Friday Night High School Football Scoreboard - December 2, 2011

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

There's nothing like the energy of state tournament football!

As I mentioned earlier in the day, I was in Pennsylvania for the showdown between two top-notch Class A teams.  Pius X and Southern Columbia both entered their quarterfinal match-up with identical 12-1 records, with both schools' losses coming at the hands of bigger schools.

Pius lost to Quad-A University Prep in Week 6, while SC lost to Double-A Mount Carmel.  University advanced to the first round of the 4A state tourney, while Mount Carmel has a meeting with Lancaster Catholic in Saturday's AA quarters.

Pius X raced-out to a 19-7 second quarter lead behind sophomore quarterback A.J. Long's 44th and 45th touchdown passes this season.  But, after that, it was all Southern Columbia.  The Tigers outscored the Royals 48-6 the rest of the way to advance to the state semifinals with 55-25 victory.

Southern Columbia, which is now 6-0 all-time against Pius, is going after its 7th state title in 22 years since Pennsylvania began playing for state titles.

Below, you can check-out all of the scores from around the country as they come-in to the High School Football America score center.

Friday Night High School Football Scores
December 2, 2011

Alabama Scores
Florida Scores
Ohio Scores
Pennsylvania Scores
Texas Scores

High School Football America On the Road: Pius X District Champs

Pius X Royals Win District XI Class A Championship
Copyright: High School Football America

by Jeff Fisher

High School Football America

Pius X Royals celebrate "Pappy" Hidladbrant's memory with
logo on helmet

Nazareth, PA - Sometimes things can't be explained; like why was today's District XI Class A playoff game played on what would have been the 80th birthday of the man that the Pius X Royals dedicated their season to.

The Royals have dedicated the 2011 season to their longtime fan John "Pappy" Hildabrant, who passed away during preseason camp in August.  Today, the Royals went after District XI Class A gold against Shenandoah Valley at Nazareth on what would have been "Pappy's" 80th birthday.

With the memory of "Pappy" in their minds and his name on the back of their helmets, the Royals dismantled the Blue Devils 50-12.  The Royals finished second in the district the past two years.

The Royals were led by quarterback A.J. Long and Boise Ross.  Long, who broke the record for TDs in a season (37), was 10 of 17 for 206 yards and two touchdowns.  The sophomore QB also rushed for 173 yards on 13 carries and two scores.

Ross, a junior, scored three touchdowns; he only had six touches, but put-up 276 yards in total offense.  Ross caught four passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns and carried the ball twice for 110 yards and a touchdown.

The Royals finished the game with 562 yards in total offense.

Next week, Pius X will play Calvary Christian in the opening round of the PIAA state playoffs.

When the Royals returned to their home base of Roseto, the entire team stopped at the Mount Carmel Cemetery to place a gold medal at Pappy's gravesite.

Final Week of 2010 High School Football Season

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

I seems like it was just yesterday when I was writing with great anticipation about the start of the 2010 high school football.  Now, here I am sitting in the freezing cold of Chicago getting ready for my first-ever trip to watch football in Texas.

This weekend's Texas football championship games at Cowboys Stadium, along with title games in California, Florida and Pennsylvania will close-out a great season that has seen plenty of excitement.  If you don't believe me, just look back at all of the stories posted on the various high school huddle blogs.

Personally, I taken High School Football America thousands of miles this year to find great stories.  I'm in the process of writing and editing the video vignettes that we captured.  I even had time to start the first-year of a two-year documentary project on the Pius X High School (Roseto, PA), which is one of the smallest schools to play 11-man football in America.

While this weekend should be an eye-opener for me and my reporter Trish Hoffman, it's going to be hard to beat the story of Lowell High School (Michigan) and its Pink Arrow Pride game that has now raised nearly three-quarters-of-a-million dollars for Gilda's Club in the Grand Rapids area.

To learn more about the videos that we will be releasing in January, go to www.highschoolfootballamerica.com.

Part 2 of High School Football America's Inside Game Day Released

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

The Pius X Royals (Roseto, PA) will be going after their fifth straight win today when they host Susquenita.

After an 0-3 start, first year head coach Phil Stambaugh has his young team...only seven seniors in position for a District 11 Class A playoff berth.

Throughout the season, High School  Football America has been chronicling the progress of the team, which is one of the smallest in the country playing 11-man football.

Yesterday, I released Part 2 of a three-part series that takes fans inside this small program where the coach does more than just call plays.  He's the janitor, the laundry guy...and the list goes on-and-on.  Part 2 takes you from the team prayer to just before kick-off.

High School Football America Goes Behind-the-Scenes of Game Day at Pius X

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

Getting ready to head to some high school football in the Bay Area, and also to console Phillies fan, who may be contemplating jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge if the Giants current play continues in Game 5.

During the flight, I'll be editing the second part of a three-part video that gives my readers an inside look at the first game of Pius X head coach Phil Stambaugh's coaching career.

