It might just be three weeks into the high school football season, but there have been some pretty fairly obvious takeaways so far:

• Northwestern is very good. The undefeated Tigers were highly touted entering the season, and have done nothing to change anyone’s mind.

• Justin Holmes is the real deal. The Northwestern quarterback - who is the reigning Times News/Lehigh Valley Health Network Player of the Year - has lived up to his Division 1 offers as he has dazzled throwing the ball and running it.

• Area Athletic Directors are definitely earning their money. While the exploits of Northwestern and Holmes could very well be a reoccurring theme throughout the season, area ADs are hopeful that the craziness of the first few weeks of the season will transition to a more normal routine sometime soon.

• So, just how crazy have the opening three weeks of the season been? They have featured three COVID cancellations (Panther Valley-Northern Lehigh, Panther Valley-Schuylkill Haven, Pleasant Valley-Parkland); one COVID postponement (Northern Lehigh-Tamaqua); one last-minute opponent added to a schedule (Northern Lehigh-Muncy); three mid-game weather delays (Northwestern-Tamaqua, Lehighton-Palmerton, Northern Lehigh-Muncy); two weather postponements (Schuylkill Haven-Marian Jim Thorpe-Blue Mountain); and one weather-related shortened game (Northern Lehigh-Tamaqua). And that’s just football. It doesn’t take into account all the rescheduling of games and practices in other fall sports because of COVID and weather that athletic directors have dealt with.

But since this is our OVERTIME column, we’re going to focus on just the football aspect of the Athletic Directors’ job - specifically when it comes to bad weather.

That’s a subject that is fresh in the minds of Tamaqua AD Mike Hromyak and Northern Lehigh AD Bryan Geist after Monday’s game in Tamaqua.

The game was originally schedule for Friday, but had to be pushed back a couple of days because of COVID protocols surrounding the Bulldogs’ program.

The first half of Monday’s game went off without a problem as Northern Lehigh built a 21-0 lead. But just after the Blue Raider band concluded its halftime program, a fierce storm hit the Tamaqua area, bringing with it lightning, strong winds, and rain.

The game was first delayed - and then officially called off - with Northern Lehigh’s 21-0 lead declared the final score.

We talked with both Hromyak and Geist to see who makes weather-related decisions at high school football games, the PIAA rules governing them, and ultimately how the decision to call the game at halftime came about.

“Any weather-related issues before the start of a game are in the hands of the home team’s athletic director,” explained Hromyak. “Once a game begins, it’s technically up the game officials to make the call. But almost always, the officials will get input from both ADs when making weather-related decisions.

“We all work together. Our main consideration is always to do what is in the best interest and safety of the players and the fans.”

Hromyak said ADs and officials have specific guidelines to follow.

“The PIAA rule is that if there is a lightning strike within 10 miles of the stadium, you have to clear the field for 30 minutes,” he explained. “And every time lightning occurs within 10 miles, that clock is re-started and you wait another 30 minutes.”

Geist said technology has helped to make the decision on when to stop a game a little easier.

“I have a couple of apps on my phone that I use,” said Geist. “One is WeatherBug and one is MyRadar. Weatherbug gives you information on how far away lightning is and allows for storm warnings to be easily seen. MyRadar is awesome too. It shows storms moving throughout the region.

“On Monday night, I was with Mike (Hromyak) and we were monitoring the storms closely. We were able to give everyone in the stadium enough warning so that they were able to get back to their cars in a safe manner - and those apps played a big part in that.”

But deciding to delay the game was only the first step on Monday. When the length of the storm and the accompanying power outage made it impossible to continue, the schools had to decide the next step.

“Unlike other sports, there is no ‘official game length’ in high school football,” explained District 11 football chairman Jason Zimmerman of Northwestern. “Once it’s determined that a game can’t be continued because of weather, or a power outage, or whatever the reason, the two schools have to mutually agree that it’s an official game. If one school wants the game to continue the following day or on the next available day, then the game has to be continued.”

Zimmerman said a game can be stopped midway through the first quarter and still be an official game if both teams agree. By the same token, if a game is in the fourth quarter when it is stopped and one school wants to have it continued, then that’s what the teams have to do.

Hromyak said the decision on Monday came down to what was in the best interest of the student athletes.

“It was a tough decision,” he said. “It wasn’t a case of (Tamaqua) coach (Sam) Bonner thinking that we couldn’t still win, but if we come back and finish the game Tuesday, then we are playing a game Monday, Tuesday and Saturday this week, while Northern Lehigh would be playing Monday, Tuesday and Friday.

“That brings up safety concerns for the players, and also severely impacts your preparation for the upcoming game. The coaches and athletic directors from both schools talked about all those things, and we agreed that it was in the best interest of the kids not to come back and continue it.

“If the game was being played on the normal Friday night instead of Monday, that might have changed everything. But under the circumstances, I believe we made the right call.”

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PV’s PICK-SIX ... Pleasant Valley posted its second win of the season last Friday against Allen. In the contest, the Bears’ James Syracuse intercepted a pass and returned it 68 yards for a touchdown.

Not only was it PV’s first pick-six since Sept. 1, 2017 when Brent Beck did it against Central Catholic, but it was also the Bears’ longest interception return for a TD since Sept. 3, 1999 - 228 games ago.

In that game 22 years ago - a 20-0 victory over Freedom - Charlie Mertz snared an opposing pass and raced 97 yards for a score.

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THORPE’S AIR ATTACK ... In a loss to North Schuylkill last week, Jim Thorpe quarterback Brett Balliet went to the air, throwing 32 passes.

Over the past 30 seasons, Balliet is one of just five other Olympian players to throw 32 or more passes in a game.

The others include Matt Long (1999 & 2000), Corey Cinicola (2007 & 2008), Pat Duvigneaud (2011 & 2012), and Eric Schrantz (1992).

Over that same time span, Cinicola’s 47 attemps in a game against Pocono Mountain West in 2008 are the most by any Times News area player.

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INDIAN GROUND ATTACK ... While Balliet and Jim Thorpe went to air last week, Lehighton and Hunter Crum did most of their damage on the ground.

Crum rushed 32 times for 159 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to Wilson.

Over the past 30 seasons, only five other Indian players have carried that many times in a game. They include Robbie Frey (who did it five times), Mike Mayernik, Joe Semanoff, Jacen Nalesnik and Wyatt Clements.

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COLTS THROW TD PASS ... Marian’s Bruce Hopeck connected with Mike Gelatko for an 18-yard touchdown pass last week against Catasauqua.

The TD toss ended a string of 10 straight games in which the Colts failed to throw a scoring pass.

The last time a Times News area team went 10 straight games without passing for a touchdown was in 2012, when Palmerton went its entire 10-game season without an offensive score through the air.