Top 10 high school mascots in Pennsylvania: Vote for the best

From Canaries to Fightin' Planets to Grape Pickers, meet the best high school mascots in Pennsylvania

William Allen High School in Pennsylvania is home of the Canaries. / SBLive archives

All kinds of arguments are liable to bubble up to the surface when trying to determine the best high school mascot in Pennsylvania.

Over the past few months, SBLive/High School on SI has been featuring the best high school mascots in every state, giving readers a chance to vote for No. 1 in all 50.

The winners and highest vote-getters will make up the field for our NCAA Tournament-style March Mascot Madness bracket in 2025. The Coalinga Horned Toads (California) are the defending national champions.

Here are High School on SI's top 10 high school mascots in Pennsylvania (vote in the poll below to pick your favorite):

The poll will close at 11:59 p.m. ET Saturday, Feb. 1.

1. Berries (Cranberry HS)

Cranberry Township was known for its abundant wild cranberries in the 1700s and early 1800s. By the late 1800s, however, farming and drought combined to eliminate the fruit from the area. But the Berries live on at Cranberry High School, as does its outstanding mascot that looks part berry, part red ant and fully ready to hit the boxing ring. 

2. Big Macs (Canon-McMillan HS)

No, the mascot isn’t a hamburger that’s way smaller in real life than the commercials depict, but a soldier of a Scottish regiment. They could have gone with Big Highlander, but we’re glad Big Mac was the choice.

3. Bubblers (Boiling Springs HS)

Boiling Springs gets its name from the natural hot springs located in and around the town, and "the Bubble" is the biggest of them. And the Boiling Springs High School Bubblers' mascot is a purple and gold bubble.

4. Canaries (William Allen HS)

From the Our History section of the William Allen website: “In 1916, when the present main building opened, the Allentown High School colors were yellow and blue. The faculty and students interested in producing literary journals developed a magazine entitled, ‘The Canary and Blue.’ Somehow, the word ‘Canary,’ denoting one of the school colors, caught on and the bird became the mascot for the high school. The brave canary is known locally as the only bird to fly safely through a hurricane in its hope to beat perennial rival Bethlehem Area School District Liberty High’s Hurricanes.”

5. Canners (Biglerville HS)

The canned goods industry has long been a staple of Biglerville, and the high school honors that history by calling themselves the Canners. It works especially well in basketball when outside shooters are canning their jumpers, and the Canner mascot has some especially strong dance moves.

6. Chucks (Punxsutawney HS)

Choosing to steer clear of the obvious Punxsutawney Phils, Punxsutawney High School went with the Chucks, which is short for woodchucks, which is another name for groundhogs. Maybe Bill Murray wakes up every morning at the same time listening to "I Got You Babe" and thinking about the Punxsutawney Chucks.

7. Electrons (Benjamin Franklin HS)

Benjamin Franklin High School in Philadelphia is the only home of the Electrons in the country in high school sports. Fortunately, there are no Protons out there to face them.

8. Fightin' Planets (Mars HS)

Theories vary on how the north Pittsburgh town of Mars got its name, but it seems pretty obvious why the high school went with Fightin' Planets as its mascot.

9. Grape Pickers (North East HS)

Vineyards abound in the area around this northeast Pennsylvania school near Lake Erie and the New York border. Grapes are a huge part of the local economy, and picking them is of tremendous importance.

10. Konkrete Kids (Northampton HS)

In 1922, Northampton was the center of the world’s cement industry, and the high school sports teams were referred to as the Konkrete Kids. In honor of the area’s high population of German immigrants, the spelling of concrete was changed to konkrete, the spelling as it appears in the German language.

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-- Mike Swanson | swanson@scorebooklive.com | @sblivesports