Bangor
4. Notre Dame

Other schools receiving votes:  Southern Lehigh, Pen Argyl 

Eligible Teams (in no particular order):

Bangor, Pen Argyl, Notre Dame – Green Pond, Wilson, Catasauqua, Salisbury, Saucon Valley, Northwestern, Northern Lehigh and Southern Lehigh.

Be sure to check back to the “upcoming events” section here on our website and check it frequently for any changes and for our ongoing broadcast schedule information throughout the postseason.

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.