A new scoreboard is part of the major renovations done for this season at Saint Clair Veterans Memorial Stadium (Photo by Leroy Boyer)

SAINT CLAIR — As his Nativity players raced to the southern end zone of Saint Clair Veterans Memorial Stadium to ring the victory bell Friday night, head coach Pat Mason talked about the importance of having a “home” field.

Nativity is one of the few area teams that doesn’t play at a field or stadium adjacent to its high school (Williams Valley and Panther Valley are the others). There’s just no room atop Lawton’s Hill to build one.

In my 33 years as a sportswriter in Schuylkill County, the Green Wave have played “home” games at Pottsville’s Veterans Memorial Stadium, the former Blythe Township High School field (home of the Simon Kramer Institute) in New Philadelphia, Saint Clair’s Veterans Memorial Stadium and last year at North Schuylkill’s Ghosh Orthodontics Field at Spartan Stadium.

The move to North Schuylkill came after a dispute between Nativity and Saint Clair over the conditions at Saint Clair’s stadium. Since that time, Saint Clair has made major renovations to its stadium, paving the track, fixing up the press box, building another press box on the visitor’s side to house both teams’ coaching staffs, remodeling the locker room and shower areas and installing a new scoreboard.

Getting a look at the renovations first-hand last Friday when the Green Wave defeated Pine Grove 53-7, it looks fabulous.

For the current group of Nativity players, moving back to Saint Clair for the 2024 season was a major objective. All it took was a conversation with their head coach to get the ball rolling.

“The craziest story ever …” Mason began as he told the story. “We were down at the Schuylkill County all-star game (in November) standing on the sidelines and the kids, out of nowhere, asked me a question.

“They said, ‘Hey coach, can we ask you something?’

“I said, ‘Sure.’

“They’re like, ‘Where are we playing our games next year?’

“I said, ‘North Schuylkill.’

“They like, ‘Oh.’

“And I’m like, ‘Why?’

“They were like, ‘We really like Saint Clair.’”

Mason said the school and the officials at Saint Clair met over the winter and the move back to Veterans Memorial Stadium was finalized.

Saint Clair High School had a rich and successful sports tradition during its heyday. The Saints’ 1970 PIAA Class B boys’ basketball state championship and the historical girls’ basketball career of Michelle Swantner stand at the forefront, but the Saints had some big years in football, too.

Saint Clair reached the Eastern Conference championship game three times, falling to Swoyersville 32-6 in 1956, Lackawanna Trail 21-20 in 1970 and Lakeland 34-0 in 1977.

It’s most famous player, Ed Sharockman, was a member of that 1956 squad. He went on to star at the University of Pittsburgh and then played 12 seasons (1961-72) in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings. One of the 50 Greatest Vikings of all-time, Sharockman started at defensive back in Super Bowl IV and had 40 career interceptions. He passed away in 2017.

Saint Clair closed its high school in 1989 and has sent its high school students to Pottsville Area since. The district still operates a K-8 school building in the borough.

Nativity moved its home games to Saint Clair Veterans Memorial Stadium a few years later, playing there every year except 2009, when it played in New Philadelphia, and last season, when it played at North Schuylkill.

Back in Saint Clair again, the Green Wave are happy to call Saint Clair Veterans Memorial Stadium their home, continuing the tradition of ringing the bell after every victory.

“I think this is their home,” Mason said. “They consider this their home. We have a great relationship with Saint Clair. We were over here with their Pee Wee and Midget teams the other night.

“They love ringing the bell. It’s on their helmets, it’s on our T-shirts. It’s everywhere.

“This is their home and these guys are making this their home for us. They did a great job with the scoreboard, and play clocks are coming. The press box looks great, the track looks great. I couldn’t be happier.

“I think this is a great facility and I couldn’t be happier that Saint Clair put the money into this and had us back. I really appreciate everything they’ve done for us.”

100^th season celebration

As stated in a previous notebook, Schuylkill Haven is celebrating its 100^th season of football in 2024, with a special anniversary celebration slated for Friday prior to the Hurricanes’ game with Shenandoah Valley at Rotary Field.

For an in-depth historical look at Schuylkill Haven football, check out this story that appeared on T102SportsNow.com last month: https://www.t102sportsnow.com/2024/08/06/haven-to-celebrate-100th-football-season/

The celebration is set to begin at 7 p.m. Anyone involved with the program over the past 100 years — players, coaches, managers, etc. — is invited to gather in the end zone for a walk on the field prior to the game, which kicks off at 7:30 p.m.

