The Abington School District has opted to pause its long-standing football game with Cheltenham High School for the 2024 season.
Glenside Local reached out to both districts for insight.
Charles Grasty, Abington’s athletic director, responded via email that “The Abington vs Cheltenham football game is on a temporary pause and will be revisited in the near future.” Allie Artur, Abington’s communications coordinator, added that “We are varying our non-league competitions for additional experiences for our student athletes.”
Kevin Kaufman, Cheltenham’s director of communications, wrote in an email that “We received a communication from Abington stating they would like to take a hiatus.”
On the Cheltenham High School Alumni Facebook page, CHS’s 2024 football schedule was posted by head football coach Troy Gore. Several alumni asked him why there is no Abington game, to which he responded, “Abington opted not to play us.”
The backyard matchup dates back to 1915 and has been played 104 times. Abington leads the series, 61-37-6.
The hiatus has several precedents: the 1943, 1946, 1947, 1980, 1995, and 2006 seasons didn’t include the game because of teacher strikes and World War II, among other reasons.
More recently, Cheltenham won the 2022 meeting 26-8, and August 25, 2023’s 14-7 final score at Schwarzman Stadium also favored the Panthers, though the game ended prematurely. Speculation has it that the 2024 pause is related to the arrest of a Cheltenham High School student for possession of a firearm during the game, though officials neither confirmed nor denied that possibility.
Jordan Jones, a former school resource officer at Abington High School, made the arrest. According to 6ABC, he approached the teenager and put his hand on his shoulder before officers took the student to the ground and then arrested him.
“He ducked down and reached for his waistband,” Jones said. “I 100% believe this man was going for the gun. Had he got the gun out, it could have been much more catastrophic than the way it ended.”
In February 2024, Jones was arrested on felony charges of institutional sexual assault, endangering the welfare of children and corruption of minors.
The Ghosts’ 2024 football schedule can be found here. Cheltenham’s can be found below:
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