ALLENTOWN: Redbirds earn invite to Utah

By Justin Feil, The Packet Group
   The fruits of the progression of the Allentown High School football team will be on display next fall — in Utah.
   The Redbirds have been invited and the Board of Education has approved them to take a trip Sept. 14 to Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah, to participate in the Xfinity Challenge. Allentown will face Alta, which reached the 5A state quarterfinals and finished 9-3 last year.
   ”We’re excited as a program to be invited to something like this,” said Allentown head coach Jay Graber, who informed his players last week of the game. “The guys that have been through the program the last few years have set the tone. We’re a program. You have the opportunity to play a game like this, you have to take advantage of it.”
   The Redbirds have shown steady progress since Graber took over three years ago. They were 6-4 in his first season and could sniff a playoff berth. They earned the program’s first playoff berth in his second season and lost in overtime on their way to a 6-4 season. Last fall, the Redbirds won a playoff game and went a program-best 9-2 led by a senior class that will have to be replaced next year for AHS to compete at a high level.
   ”They really built the program,” Graber said. “We have a lot of good, young players too, and we have a lot of confidence in their abilities also.”
   The Xfinity Challenge is the brainwork of Bill Manning, president of the Rio Tinto Stadium where the Real Salt Lake soccer club plays. It will be the third year that the challenge has paired a New Jersey team with one of its Utah schools.
   In the first year, Notre Dame lost, 39-0, to Utah power Jordan while Alta hammered Taft, Calif., 56-0. Last year, after St. John Bosco of Bellflower, Calif. edged Jordan, 34-33, Don Bosco Prep scored a 54-24 win over Alta — the most points Alta has ever surrendered in program history. Alta lost only one other game in the regular season.
   ”I’m sure they’re good,” Graber said. “I know they’re very good.”
   Bergan Catholic will play Jordan in the other game this year. The Redbirds will have back-to-back tough weeks to start their season. AHS opens against Steinert before drawing Alta in Week 2.
   ”I just think it’s a great opportunity for the kids, something that they’ll be able to take with them the rest of their lives,” Graber said. “Playing in college and going on different trips, it was a lot of fun. It’s a thrill to see different places and play different teams. To give our athletes an opportunity to do that is special for them and for our program.”
   The Redbirds first got wind of the chance in December. An invitation was extended for Allentown to play in the game coming off its best season in program history.
   ”It all happened pretty quick,” Graber said. “They invited us, and we had to go through the proper channels to get it approved.”
   The Xfinity Challenge and its sponsors provide the airfare, meals, hotels and transportation to make this is feasible trip for the Redbirds. It’s up to the Allentown players and coaches to make sure they are making the preparations to be ready for a unique experience and some tough competition come the fall.
   ”It can be a little bit of a help,” Graber said. “I think our players have a lot of motivation anyway. I don’t think something like this will motivate them any more.”Our kids are dedicated and motivated. The student-athletes we have are very dedicated and motivated. They want to be successful. It’s not just in football and lifting. It’s in school and what they do every day.”