Allen and Dieruff meet for the 57th time on Saturday afternoon (2 p.m.) at J. Birney Crum Stadium.
While lacking playoff ramifications, the game is still much anticipated for the people at both schools. It may not be what it used to be, but it's still special.
I estimate I have seen about 35 of the previous 56 games in the series. Of course, I missed the first two since I wasn't born until March of 1961 and the Canaries and Huskies began playing in 1959.
But first as an Allen fan -- my parents were members of Allentown High's Class of 1959 -- and then as a kid growing up on Allentown's East Side and then becoming a Dieruff student -- I saw my share of games even before I became a sports writer for The Morning Call and have probably covered close to 20 as a member of the media over the past 32 years.
My five most memorable games:
5. Dieruff 60-12 in 1967. Yes, even though I was just six years old, I remember how good guys like Ross Moore and John Smurda were. I don't quite remember what Dieruff's record was in 1967, but I remember that the Huskies had one of their best all-time teams and had lost to Allen the two previous years and four times in five years. It was payback time and Huskies didn't hold back and piled it on. Dieruff coach Jeep Bednarik may have taken some heat for running it up, but I don't think he cared.
4. Allen 40-6 in 1969. I remember this as the first Thanksgiving Day game between the schools after the traditional Allen-Liberty Turkey Day series had been scrapped. I remember it being quite a big deal and a real festive occasion on a sunny day and I remember the Canaries had a very potent offense similar to the one Dieruff had two years earlier.
3. Dieruff 28-21 in overtime in 2000. The most remarkable come-from-behind win in the series. The Huskies trailed 21-0 at halftime but rallied behind freshman quarterback Josh Hinkle who replaced Rich Ocelus, who went out with an injury. Hinkle threw for 102 yards and three touchdowns in the second half. Dieruff's Taurean Valentine was a major force with four fumble recoveries and an interception. It was the first time these two went to OT in football. They did have a five-OT classic in basketball that I'll always remember as well.
2. Allen 7, Dieruff 0 in 1977. This was my junior year at Dieruff and I remember the whole school believing this was going to be a "Cakewalk over the Cake Eaters." That's what we called Allen back then. Dieruff was 9-0 and ranked third in the state. Allen was 1-8 and trying to avoid the first eight-game losing streak in school history. 8,000 people showed up expecting to see a rout. Dieruff had great backs in Tony Jordan and Dave Kurisco, but they were held to 71 total yards. Terry Heffner stunned the Huskies by running for 144 yards on 37 carries and scored the game's lone TD with 46 seconds left before halftime. While last year's Dieruff win was a stunner, it wasn't quite on the level as this surprise.
1. Dieruff 32, Allen 27 in 1992. It was the greatest night in the rivalry's history and certainly one of the best nights for Allentown high school sports, period. A whopping 13,938 showed up to see Rich Sniscak's Canaries, 8-1-1, battle Mike Marcks' Huskies, who were 9-1. Dieruff scored TDs on four straight possessions to take a 26-7 lead just three minutes into the second quarter. Allen fought back to within five behind Chris Mason, but couldn't get any closer as Dieruff's defense shut the door late.
The win gave Dieruff the East Penn Conference title. The same two teams met again the following weekend for the district title. The game lacked all of the drama of the previous week and the crowd was cut in half. Allen's defense played much better and the Canarie prevailed 14-7.
I know a lot of people keep 1992 in their hearts, hoping both programs could get to that championship level again. I don't know if I will ever see it happen, but those two games were sure memorable and quite fun for someone like me who was immersed in this rivalry almost from the day I was born.
I am sure Allen and Dieruff alums can come up with many more games that were special to them.
As for the series history, Allen holds a 31-25 series lead.
The record by decades:
1950s -- Allen 1-0
1960s -- Allen 7-3
1970s -- Dieruff 7-3
1980s -- Tied, 5-5
1990s -- Allen 7-4
2000s -- Allen 8-6.
Best Allen streak -- Winning four straight games from second game of 1992-95 and 2003-06.
Best Dieruff streak -- Winning three straight games from 1974-76, 1984-86, and 1996-98.
Allen's largest margin of victory: 38-0 in 2006.
Dieruff's largest margin of victory: 53-0 in 2008. (Note: Dieruff has scored 40 or more points 8 times; Allen has scored 40 or more twice).
Total points scored: Allen 933, Dieruff 1040.
And, here's a look at all of the scores of the past games:
1959 -- Allen 13, Dieruff 7
1960 -- Allen 26, Dieruff 20
1961 -- Dieruff 14, Allen 13
1962 -- Allen 7, Dieruff 0
1963 -- Allen 21, Dieruff 6
1964 -- Dieruff 13, Allen 0
1965 -- Allen 14, Dieruff 7
1966 -- Allen 7, Dieruff 6
1967 -- Dieruff 60, Allen 12
1968 -- Allen 30, Dieruff 27
Thanksgiving Games
1969 -- Allen 40, Dieruff 6
1970 -- Dieruff 19, Allen 14
1971 -- Dieruff 45, Allen 6
Back to Friday night games
1972 -- Allen 21, Dieruff 18
1973 -- Allen 34, Dieruff 6
1974 -- Dieruff 36, Allen 0
1975 -- Dieruff 29, Allen 6
1976 -- Dieruff 55, Allen 19
1977 -- Allen 7, Dieruff 0
1978 -- Dieruff 19, Allen 14
1979 -- Dieruff 14, Allen 6
1980 -- Allen 14, Dieruff 0
1981 -- Dieruff 10, Allen 8
1982 -- Allen 27, Dieruff 14.
1983 -- Allen 15, Dieruff 12
1984 -- Dieruff 20, Allen 0
Thanksgiving Games, part II
1985 -- Dieruff 12, Allen 0
1986 -- Dieruff 12, Allen 6
1987 -- Allen 9, Dieruff 7
1988 -- Allen 8, Dieruff 7
1989 -- Dieruff 14, Allen 6
1990 -- Allen 21, Dieruff 0
Back to being a regular Week 10 game
1991 -- Allen 22, Dieruff 9
1992 -- Dieruff 32, Allen 27
1992 -- Allen 14, Dieruff 7 (District 11 championship)
1993 -- Allen 26, Dieruff 21
1994 -- Allen 24, Dieruff 15
1995 -- Allen 15, Dieruff 0.
1996 -- Dieruff 42, Allen 6.
1997 -- Dieruff 46, Allen 6
1998 -- Dieruff 45, Allen 20
1999 -- Allen 34, Dieruff 13.
2000 -- Dieruff 28, Allen 21 (overtime)
2001 -- Allen 42, Dieruff 21
2002 -- Dieruff 21, Allen 14
2002 -- Dieruff 52, Allen 20 (Eastern Conference)
2003 -- Allen 28, Dieruff 9
2004 -- Allen 14, Dieruff 0
2005 -- Allen 28, Dieruff 8
2006 -- Allen 35, Dieruff 0
2007 -- Dieruff 32, Allen 0
2008 -- Dieruff 53, Allen 0
2009 -- Allen 34, Dieruff 8
2010 -- Allen 44, Dieruff 32
2011 -- Allen 25, Dieruff 21
2012 -- Dieruff 10, Allen 7
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