PHOTOS: North blanks South in county all-star football game

KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - Jim Thorpe's Chris Strika and North Schuylkill's Dylan Dietz celebrate a touchdown.

SCHUYLKILL HAVEN – Schuylkill County’s high school football stars met one final time on the gridiron Saturday afternoon in Schuylkill Haven.

Two teams assembled from players from northern and southern schools in the Schuylkill League. The North squad consisted of players from Shenandoah, Mahanoy Area, North Schuylkill, Tamaqua, Marian, Panther Valley, Jim Thorpe, and Lehighton. The South squad’s players were from Pottsville, Minersville, Schuylkill Haven, Blue Mountain, Nativity, Pine Grove, Williams Valley, and Tri-Valley.

The all-star game is put on annually by the Schuylkill County Football Coaches Association.

KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL – North Schuylkill’s Dylan Dietz picks off a South pass.

Early in the game, the two squads engaged in a defensive dogfight.

Mahanoy Area’s Ben Terry scored the first points of the game for the North squad with a 1-yard run with 2:21 left in the first quarter.

A pass from Lehighton’s Richard Fronheiser to Jim Thorpe’s Chris Strika gave the North a 14-0 advantage with 8:04 left to play.

KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL – Shenandoah Valley’s Jason Migliaccio tries to hype up his team and the crowd as his North team takes a 17-0 lead.

With less than a minute remaining, Marian’s Mike Baloga booted a 47-yard field goal to put the North up 17-0 with :49 remaining.

On the next play from scrimmage, North Schuylkill’s Dylan Dietz picked off a South pass and returned it for a score, ending the game with a 24-0 final score.

The North squad was coached by North Schuylkill Head Coach Wally Hall and his coaching staff, while South was coached by Pine Grove’s Frank Gaffney.

KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL – Williams Valley’s Tanner Talmadge and North Schuylkill’s Dylan Dietz are airborne as the former tackles the latter.

From the Sentinel‘s area teams, 11 players participated:

  • Jason Migliaccio, Shenandoah Valley
  • Franklin Argueta, Shenandoah Valley
  • John Babinsky, Mahanoy Area
  • Slayden Wargo, Mahanoy Area
  • Ben Terry, Mahanoy Area
  • Aaron Bickowski, Mahanoy Area
  • Dustin Wallace, North Schuylkill
  • Luis Serrato, North Schuylkill
  • Shawn Lex, North Schuylkill
  • Dylan Dietz, North Schuylkill
  • Kody Schell, North Schuylkill
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL – The players of the game, Brody Robinson, left, Pine Grove, and Mike Baloga, right, Marian.

Players of the game were named for both teams. For the North, Baloga was named player of the game, the first kicker ever to earn the honor. For the South, running back Brody Robinson received the honor.

Full Photo Gallery

About Author