Abington High School to take on rival Cheltenham High School for the 104th time with two coaching firsts

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August 16th, 2023 | By Ryan Genova

The 2023 Abington Senior High School football season begins on Saturday, August 19 at 10:00am when the Ghosts travel to Bensalem High. Cheltenham High School’s season begins on Friday, August 25 at 7:00pm when the Panthers travel to Schwarzman Stadium to play archrival Abington High.

Though the rivalry dates back to 1915, making it one of the oldest in the state, there will be two firsts on August 25, according to local historian Chuck Langerman:

  • One of the head coaches will be a teacher in the other school’s building: Abington head coach Terence Tolbert is a business teacher at Cheltenham High.
  • Both head coaches will be African Americans: Cheltenham head coach Troy Gore is a 1987 graduate of Lincoln High School in Philadelphia where he played guard on offense and linebacker on defense.
Coach Terence Tolbert
Coach Troy Gore


Tolbert was appointed the 18th head coach in the program’s history in January. A 1989 graduate of Abington High, Tolbert was a highly regarded defensive back who once returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown against Pennsbury High in 1988. He has previously served as Abington’s assistant football coach from 1999-2009, and again in 2013. During his most recent season, the team advanced to the District 1 Class AAAA Semifinals.

Tolbert was a quarterback coach, running back coach, and offensive coordinator at Wekiva High School and West Orange High School in Florida. He has also worked with Quarterback Nation, All-American Games, and NFL High School Player Development.

Last season, for the first time in seven years, the Panthers vanquished the Ghosts 26-8 behind three touchdowns from junior running back Tre McLeod.

According to Langerman, it has been 18 years since the Panthers have defeated the Ghosts on their home field. On Thanksgiving Day in 2005 Cheltenham edged Abington 36-35 on Pete Hawkins’ (below left) two-point conversion in overtime. The Panther victory was also head coach Joe Gro’s (below right) 100th career win at Cheltenham, making him the only head CHS football coach to win 100 games since the inception of the football program in 1901.


For Abington’s 2023 football schedule, you can click here. For Cheltenham’s, you can click here. For a 2023 interview with Coach Tolbert by PAFootballNews.com, you can click here.

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