The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.
High school football season is nearly here!
Much like last year, the emphasis on the preseason activities over the last few weeks has been less “X-s and O-s” and more talk about COVID protocols, adjustments made this preseason, “possible” changes for the fall (and staying “flexible”) and the increased emphasis on keeping everyone safe.
That being said, it should be an intriguing year on the field for high school football as the current plan for this fall looks more “normal” than in 2020 — but that could change.
One of the things I’m most looking forward to in the upcoming sports year is welcoming new on-air personalities to our sports broadcasts. You’ll be seeing and hearing more about them in the coming weeks and months, but here’s just a little bit of information about the new members of the RCN TV sports family…
Megan Kane: A multiple league and district winning head coach at Southern Lehigh High School and an assistant coach with the multiple-MAC champion DeSales University women’s basketball team. Known as one of the best prepared coaches in the area, she will be the first woman to broadcast a men’s game in Lehigh Valley history.
Okezie Alozie: One of the top Lehigh Valley running backs in the early 2010s. Okezie went on to have an outstanding Division I college career at the University of Buffalo and earned tryouts for several NFL teams. He was named an All–American Honorable Mention by Pro Football Focus and an All–MAC selection in 2015 as a Safety & Linebacker. Okezie returned to the Lehigh Valley in 2016 to reside with his family in Bethlehem while coaching 7on7 football for Diamond Athletics.
Josh Young: A three-sport standout at Freedom High School and a two-sport athlete at Franklin and Marshall College. He earned the NAACP student-athlete award in high school and was on the diversity council in the Bethlehem School District. He’ll be working the sidelines this fall in-between his commitments to attend games to cheer on his younger brother, Joe, for Harvard University football games (his brother is the team’s starting quarterback.) A former wrestler, you may also see him giving his opinions “on the mats” for RCN telecasts in the winter months.
Dante Terenzio: Local wrestling coach and sports writer for The Morning Call. He has been a frequent contributor on the “RCN SportsTalk” programs and will be handling football play-by-play this fall. When available, he will also assist with our basketball and wrestling broadcasts, in-between coaching, teaching and chasing after his two young baby girls (his second was born this past February).
Please welcome these new announcers and their unique viewpoints, experiences and insights on local sports. Be on the lookout for more new faces joining our family in the months to come!
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Before the high school football season gets underway it’s time to unveil our preseason top five teams for both the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and the Colonial League.
Below we have high school polls for both leagues in the RCN viewing area, along with the listing of all of the teams that are included in our respective categories.
Feel free to email me at Chris.Michael@rcn.net for your thoughts on this week’s poll and we might read and respond to your emails on this week’s SportsTalk show.
EPC-LV TOP 5
1) Parkland
2) Freedom
3) Emmaus
4) Easton
Eligible Teams (in no particular order):
Central Catholic, Bethlehem Catholic, Easton, Freedom, Liberty, Dieruff, Allen, Parkland, Whitehall, Emmaus, Nazareth, and Northampton
COLONIAL TOP 5
1) Notre Dame
2) Northwestern
5) Saucon Valley
Eligible Teams (in no particular order):
Bangor, Pen Argyl, Notre Dame – Green Pond, Wilson, Catasauqua, Salisbury, Saucon Valley, Northwestern, Northern Lehigh, Southern Lehigh and Palisades
Be sure to bookmark our high school football broadcast schedule here on the website and check it frequently as, with several games already postponed or canceled so far this season, there could be changes from day to day.
On this week’s “SportsTalk”…
We’ll have our official high school football preview show, featuring observations and predictions about the upcoming season, as well as interviews with local coaches and players as we get ready to kick off the season this Friday night. Tune in this Thursday at 7pm on RCN-TV and get ready for the fall season!
