Honesdale and Wallenpaupack Area football players team up to help local food pantry

Posted by author February 18, 2025 Football

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HONESDALE — High school football season may be over, but players and coaches from local teams are still working hard to build chemistry and camaraderie.

In addition to spending countless hours in the weight room, student-athletes are out in the community giving back to all the fans who support them.

“As a school and as a football program it’s important to do things together,” said Honesdale head coach Paul Russick. “Part of that is talking about how we use football as a catalyst to leave a lasting impact on our community.”

Matt Nawrocki agrees. Wallenpaupack Area’s rookie skipper believes whole-heartedly that his players should have a visible presence off the field as well.

“I love that we have opportunities to get together and volunteer,” Nawrocki said. “It’s great for our program and great for the community.”

Super Duper Sunday

The Hornets and Buckhorns are archrivals during the season. However, they recently teamed up to raise funds and awareness for a local non-profit organization.

Players from Honesdale and Paupack set up shop in the foyer of Dave’s Super Duper last Sunday to help out the Wayne County Food Pantry. They donned their jerseys for several hours in an effort to solicit donations for local folks who may be hungry or experiencing food insecurity.

Super Duper customers responded enthusiastically, donating money and non-perishable food items right up until opening kickoff of the big game between the Eagles and Chiefs.

“While we usually get together as a team to do something to benefit ourselves, this was a great opportunity to help others,” Nawrocki said. “I’m very happy we were able to help with this can drive.”

Russick concurs.

“Bringing the community together is important,” the veteran skipper said. “I think getting together on Super Bowl Sunday to collect money and donations for our local food bank is a great example of what we can do to help out.”

Looking forward

Honesdale and Paupack have been playing football against one another since the early 1970s.

The Hornets and Buckhorns first squared off as members of the old Suburban league. Nowadays, though, they compete in the Lackawanna Football Conference.

In 2024, Honesdale powered its way to an overall record of 6-4 and finished third in the Division II standings. The Red & Black qualified for the District 2 playoffs, but were eliminated by Dallas in the Class 4A semifinals.

“To finish with the best season in a long time is a tribute to all of the hard work the kids and my assistant coaches put in,” Russick said. “I think 2025 will bring a new challenge with a lot of new faces; but, I feel like we’ve set up a great program for success for years to come.”

Paupack posted a respectable 4-6 mark in LFC action, but did not qualify for districts. Nawrocki is pleased with the results he saw in his rookie season and excited about the future of his program.

“I’m definitely happy with the steps we took this year, but we still have a lot to do and much more to accomplish,” he said. “We believe we are capable of much more and will set out to prove that in 2025.”