In sports it’s an accepted fact that there’s going to be a winner and a loser!
Saturday night after the 44th Annual Big 30 Charities Classic All-Star Game was officially in the books, it was difficult to tell just who the winning head coach was.
Both New York’s Sean Gabel (Gowanda) and Pennsylvania’s Tony Gerg (Elk Catholic) were happy to talk about the game and there was no complaining or boasting.
“It was a very enjoyable experience,” said Gabel, whose team finished on the short end of a 48-30 decision after jumping out to a 14-0 lead through the end of the first quarter.
The Classic was Gabel’s first involvement, although he was selected to play in the 1993 contest which he passed up to take part in a similar game in the Buffalo area.
He noted there was some apprehension on his part when he was approached by the Charities Classic committee to coach the Empire State squad.
“I was a little nervous,” he admitted. “We’re kind of a small hometown program here (Gowanda) and I didn’t know a lot about these kids. But they came together. It was worth all the money in the world to me because the kids bonded, built some good relationships and never quit.”
Gabel pointed out that a mishandled punt in the second quarter, which was recovered by Pennsylvania, turned things around. It led to the hosts first score and the dogfight was on.
“I’ve been around football a long time and the key is momentum,” he stated. “When we dropped that punt it just took away our mojo. But you have to let the kids play and hope they can work out of it.”
The New York squad also lost three players to injuries and, along with Pennsylvania, had a player ejected, in the final minutes of the game when things got a little heated.
“The injuries hurt us, losing two tackles and a secondary player,” Gabel noted. “We had the lead (22-20) at halftime and were hoping to come out and play better in the second half, but their shorter quarterback (Kyle Kirk, Bradford) just came up and made some great plays.
‘The main thing was that this was all about charity and I would definitely coach again it they asked me,” he emphasized.
For Gerg, the night finished much better than it started.
The Elk Catholic coach admitted that things weren’t going well when New York took the two touchdown lead and Pennsylvania had fumbled the ball away to help set up the second score.
“Things just happen,” Gerg responded. “We just had to get the kids settled and make some adjustments.”
Known for his somewhat unconventional offensive schemes, Gerg was confident that his players would settle down.
“We just had to find our comfort level. We flip-flopped some things and then in the second half the offensive line started telling us (coaches) what they could do and what to run. That sure made my job a whole lot easier.”
Pennsylvania took its first lead 27-22, just three minutes into the third quarter and never looked back. New York closed the gap to 34-30 late in the period and it looked like the momentum might just swing back in favor of the visitors. However, Penny tacked on two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter, one an interception returned for a score, and then slammed the door shut for good with a final INT as the clock ran out.
“I would absolutely come back and coach again,” said Gerg, now 1-0 in the series. “I’d also like to have these guys again …. I hated to tell these guys goodbye.”
Pennsylvania’s win Saturday night cut New York’s lead in the series to two games 22-20-2, and put Pennsy on a two game win streak.
