Jim Thorpe’s A.J. Bailor and Northern Lehigh’s Joe Abidelli have been selected to the Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association (PSFCA) East/West Small School All-Star Game. Bailor and Abidelli will play for the East squad, which will again be led by Schuylkill Haven head coach Mike Farr.

Bailor was selected as an offensive lineman, while Abidelli was picked at the linebacker position.

Bailor, who recently committed to Monmouth University for track and field, was named to the Schuylkill County Football Coaches Association Dream Team as an offensive guard this past season. Bailor was also selected as the Offensive Lineman of the Year for the North.

The Olympians averaged 166.9 rushing yards and 24 points per game this past season, finishing 6-3 and qualifying for the District 11 Class 3A playoffs.

Defensively, Bailor also had 28 total tackles, including five for loss and one sack.

Abidelli led the Bulldogs in tackles with 86 (9.6 per game). He was also a force on offense, rushing for 479 yards and seven touchdowns, marks that ranked third and second on the team, respectively.

He was a Colonial League First Team All-Star at linebacker this past season.

Northern Lehigh finished the season 5-4 and advanced to the District 11 Class 2A title game.

Bailor was a Times News All-Star Offensive Lineman, while Abidelli was recognized as an All-Star Linebacker.

The 2021 edition marks a new era for the event, which will hold two East/West All-Star games for the first time.

They will be played Memorial Day weekend (Sunday, May 30) at Landis Field, which is located in the Central Dauphin School District in Harrisburg and will be split among classifications.

The contests will be played in conjunction with the Big 33 game. The first game will be held at noon and will feature players from 1A thru 3A classifications. The second game starts at 5 p.m. and will feature players from 4A through 6A.

Several other District 11 players will join Bailor and Abidelli in the game.

Notre Dame’s Matt Frauen Jr. (RB), Lex Rivera (OL), Brandon Guffy (OL) and William Jordan (DE); Williams Valley’s Bryce Herb (QB) and Jesse Engle (TE), Nativity’s Jacob Hoffman (Athlete) and TJ Wagner (long snapper); Salisbury’s Chad Parton (WR); Shenandoah’s Jason Migliaccio (OL); Pine Grove’s Brody Robinson (LB); North Schuylkill’s Dylan Dietz (DB); and Palisades’ Zachary Smith (DB) will all play for the East team.

Easton’s Nahjee Adams (RB), East Stroudsburg South’s Christian Sapp (WR) and Bethlehem Catholic’s Christian Shelton (LB) will play for the East in the Big School game. That squad will be coached by Becahi’s Joe Henrich.

“The first PSFCA East-West game was held in June of 2001 at Mansion Park in Altoona, after members of the Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association (PSFCA) approached the Allegheny Mountains Convention & Visitors Bureau to help organize and produce a sister game to the Big 33 Game,” said a news release. “The Big 33 Game features the top players in the state against players from Maryland.

“Unfortunately only 34 players can be selected to represent Pennsylvania, and in a state with a rich football tradition many quality players are left out. Thus, the PSFCA East West All Star Game was conceived giving the honor to play in a statewide, prestigious all star game to more players.”

Last year’s game was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.