Week 5 in the Colonial-Schuylkill League brought the first loss for Palisades, the first win for Pine Grove and a lot more.
Here is a look at five things we learned at the midway point of the 2025 season:
1. Where we hanging out tonight?: The talk among the players after every Pen Argyl home game is about where they are going to hang out that night.
Saturday night was a special gathering because the Green Knights avenged one of their 2024 heartbreaking losses with a 38-21 victory over Palisades.
Win or lose, however, the Green Knights get together.
“We pick somebody’s house,” senior Caiden Faust said. “It’s mostly the starters. We hang out, have fun, stay up late and play video games. We talk each other up after a good game. It’s just a great atmosphere.”
The tradition has not wavered when times were tough or losses mounted.
“We’re a brotherhood,” junior Chris Crespo said. “We all get along on and off the field. We’re just a great group of guys who love to hang out with each other.”
The conversations at these Saturday night retreats start and end with one topic.
“We talk about good, bad, whatever we need to work on,” Crespo added. “We are always focusing on football, about getting better. We always talk football. We love football. We live for football.”
2. Fast Faust: Pen Argyl’s Faust took a pounding on his 24 carries against Palisades to earn 71 yards. The senior running back was rewarded by scoring two touchdowns. It took just one pass play, however, for Faust to accumulate more yardage than he did in those 24 rushing plays.
It came after Pen Argyl coach Brady Mutton and his staff saw Palisades playing man coverage in the secondary.
That prompted Mutton to dial up a pass play designed for Faust in a 1-on-1 situation.
“Their coverage was a little different than they showed last week,” Mutton said. “Terrell [Estes] is the original guy there. We know they both are a step faster than most so that’s a good situation for us.”
With Estes, a wide receiver, limited to playing defense because of an injury, Soos hit a wide-open Faust in stride. The 5-foot-10, 175-pounder did the rest, outrunning the secondary for a 76-yard touchdown with 3:14 left in the third quarter. That play gave the Green Knights the lead for good.
It was Faust’s first TD catch of 2025. It was the longest play — run or catch — of his career.
3. Take a knee: Palisades assistant coaches wanted quarterback Jack Trickel to take a knee with 15 seconds left in the first half of Saturday’s game at Pen Argyl with the Pirates leading 14-7.
Head coach Bobby Smith wanted to run another play, so Trickel went under center for the first (and only) time. The center-quarterback exchanged was botched. Pen Argyl’s Jamie Accatino pounced on the loose ball. The Green Knights got a field goal out of the miscue and dominated the second half.
“It wasn’t just the kids and the game plan,” Smith said. “It was me. The fumble was a momentum thing, and that was on me. I said, ‘Let’s run a play.’ It just so happened that we fumbled.”
It wouldn’t be a stretch to think Pen Argyl would have won the game anyway because Palisades did not play with a lot of energy and focus, even after it scored on consecutive possessions in the second quarter to take the lead and then regain the advantage with a third-quarter touchdown.
The coaches went easy on the physical nature of last week’s practices because the Pirates were banged up. But it seemed to lead to a lethargic effort Saturday.
“We came out today like any other day,” Smith said. “I don’t think we were mentally prepared. The week of practice was not what it was in other weeks. That does not work in our favor. A loss like this either tumbles you or makes you stand up like a man.”
Palisades will need to bring its best game Friday to Blue Mountain, which plays a physical style of football for four quarters.
Last Saturday’s game ended with Pen Argyl quarterback Mason Soos going under center for the first time. He took a knee from the Palisades 2-yard line.
4. Loud and clear: While many traditional Colonial League bands struggle with participation numbers, new member Lehighton has more than 100 strong — including a stellar wind section that was evident during its pregame performance Friday night at home against Northwestern Lehigh. The band’s four-song set left people craving more.
There are several strong bands in the Schuylkill League, led by Tamaqua, which has more than 200 members.
Stellar bands only add to the Friday night experience. Lehighton made it worth getting there early.
5. Colonial vs. Schuylkill: The Schuylkill League won three of four meetings with the Colonial League in Week 5 (victories by Tamaqua, North Schuylkill and Blue Mountain) to pull within 7-6 after five weeks.
There are four more meetings in Week 6: Pottsville at Lehighton; North Schuylkill at Northwestern Lehigh; Palisades at Blue Mountain and Tamaqua at Bangor.
This is the final season for the merger. The two leagues will return to separate entities in 2026.
Colonial-Schuylkill League football standings
Team (Overall record); Division record; Points for; Points against
Red Division
Southern Lehigh (5-0); 4-0; 153; 65
Northwestern Lehigh (5-0); 3-0; 236; 69
North Schuylkill (3-2); 2-1; 182; 96
Blue Mountain (2-3); 2-2; 137; 96
Pottsville (2-3); 2-2; 110; 110
Lehighton (2-3); 1-2; 119; 119
Tamaqua (2-3); 1-2; 103; 124
Jim Thorpe (2-3); 1-3; 84; 140
Bangor (0-5); 0-4; 55; 213
White Division
Notre Dame-GP (5-0); 3-0; 218; 36
Pen Argyl (4-1); 3-1; 133; 102
Palisades (4-1); 3-1; 129; 81
Northern Lehigh (3-2); 2-1; 147; 154
Catasauqua (3-2); 2-2; 109; 114
Salisbury (2-3); 1-2; 57; 152
Palmerton (1-4); 1-2; 78; 133
Saucon Valley (2-3); 1-3; 99; 125
Wilson (0-5); 0-4; 55; 165
Blue Division
Marian Catholic (5-0); 4-0; 167; 69
Schuylkill Haven (5-0); 4-0; 259; 71
Williams Valley (5-0); 4-0; 202; 47
Minersville (3-2); 2-2; 204; 116
Panther Valley (2-3); 2-2; 80; 151
Tri-Valley (3-2); 2-2; 137; 58
Nativity BVM (2-3); 1-3; 114; 109
Pine Grove (1-4); 1-3; 48; 112
Mahanoy Area (0-5); 0-4; 19; 216
Shenandoah Valley (0-5); 0-4; 61; 203
Week 6 schedule (at 7 p.m.)
FRIDAY
Nativity BVM at Shenandoah Valley
Tri-Valley at Panther Valley
Mahanoy Area at Pine Grove
Schuylkill Haven at Williams Valley
Pen Argyl at Salisbury
Saucon Valley at Catasauqua
Notre Dame-GP at Northern Lehigh
Pottsville at Lehighton
North Schuylkill at Northwestern Lehigh
Southern Lehigh at Jim Thorpe
Palisades at Blue Mountain
Wilson at Palmerton
Tamaqua at Bangor
SATURDAY
Minersville at Marian Catholic
Senior writer Tom Housenick can be reached at thousenick@mcall.com
https://www.mcall.com/2025/09/22/colonial-schuylkill-league-football-5-things-we-learned-in-week-5/
