Thursday night football about to become a thing in Lancaster-Lebanon League
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
Thursday football isn’t just for Thanksgiving or the NFL any longer.
It will be become part of the fabric of the Lancaster-Lebanon League next season when all teams are expected to move games to Thursday or Saturday on designated weeks.
A shortage of officials in the Lancaster Chapter of PIAA football officials is the reason, says league football chairman Tommy Long.
“The officials told us they’re not going to have (enough) officials to do everybody playing Friday night,” said Long.
Each of the five sections will be required to move their Friday games to Thursday or Saturday at least once, said Long.
Section 1 teams will do that in Week 4, the opening week of league play next season. That means Wilson’s game at Reading High will be played on a Thursday or Saturday; the home team will make that designation.
In Week 5, the second week of league play, Section 2 teams will be required to play on a Thursday or Saturday. That will affect Exeter’s game at Lebanon and Gov. Mifflin’s game at Muhlenberg.
Section 3 teams will be designated for Week 6, Section 4 teams for Week 7 and Section 5 teams for Week 8.
The York-Adams League had a shortage of officials this season and moved games off Friday night. Fleetwood’s game at Kennard-Dale was played on a Saturday. Annville-Cleona’s game at Littlestown was played on a Thursday.
“It’s not just here,” said Lancaster chapter assigner Bob Gramola, “it’s everywhere (across the state). It’s a real concern.”
The Lancaster Chapter, which also includes officials from Lebanon County, faced that issue this season. Gramola said the Lancaster chapter has 81 active members and it wasn’t enough this season. During one busy Friday night, when his chapter was responsible for covering 16 games, he had to use seven to eight members of the Berks County chapter to cover games in Lancaster or Lebanon counties.
The Lancaster chapter is responsible for covering all home games played by Lancaster and Lebanon county teams, along with Wilson, which was an associate member of the league before 13 other Berks schools joined for the 2022 season.
The Berks County chapter is responsible for staffing any home games played in Berks (other than at Wilson).
Berks chapter president Tom Miller Jr. said his chapter was able to cover all of its games this season but came up short once in the 2022 season and had to request help from the Lancaster chapter.
Miller said his chapter will be able to fully staff as many as seven games, with six officials, again next season.
The Lancaster chapter uses five-person crews.
Miller said the officials shortage in Berks is not yet “a crisis” but his chapter continues to seek new members. It will lose three current members following this season but already has three new members ready to step in for 2024.
Gramola is concerned moving forward because he said the Lancaster chapter has 25 or more senior members who could retire within the next several years.
“It’s really scary,” he said of the situation. “A number of them are hanging on because they know we’re hurting.”
Older members are more prone to call off games because of injuries. Gramola said one of his members was injured at home the day before a Friday night assignment. Gramola called other chapters seeking a replacement but could not find one. One of the Lancaster crews worked with four officials that game.
“I hate to have that happen,” Gramola said. “We don’t want to be in that position again.”
Conrad Weiser coach Alan Moyer said he is fine with the change. He believes playing on a Thursday night will give additional people from other school districts a chance to see his team play and could lead to “more people in the stands.”
Hamburg athletic director Aaron Menapace is completely against Thursday night games. His concern is how it will after student-athletes in school the following morning, and that it will take away study and prep time on a school night.
League-wide there are sure to be many others unhappy with not playing on Friday, the traditional night for high school football.
“My coach (Matt Gingrich) likes playing Thursday night games,” said Long, the athletic director at Annville-Cleona. “I know some people don’t like playing Thursdays.”
Every team in the league will be affected, even Wyomissing, which plays all of its home games on Saturday afternoon. The Spartans are home against Daniel Boone next season on the designated Section 4 weekend but will play at Boone in 2025. Boone will determine if that game is played on a Saturday or a Thursday.
The PIAA has played Thursday championship games for the past past several years. It’s spreads its championship across three days, with two games each on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
All District 3 playoff games are played on Friday unless the host school, such as Harrisburg or Wyomissing, does not have stadium lights.
2024/25 section alignment
| Section 1 | Section 2 | Section 3 | Section 4 | Section 5 |
| Reading High | Lebanon | Warwick | Daniel Boone | Hamburg |
| McCaskey | Gov. Mifflin | Conrad Weiser | Twin Valley | Kutztown |
| Hempfield | Exeter | Solanco | Lampeter-Strasburg | Schuylkill Valley |
| Wilson | Ephrata | Cocalico | Donegal | Annville-Cleona |
| Manheim Township | Elizabethtown | Fleetwood | Elco | Berks Catholic |
| Penn Manor | Muhlenberg | Garden Spot | Octorara | Pequea Valley |
| Cedar Crest | Conestoga Valley | Manheim Central | Northern Lebanon | Lancaster Catholic |
| Wyomissing | Columbia |
