For more than a decade, the Scranton Eagles dominated the Empire Football League, winning championships and drawing thousands of fans to games.
A new WVIA documentary highlights those victories — and the relationships and connections beyond the gridiron. “Scranton Eagles — The Forgotten Dynasty” premieres Thursday night.
“It's time to really tell this story while we're still able to and we certainly don't want people in the region to forget about the team,” said Ben Payavis, chief content officer for WVIA and director and co-producer of the documentary.
The documentary will air Thursday at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. on WVIA TV. It will also stream live on WVIA's Facebook and YouTube pages, and at wvia.org.
Payavis was an offensive lineman for the Eagles from 1987 to 1994. After playing at Wyoming Valley West High School and then at Kutztown University, he still had a desire to be on the line.
“The Scranton Eagles at that time, they were really known in the region. And I thought, ‘I'm going to see if I can play and ... try to see if I can compete,’” he said.
He planned to play for one year. But the team’s success, and the brotherhood he found with his teammates, kept him coming back each year. The men played without payment.
From 1982 to 1994, the Eagles won nine EFL championships, not making it to the championship game just once in that span.
'You really don't need to be a hardcore football fan to appreciate the documentary,' said Ben Payavis, chief content officer for WVIA and director and co-producer of the documentary. 'There's a lot of human interest stories.'
The documentary started as a “passion project” for Payavis and evolved into a WVIA project. John Kennedy, who played quarterback, served as co-producer.
Two recent WVIA events brought the team together. Some teammates hadn’t seen each other in 30 years. A screening for those involved in the documentary happened in June, and last month, Scranton Eagles Football Day at Cooper’s Seafood House brought together former players, coaches, cheerleaders and fans.
Along with the team’s success, the documentary explores friendships, brotherhood and the darker parts about playing football, including chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neurodegenerative brain disease caused by repeated head injuries.
“You really don't need to be a hardcore football fan to appreciate the documentary,” Payavis said. “There's a lot of human interest stories.”
