October 23-31

Friday the 23rd: back at JPM for another day behind the mic, the boys soccer team was holding its Senior Day activities in the stadium. Head coach Adam Wood had personally called me about a week earlier, the very next day Jon Mitchell e-mailed me about it and the girls' team Senior Day as well. The soccer programs usually play at a field close by the stadium but the Senior Day games are always in the stadium to allow for use of the PA. On Friday the boys hosted Manheim Central, the senior recognitions preceded the varsity game at 4:00 with the JV game following. The varsity clinched their division championship with a 2-1 victory, the JV squad lost by the identical score. On Saturday morning it was the girls team's turn, this was a varsity-only date kicking off at 10:00. The pregame festivities were the highlight of the day for JPM, the club finished a one-win season with a 6-1 loss to visiting Northern Lebanon. I'm obviously not involved with the school soccer teams beyond presiding over the annual Senior Days but I'm always glad to do it if I'm able to. High school sports is all about the kids and the soccer teams rarely get to play in the "big-league" atmosphere, if I can help to make their Senior Day memorable that's so much the better for everyone. Both dates were open for fan attendance under certain guidelines, both were reasonably well-attended and by all accounts everybody went home happy. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 16-22

Friday the 16th: made a special-guest-starring appearance on the mic at a football game between two schools considered rivals of my own school and each other. Hempfield athletic director Steve Polonus is an old acquaintance, he was an assistant basketball coach at McCaskey in the early 1990s and was also AD at JPM for several years. He had contacted me about a week earlier, his regular guy couldn't work on this night and he asked if I might be available. Since McCaskey wasn't playing at home and I was not otherwise occupied I wasn't about to turn him down. Manheim Township was the opponent, when I was on the field in the pregame MT head coach Mark Evans was pleasantly surprised to see me there. Coach Evans and I have a unique connection: we already knew each other from football when he took over doing the scorebooks for MT's boys basketball team a few years back, the first time we worked basketball together was at a game at McCaskey. When we visited Township later that season he was doing the PA as well as the book, he told me he had not done both until we worked together that night at JPM. He said working that game with me inspired him to want to do the PA at his home games. I realized he was paying me one hell of a compliment and I greatly appreciated it especially since it was coming from a man who has enjoyed a great deal of success in the coaching profession and mentoring the young men who have played under him. In the game itself Township took control almost the word GO and won easily 49-7. There were actual real live people in attendance, Steve told me they were capped at about 400 with most of the tickets reserved for parents and family members. There were some fans who recognized me, I got a few "Frenchy, what are you doing here?" reactions but nobody seemed to mind the fact that I was there. It's always unusual to work a game not involving your own team but I managed to muddle through and make it sound like I knew what the hell I was doing. Take care, thanks for reading. 

October 8-15

Had an e-mail from Jon Mitchell earlier in the week, Senior Night for the football team and cheerleaders was scheduled for Thursday the 8th at the stadium and he asked if I'd be able to preside over it. This would normally be held as part of a game night but with the attendance restrictions the school board has established it was rescheduled as a stand-alone event so the parents could be physically present. We got started shortly after 7:00 and it was all over in about twenty-five minutes, we recognized six cheerleaders and fourteen football players. As I was on my way out one of the parents approached me and thanked me for being there, he said it meant a great deal to a lot of people. I can completely understand his viewpoint since the parents have been shut out from seeing their kids perform in person (yes, the games have been livestreamed but it's not the same as actually being there). I thanked him for appreciating what I do, under normal circumstances I would have been there anyway so being present for this was no issue at all. Friday night was game night, JPM hosted Wilson for the last of four straight home dates. The Senior Night activities were recorded and broadcast on the livestream as a lead-in to the game itself. Wilson is traditionally one of the strongest programs in the state, on this night the competitive aspect was never in doubt. The visitors from suburban Reading scored three touchdowns in the first quarter and led 34-0 at the half. It was 41-0 with the mercy rule in effect in the fourth quarter, with six minutes left the Red Tornado scored defensively when Jose Garcia picked up a Wilson fumble and returned it 45 yards for the touchdown (Garcia ironically wears uniform #45). Sam Hershey's PAT was the last point of the night as Wilson took it 41-7. As it stands right now JPM has three games left and they are all on the road, Jon said he's working on getting some games added in November so we'll see what happens. Take care, thanks for reading.

October 1-7

As a well-known sportcaster from my younger years would have said: "time continues on its inexorable march". October is usually the time of year when we're gearing up for ice hockey season in Reading but at last look the Royals won't be starting until January at the earliest and there's no guarantee of that. We haven't played dek hockey at Reservoir Park since November of 2019, the city never officially opened the parks in the spring and since the rink is within a city park we're subject to that restriction. On the 2nd it was another Friday night at McCaskey as the Red Tornado hosted Hempfield for the season's second divisional game. Former JPM head coach Eric Spencer was in the house, he's on the Hempfield staff as an assistant coach. McCaskey's last victory was under his watch in week #3 of the 2018 season, on this night the program's losing streak reached an even twenty with a 45-7 setback. The lone score for McCaskey came in the second quarter on a 93-yard kickoff return by Issac Burks, JPM trailed at the half 22-7 and was outscored 23-0 after the break. The club's four-game homestand continues on the 9th when perennial powerhouse Wilson visits, from there (as it stands right now) the rest of the season is on the road. Take care, thanks for reading.