Bethel Park prepared for Thursday Night Football
All eyes will be on the Bethel Park football team when the Black Hawks host Moon at 7 p.m. Sept. 3 during the revival of Thursday Night Football.
SportsNet Pittsburgh and SportsNet Pittsburgh+ is televising a WPIAL game on eight Thursdays during the regular season and the Black Hawks kick off the schedule. This is the first time in more than a decade WPIAL games will be televised on Thursday nights.
A pre-game show will preview the contests as well as spotlight the host school and its community and student sections.
FSN Pittsburgh, which became Root Sports, was the first to televise Thursday night WPIAL games in 2005. The station continued the Thursday games through 2010, took a year off because of conflicts with Penguins games, then televised Thursday games for two more years (2012-13).
Veteran broadcaster Matt Farago will host and will be joined by Karlo Zovko. They are the creators of the Thursday telecasts. Steelers’ long snapper Christian Kuntz and former Pitt player Cameron Saddler are also part of the broadcast team.
The games have the title of “WPIAL Insider Thursday Night Primetime.”
“It’s going to be exciting and we are thrilled to have this opportunity to be on the big stage,” said BP head coach Phil Peckich.
Peckich also noted that there’s no Steeler game that night and the NFL hasn’t started its regular season, so, the Black Hawks will be the only game in town.
“Other teams are just finishing up their final practices for Friday night’s game and people are getting home from work and turning on the television to watch your game because there’s nothing else on Prime or the NFL. We’ll be in a unique situation. Center stage,” Peckich added. “It’s going to be an awesome experience.”
Peckich knows the feeling first hand. He said that he had the “luxury” of playing on television several times during his scholastic career. He played for Lou Cerro at Montour. His sophomore year, the Spartans lost to Thomas Jefferson in the WPIAL championship game. As a junior, the Spartans reached the district semifinals.
“Each year, we played deep into November and had a chance to win a WPIAL,” Peckich noted.
“The Thursday games were looked forward to,” he continued. “They were always conference games. Our teams played on television three of my four years. We were always competitive and well-coached.”
Peckich can say the same about Moon. The Tigers had been a regular conference opponent for the Black Hawks until they moved to Section 2 this fall. Bethel Park continues to compete in the Allegheny Six Conference with rivals Peters Township and Upper St. Clair as well as newcomers Thomas Jefferson, Trinity and West Allegheny.
“Our games against Moon have always been back and forth. Last year, they beat us by three on a walk-off field goal. Two seasons ago, the game went down to the wire. The game is always a good test for us.”
So far this season, the Black Hawks have been tested. They opened with a successful scrimmage against Norwin and then they played a non-conference contest on Aug. 28 at home against Hempfield. (Results unavailable at press time.)
Peckich was pleased with the effort against the Knights, who boasted a substantial front on both sides of the line as well as were a Class 6A opponent like the Spartans.
“We had a couple guys who were first-timers, getting varsity experience against a well-coached team that is on an upward trajectory. Playing against a bigger offensive and defensive line is beneficial for us and we have faced some situations that will carry us forward.”
Meanwhile, Moon is a team that was hit hard by graduation. The Tigers lost several three-year starters. Yet, they pose a challenge for the Black Hawks.
“They are well-coached, athletic and strong in the trenches,” Peckich said. “They are a good fit for us this early in the season. We are excited to play against a quality program that is familiar to us. This is a good game for both teams when the WPIAL assesses playoff seeding, especially since we expect to go deep into November.”
“Moon is going to play us tough,” he predicted. “We expect a fight for four quarters.”