Submissions will be listed by the fan's (that's you) year of graduation. For now, we will list all of the submissions on this page. As the page grows, we will list each decade on a single page. Submissions should be approximately 600 words. If you submit an entry and later you decide you want to make changes, you can always resubmit your entry and it will be updated.

Click here to add your own Redskins Fan Recollection.

Sara-Jo Weldie

    Fan Name: Sara-Jo Weldie

    Year Submitted: 2007

    Year(s) Remembered: 1984-present

    Connection: Ticket Seller

Sara-Jo's recollection:

When Andy Pecuch needed a worker for the football games, I was only too happy to volunteer. Little did I know how exciting working at Heartbreak Ridge would be for me!! I have been a ticket taker and ticket seller for 23 years and I LOVE IT!! Especially, seeing graduates who come back to see everyone. Sheila Murphy is a saint. Coach Schmidt and his coaches are invaluable to Neshaminy. I only hope I can continue for years to come.

I LOVE Neshaminy!!!!

Sara-Jo Weldie
 

Coach Doman

    Fan Name: Coach Doman

    Year Submitted: 2006

    Year(s) Remembered: 2004

    Connection: Coach (9th grade)

Coach Doman's recollection:

The season was 2004. The game was Neshaminy vs. Ryan H.S . In attendance were several of my friends whom had been stars at Ryan H.S in the early 80's. I convinced my Ryan friends to sit with me on the Neshaminy side at the Ridge. Ryan was the one team that my H.S (Washington) could never beat on Thanksgiving.

For 20 years I had to listen to them talk about kicking our butts each year. What they didn't know was that I would get the last laugh. The Nesh. Vs. Ryan game was winding down to the last minutes. Ryan was leading by a point. To add insult to injury Ryan had possession of the football. The former Ryan players started to gather their belongings while laughing at me in the stands. I stated to them " guys, your about to find out why they call this place Heartbreak Ridge" The Neshaminy fans yelled at them to sit down and watch the rest of the game. After all, anyone who visited the Ridge in the past 10 years new that a Coach Schmidt team wouldn’t dare give up- even if it looked impossible. What they also didn't know was that a former player of mine "Abe Brooks" was playing the same position I played (OLB) 20 years earlier, against the same Ryan coach (Galleone).

20 years earlier, Ryan was in the same situation vs. Washington and they threw an out pattern against me to run up the score. This haunted me for many years. I was hoping Ryan's coach would try this same cut throat pass in this situation. I felt a calm come over me as I watched Ryan's QB quickly drop back and throw an out. My knees started to shake as I was quickly reminded of the humiliation felt 20 years earlier. Abe Brooks was in perfect position to intercept the ball. Abe Brooks is a coach’s dream. Ask him to do something and he finds a way to get it done. The Result was first down Nesh and a few Ryan loyalists displaying Ryan red on their shocked faces. With seconds left on the clock and the wind swirling, the greatest kicker I ever had the pleasure to watch (Kevin Kelly) came through once again. Football is not just a game. It is a way of life that is tied to generations and generations of hard work. The lesson I learned that day was simple. The game isn't over even after 20 years has run off the clock.

Sincerely grateful,
Coach Doman (Neshaminy 9th grade)

Bob Willits

    Fan Name: Bob Willits

    Year Submitted: 2006

    Year Remembered: 2001

    Connection: Son - Matthew Willits (OL 2000-2002)

Bob's recollection:

I graduated from a very small private HS in Philadelphia in 1976. Our graduating class had 36 kids, so AAAA HS Football was a new experience for me. In 2000 my son joined the Neshaminy Redskins and that's when I first started following the team.

In 2001 I began posting game results on the dry-erase board each week at the front of our store.

  Ex: Neshaminy-28  Father Judge-27.

Customers would come in each week and remind me how lucky Neshaminy was last week, but next week we will lose and reality will set in. I stuck my neck out each week saying I was confident that the 'Skins would win.

After the 2-0 start I was told "this week you are playing Pennridge and you will lose."

But we won.

Then it was "you got lucky last week, but this week you are playing North Penn and you will lose."

But we won.

Then it was "you got lucky last week, but now you are playing CB West and you will lose BIG this week."

But we won.

Then it was "you got lucky last week with barely a win, but now you are playing CB East and you will have a let down."

But we won. (By now I was taking a lot of heat. Some people were anxious to see the 'Skins lose so they could tease me.)

Then it was "you've had a few easy games but this week you have Pennsbury this Friday and you will lose."

But we won. (Are you sensing the pattern here?)

Then it was "you can't beat CB East 2x in the same year, you will lose."