If you've been following throughout the season, you know that I've been given full access to the Pennsylvania Catholic school that is one of the smallest in the nation playing 11-man football. The Royals have 63 boys in the school...50 play football for the proud program.

With a very young team this year and the loss of one of its co-captains Zack Cinelli to a knee injury in the second scrimmage of camp, the Royals stumbled out of the gate to an 0-3 record. However, they've now put together four straight wins an have a shot at an All-American Conference championship, plus a berth in the District 11 Class A playoffs.

In Part 1 of my behind-the-scenes look at the Royals, I feature the Royals' September 4th game against Pottstown, which plays two classification higher than than Pius. This episode takes you from the beginning of the day at 7:30 a.m. at Amelio Scott Alumni Stadium in Roseto, Pennsylvania to the team getting ready to go out on to the field for its pre-game warm-ups.

For more video from High School Football America, go to www.highschoolfootballamerica.com.

Saturday High School Football Scores - 10/9/10

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

The first score of the day comes from Roseto, Pennsylvania where the Pius X Royals reached the .500 mark with their third straight victory...a 57-0 win over Lourdes.

The Royals (3-3, 2-0 All-American Conference) only ran 27 offensive plays with junior running back Nick DeRea rushing for 111 yards and two touchdowns and freshman quarterback AJ Long completing all 13 passes he threw.  Long tossed for 187 yards and two touchdowns.

All-season long, High School Football America is documenting the progress of one of the smallest high school football teams in the country playing the 11-man game.  Pius has 63 boys enrolled in grades 9-12, but 50 of them play football for the tiny catholic school in northeast Pennsylvania.

Click here to check-out all of my video vigenettes.

Click on the links below for are the rest of Saturday's scores from around America.

Saturday High School Football Scores
Saturday, October 9, 2010

Michigan Scores
Montana Scores
New Hampshire Scores
New Jersey Scores
Pennsylvania Scores
Rhode Island Scores
Washington Scores

High School Football America Checking-Out on of the Country's Longest Streaks

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

After seven weeks on the road, High School Football America returns to its home state of Illinois for tonight's game between St. Rita and Providence Catholic.

The game outside of Joliet will continue THE STREAK of Dr. Gerry Grieco, who will be attending his 487th straight St. Rita game.  Yes, Dr. Grieco definitely qualifies as the Mustangs #1 Fan.

Now switching gears to our season-long series on Pius X High School in Roseto, Pennsylvania.

The Royals will look to even its record at .500 with its third straight win tomorrow when it faces Our Lady of Lourdes.  This may be a game between two of the smallest schools playing 11-man football in America.

Pius has 88-boys enrolled in grades 9-12, Lourdes has 56.  However, there is a big difference in the roster size as the Royals have 50 boys playing varsity football.  Lourdes has 18.

My latest Pius X video is on how the team keeps in-shape during the season.  First-year head coach Phil Stambaugh puts the squad through circuit training twice a week.  Below is a video vignette that looks at one of those sessions.




Don't forget to come back to The High School Football Huddle tonight for all of your Friday night football scores.

High School Football America Checks Out 11th Winningest High School Football Program

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

As one famous girl with red shoes once said, "there's no place like home, there's no place like home".

That's definitely been the case over the last six weeks as I've reconnected with my hometown while shooting my season-long documentary on Roseto, Pennsylvania and its beloved Pius X High School football team.

Tomorrow I will be on-hand when the tiny town in the Slate Belt honors four individuals and the 1966 football team with induction into the Pius X High School Athletic Hall of Fame.  You can check that out Sunday at High School Football America.

In the meantime, I will be in historic Cottingham Stadium in Easton, Pennsylvania tonight to introduce my readers to one of my favorite stadiums.  Cottingham was built in the early 1920's out of sturdy concrete and has been home to the Red Rovers ever since.

Tonight, Easton, which is the 11th all-time winningest football program in America, will face Whitehall in a battle of unbeatens.  Whitehall is the program that produced former Penn State and NFL great Matt Millen.

Easton is former heavyweight boxing champ Larry Holmes' hometown, plus it's the third place where the Declaration of Independence was read to the public back in 1776.

See you later tonight when I will be posting scores from around the country.

Go out an enjoy at high school football game in your area...you WON'T be disappointed!

Thursday Night High School Football Scores - 9/23/10

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

Another week has flown by in eastern Pennsylvania as I continue to shoot my season-long documentary on the Pius X Royals, the smallest high school football team in Pennsylvania.

The Royals (0-3) will be looking for their first win of the season tomorrow night when they take-on Marian Catholic (1-2).  To learn more about the 2010 Pius X Football Story, please go to www.highschoolfootballamerica.com.

In the meantime, The High School Football Huddle is all geared-up to get you scores throughout the weekend...starting with the Thursday night scores.

Click on the links below to find-out your team's favorite score.

Thursday High School Football Scores
September 23, 2010

Alabama Scores
Illinois Scores
Iowa Scores
Ohio Scores
Pennsylvania Scores
Texas Scores

Check-out High School Football America's Inside Look at the Pius X Royals

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

With its last scrimmage out of the way today against Wilson, the Pius X Royals have one week to get ready for its season opener next Saturday against Pottstown at Amelio Scott Alumni Stadium.

