Turnpike Classic

Packing up a busload of youth football players and traveling to the other side of the state is a big project. For teams in the second annual Turnpike Classic, bringing together players from Eastern and Western Pennsylvania, the effort is worth it. The trip is part fun, part reward for players in their final year with the Franklin Area Midget football team just outside of Pittsburgh. On Saturday, for the second straight year, head coach Pat Miller will load up his 13-year-olds and head 205 miles east to take on an all-star squad from the Catholic Football Association near Harrisburg. “At the end of year, all the graduating players get to make this trip,” Miller said. “The football game is why we are going, but that is really secondary. We’ll take them to the National Civil War Museum, play paintball, eat together, stay in a hotel together. This is something they have already begun looking forward to.”

The logistics take planning but the game already is a big part of the CFA’s championship weekend, league commissioner Joe Cribari said. The CFA plays its four title games and hosts the Turnpike Classic all in the same two days. Most of the heavy lifting is already done by the championship weekend committee, and the game gives an opportunity to CFA players whose teams did not reach the final game. “Last year, we liked it so much we said, ‘Let’s do it again,’” Cribari said. “It’s a nice reward for the players of the 15 teams who didn’t make the championship games.”

Cribari said players benefit by competing against athletes from the other side of the state, letting them measure themselves against the caliber of players they may face in high school. Coaches benefit by sharing ideas with each other, picking up ideas to improve their teams. “With an all-star team, these are players who played against each other but not with each other,” Cribari said. “They only had a few days of practice but came together well last year. It is a chance to build relationships within the CFA as well as with a team from 200 miles away.”

Miller appreciates all the work the Cribari and the CFA puts into the game. “They make us feel so welcome,” Miller said. “It takes the pressure off of us, where we can focus on making this last game special for the kids. The players on this team have been together for the most part since they were 7. Making this last trip together builds a memory for a lifetime.”

Word is spreading in Pennsylvania to where other leagues want to share in the experience. Cribari said the Turnpike Classic has a chance to grow into something bigger and better as the years go on. “We’ve already had calls from other teams in Pittsburgh who want to come,” he said. “We couldn’t get them in this year. Maybe next year we’ll work something out.”