UPDATE: State College vs. LaSalle game time has been changed to 2:00pm Saturday because of weather. The following announcement was made by the school district’s e-mail alert system:
“The PIAA AAAA football championship game on December 19th at Hersheypark stadium will now begin at 2pm. Fans buses to the game will depart the High School North bus loop at 11 am. Fans should arrive no later than 10:45 am for check-in.”
An expected six to eight inches of snowfall tomorrow will likely cause traffic and safety hazards for the state championship football game between State College and LaSalle.
The drive to Hershey is about 100 miles for both the Explorers and the Little Lions, and both teams have ahead of them “a heck of a trip,” Accuweather meteorologist Henry Margusity said.
Players and fans from LaSalle College High School have the luxury of traveling along the Turnpike for the majority of their trip. However, they will leave Hershey after the game and drive directly back into a blizzard. The Philadelphia area is expected to receive up to a foot of snow.
State College Area High School fans will deal with less snow, but travel on 322 is likely to be more complicated than Turnpike traffic.
Margusity, who said he was originally planning on going to the title game, hopes the PIAA will postpone the game for one day to avoid major complications. He is no longer planning on making the drive tomorrow.
“This is a mess. It’s a frightful mess,” he said.
The PIAA office is closed today, and officials could not be reached for comment.
State College Area High School and LaSalle College High School are both planning on sending buses of students and fans alike to the 7 p.m. game.
Neither school has made any changes to its transportation plans as of yet, and a spokeswoman in the State College Athletic Department said the school has not heard from the PIAA of any changes.
Check back at StateCollege.com for more details.
