September 21-30

Back at McCaskey on the 25th for the second week of football season, Cedar Crest visited from Lebanon County for a divisional matchup. The setup remained the same in terms of procedure, no tickets sold or fans permitted but the game was livestreamed which will undoubtedly continue since by all accounts the first week went well. At halftime I was in the "comfort station" under the grandstand when one of Cedar Crest's bus drivers entered and said to me "sir, may I ask you a question? Are you 'Frenchy'?". This gentleman played in the old Lancaster Recreation Softball League at Conlin Field in the mid-1970s when I was cutting my teeth on the PA there as a teenager, he said he heard That Voice on this occasion and figured it had to be me. He told me he had been at a hockey game in Reading a few years back and recognized my voice there as well. It's always good to be noticed especially when it comes from someone who goes back forty-five years. In the game itself JPM led 3-0 at the half on a Sam Hershey 42-yard field goal, after the break Cedar Crest came alive and ran out to a 27-3 advantage. In the fourth quarter Issac Burks found the end zone on a 51-yard catch-and-run from Matthew Remash, the same combination hooked up for the two-point conversion to bring the final score to 27-11. The record drops to 0-2 and the road gets no easier, Hempfield visits on October 2 followed by Wilson on the 9th. Take care, thanks for reading.

September 1-20

The ninth month of 2020 began on a Tuesday, the following Monday was Labor Day aka The Last Day Of Summer (although a case can be made that we had very little summer and almost no spring at all). On the 8th the school board met and voted to green-light the fall sports season at McCaskey. It wasn't a landslide decision but many of the student-athletes were there and made their feelings known which certainly must have influenced the decision. On the 14th a federal judge in Pittsburgh ruled on a lawsuit brought against the governor by several businesses and other concerned parties. The verdict was that most of the governor's edicts and mandates were unconstitutional and in violation of the first and fourteenth amendments, as a result the stay-home orders, limits on public gatherings and "non-essential" business closures are null and void. The governor responded by announcing he will appeal the verdict and seek a stay of judgement. We all knew this was going to eventually get messier (it's been messy for months) but it's good to see somebody finally standing up to what has been in my opinion (and millions of others as well) a terrible example of government overreach. The football team at McCaskey was scheduled to play at Lebanon on the 11th, with the first three weeks of the season canceled that game instead became the team's only pre-season scrimmage. The schedule began for real at home on the 18th as Elizabethtown visited for the season's lone non-divisional game. Despite the federal ruling the school district barred fans from attending on this night, the only live spectators were the McCaskey band, the cheerleading squad and various members of each team's support staff. The school set up a live internet stream of the game which slightly affected the way I do my job, since the score and time remaining was not always on-screen I made a point to update the viewers periodically and especially on changes of possession. This was the start of my 33rd year on the PA at McCaskey and the second year for Sam London as head coach. The program was 0-10 in his first year, on this night the losing streak was extended as E-town won easily 42-6. The game was scoreless through one quarter, in the second the visitors struck for three touchdowns and led 21-0 at the half. The Red Tornado got on the board in the third quarter on a 12-yard scamper by Josiah Gray but E-town responded in kind on the next drive and the outcome was never really in doubt. Not the beginning anybody wanted but for me personally it felt damned good to be back in the Air Chair (for the first time since the Royals season ended early on March 8) even though it was strange with no fans in attendance. The most important thing is THE KIDS GOT TO PLAY. The club hosts Cedar Crest on the 25th. Take care, thanks for reading.