Trinity and Washington could meet on football field this season
Who would have thought that all it would take to get Trinity and Washington high schools talking about meeting in a football game for the first time in more than 20 years would be a global pandemic and a controversial decision by the Uniontown Area School Board?
The coronavirus pandemic, which caused the WPIAL to trim its football season from 10 weeks to seven this year, and Uniontown’s decision Monday night to cancel its season, have put Trinity and Washington in a situation where each school is in need of a game Oct. 9.
Washington has been in this situation ever since the WPIAL released its football schedules. Because there are seven teams in the Century Conference – the only league in Class 2A with an odd number – each member school has an open date on its schedule. The Prexies have been unable to fill the Oct. 9 open date and have been facing the possibility of playing only six regular-season games.
Trinity had a full slate of games until Monday night. That’s when Uniontown’s school board, in a 9-0 vote, decided that the Red Raiders will not field teams in the “contact sports” of football and soccer. Trinity was to play at Uniontown in a Big Eight Conference game Oct. 9.
Suddenly in need of a game, Trinity athletic director Ricci Rich checked the WPIAL’s master schedule to see if any school had an open date on Oct. 9. There was only one: Washington.
Rich said he has been in contact with Washington athletic director and head football coach Mike Bosnic about scheduling a game for the common open date. Rich said he’s optimistic something can be worked out.
“I talked to Mike, and probably by Friday we will know if we will be playing,” Rich said. “I think there is a possibility.”
Bosnic also is optimistic that the Prexies and Hillers will be on the same field for the first time this century.
“If things continue the way they are, then we could be playing Trinity,” he said. “When I heard that Uniontown wasn’t going to play, I knew it opened up a date for somebody. It didn’t take long for people to start talking about a Wash High-Trinity game.”
Bosnic has been searching for weeks to find an opponent to fill the Prexies’ open date but has found no potential matchups.
“It’s a terrible situation to be in,” Bosnic said. “For a small school that has been as successful as Washington has been, it puts you in a bad position. We have been advertising for a game in Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and Ohio but couldn’t find a realistic opponent. The only ones who responded were national programs, some that were four or five times our size. It’s unrealistic for us to play a (Class) 6A power that has 150 boys in their program.
“Hopefully, we can work something out with Trinity. It would be like a home game for both teams.”
Rich said one of the holdups in the discussions is where the game would be played. Trinity currently has four home games – only one road game before Oct. 23 – while Washington has three at home and three away.
Games between the Hillers and Prexies were among the most anticipated in the area. The series was played annually through 1973. It was resumed in 1980 and played on the Saturday afternoon of the opening week of each season, drawing capacity crowds. The series ended after the 1999 game at Hiller Field.
Though a game between the Hillers and Prexies would be expected to draw a large crowd, spectators currently are not allowed at high school sporting events in Pennsylvania. Trinity does offer a live streaming service for its home games.