When you declare that your football team has just won its 800th game in school history, you are bound to get a bit of attention.

So after Mount Carmel did that with its 35-14 victory at Shikellamy on Friday night, the resulting publicity brought questions from readers.

One of them, a Shamokin area resident, wrote that while he did not wish to diminish the fine record of the Mount Carmel football program, he disputed that the school won its 800th game on Friday.

His reasoning: Mount Carmel has only been in existence since 1965 and would have had to have averaged 17 wins a year to get 800.

He based his reasoning on the fact that today's Mount Carmel High School is a merger of Kulpmont and Mount Carmel. Others added that even Mount Carmel Township and Mount Carmel Catholic were a part of the school in the early years.

OK, so it sounds like this 800 is bogus, right?

Not so fast.

First of all, there was a Mount Carmel High School (all by itself) when it started playing football, and got the first of those 800 wins, in 1893.

Secondly, according to Mount Carmel sports information director and longtime Silver Bowl public address announcer Phil Gergen, none of the wins by those other former schools are included in the milestone win total.

"All of our records have been reviewed by Dr. (Roger) Saylor, the PIAA statistician, and approved by him," Gergen said.

Gergen noted that when research by he and team statistician Jose Gonzalo uncovered more game results several years ago, the PIAA's Saylor approved the addition of four wins, five losses and two ties to the all-time record. Another game, because it was against the West End Athletic Club, was rejected, as were some other games from the past.

So, there you have it.

The 800 will stand. Good thing, too, because, over the weekend, someone already changed the win total posted atop the Silver Bowl press box to "800."

MORE CONNECTIONS: You may have read the cover story in Thursday's Game Night, dealing with the close friendship between the families of the two starting quarterbacks in tonight's Southern Columbia-Mount Carmel game (if not, copies are still available). Mount Carmel's Zach Wasilewski and Southern's Brad Fegley and their older brothers, Marcus and Dave, respectively, have been lifelong friends.

Gergen said that the quarterback's uncle, Frank Fegley, was one of his Mount Carmel High School classmates. Gergen added that Frank Fegley went on to Carnegie Tech and became an engineer on the Straits of Gibraltar when they built the Mackinac Bridge connecting the upper peninsula to the rest of Michigan. It is one of the largest suspension bridges in the world. Before the bridge was completed, motorists had to travel by ferry between the two regions, Gergen said.

MORE PINK: Fans headed out to various high school games tonight should be advised that, at most of the games, they will see lots and lots of pink. Most of the Valley's football teams, aside from those which have already participated in the program, will display pink tonight in connection with October being Breast Cancer Awareness month.

n Assistant sports editor Harold Raker covers high school football (and gives occasional geography lessons) for The Daily Item. Email comments to hraker@dailyitem.com.



The picks

Bloomsburg at Danville — All the hype has sauntered over to the coal region this week for the annual classic listed below. But this rivalry (on so many levels, including the Judy Price Trophy) won’t take a back seat to any other. Danville 24, Bloomsburg 21.

Southern Columbia at Mount Carmel — What a great decision it was in 1996 for these two neighboring state powers to begin playing. And the series could not be more even, with the Tigers winning eight to the Red Tornadoes’ 7. Evening the score will be a tall order for the home team.

Southern 21, Mount Carmel 20.

Shikellamy at Shamokin — They are meeting for the third time in two years and the Braves would like this game to go more like the first one a year ago than the closer game in the playoffs. Shikellamy 28, Shamokin 14.

Central Columbia at Warrior Run — A week ago, the Defenders were talking possible league title and playoffs.

Now, they have to bounce back from their worst defeat of the season against a team that is on the rise.

Warrior Run 28, Central 24.

Selinsgrove at Mifflinburg — It’s been a long time since the Wildcats were favored in this game. Mifflinburg 24, Selinsgrove 10.

Jersey Shore at Milton — If last week was uncharted waters for the Black Panthers, how about this week? Milton goes for its fourth win in a row against a team that just got its first.

Milton 27, Jersey Shore 20.

Lewisburg at Loyalsock — It’s been a long season for the Lancers, only a few years removed from a deep state playoff run, and the Green Dragons are fighting for a home game in the playoffs. Lewisburg 42, Loyalsock 6.

East Juniata at Line Mountain — A year away from returning to the Twin Valley Conference, the Tigers are playing their fourth TVC team of the year, and one of the best. Line Mountain 44, East Juniata 14.

Upper Dauphin at Newport — Believe it or not, there is a district playoff tournament that comes close to resembling District 4 Class AAA. A Trojans win this week (which would be their third) could land them in the District 3 Class A playoffs. Upper Dauphin 22, Newport 8.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference: Montoursville over Athens, Bucktail over Nativity BVM, Canton over Montgomery, Shenandoah Valley over Columbia- Montour Vo-Te c h , Troy ove r Cowanesque Valley, Hughesville over South Williamsport, North Penn over Muncy, Wyalusing over Sayre, Towanda over Wellsboro, Williamsport over Crestwood, Pius X over Carson Long, Millersburg over Halifax, Marian Catholic over Jim Thorpe, Schuylkill Haven over Mahanoy Area, Minersville over Tamaqua, North Schuylkill over Panther Valley, Pine Grove over Williams Valley, Juniata over Tri-Valley and Berwick over Coughlin.

Last week; season: 23-5; 159-50, .761.