5 things to watch for in Week 2: NFL intervenes in Friday night high school football tradition

From: Chris Harlan

Friday, September 6, 2024 | 01:09 am

The storied tradition of Friday night football adds another chapter this week with high school games across Pennsylvania, but could a game in South America keep some fans at home, especially on the other side of the state?

This is questionable since the NFL has scheduled a rare Friday game.

The Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers are opening their season in Brazil. This is the third time since 2010 that the NFL has scheduled its games on a Friday. Supporters of high school sports are not exactly thrilled about the idea.

“Friday nights are high school football nights for schools and their families,” said Bob Lombardi, executive director of the PIAA and current board chairman of the National Federation of State High School Associations.

According to Sports Illustrated, the NFL has only scheduled a dozen games on a Friday in its history. This rare occurrence is due to the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, which prohibits the NFL from holding games on Fridays or Saturdays from the second weekend in September through the second weekend in December.

There are some exceptions, such as public holidays.

However, that Friday was available because it is considered the first weekend in September, not the second. The impact on visitor numbers may not be felt in Western Pennsylvania, but it will be felt across the state.

“The fans who have a real interest (in high school football) will probably go,” said Michael Barber, chairman of PIAA District 1, which oversees schools in the Philadelphia suburbs. “But the casual fan who just loves football, I think will stay home and watch the Eagles. If two other teams were playing, I don't think it would affect attendance. But since it's the Eagles — and people here love the Eagles — I think it will.”

Kick-off for the NFL game is at 8:15 p.m.

According to Sports Illustrated, this was the first time since 1970 that the NFL held a Friday game on the league's opening weekend. A year ago, the league scheduled the Friday after Thanksgiving and will do so again this season. Those games are allowed as long as the majority of the competition is over by 6 p.m., according to SI.

Barber is an assistant principal in the Kennett Consolidated School District in Chester County. He said he remains hopeful that NFL games will continue to be rare on Fridays for the sake of high school athletes.

“As a sports fan, I would hate to have competing events that would cause school sports to lose attendance, excitement and school spirit,” Barber said. “To me, that's the point of school sports.”

A traditional rematch

There are matchups that bring back memories of great WPIAL players and teams. Central Catholic vs. Woodland Hills is one of those matchups.

“Whenever you mention Central Catholic and Woody High, the alumni come up,” Wolverines coach Brian Tarrant said. “You hear stories about the good old days, their senior years and the results of some of those games. We're just hoping to create that kind of excitement again.”

Woodland Hills hosts Central Catholic in a nonconference game on Friday. This will be the 30th game between the teams, a series that includes seven playoff games and two WPIAL championships.

In 2013, Central Catholic won the WPIAL 4A final 27-7 on snowy Heinz Field thanks to a dominant defense. Vikings linebacker Niko Thorpe had 13 tackles and recovered a fumble.

In 2001, Woodland Hills won the 4A final 41-6 in its first year at Heinz Field. Future NFL receiver Steve Breaston ran for 219 yards and scored a touchdown for the Wolverines.

Last year's game is one Woodland Hills would rather forget. The Wolverines were in transition when they lost their Week Zero opener to Central Catholic 43-7 in Tarrant's first game as coach.

“We didn't feel like Week Zero represented us last year,” Tarrant said. “So we want to go out here and see how we compete against this team this year with more experience.”

All eyes on the new No. 1

Imani Christian has made the bold decision to voluntarily move up in classification and enters this week as the No. 1 seed in WPIAL Class 3A.

Can they stay at the top?

The Saints don't begin conference play for another week, but they'll be tested this week by Beaver, another top-ranked team in 3A. Both are 2-0. Imani Christian hosts Friday's nonconference game at UPMC Graham Field in Wilkinsburg.

Imani Christian has outscored its first two opponents 79-6. David Davis has scored three touchdowns, Gabriel Jenkins has scored two and Penn State-bound linebacker Dayshawn Burnett has scored one. David, a junior, and Jenkins, a sophomore, are also FBS recruits.

Beaver went 9-3 last season and reached the WPIAL Class 3A quarterfinals. Imani Christian went 8-3 and reached the 2A quarterfinals.

Conference opponents no longer

McKeesport and Thomas Jefferson have had one of the strongest rivalries in the conference in recent years, but their rematch on Friday ends that series.

It could be a good game again, but they are no longer in the same conference. When the WPIAL realigned the conference for this season, it moved McKeesport to the Greater Allegheny while Thomas Jefferson stayed in the conference now called the Big Six.

The schools are only about 12 miles apart. But the WPIAL wanted to better balance the strength of the 4A conferences, so the two teams were separated. They had played each other four years in a row, with McKeesport winning three times, including a 28-7 victory last year.

Three in a row?

Either Carlynton (2-0) or host South Allegheny (2-0) will celebrate their third win on Friday. It's worth noting that the teams only won three games together last season, making their early-season success remarkable.

Their meeting is one of five on the WPIAL schedule featuring teams with 2-0 records. Carlynton went 2-8 last year and South Allegheny was 1-9.

Chris Harlan is a sports reporter for TribLive. He joined the Trib in 2009 after spending seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. Reach him at [email protected].

Tags: Central Catholic, Woodland Hills