I'll be on hand in Roseto, Pennsylvania to capture the entire day for my season-long look the Royals at High School Football America.

Click here to check-out all of the videos from the 2010 pre-season camp.

Cheesesteaks & High School Football

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

Before getting into today's first post, I just want to apologize to my readers for a technical snafu by Blogger that caused us to be down for three days.  The good news is everything is back to normal now.

My three-day odyssey to Roseto, Pennsylvania for an inside look at the opening of Pius X High School's 2010 high school football season has ended...for now.

Some of the numbers...65 hours on the ground; 13 hours of video shot; 11 hours of sleep; 3 "flats" (hoagies) from Ruggiero's Market; 2 cheesesteaks at Detzi's Tavern and ONE great memory...with more to come.

Here is the first video from Day 1 of Camp Royal.  It's a 90-second sights-and-sounds piece from the Royals first official practice under first-year head coach Phil Stambaugh, who is a Pius alum and also played in the NFL and NFL Europe.


I will be posting dozens of other video clips and stories at High School Football America over the next two weeks, leading up to the Royals' season opener against Pottstown on September 4th.

To learn more about this Class A program with only 180 students in grades 9-12, please go to the 2010 Pius X HS Story at High School Football America.

High School Football America in Pennsylvania for Opening Day of High School Football

by Jeff Fisher
High School Football America

It's 4:52 A.M. Eastern Time and my adrenaline is flowing as I'm up early to catch the first day of high school football practice in Pennsylvania.

When I'm finished with this post, I'm out-the-door of the Hampton Inn in Bethlehem to travel to Pius X High School for the first of the Royals three practices today.  As I've been mentioning since last Wednesday, I will be profiling Pius throughout the season, and it all starts today when the sun rises on the new season.

Camp Royal officially opens at 6:45 A.M. EST when the players, who are spending the first week staying at the school all-day and sleeping in the wrestling room, get there wake-up call.  I'll be there with camera in-hand as the players awake with blurry eyes that will then begin focusing on the 2010 season.

You'll be able to check-out tons of video from the first three days of camp at High School Football America throughout the week.  I should be able to have a quick snippet posted by sometime after lunch...just click on the 2010 Pius X HS Story tab.

Everybody on three...one-two-three...let's go!

I needed to do that to wake-up my brain!

It's going to be a long day that will last until the players eat dinner on-campus around 8.

Jeff

High School Football America to give its readers the "Royal" treatment

by Jeff Fisher

High School Football America

As I contemplated what I could do special for the 2010 high school football season, one thought came to mind...think SMALL!

Yes, I said SMALL.

You see, as I’ve been telling my readers for the past year, High School Football America is all about covering good stories.  It’s almost like we’re miners looking for those hidden gems of high school football stories that are buried deep beneath national rankings and recruiting stories.

So with that in mind, I wracked my brain for something small that could be turned into something big. 

It didn’t take me long to come-up with the answer.

I wanted to chronicle a small town football team for an entire year to give fans a feel for how the line between a community and its football team blurs, and the team becomes part of the fabric of the community.

But the question was which team?

Once again, it didn’t take long to come-up with the answer.

I just had to look a little north of my hometown of Easton, Pennsylvania to the tiny borough of Roseto…home to the Pius X Royals, a small catholic school with an enrollment of approximately 260 students in 7-12 grades.  The Royals play in Pennsylvania’s smallest classification (Class A). 

That definitely qualifies as small, but what the school and the football program have accomplished through the years in sports is big, including an NFL quarterback in Phil Stambaugh…and that’s where the story begins.

Stambaugh, who just celebrated his 32nd birthday on Tuesday, is preparing to open his first camp as a head coach at his alma mater on Monday, August 16th…and High School Football America will be there with him.

Even after spending time as a quarterback in the NFL and NFL Europe, Stambaugh is your typical Pius X alum…once a Royal, always a Royal.

What seems to make this story feel right is Stambaugh and I have a history that includes me covering him while I worked at WFMZ-TV while he was leading his team to a 1995 District 11 Class A championship, plus his brilliant career at Lehigh University where he spent his four years re-writing school and Patriot League record books.

What appeals the most to me about Pius is how it truly is a family affair for the approximately 1,600 people that reside in the community. 

Like Stambaugh, eight of his eleven assistant coaches attended the “old school” brick school building on 3^rd Avenue.  Heck...Stambaugh’s mom Connie currently is the athletic director at the school.  His dad, Mike, coached football, volleyball, girls’ softball and wrestling at Pius.

Roseto is a little bit like the imaginary TV show bar Cheers…everyone knows your name.

Hopefully, between now and the end of the season, America will know the Pius X Royals.

Editor’s note: Beginning Monday, August 16^th, High School Football America, The High School Football Huddle and the Pennsylvania High School Football Huddle will have daily stories on the Royals.

To learn more about the upcoming season, go to the Pius X Royals football website