Football ‘23 Scheduling Highlights
It’s hard to believe that this summer has flown by so fast (the ATVN Sports team produced our final “summer” event this weekend), but it’s already time to preview the Astound TV Network’s football schedule for the upcoming season.
Last fall, we not only broadened our schedule to include more Colonial League schools than ever before, but we also featured a bigger variety of schools than in any time in our network’s history.
As we approach the 2023 football season we are upping the ante a bit by including even MORE schools from our coverage area than ever before – scheduling nearly every Lehigh Valley team in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference…AND even more teams from the Colonial and Schuylkill “Co-op.”
While there are no guarantees in predicting what will be the best games of the night each week, I am confident many local sports fans are going to enjoy watching our coverage this fall, with a blend of different schools and competitive games throughout the season.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at just SOME of the games that Lehigh Valley viewers will want to make sure to watch (or set their DVRs for) this fall.
- Our season premiere features a doubleheader. For game one, a battle of two teams that played for district championships a year ago (Northern Lehigh & Catasauqua). This game will be one of two contests that ATVN will be broadcasting statewide on the Pennsylvania Cable Network!
- Game two of our season opener features a battle of two big city schools looking to continue the rebuilding process (Bethlehem’s Liberty vs. Allentown’s Dieruff) – the winner will get a much-needed “W” to start off their season ahead of a challenging schedule
- On the very next night we’ll feature two more teams that had great successes in 2022 – Northampton’s coming off a year in which they won more games than any other in the school’s history. They’re taking on a Central Catholic team that was not only the last team standing last year, but a squad that also has many of its talented players returning. This very likely will be the most competitive game of the opening weekend!
- On August 31st we feature one of the oldest rivalries in the Colonial League (Nolehi & Northwestern) and follow it up the next day by having a rematch of last year’s District XI 6A final–Parkland against Freedom
- On September 8th we’ll have Easton at Whitehall (PCN also this broadcast to be shown statewide on their network as well). While both schools feature new head coaches, the new Rovers coach reportedly left the Zephyrs to spend more time with his family, only to resurface at his alma mater. Despite quotes explaining this decision in the local papers, this departure did not set well with some Whitehall loyalists, which will make for a spirited evening
- Some of the other top high school teams this fall like Emmaus, Nazareth and other programs that will be competing for titles will be featured quite prominently with ATVN broadcasting a number of their games this season
- Our coverage of Lafayette football begins on September 16th, with a non-conference game against Columbia. ATVN will once again broadcast all Leopards home games
- We will also have two of the three rounds of the “Battle of Bethlehem” as all three “Christmas City” schools will play each other on Saturdays this fall, including the regular season finale – which always plays a pivotal role in setting up the playoff picture
But there’s a lot more to watch this fall! Be sure to bookmark the ATVN website to check for the latest scheduling information along with more broadcasts details as they become available.
Also, as we found out last year because of the officiating shortages, games may (and probably will) change due to the lack of referees and will force scheduled games to be moved to other dates and times, so be sure to refer back to our website often during the upcoming year to make sure you don’t miss a minute of the action!
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.
