PECKVILLE -- The massive manhunt for Eric Frein had some school districts in the Poconos shut down for most of last week.
Monday morning, students returned to class at Wallenpaupack Area in Pike County.
Monday night, the school`s football team finally played a game that was postponed Friday.
The Wallenpaupack Area Buckhorns were on the field again after a week of cancelled practices.
The schools in that district were shut down for most of last week due to the massive man hunt for Eric Frein in Pike and Monroe Counties.
“We want safety and that`s what it`s all about. It`s not about sports. It`s not about any of that. It's about making sure our students are safe in our school and we made the right decision,” said Wallenpaupack Head Coach Mark Watson.
The game against Valley View was postponed from last Friday as it was scheduled to be the home game for Wallenpaupack.
Safety concerns led district officials to have the teams play it at Valley View in Peckville, Lackawanna County.
And for the first time in days, students were able to return to school at Wallenpaupack Monday, however district officials said many chose to stay home.
“Everyone was talking about the shooting and everyone`s scared and how close, no one knows where he is,” said Wallenpaupack quarterback and senior Dante Lowe. “Half the school wasn`t here today, so it was an empty day so everyone was just talking.”
“Some of our players didn`t come to school today. Parents were allowed to keep their kids home and some were fearful, so I think we have about nine players that aren`t here tonight, a couple starters,” said Coach Watson.
For Wallenpaupack parents David and Laurette Pitts, they say they live near where Frein`s parents’ jeep was found.
“We live in that development where the jeep was found. It`s at the end of our street, Blue Heron Woods, where they pulled the jeep out of the pond,” said Laurette Pitts. “So we`ve been kind of in the thick of all of it.”
Many of these families say it just feels good to be doing something normal again.
“More for the boys, because they need it more than we do. They don`t really have a comprehension on everything that`s going on, why it`s going on, none of us do,” said David Pitts. “But they definitely need to get the energy out, we`ve been cooped up for too long dealing with this.”
This wasn`t the only football game to be postponed until Monday. East Stroudsburg North and Pocono Mountain East also played a game that was pushed back from Friday.