Local Players Participate in Classic

Central Football players Eli Lingenfelter, Kade Rhule and Jason Clark (from left) played on the South team at the 38th annual Lezzer Lumber Classic on Sunday, June 11. The South team defeated the North team 45-20, breaking the South's five-year losing streak.

Lingenfelter scored two touchdowns during the game.

According to the Lezzer Lumber Classic's website, "in 1985, the Central Pennsylvania Football Coaches Association, with J. Gawen Stoker as the Game Director, initiated the Mid-State Classic under the corporate sponsorship of the Mid-State Bank. The game was established to promote scholastic football, to recognize excellence of our players and coaches, to provide a system of ongoing football education for our coaching staffs, and to fund a healthy scholarship program. The first game involved players from twenty-five schools. Uni-Mart replaced Mid-State as the game sponsor in 1993. Since 1996, Jack Bailey and Rob Irwin have served as Co-Game Directors for the Classic. J. Gawen Stoker took over as Director until 2010. In 2011, retired Huntingdon Coach Jim Zauzig took over as the current Classic Director.

In 1998, the Lezzer Lumber Company became the major sponsor for the Classic with the CPFCA maintaining the football and organizational aspects of the game. We are proud to continue our association with the Lezzer Lumber Company as the corporate sponser. Currently, there are thirty-two (32) schools from District 6 and 9 involved in the game. To date over $100,000 in the form of over 200 scholarships have been awarded to help young people continue their education. The CPFCA holds monthly mini-clinics for High School and youth coaches during the winter months. To the players and coaches, being selected to participate in the "Classic" is held in high regard."