Evening the score? No, but definitely settling it

Sixteen years ago, football players from archrivals Phillipsburg (N.J.) High School and Easton (Pa.) High School walked off the field, deeply unsatisfied at the final numbers on the scoreboard: 7-7.

More than a decade and a half later, those same players met at Lafayette College’s Fisher Stadium as part of a promotion for Gatorade to finally settle the score. The players, now in their early 30s, finally produced a winner as Phillipsburg defeated Easton, 27-12.

Most impressive was the attendance: 13,350. That’s either an awful lot of alumni or a lot of people interested in the first of a series of games called Rivalry Replay.

Bruce Lebitz, co-captain of the 1993 Phillipsburg team, said the replay may have saved his life. Since high school, Lebitz’s weight had ballooned to more than 300. When the rematch was announced, he went on a fitness regimen that saw him lose 57 pounds in eight weeks.

“You never know when you’re going to get a second chance in life,” Lebitz told the (Newark) Star-Ledger. “This is more than a game. This has been a life-changing event for all of us.”

--

Trivia time

Who twice hit three home runs in one game against Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Curt Simmons?

--

Blandness speaks volumes

The biggest bust of the 2009 NFL draft?

It’s early, but Kansas City Star columnist Jason Whitlock nominated a former coach giving it a try as an analyst for ESPN: Herman Edwards.

“Herm Edwards, the rookie ESPN analyst and fondly regarded as the Human Sound Bite as an NFL head coach, turned in a disastrous and distracting performance during the two-day NFL draft,” Whitlock wrote.

“Edwards was so bad that my sources in Dallas reported that Emmitt Smith could be heard shouting: ‘I would’ve have did a better job!’ ”

Whitlock concluded his column, which charged Edwards with offering bland commentary in order to protect his chances for another NFL coaching job, by saying: “For a man who was supposed to be a broadcasting natural, Edwards mumbled, stumbled and cliched his way through two days of draft coverage. Kansas City’s 2-14 record made sense.”

--

Seconds . . . and thirds

Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry fared better during the draft, going to the Seattle Seahawks with the fourth pick overall. Curry was asked how he entered Wake Forest weighing 195 pounds and left weighing 254.

Curry’s reply: “Countless hours in the weight room . . . countless hours in the cafeteria.”

--

Trivia answer

Hank Sauer of the Chicago Cubs.

--

And finally

From Bob Molinaro of the (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot, on tennis star Andy Roddick marrying swimsuit model Brooklyn Decker: “They met in 2007 when Roddick saw her picture in Sports Illustrated and -- here’s the really romantic part -- had his agent contact hers.”

--

mike.penner@latimes.com