by Jeff Fisher
The Pennsylvania High School Football Huddle

You know that the 2009 season is right around the corner when the national and regional interstate match-ups start getting announced.

In Wheeling, West Virginia, the Friends of Coal Prep Classic is back for its second year on September 5th. This year's tripleheader will feature four teams from Pennsylvania and two from Ohio, including the state's defending Division V champ Youngstown Ursuline.

Here are the match-ups with the team's 2008 records:

Friends of Coal Prep Classic
Woodland Hills, PA (4-5) vs. Steubenville, OH (14-1)
McKeesport, PA (8-3) vs. St. Joseph's Prep, PA (8-4)
Pittsburgh Central Catholic, PA (8-3) vs. Youngstown Ursuline, OH (15-0)

Pennsylvania Tables Football Playoff Expansion

by Jeff Fisher
Pennsylvania High School Football Huddle

Time to catch-up a little bit after a busy month of May that included trips to NYC, London and my first ever visit to Africa.

While I was on the Dark Continent, the PIAA decided to table the proposal to expand the football playoffs from four to six classifications. The proposal will probably come back around in July. Click here to read the story from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Wilson Star Quarterback Gives Verbal Commitment to Maryland

by Jeff Fisher
Pennsylvania High School Football Huddle

Last week I told you about my mentor Dick Hammer, who helped me cut my teeth in radio as a teenager. Today I get to talk about him again, because his grandson Tyler Smith, the star quarterback at my alma mater Wilson, has made his college choice. The Express-Times is reporting that Smith, who passed for nearly 3,000 yards and 35 touchdowns last year, has given his verbal commitment to Maryland. Click here to read the story.

For high school football news around the nation, click here to go to The High School Football Huddle.

Gatorade Replay..Thanks for the Memories!!

by Jeff Fisher
Pennsylvania High School Football Huddle


Around 5:30 P.M. CST on Sunday, April 26, 2009...I received a call from my mother, who lives in Easton, Pennsylvania...actually Wilson Borough (my hometown) to be exact.

The call went like this....

Mom - "What was the final score to the game?"

Me - "The Liners won, mom"

Mom - "I know, but what was the score?"

Me - "P'burg 27-12"

The reason for the call was my mom was watching my old TV station, which during it's report gave the winner's name, but not the final score for the Gatorade Replay game that broke 1993's 7-7 tie between the two arch rival that meet every Thanksgiving morning at Lafayette College.

Of course, mom is a little jaded when it comes to reviewing the talent that replaced me when I moved to Chicago, but when she was done making light of the fact that the reporter was remiss in not giving the final score, it dawned on me that...high school football memories are as special as a first kiss!

This game was more than an advertising stunt, and my mom and the rest of the area were treating it as such!

They've play 102-games that counted before Sunday, but none of the 102 may have counted more than Sunday's Replay. It had all the romance of a Harlequin novel as two towns that have a combined population of 40,000 came together to show that the Thanksgiving Day rivalry is more than just a game. It showed the fabric of these two Delaware River communities, and it focused me on my job as America's central database for high school football.

The High School Football Huddle is about everything high school football....all 15,000 high schools and 1.3 million players, plus the cheerleaders and the bands. I promise you that this site will always be about ripping apart the fabric of communities around the country to tell the story of high school football.

Finally, for all of us who have thought, "if I had to do it all over again"...Sunday was a special day! It proved that there's nothing wrong with turning back the clock.

In closing, and using football terms...we should always remember that as time rushes by us, we should consider grabbing each passing moment and realize that the problems we tackled in high school, make very special memories.

Gatorade Replay showed that TIES really do bind.

And, don't forgot to check-out various video from throughout the day on College Hill in Easton, Pennsylvania...

1993 Tie Broken...Phillipsburg 27 Easton 12

by Jeff Fisher
The High school Football Huddle

You can do it all over again!

