Posted on 11/23/2006 7:50:03 AM PST by P.O.E.
'The Game' draws near one day away.
Easton and Phillipsburg's football teams are more than ready to rumble in No. 100 at Fisher Stadium.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006 By MICHAEL BLOUSE
The Express-Times Tick, tock. Tick, tock.
The countdown for the historic 100th football game between Easton Area and Phillipsburg high schools is at one day. "We've been waiting for so long for this game to get here," Easton senior captain Connor Moore said. "We've been waiting ever since the Thanksgiving Day game ended last year. It seemed like forever, but it's finally arrived."
"At the start of the season," said Mark Bigelli, a senior captain at Phillipsburg, "it felt like the game was a long ways away. But the weeks started rolling by and rolling by. It's just amazing how fast time went by in the last month."
As legendary boxing referee Mills Lane shouts before big bouts, "Let's get it on!"
Easton's Red Rovers and the Stateliners of Phillipsburg, in 24 hours, will suit up in their throwback uniforms, forget about the overwhelming pregame hype and play some football.
Easton is ranked No. 3 in Pennsylvania with an 11-1 record and coming off an improbable 17-15 PIAA playoff win over Parkland. Phillipsburg is ranked No. 4 in New Jersey with a 10-0 record and a 22-game winning streak.
Kickoff is 9:05 a.m. Thursday at Lafayette College's refurbished Fisher Stadium. The matchup, to be played in front of an overflow crowd of more than 15,500, will be televised live on ESPN2.
The coaches, Steve Shiffert of Easton and Bob Stem of P'burg, are well aware of the challenges their teams will encounter on Thanksgiving Day.
"Consistency is the word I'd pick to describe Phillipsburg," Shiffert said. "To win 22 games in a row is saying something. And when I think of Phillipsburg, I think of Justin Viscomi. He's been the quarterback for every one of those wins."
A lot of tradition, and fine folks all around.
On ESPN2 now.
21-7..very very very bad game
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.