Documenting my travels and thoughts from around the country
2021 Week 16 (Pennsylvania)
What season would it be if I wasn’t at the PIAA Championships? Of course I was going to be in Hershey. And it had a semblance of normalcy this year that was utterly lacking last season. We also had a large contingent of PFN personnel there to cover Pennsylvania’s title games. Continue reading “2021 Week 16 (Pennsylvania)”
2020 Week 6 (Ohio & Pennsylvania)
My weekend went exactly as planned. Which is a bit of a shock. I had hoped for different games. But, options were limits and the options themselves had limits. So, Ohio is where I started on Thursday. Continue reading “2020 Week 6 (Ohio & Pennsylvania)”
2019 Week 16 (Pennsylvania)
The Pennsylvania State Championships are a fun, albeit slightly subdued affair. Unlike other states still playing this late, lack of warm weather hinders the crowds, and some of Pennsylvania’s crowds are paltry. Only 950 attended the Thursday afternoon game between 1A powers Farrell (one of the smallest public schools in the state) and Bishop Guilfoyle, a private school also from the west side of the state. Continue reading “2019 Week 16 (Pennsylvania)”
Week 4 saw a bit of upheaval with my schedule. Thursday didn’t have much to offer. Either a game at Cupples Stadium, North Royalton, or a three hour drive to Licking Valley. But, none of that happened due to personal reasons. Having already had four games scheduled for Friday and Saturday, I had to pass on a Thursday entirely.
2019 Week 3 (Pennsylvania)
Week 3 ended up a bit more local than I had thought. My original Week 3 plans included trips to Punxsutawney, Erie, Youngstown, and New Philadelphia. But, with a Browns game on Sunday, decided to stick a bit closer to home on Saturday night. Continue reading “2019 Week 3 (Pennsylvania)”
2019 Week 2 (Ohio)
Week 2 opened in Ohio. With the OHSAA bumped back a week starting with this cycle, meant OHSAA Week One games were this weekend. And as with most years, a number of Thursday games in the Mahoning Valley kick off the season. Continue reading “2019 Week 2 (Ohio)”
2018 Week 16 (Pennsylvania)
Once again, the season starts winding down with Pennsylvania’s PIAA Championships in Hershey. Pennsylvania is in the third year of the Six Classes experiment. The championship schedule is a much simpler two-games-a-day. Thursday and Friday hosting games at 1pm and 7pm, and Saturday starting an hour earlier. For the 21st year, the championships were held at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey. A company town just east of the state capital. The stadium holds 14,000–if ever needed–and enough parking for everyone to take two cars. Continue reading “2018 Week 16 (Pennsylvania)”
2018 Week 9 (New York & Ohio)
New York State generally has a seven-game regular season. In Section 6, which covers far western New York, teams that don’t qualify for the sectional playoffs, may qualify for the “Chuck Funke Bowl”, an NIT-like tournament. For the regular playoffs, it’s a three-round setup, except for Class D, which only has four teams. So, the ‘first round’ is just an eighth regular season game. Teams that don’t qualify for the Chuck Funke Bowl have the option to schedule additional games over the next two weeks. Continue reading “2018 Week 9 (New York & Ohio)”
2018 Week 6 (West Virginia & Pennsylvania)
Week 6 was a lot of fun, but a lot of driving and a lot of games. With Carrick cancelling the rest of their season due to low numbers, I was on the hunt for another Thursday game. Which led me to search the surrounding states for games. Parma had a game, and elsewhere in Ohio. And Buffalo had two games. But, as I looked around, I found one in West Virginia. With a 1pm kickoff. Continue reading “2018 Week 6 (West Virginia & Pennsylvania)”
2018 Week 3 (Pennsylvania & New York)
Week 3 ended up being far more than I originally planned. Four games were planned between Thursday and Saturday. But then two things came together. Projected rain on Friday and Saturday, and a rare Wednesday night game out east.
So, I reworked my plans. Continue reading “2018 Week 3 (Pennsylvania & New York)”