IS GETTING ITS DRAFT BOARD READY
Can the granddaddy of the city's Public-Catholic Thanksgiving football rivalries end with a sonic boom of a bang?
Well, Peggy Kowalski, Penn's assistant director of athletic operations, says the North Catholic-Frankford folks should call her if they'd like to see whether the schools' final meeting can take place at Franklin Field.
Kowalski wasn't sure about costs, but mentioned that support personnel would have to be paid double-time because of the holiday.
Nevertheless, she sounded interested and added with a laugh, "Hey, I'm not going anywhere that day."
The 50th anniversary game, in 1978, was played at Veterans Stadium. One of the partcipants, Dave Shipton, now a North assistant, has created a Facebook page, "North vs. Frankford at Franklin Field," to push the idea.
No doubt like all North grads, Shipton expressed the hope that his alma mater can be saved. But he added, "Should this be the last in a very storied rivalry, it should go out in first class."
Though Frankford's crowd has thinned somewhat in recent years, North's has remained robust and no one doubts the final meeting will bring out the multitudes.
North leads the holiday portion of the series, 41-34-4. The teams split non-Thanksgiving games in 1928 and '29.
Fran Dougherty, North's former longtime athletic director and now a District 12 executive, said the schools have sold their own tickets and kept those profits separate for about 10 years.
Frankford's stadium has been the game site since 1990, following the demise of Temple Stadium.
With the idea in mind that La Salle and St. Joseph's Prep recently played great games there before huge crowds, maybe you're asking, how about La Salle University?
Kevin Bonner, an assistant athletic director, said the school "made a policy not to host any [football] games, camps, etc." after dropping the sport following the 2007 season.
How 'bout the Linc? A team spokeswoman said the Eagles have not been asked about the use of the facility. No high school games have been held at the Linc.
The Eagles are hosting the Redskins 3 days after Thanksgiving. Would they risk having high school teams possibly tear up their field? Hey, if there was ever a time . . . *
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