A New Nightmare

This might be the toughest column I have ever written.

No one has died. And the world is not going to end anytime soon. But the events that transpired on Friday night at Old Forge Veterans Memorial Stadium are nothing short of a nightmare.

And it’s a new nightmare as the Blue Devils were upset by its oldest and most-hated rival.

Except it seems as if it’s the same one that stunned me on two Saturday afternoons in 1987 and 1988.

So while fans of the Big Blue Wrecking Crew still try to piece together what happened just a few days ago in what must be one of – if not the biggest – upsets in the history of the Old Forge-Riverside rivalry, I sit here thinking about the coldest day in Old Forge football history and another day that saw a prolific Blue Devil offense shutdown on its home field.

The last time Old Forge was 10-0 was 1987 – and the Blue Devils rolled into the playoffs. They traveled to Mahanoy City in Schuylkill County to take on the Golden Bears of Mahanoy Area – the defending Eastern Conference Class C champ.

It was bitter cold that day. A snow storm had made its way through NEPA that week and temperatures froze the field in this old mining town. The wind chill dropped the temperature well below zero before the contest would start, making it even tougher for these two championship teams to play their respective games.

But Old Forge had fought through the cold and had a 7-6 lead with less than 90 seconds remaining. The Golden Bears had the ball for one last drive, but the hosts were backed up on their own six-yard line with the Big Blue Wrecking Crew and 94-yards of ice and snow in front of them.

Just like Friday night when no one on the Old Forge side of the field could even fathom losing to the arch-rival who they pummeled 43-12 to start the season, the Blue Devils and their faithful were stunned.

Mahanoy Area completed a seemingly harmless screen pass that turned into a 94-yard touchdown and a 12-7 win. The Blue Devils stands were just as silent that day as they were Friday night during the second half.

The feeling I had that day riding the bus home as a junior, is the feeling I have after Friday’s upset loss – I am sick to my stomach.

We hosted a home playoff game against Southern Columbia. And while our defense played well that day, our offense escaped us.

After a season of steamrolling opponents on the ground and in the air, Old Forge struggled to do either in its home playoff game against it’s arch-rival just like we had against Southern.

I am sure it has made the players and coaches sick the past few days and will continue to do so, just like it still does to all of us who played in both those games.

The sun will come up tomorrow and life will go on. Hopefully the worse thing that happens to the kids on this team is that they lost a football game.

The Rivalry adds a sport

The Old Forge-Riverside rivalry will add a sport to its long storied history when soccer makes its debut in the 2010 season.

The Riverside School Board approved varsity soccer for the 2010-2011 school year at its regular monthly meeting this past Monday. It is thought that the Vikings will be a Class 1A school and participate in the Lackawanna Soccer League’s Division III, which the Blue Devils also participate in.

Riverside sponsored a junior high team this year for the first time, and beat the Blue Devils in its second meeting. The first meeting ended in a tie.

Around the LFC

Old Forge resident John Mariotti ran for over 200 yards again when he carried 24 times for 248 yards in Scranton Prep’s win over Western Wayne last Saturday afternoon. His big game pushed him over 1,500 yards on the season and his two touchdowns gave him 16 on the season for the Eastern Conference-bound Cavaliers.

Holy Cross’s Robert Heyen – another Old Forge resident – carried 8 times for 38 yards in the Crusaders loss to Carbondale on Saturday. Heyen rushed for 518 yards and three TDs on 106 carries for HC. Teammate and fellow Old Forge resident Michael Paddock threw for 635 yards and five touchdowns as the Holy Cross quarterback.

CageFight 2

Mixed Martial Arts return to Northeastern PA on Black Friday, Nov. 27 at the Scranton CYC when Northeast MMA presents CageFight 2. CageFight 2 is the second MMA event to take place in the Scranton area after Pennsylvania’s first-ever card was a huge success this past June.

The card is headlined by “The Destroyer” Spencer Paige, a lightweight from Cortland, NY. It also features local fighters including Guy Salano from Pittston, Rich Gates from Exeter, Jay Colarusso from Moosic, and Corey Cavalieri from Old Forge. All four local fighters will be part of the amateur card which will feature 10 bouts.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.pacagefight.com, or locally at Dooley’s Pub in Old Forge and TALCOM Nextel in Taylor.