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June 21, 2009

CORY ISENBERG | A look back at the 39th Lantzy game

BY CORY ISENBERG The Tribune-Democrat Sun Jun 21, 2009, 11:28 PM EDT

The Ken Lantzy Finest 40 Football Game is one of the state’s oldest all-star games for high school seniors.

The organization celebrated its 39th classic on Saturday night at Trojan Stadium with the South winning its fourth straight in a 50-38 victory over the North.

The 88 points amassed by the two squads established a record, surpassing the 82 points scored by the two teams in 2006, the previous high, a 46-36 South win.

Saturday’s game also featured one of the quickest scores as North Star’s Cory Kaltenbaugh tossed a short pass to Richland’s Tim Ripple, who rambled 82 yards for a touchdown just 18 seconds into the game, and one of its long-

est kickoff returns, a 93-yard return by Taylor Holby of Blacklick Valley.

Unofficially, Ripple finished with five catches for 144 yards and Kaltenbaugh was 5-of-8 passing for 145.

The North featured a well-rounded rushing attack that included Northern Cambria’s Andrew Paronish and Isaac Lieb along with Andrew O’Saben of Central Cambria and Scott Mehall of Forest Hills.

Overall, the South holds a 23-16 edge in Lantzy wins with the North’s last victory, 21-14, coming in 2005.

There are several themes that players and coaches talk about regarding their Ken Lantzy experiences.

One is the camaraderie and the other is the great way they are treated by the Lantzy committee.

“I think one of the real positive things they take away from this game is that they’re having an opportunity to play on the same team as many of their bitter rivals they played against during the regular season,” North head coach Ken Bussard of Central Cambria said early last week. “You get a chance to see those kids as human beings. You live with them for a week. You shower together, you sleep in the same area, eat together so you build a friendship that carries throughout the years. The Lantzy committee does a great job of taking care of the kids.”

The event is well-received in the community, but there are still some areas of suggested improvements for Ken Lantzy games in the future.

We received several calls in the office regarding the ticket prices for this year’s game, which we were unable to answer. The Web site, kenlantzy.com, does not include the admission cost as far as we could find nor any contact information for the general public.

Also, with the length of the game itself, including 15-minute quarters and a 15-minute intermission, the kickoff time of

7:30 p.m. makes it difficult for reporters and media members covering the contest to get complete reports of the event.

During the regular season, most Friday night football games begin at 7. Several of the other all-star football games begin at 7 with the PSFCA East-West Game getting under way at 6.

The replay of Saturday’s marathon game which ran approximately 3 hours and

20 minutes, will be shown on Atlantic Broadband at 7 Tuesday and Thursday.

Cory Isenberg is a sports writer or The Tribune-Democrat.

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