Schuylkill Haven Superintendent Dr. Shawn Fitzpatrick does a podcast entitled “Deep Dive with Dr. Fitz” and recently discussed the history of Schuylkill Haven football with statistician/historian Kerry Barket and long-time assistant coach/historian Mike Tracey. It’s a great look at the Hurricanes’ past and present, with some great stories thrown in.

You can view that podcast here:

Milestone-making Miners

Minersville quarterback Dante Carr has played like a man possessed through two games, racking up 235 rushing yards, four rushing touchdowns, 382 passing yards and six passing touchdowns in wins over Halifax and Shenandoah Valley.

The six passing touchdowns move Carr into a tie with Scott Schwalm (2016-19) for most passing TDs in school history with 34. He could take over sole possession of that mark Friday, when the Miners host Mahanoy Area. It’s Military Appreciation Night at Minersville, and fans are encouraged to wear green in support of the military.

Some other Minersville factoids, courtesy of Miners’ historian Shayne Schafer:

** Minersville starts the season 2-0 in back-to-back years for the first time since 2006-07.

** In the win over Shenandoah, Carr (115) and Easton Schultz (110) both rushed for more than 100 yards, becoming the first pair of Minersville players to do that in the same game since Aaron Griffiths (119) and Keidre Taylor (100) did it in 2015 against Nativity.

** Kaseem Lofton’s 50-yard interception return for a touchdown is the first against Shenandoah Valley since Brennan Chapman returned one 38 yards against the Blue Devils in 2018.

Kiss of Death?

For the second straight week the No. 1 team in the SportsNow Super 7 poll got knocked off when North Schuylkill fell to Tamaqua. Schuylkill Haven was the preseason No. 1, then lost to Blue Mountain in its season opener. The Spartans were atop the poll last week.

Blue Mountain climbs to No. 1 this week, followed by Tamaqua and North Schuylkill. The Eagles travel to Jim Thorpe on Friday in a Schuylkill/Colonial Red Division matchup. Get the entire poll here: https://www.t102sportsnow.com/2024/09/03/sportsnow-super-7-poll-eagles-climb-into-top-spot/

Speaking of Blue Mountain, Eli Doyle and I ventured to the Eagles’ Nest for this week’s 4^th and Short Podcast, which was dropped live on T102SportsNow.com and YouTube this morning. Two-way lineman Dylan Foose, running back Tyler Stahley and senior captain Gaige Guers, along with Blue Mountain head coach Tom Gallagher, joined Eli and I for a great interview following Tuesday’s practice.

You can get a look at this week’s 4^th and Short Podcast here: https://youtu.be/MOtzFJgAoa0

Odds and Ends

** Tamaqua is honoring fallen Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Peter K. Conforti with a special sticker on the back of its helmets. Conforti, a 2012 graduate of Tamaqua and a four-year varsity football starter, passed away unexpectedly in August.

** Mount Carmel became Pennsylvania’s first team to win 900 games Friday when the Red Tornadoes downed Central Columbia 47-16. The Red Tornadoes visit Mifflinburg tonight before hosting Southern Columbia on Sept. 13.

** Speaking of Southern Columbia, head coach Jim Roth became the first Pennsylvania high school football coach to earn his 500^th win when the Tigers blanked Loyalsock Township 47-0 on Friday night.

** North Schuylkill will induct five new members into its North Schuylkill Football Hall of Fame during Friday’s game against Notre Dame-Green Pond. Members of the 48^th induction class include Mason Geary, Jack Kempsey, Daniel Tomtishen, Mitch Wagner and Glenn Weist.

You can read more about the five new Hall of Famers here: https://www.t102sportsnow.com/2024/09/03/north-schuylkill-to-induct-5-into-football-hall/

** Hamburg had its game this Friday against Fairfield canceled after Fairfield couldn’t field enough players. That’s a tough break for the Hawks (1-1), who were scheduled to hold their annual Military/1^st Responder Night atop Hawk Hill.

That event, which honors the military personnel and first responders of the Hamburg and surrounding communities and features a pre-game tailgate, helicopters and a pre-game fly-over, has been rescheduled for Oct. 11 when Hamburg hosts Schuylkill Valley.

** Four area teams are the latest edition of the WNEP-TV Super 16 Countdown. Minersville is at No. 5, followed by Williams Valley at No. 6, Blue Mountain at No. 7 and Tamaqua at No. 12.

Other schools of note are Mount Carmel at No. 8, Southern Columbia at No. 9 and Shamokin at No. 15. Troy is No. 1, followed by Danville, Scranton Prep and Jersey Shore.