But we won.

Then it was "you can't beat Downingtown, they're all big farm boys and you're gonna lose this week."

But we won.

Then it was "you got lucky against Downingtown, but Conestoga won't be so kind, you're gonna lose this week."

But we won.

Then it was "you snuck by Conestoga, but Cumberland Valley boys are huge and you will lose this week."

But we won.

Then it was "you got LUCKY in the Eastern playoffs but mighty Woodland Hills is in a class above you. You will lose by at least (3) touchdowns."

But we won, the Redskins were 15-0, and STATE CHAMPS.

I was at the school that night when the team rolled in with a Fire Engine escort and the State Trophy in hand. It was pouring rain and all 3 major news channels were there. As parents we couldn't contain the pride and joy of what our boys had just accomplished. After the kids got off the bus the celebration in the gym was electric and never to be forgotten. Then there was the parade a week later, where the rest of the community got to come out and honor our team publicly. I will never forget those moments. High school boys, the age of my own son, had become my heroes' and allowed me to be a little kid again.

The Redskins had their day, did all that was asked of them and nothing else could be said. (Okay, a few tried to say they won because it rained but only the sorest of losers would attempt to go there.) The lifelong memories that the 2001 team gave me were the reason I started this website. I felt that we needed a place to honor all of the boys who put on a 'Skins uniform and wore it with so much pride. This website is my small way of honoring a football program that has accomplished so much, for so many decades.

As I continue to go to the games in 2006 I am amazed that I see the same faces I saw in 2000 and I realize that the 'Skins following is one of the strongest of any High School team. I am always extra proud at away games when the visitor side has many more fans than the home side and that is almost always the case.

The Neshaminy Football Coaches instill values in our boys that reinforces what we, as parents, want for our sons: self-discipline, self-confidence, pride, dedication, self-belief, teamwork, hard-work, priorities, proper-values, code-of-conduct, and it goes on and on.

Thank you Coach Schmidt, and all of your associates for the life long lessons you have taught our boys. They are better men because they were under your leadership.

I want to especially thank Coach Wilmot who worked directly with Matt on the O-Line and Coach Chaump who treated Matt as his own son. Coach Chaump would often pick Matt up and drop him off after practice - thank you coach!

Bob Willits

Kristine (Traney) Hickey

    Fan Name: Kristine (Traney) Hickey

    Year Submitted: 2006

    Year(s) Remembered: 1965-1968

    Connection: Cheerleader

Kristine's recollection:

I was a Neshaminy Cheerleader. My senior year was the fall of 1967 season. We wore white button down collar long sleeve blouses and saddle shoes. We sported pom poms the size of beach balls and megaphones as tall as my hip. We did cartwheels and an occasional back handspring (with lots of help!).
 
Does this seem ancient compared to the skills and uniforms of the squads of today? Absolutely!
 
We would practice on the front courtyard lawn at the end of the tree lined drive. Does it get any better than that? We took the "late" bus home with the football players who had endured another grueling session. I wish I had told them I was working hard too, to be ready to cheer my heart and soul for them.
 
Do I treasure my moments on the tarmac under the lights at the Ridge on those Football Friday nights? You bet!
 
"Here we are, we really rate, we're the class of '68"

Lynda (Exler) Barclay

    Fan Name: Lynda (Exler) Barclay

    Year Submitted: 2006

    Year Remembered: 1966

    Connection: Number One Fan

Lynda's recollection:

No One ever missed a Neshaminy football game. We had bus trips to the away games or my Father would drive a group of kids. The stadium was always packed and game day was also a big event in school. I remember the big yellow mums and spirit ribbons. Fridays usually ended with a big pep rally. The football players were bigger than life and never disappointed us.

At every reunion I have ever attended, football was still the hot topic of conversation. I am in the process of trying to organize a 40 year reunion in late June and would love to hear from other fans from the class of 1966. Maybe we can get coaches Petercuskie and Cordelli to attend.

WE ARE REDSKINS, MIGHTY, MIGHTY REDSKINS. EVERYWHERE WE GO PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW.......

Lynda (Exler) Barclay

William S. Neal, Esq.

    Fan Name: William S. Neal, Esq. (LCDR USNR RET.)

    Year Submitted: 2007

    Year(s) Remembered: 1960-1966

    Connection: Neshaminy High graduate, class of 1966

Williams recollection:

I was a constant fan from 1960 to 1966 and went to all the home games and many away games too, although I was a soccer team player during my junior and senior high school years. After Neshaminy I attended college at Dartmouth, in New Hampshire, and then served in the U.S. Navy as a commissioned officer. That was followed by my entry into the legal profession after earning my Juris Doctor from Dickinson in central Pennsylvania (Dickinson has since become part of the Penn State University system).

