Aug 30, 2018 3 min read

This corner of Pennsylvania is packed with storied football rivalries, and one of the most hard-fought is the annual battle pitting Charleroi Area and Monessen high schools.

The rivalry between Charleroi and Monessen dates back to 1907, when New Mexico and Arizona were yet to become states. The Cougars and Greyhounds faced off every season from 1923 through 2007, except 1972, when a teachers strike wiped out the Charleroi season. They have met 101 times, Charleroi winning 49 games, Monessen 43. There have been nine ties.

They were preparing for a 102nd tussle between them last Friday night, but the non-conference game was canceled just hours beforehand because of an alleged threat that was made against one of Charleroi’s student-athletes. That alleged threat, specifically, was that a Charleroi student would be shot after the game at Monessen’s Memorial Stadium.

While authorities in Monessen said the threats were not credible, Charleroi Superintendent Ed Zelich pulled the plug on the game, citing the safety of students and the community. Monessen Superintendent Leanne Spazak expressed disappointment, telling the Observer-Reporter’s Brad Hundt that “we were already well-prepared” by working with police for the city and school district, checking bags of fans and players entering the stadium and deploying metal detectors.

A proposal that the game be moved to Saturday was rebuffed by Monessen, and it appears there will be no Charleroi-Monessen game this year unless both schools carve out space in their schedules before the season ends. That is not likely, for each team has a game scheduled every weekend of the regular season, and at least one – maybe both – probably will qualify for the playoffs that will begin the week after that, in early November.

While it’s usually wise not to overreact to threats – we can’t cower in our homes in fear that a gunman or terrorist could harm us when we’re going about our daily tasks – it’s hard to blame Zelich and Charleroi administrators for having cold feet about going ahead with the game.

It would have rested hard on the consciences of officials in both Monessen and Charleroi if the game had gone ahead and someone had been killed or otherwise harmed. And though Zelich said it did not factor into his thinking, the Greyhounds’ WPIAL sports programs are in the midst of a five-year probationary period as a result of a brawl between Monessen and Clairton High School boys basketball players and fans earlier this year, which resulted in the arrests of six teens and six adults.

During these turbulent and too-often violent times, erring on the side of caution is the prudent option. Yet the cancellation of a game of this magnitude is lamentable, even if the result has no bearing on the standings. The schools are in different classifications because of a significant enrollment difference; Monessen is smaller. Still, the kids on the respective teams look forward to playing each other, and civic pride is at stake for residents and alumni on both sides.

These are two schools separated by the Monongahela River, but this year the gulf between them seems much wider.