Phillipsburg (NJ) beat Easton (PA) 27-12 Sunday in the Gatorade Replay game that broke a 7-7 tie from a 1993 Thanksgiving Day game between the Delaware River rivals. The game lived-up to its hype, and went a long way to proving that these two may own America's best high school football rivalry!

Click here to read about the game.

The Voice of Easton and Phillipsburg...A Real Turn-Back-the-Clock Guy

by Jeff Fisher
The High School Football Huddle


Sitting here in Chicago, about 45 minutes from the start of the Easton-Phillipsburg Gatorade Replay game. I'm going to listen to the game on the internet with THE VOICE of the Red Rovers and Stateliners...Dick Hammer.

At 75 years young, Dick is my mentor and friend. However, to tens of thousands, he was the voice on WEST-AM Radio.

Dick's words have painted every hand-off, pass and tackle for these two schools since the 50's. WEST was known as "The Best Little Station in the Nation" for its community-based broadcasts that included not only Easton and Phillipsburg football, but also, basketball, baseball wrestling...YES WRESTLING. Hold-by-hold on the radio!

I spoke to Dick earlier this week, and he was very excited about calling today's game with his long-time sidekick Mike Moore, who also helped me cut my teeth in the news business back in the late 70's.

For those of you who have been following my blog about this game...do yourself a favor and click onto the WGPA radio link below, and make this truly a throwback game by listening to a man, who has been calling sports on the radio for over 50 years. While I love the pictures of TV, there's NOTHING better than an old-time radio broadcast.

Click here to go to the WGPA website to listen to today's game.

Easton vs. Phillipsburg (NJ)...Ready for the Second Round of 1993

by Jeff Fisher
Pennsylvania High School Football Huddle

While many may have considered Gatorade's idea to Replay the 1993 Easton-Phillipsburg Thanksgiving Day game to break the 7-7 a joke, on the eve of the game, the feeling in the two communities, is no different than it is on Thanksgiving Eve.

Complete with the traditional bonfire, everyone is getting into the sold-out game that will be played Sunday afternoon at Lafayette's Fisher Field.

For the players, there are probably the same butterflies that were felt 15-years ago. For one player, this replay has been a life changer. You can check-out that story from CNN's Reynolds Wolf below.

Easton vs. Phillipsburg (NJ)...Turning Back The Clock

by Jeff Fisher
The High School Football Huddle

In about 48-hours, the communities of Easton (PA) and Phillipsburg (NJ) will turn back the clock and replay the 1993 Thanksgiving Day high school football game that ended in a 7-7 tie. The event, sponsored by Gatorade, has captured the two communities that are separated by the Delaware River in eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey.

About 60-players from the 1993 squads have been training for a couple of months for this game that is sold-out to the tune of 13,000 tickets.

The process of getting in-shape has been documented with episodes on the Gatorade Mission G website, and today they released the third installment of the documentary.

I really like this one!! It focuses on the relationship between Easton's Tim Gadwell and Phillipsburg's Tyrone Randolph.

Check it out & enjoy!!



By the way, the game itself can be seen on Service Electric Cable at 8 P.M. Sunday night.

Living in the Past...Playing in the Future

by Jeff Fisher
The High School Football Huddle

The buzz continues to grow around this weekend's Gatorade Replay game between the 1993 Easton (PA) and Phillipsburg (NJ) football teams. Friends and family in my hometown of Easton really seem to be pumped-up about this "old-timers" game, and from several recent conversations, I get the sense that this April 26th game is being treated as a real game by all involved.

For Huddle readers that haven't been following the story, the two Thanksgiving Day rivals will meet April 26th to settle a 7-7 tie from 16-years ago with players that played in that game. The game is sold-out with 10,000 tickets selling in 90-minutes. NFL quarterbacks/brothers Eli and Peyton Manning are honorary coaches for the game.

Below is the second episode of the second coming of Easton-Phillipsburg "1993 Part Deux".