As a Dartmouth undergraduate from 1966 to 1970, there were many times when I would see the Redskin’s great ex-coach, John Petercuskie, around the school campus or in town (it was a relatively small college of about 4,000 students). As I recall, ‘Cuskie was there from 1966 through 1969 – under Head Coach Bob Blackman – and Dartmouth enjoyed a terrific record during that period. One year the team was undefeated and untied and won the Lambert Trophy as the “best” team in the East (much to the chagrin of another great team, that of Penn State and its coach, Joe Paterno).

William S. Neal

JoAnne Squyres (Deibert)

    Fan Name: JoAnne Squyres (Deibert)

    Year Submitted: 2006

    Year Remembered: 1963-1966

    Connection: Family has a 60 year history with Neshaminy Football

JoAnne's recollection:

My memory of Neshaminy Football goes back way before I was a NHS student 1963-1966. Both of my parents worked for the school district as far back as I remember. My mother worked in the bookkeeping office at the Cherry Street Building when it was the high school. She was responsible for counting the money after the football games. I recall helping at concession stands and learning football cheers before I attended first grade at the Friends Meeting School on Maple Avenue. The school district rented the building. Football games were part of every fall weekend always.

It has been 40 years since I have been to a NHS game. I still remember all of the cheers!! I never missed a home game for the six years I was a student at NJH and NHS. I also went to all of the away games for the three years I was at NHS. We traveled on activity buses long distances to support our team. The school had grown so large that we had to leave Lower Bucks County to find appropriate competition for the team.

My father (Walter Squyres) grew up in Langhorne and was on the Langhorne Middletown Football team 1943-1946.
When Dad died in 2003, my mother found an scrapbook he kept as a teenager.
The team football plays as well as programs etc. were glued into the pages.

JoAnne Squyres

Bruce Abbott

    Fan Name: Bruce Abbott

    Year Submitted: 2006

    Year Remembered: 1961

    Connection: Number one Fan

Bruce's recollection:

Why am I a number one Skins fan? I don't know if I am #1, but I traveled 1800 miles last season to attend the North Penn game.  It was cold and wet but worth the trip. I try to attend games when I am on the East coast on business.

My memory concerns Coach Petercuskie and took place in 1961. I was ten at the time and a family friend took me to my first Neshaminy football game. Before the game we walked to the gym so that our friend could use the restroom. I was standing outside the entrance to the gym and suddenly Coach Petercuskie appeared at the door, looked down at me and said "son, would you like to come in and see the players?". Of course I did and although I was greatly intimidated by the size of the players and the surroundings it was a special gesture. I have always remembered that night and like most Redskin fans realize the special qualities of Coach Petercuskie.
 

Chuck Reutter

    Fan Name: Chuck Reutter

    Year Submitted: 2006

    Year Remembered: 1958

    Connection: Graduated from NHS in 1958

Chuck's recollection:

The 1957 game between Neshaminy and William Tennent was one of the most exciting football games I ever watched. Neshaminy's 20-19 victory came in the last few seconds of this game. In fact, time ran out as the Neshaminy player crossed the goal line. Most of the folks watching this game thought Tennent was going to win. What a surprise was in store for our football fans on that Friday night in 1957.

Clara Lauble VanSant

    Fan Name: Clara Lauble VanSant

    Year Submitted: 2006

    Years Remembered: 1930-34

    Connection: Student and graduate (1934) of Langhorne-Middletown High School

Clara's recollection:

I recall many things from my days as a student at Langhorne-Middletown High School including the boys’ sports programs of football, basketball and baseball.

All the games were played after school or on Saturdays. There were no buses available to transport anyone so getting there and then back home was your responsibility.

Several times during the football season we would hold a pep rally the eve before the game. All of us students gathered wood and other burnable debris from the sides of roads or parents’ farms for the bonfire; I would take a burlap bag of dry corn cobs as they were great fire-starters.

In my sophomore year the girls had field hockey which was played at the school grounds. We had to walk to and from home for the games.

All in all, after graduating 72 years ago, I feel we were given a very good education. We were taught to be responsible, reliable and to strive to further ourselves during our lifetime. We had very good and sincere teachers who were always willing to listen and to offer their assistance; teachers like William Thomas (our Principal), Miss Wildman, Mr. Pieffer, Mr. Beck, Mr. Kephart, Miss Collins, Miss Hart and Mr. Russell Stompler.