Southeastern Pa. football update: Big 33, East-West all-star games canceled; Souderton’s DeAndre Wakefield commits to Lock Haven

With “deep regret,” the Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association on Tuesday announced the cancellation of the Big 33 Classic and East-West all-star games because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The games were scheduled for Memorial Day weekend as part of a series of events set for Landis Field in Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County.

“Due to the uncertainty of the weeks ahead with the coronavirus constraints placed upon each individual, our schools, families and the organizations and businesses that make this holiday weekend one of the best in the country, we cannot move forward in holding these events or our exciting football games,” Garry Cathell, executive director of the PSFCA-Big 33, said in a statement.

In addition to the Big 33 Classic, which started in 1957 and is regarded as one of the top high school football all-star games in the country, and the East-West game, the coaches association had plans for the first-ever high school combine, the USA Football First Down Clinic, the Military Murph competition and a Big 33 Fan Experience.

“Again, we remind everyone that we are in unprecedented waters, which warrant critical measures to protect everyone’s health, safety and welfare,” Cathell said.

Coatesville’s Ricky Ortega and Dapree Bryant, St. Joseph’s Prep’s Liam Johnson and Matt McGeary, Martin Luther King’s Tyrell Mims, La Salle’s Ryan Savage, Pope John Paul’s Dylan Walker, Neshaminy’s Ian Sheehan and Souderton’s William Leyland were selected to play for the Pennsylvania team, which was scheduled to play the Maryland team on May 25.

“I grew up always wanting to play in the Big 33 game,” Ortega said Tuesday via text. "It was a dream of mine and when I got selected this year I was very excited.

“It’s very disappointing. But even though we can’t play that doesn’t take anything away from me and my teammates that got selected. We are still part of the Big 33 fraternity.”

Several Philadelphia-area players were selected to participate in the East-West all-star game, which was scheduled to be played on May 24.

Three players from Cheltenham, which fashioned the best season in program history and reached the PIAA Class 5A title game, were selected to participate in the East-West game: Jamir Barnes, T.J. Harris and Nate Edwards.

Other Philadelphia-area players selected were Kyle Cichanowsky, West Chester East; Isaiah Taylor, Pottsgrove; Casey Stephenson and Andrew Bailey, St. Joseph’s Prep; Richard Santiago, Coatesville; Sean Pelkisson and Beau Bryan, Downingtown West; Dillon Trainer, La Salle and Chris Clark, Haverford School.

Cathell said the PSFCA is exploring ways “in which we can still honor all of these highly talented 2020 athletes” while vowing to resume the event in 2021.

“We are looking forward to planning the 2021 games and festivities and know that they will be better than ever,” Cathell said.

In a related matter, the Philadelphia City All-Star Football Game, which had been scheduled for May 16 with a banquet on May 12, has been canceled.

In a statement, the game’s executive committee said the plan was to resume the annual all-star event in 2021.

DeAndre Wakefield likes a challenge.

He led under-the-radar Souderton High football to prominence as a senior all-purpose standout, sparking the Indians to their best season since 2007.

He hopes to do the same at Lock Haven University.

“I chose Lock Haven because it felt like home,” said Wakefield, who has committed to join the NCAA Division II program on a football scholarship. "The determination and focus that this program has to get better is something I want to be part of.

“There’s something special going on at Lock Haven and I wouldn’t want to win a championship being an underdog with any other team.”

Wakefield sees the similarities between Lock Haven, a member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, and Souderton of the Suburban One League.

Lock Haven was 0-7 in conference play last season and 2-9 overall.

Souderton was 8-3, the program’s best record since a 9-2 mark in 2007. But in Wakefield’s sophomore and junior seasons, Souderton was a combined 7-13.

“To get as far as we did was amazing,” Wakefield said of Souderton’s 8-1 start and berth in the PIAA District 1 Class 6A playoffs.

Wakefield ran for 785 yards on 101 carries (7.8-yard average) and scored 12 touchdowns as a senior. He also considered Connecticut, St. Francis, and Millersville, among other college choices.

In other recruiting news:

St. Joseph’s of Hammonton outside linebacker Keshon Griffin has committed to Rutgers. The 6-foot-4, 245-pound junior is a top pass rusher and a basketball standout as well.

Neumann Goretti all-purpose player Tysheem Johnson, a junior, is up to 36 offers, with the latest from reigning national champion LSU. Johnson also has offers from Florida, Ohio State, and Penn State, among others. Neumann Goretti defensive end Eric Gentry is up to 16 offers, with the latest from Arizona State. The junior also has offers from Tennessee, Michigan State and Oregon, among others.

Former Northeast standout Shuayb “Shoes” Brinkley, a running back/defensive back who recently transferred to Mater Dei in Santa Ana, Calif., has picked up an offer from Hawaii. ... Camden linebacker Nyair Graham is rocketing up the recruiting ranks. The sophomore has recently picked up offers from Penn State, Pitt, Texas A&M, and Miami.

Two sophomores, Williamstown defensive back Keon Sabb and St. Augustine running back Kanye Udoh, have picked up offers from Nebraska. Sabb also has grabbed recent offers from Boston College, Arizona State, and Georgia.

Mike Sheridan, who led a marked improvement of the Haddon Township football program, has stepped down as the Hawks’ head coach after four seasons.

Sheridan said he hoped to stay involved with the program. “I don’t want to stop, I just want to slow down,” he said.

A Sterling graduate who played college football at Davidson, Sheridan, 63, has been coaching since the late 1970s.

“It’s time,” Sheridan said. “I’ve been at it a while. I just want to step back a little.”

Haddon Township went 3-7 in each of Sheridan’s first two seasons. But the Hawks went 5-5 in 2018, capturing a share of the West Jersey Football League Classic Division title, and improved to 6-4 in 2019, qualifying for the Central Jersey Group 1 playoffs.

“The kids turned the program around,” Sheridan said. "It was their attitude, their dedication. They really bought in, weight lifting at 6:15 [a.m.], our Dawn Patrol running.

“The kids did a fantastic job.”