One of the oldest football games for high school seniors will be at the Wyoming Valley Conference’s newest stadium and feature more than just football.
The 75th playing of the Unico All-Star Charity Football Game will be held 7:15 p.m. Thursday at Wilkes-Barre Area High School where there will be food trucks, free bounce houses and slides for kids, family-friendly activities and a marching band. Parking and admission are free. Gates will open at 6 p.m.
Anzalone & Doyle Trial Lawyers are the general sponsor of the game.
The annual banquet was held Tuesday night at Mohegan Pennsylvania Casino honoring players, Miss Unico, the Brian Piccolo Recipient and all WVC coaches.
Dunmore native Vic Fangio, the Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator and Unico’s Man of the Year, served as the principal speaker. Former WVC and NFL players Rocket Ismail, Qadry Ismail, Greg Skrepenak, Bo Orlando and Quinton Harris were among those announced as honored guests.
Wyoming Area graduate Marc Anthony Minichello, a two-time NCAA Division I javelin champion, received the Sponsors Award.
The rosters for the Miners and Pioneers were selected in late December but have changed due to overlap with spring sports and availability because of other commitments. That has made practices challenging.
“The Unico organization is great for what they do for the community and their charitable contributions to the community,” said Wilkes-Barre Area coach Ciro Cinti, who will coach the Miners along with his staff. “The kids that have been at practice have been great. It’s just the end of May is very difficult with a lot of things going on and the participation hasn’t been as good as we wanted it to be.”
Cinti cited his high school quarterback Jake Howe, the WVC all-time leader in passing yardage, as an example. While Howe wants to play, he will be Wilkes-Barre Area’s starting shortstop on Thursday in the District 2 Class 6A baseball championship game.
The Miners had players from Berwick, Hanover Area, Holy Redeemer, Nanticoke Area, Tunkhannock and Wyoming Area on its original roster. The Pioneers had players from Crestwood, Dallas, Hazleton Area, Lake-Lehman, Pittston Area and Wyoming Valley West.
Pittston Area’s Paul Russick is the head coach of the Pioneers.
The Unico game was first played in 1951 and has been an annual event, except for 1972 because of the Agnes Flood and 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was originally played in December and has been played in mid-summer, Thanksgiving Eve and Thanksgiving Day and, most recently, in late May.
Wilkes-Barre Area joins a list of Unico sites that include Wyoming Valley West’s Spartan Stadium, the now-closed Wilkes-Barre Memorial Stadium and most recently Wyoming Area’s stadium.
