Nazareth players finish at home

For all participants in Thursday night's 40th annual McDonald's Lehigh Valley All-Star Football Classic, it is the final high school game they will ever play.

For many, it's also the last game they'll play — period.

So, no matter what happens, the experience is often emotional.

And since the game is being held again at Nazareth's Andy Leh Stadium, the Blue Eagles playing for the Northampton County/Phillipsburg/Palisades team have the extra goose bumps of playing in their home stadium one last time.

They will cherish the chance.

"It's great to have this one last opportunity to play on that field again; I couldn't ask for anything more," said Nazareth grad and NPP quarterback Matt Carhart after Tuesday night's practice session ended early because of stormy weather rumbling through the region.

"I used to attend this game when I was little and always wanted to play in it, and now I will have my chance and want to make the most of it."

Carhart, who will attend Northampton Community College, will be sharing quarterback duties with Adam Hardy of Palisades and Anthony Casciano of Pius X.

Just as Lehigh/Carbon/Monroe County quarterback Robbie Moyer said after practice Monday night, Carhart believes the offenses will do just fine.

"This has been a lot of fun getting everybody together," he said. "The coaches have done a great job giving us what we need. Some things are the same and some are really different from what we do at Nazareth. In high school, we used a lot of shotgun formation and here this week everything is behind center. But we're getting more in sync."

NPP head coach Bob Steckel of Northampton said it's only natural for the defense to be ahead of the offense after little more than a week of practices.

"The defense just lines up and plays, while the offense has a lot more thinking and learning to do," he said.

But Steckel said that in recent days the offense has shown a better grasp of the plays and what the coaches want.

"We've really come together the last couple of days and the leadership is really starting to show," he said. "James Stanell of Palisades is really running well, Carhart is looking good at quarterback, [Matt] Lippincott [a Lehigh University recruit from Wilson] has been solid up front.

"And then on defense both Mike Cousar and Patrick Murphy, both of Easton, have looked good at inside linebacker. Luke Texeira from Pius has looked good at outside linebacker."

Steckel, like counterpart Harold Fairclough, is a first-time head coach in this game. He said he and the rest of the coaching staff have enjoyed the experience.

"It's always nice to get to work with different people you don't normally get the chance to work with," he said. "It's a little hard because you're worried about two teams at the same time. You still have to be aware of what's going on with your own team back at Northampton and then you're worried about getting ready for a game with this team.

"But it has been good and at this point we're just looking forward to the game and ready to hit somebody different."

The biggest negatives so far have been the injuries to two players.

Nazareth's Danny Wilk, a University of Pennsylvania recruit, suffered a torn ACL in practice last week and Will Hess of Palisades was hurt in Saturday morning's scrimmage.

Wilk's injury really was tough on Carhart.

"It was a freak thing," Carhart said. "He was just running a passing route on the second day of practice and he planted his leg and it gave out. At first, they thought it was a torn meniscus because he didn't have a lot of pain, but they just found out [Monday] what it is.

"It was a huge loss for our team, but also for Danny," Carhart said. "We're very good friends and I felt so bad for him. But knowing him, he'll bounce back and be better than ever."

Wilk still plans to be at the game and offer his support Thursday night.

In addition to Carhart and Wilk, Nazareth selections for the game include Anthony Stampone, Zachary Huber, Glenn Klemka and Shawn Mitchell.

That many players is a tribute to the rise of the Blue Eagles, who were 6-5 and in the District 11 playoffs last year after years of struggle.

"We're really proud of what we've done the last couple of years," Carhart said. "The coaching staff [headed by Rob Melosky] really turned things around and really got us into the weight room and into conditioning. As players, we really bought into what they were trying to do. We feel like we've brought some excitement back to Nazareth football.

"They love football up here and they love this game. Hopefully we can give them something to cheer about on Thursday night."

NOTES

•Cheerleaders who have given up the start of their summer to participate in this event and help out a good cause on Thursday night are: Bangor's Caitlin Baunach, Ashley Hoffman and Kaitlyn Nystrand; Easton's Jamie Crawford, Kelsey Frankenfield, Amanda Henry and Christina Pulcini; Emmaus' Kayla Butry and Megan Morgenstern; Nazareth's Dominique Crivellaro; Northwestern's Brittany Kittle and Jackie Wear; Pen Argyl's Haley Guth, Alysse Hart, Molly Jones, Victoria Slingland and Elizabeth Valletta; Phillipsburg's Katie Gitto, Nicole Kennedy, Chelsea Marina and Sal-Lee Patti; Pius X's Cailee Carmella and Saucon Valley's Alicia Zagwoski.

•The cheering coaches are Pat Whirl, Kendra Durrah and Cheryl Fenton.

•The Northampton County/Phillipsburg/Palisades team won last year's game 7-3 — the second lowest offensive total in the game's history and a vast change from a 48-27 score in 2005 — and has won the last two after the Lehigh/Carbon/Monroe side had won four straight from 2004-07.

FROM KEITH GROLLER