The Wyoming Area and Southern Columbia football programs chose challenge and suspense over certain victory and comfort.

When two of the state’s top small school teams got together this week, with the help of their two planned opponents, to agree on a mid-season schedule change, they created intrigue in the eighth week of a high school football season that has too little of that element.

There are no sure things in sports, but there are very few matchups as close to certain as the likelihood of what Wyoming Area was going to do to Holy Redeemer and what Southern Columbia was going to do on Shikellamy on the football field on Oct. 11.

The games that were scheduled to be played would likely have been uncompetitive right from the start. By midway through the first quarter, Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer and Southern Columbia coach Jim Roth could already be faced with the balancing act of letting their powerful teams play against not embarrassing a badly overmatched opponent.

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Instead of beating up winless teams in games that probably never belonged on the schedule in the first place, the Warriors and Tigers sought out what sports is supposed to be about – two talented, dedicated, well-trained teams testing each other to see who is best — at least for that night.

Wyoming Area very well may very have traded in a second straight unbeaten season to instead play someone who can push the Warriors toward being their best.

The two opponents before the Warriors get to Southern Columbia – Lake-Lehman and Dunmore – are winning teams that could ruin that perfect record, but Wyoming Area will still be a considerable favorite in those outings.

In all likelihood, if Wyoming Area left things alone, it was looking at again being 10-0, but also again going into the playoffs essentially untested.

Make no mistake, the Tigers, who have won a record nine Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state football championships, will put the Warriors to the test.

“It’s a great opportunity for our kids to play one of the top programs in the state and actually nationally,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer told the Times Leader.

Opportunity is the right word for the Warriors, who are ranked fourth in the state in Class 3A by PennLive.com.

Three weeks before the playoff opener, Wyoming Area will be put through a demanding test physically.

That test could cost the Warriors if there are injury factors coming out of facing a more complete game late in the season, but that idea can just about be disregarded. It has been seen, especially at Wyoming Area, during the past two seasons that the injury bug can bite even in shortened games against overmatched opponents.

Wyoming Area and Southern Columbia have given high school football fans a game to which they can look forward. And, Holy Redeemer and Shikellamy will meet each other in a game that gives each of them a bit of hope.

The size of crowds at some local high school games and a check of the scoreboard on any Friday night will tell you how much we all need that.

Friday night’s District 2 scores read like this – 49-0, 48-0, 45-0, 51-7, 49-10, 44-13, 49-21, 37-13, 27-7, 23-7, 34-20, 21-14, 37-34, 14-12, 15-14. And, that’s a set of games closer than what we get on some weeks.

Southern Columbia has beaten its first five opponents, 284-0. Gaige Garcia, who has committed to Michigan, has set a state record for career touchdowns while combining with wide receiver Julian Fleming, an Ohio State commit, have helped the offense average 56.8 points per game.

Wyoming Area has had halftime leads of 49-0, 42-0 and 42-0 already in the first half of this season.

Through the years, too many quality games have been lost to schedules being built to make sure qualifying chances are equal for teams that are all going to the bloated playoffs anyway. Changes in the game through the years have only served to emphasize the vast differences between teams on a weekly basis.

More is needed to make high school football more competitive and interesting on a weekly basis. Two of the state’s best programs – one long-established and one doing everything it can to join that elite level – are doing their part to fix the problem for at least one week.

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By Tom Robinson

For Sunday Dispatch

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Reach the Sunday Dispatch newsroom at 570-991-6405 or by email at sd@psdispatch.com.