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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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