Guido: High school football teams nearing milestones

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, August 29, 2017 | 11:00 PM

This could be the season many WPIAL football schools hit milestones.

Gateway defeated Woodland Hills Friday for victory No. 400 in school history. Mars and California also hit 400 with victories Friday.

Blackhawk has a shot at No. 300 Friday when the Cougars host Knoch. That's significant because Blackhawk has only been around since 1973.

North Allegheny needs three wins to reach 400.

A-R Wall of Fame

The Apollo-Ridge School District is taking nominations for its initial wall of fame induction, set for fall of 2018.

The wall will feature not only athletes, but those who have succeeded in business, professional and civic endeavors.

The school district will consider not only Apollo-Ridge alumni, but those from predecessor schools Elders Ridge and the original Apollo Area High School can be included.

For more information, consult the school district's website: www.apolloridge.com.

Here's an Apollo-Ridge trivia question:

Can you name the only Elders Ridge player to make the NFL?

Answer later.

NFHS takes TV stand

You usually don't hear much from the National Federation of State High School Associations unless there's a rules change or a record about to fall.

But the NFHS has come out with a resolution asking college and pro teams not to schedule games on Friday nights. The fear is that televising those games will cut into high school football attendance.

Here's a portion of the NFHS statement: “In an effort to re-emphasize that Friday nights in the fall should be reserved for high school football, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) has adopted a resolution that urges schools and teams at the college and professional levels to honor that longstanding tradition and schedule games on other days.”

Be it RESOLVED that every Friday night during the fall in America is “High School Football Night.”

ESPN has been scheduling major college football games for the better part of 20 years.

But this year the Big Ten said it would start allowing some of its games on Friday nights. With the NFHS office located in Indianapolis, it caught the attention of the organization.

No. 9 Wisconsin will play Friday, along with No. 8 Washington, moves that many believe will cut into the gates at high school games in those two states.

Those are two of eight TV games this Friday. The NFHS said there are 50 Friday night TV games this season.

“The value of tradition cannot be overstated,” said Bob Gardner, NFHS executive director. “Friday nights offer communities a traditional time and place to congregate and support their students. If a major college football game was scheduled in the area on a Friday night, it could affect attendance at the high school game or cause the game to be moved to another day. In addition, many of the Friday night college games are televised, which could result in lower attendance at high school contests nationwide.”

Big Ten member Penn State said it would not schedule any Friday night home games at Beaver Stadium. It has no Friday night TV games this year.

Pitt has played a handful of Friday nighters over the years, but not during the scholastic campaign.

There was no indication those games had an effect on WPIAL attendance. It seems like people most interested in those Friday ESPN telecasts are those who had bets on the games.

Apollo-Ridge trivia answer

John Boyda was the only Elders Ridge player to make it to the NFL, playing nine games for the New York Bulldogs, both ways as a fullback and linebacker in 1949.

The Bulldogs became the New York Yanks in 1950, the Dallas Texans in 1952, the Baltimore Colts in 1953 and the Indianapolis Colts in 1984.

George Guido is a Valley News Dispatch scholastic sports correspondent. His column appears Wednesdays.

Tags: Apollo-Ridge