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The UNICO Football Classic returns Wednesday after a two-year absence because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be part of a crowded sports day in the area.

The game is 7 p.m. at Wyoming Area’s stadium in West Pittston. There are also four District 2 baseball championship games and three District 2 softball championship games.

Add in the district baseball championship games on Tuesday and that means a few players selected to the UNICO squads won’t be able to play.

Plus, there are a few other factors. Holy Redeemer graduates Wednesday night, meaning the five Royals selected for the UNICO game won’t participate. Neither will two first-year players from Hazleton Area who were chosen but decided not to play. A couple others from the original selections made in late April have also had to drop out.

Additionally, the PSFCA Coaches East-West games are Sunday and the Big 33 Game is Monday, all in Harrisburg. Some Wyoming Valley Conference players chosen to those games have indicated earlier they also plan on playing two or three days later in the UNICO game.

And finally, the weather forecast is for temperatures that could reach 90 degrees. Not idea for football.

But the game is back from a two-year hiatus, and that’s the big thing.

“The hardest part is working around people’s schedules,” Wyoming Valley West coach Jack Baranski said Saturday morning before his UNICO Pioneers team practiced. “So many people have jobs now and got other things going on, it’s actually getting everybody together. We’ve been lucky enough to do that a couple times.

“We have six players playing between the East-West and Big 33 games, so they have other practices as well. That includes both of our quarterbacks who are involved in that.”

The UNICO game was first played in 1952 and is an annual event on the local sports calendar. Aside from the two years lost because of the pandemic, the game wasn’t played in 1972 because of the Agnes Flood.

The teams are preparing for football with limited practices. Tunkhannock’s Mike Marabell will coach the Miners squad. The usual adjustments to the original selections were available for both teams.

The Pioneers consist mainly of players from Wyoming Area and Wyoming Valley West along with Crestwood, Pittston Area and Wilkes-Barre Area. The Miners have players from Berwick, Dallas, Hanover Area, Lake-Lehman, Nanticoke Area, Tunkhannock and Wyoming Seminary.

Special rules limiting what defenses and special teams can do will be in place since the cram-session practices don’t allow for much complexity on offense. Teams must play a four-man defensive front and there is no blitzing. Nor will the teams be allowed to rush on field goals, extra points and punts.

“The bonding happens really quickly,” Baranski said. “Really good kids from quality programs and, again it came together really quickly. We have our offensive structure in, we have our defensive scheme. Being it’s an all-star game, you’re limited defensively what you can do.”