HS Football: North Schuylkill captures overall title at Schuylkill United Way HS Football Challenge
North Schuylkill poses with Schuylkill County Commissioners and Schuylkill United Way director Kelly Malone after winning the overall championship at Tuesday's 8th Schuylkill United Way High School Football Challenge at North Schuylkill (Photo by Leroy Boyer)
FOUNTAIN SPRINGS — North Schuylkill is back on top as champions of the Schuylkill United Way High School Football Challenge.
The Spartans ended Blue Mountain’s reign as overall team winners by capturing Tuesday’s 8th annual event at Ghosh Orthodontics Field at Spartan Stadium. North Schuylkill finished with 86 points, one ahead of second-place Blue Mountain. Pottsville was third with 81 points, followed by Schuylkill Haven (71) and Minersville (64).
It’s the Spartans’ third championship overall and second in three years. Schuylkill Haven won the first three titles from 2017-19, while North Schuylkill and Blue Mountain have alternated winning the challenge over the past five years. The event was not held in 2020 due to COVID.
“It was great. The whole team contributed,” North Schuylkill quarterback Caden Mengel said. “We all did great overall in every event.”
All 14 Schuylkill County high school football teams competed in the challenge, which consisted of seven events: Passing Accuracy, Sled Push, Tire Flip, Bench Press, Shuttle Relay, Farmers Carry and Broad Jump.
The challenge was broken into two sessions of seven teams apiece, with each team competing in each event for five minutes, then rotating. A kicking competition was held in between the sessions, with Tri-Valley’s Nathan Hillard edging Minersville’s Jordan Bowers for his second straight championship.
North Schuylkill accumulated the most points in the speed and agility events with 39, while Pottsville won the strength events with 36 points and Blue Mountain won the passing event. The Spartans won only one individual event — the Tire Flip — but were second in the Shuttle Relay and Broad Jump and tied for second in both the Farmers Carry and Passing Accuracy.
The Schuylkill United Way High School Football Challenge serves as kick-start to summer workouts for local teams, and the Spartans said winning Tuesday’s competition will give them a lot of confidence heading into the 2025 campaign.
“It’s definitely a good momentum builder, gains a lot of confidence for the guys,” wide receiver/defensive back Luke Miller said. “It’s fun. When we were doing the Farmers Carry, everybody was huddled around. It was a great atmosphere.”
Added two-way lineman Aidan Zilker: “It’s definitely important. In football, it all starts up front and that’s what the power/ strength events are. If we can bring that into the season, that will be good for us.”
There were four records broken Tuesday:
*** Pottsville won the Sled Push in 18.72, beating the previous record of 25.78 held by Blue Mountain. According to the officials working the event, Blue Mountain’s record was actually broken by seven of the final eight teams to compete, with the wet, rainy conditions helping the sled move quicker on the artificial turf surface. Pottsville was the last team to compete in the event.
*** Schuylkill Haven won the Bench Press with 211 repetitions, as the contingent of Niko Carestia, Niko Castillo, Logan Goad, Tristan Davis and Ethan Kline bested their own mark of 184 set last year.
*** Blue Mountain beat its previous record of 47.38 inches in the Broad Jump by jumping 48.2 inches this year.
*** Blue Mountain’s Cohen Kirby set a new mark in Passing Accuracy with 47 points, outgaining Nativity’s record of 46 points set last year.
The High School Football Challenge is coordinated by Dr. Andrew Smarkanic, the Schuylkill United Way staff and a group of more than 40 volunteers. Schuylkill Haven High School principal Ty Wartman and North Schuylkill athletic director Jim Gross served as emcees, while local PIAA officials volunteered to help score the individual events.
