Thursday, January 31, 2008

Football finals stay in Hershey

The PIAA announced earlier this week the sites for the 2008-2009 fall championships.

The football finals, which have been at Hersheypark Stadium since 1998 after moving from Altoona's Mansion Park, will remain in Hershey for at least the next two years.

Hershey beat out Johnstown's Point Stadium for the honor. Located in downtown Johnstown, Point Stadium is home to the AAABA National Baseball Tournament each August and is going through a large renovation project to update the historical ballpark. A new artifical surface comparable to the A-Turf at Hersheypark was installed last July.

Bishop McCort's football team calls Point Stadium home each fall.

For a complete list of fall championship sites, go to the PIAA's Web site.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Commonwealth proves mettle

If we learned one thing from the first round of the District 3 Team Wrestling Tournament, it's that the Mid-Penn Commonwealth Division might have the best shot to bring home district gold.

Posting a 3-0 record on opening night in the 3-AAA bracket, the division won without breaking much of a sweat. Division champ Central Dauphin crushed Reading, Lower Dauphin took care of Dallastown, 34-21, and Cedar Cliff used a fall in the evening's final bout to knock off South Western.

The road becomes more difficult in the quarterfinals as Central Dauphin hosts YAIAA Divison 1 runner-up Red Lion, Lower Dauphin hosts a much-improved Cumberland Valley squad and Cedar Cliff travels to YAIAA Division 1 champion Spring Grove on Thursday.

Two of those pairings are rematches. Lower Dauphin beat CV by one in December and Cedar Cliff handed Spring Grove its first and only loss this year at the Ephrata Duals in December.

The other Mid-Penn divisions weren't as fortunate as the Commonwealth.

Colonial champion and fourth seed Big Spring lost by two to Hempfield and third-place finisher Carlisle fell to Red Lion. The only winner here was CV, who cruised past Wilson after falling behind, 18-3, early.

In the 3-AA bracket, Boiling Springs carried the Capital flag with a win over ELCO while division foes Milton Hershey and East Pennsboro put up little fight in losses to Schuylkill Valley and Biglerville, respectively.

Overall the Mid-Penn finished 5-4 in the first round.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Ott named by CBN

Shippensburg senior and University of New Orleans signee Ricky Ott, a left-handed pitcher, was the only area player listed among the top high school baseball players in Pennsylvania, according to Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's Top-Notch High School Players Across the U.S.

Mid-Penn Colonial power Waynesboro put four players on the list, including outfielder Brenton Kopecek, third baseman Jamison Walck, pitcher John Brunner and first baseman Nathan Minnich.

Central Dauphin pitcher Scott Buckwater rounded out the Mid-Penn honorees.

Defending PIAA Class AAAA champion Seneca Valley returns the three-headed pitcher monster of Cory Mazzoni, Eric Aschley and Kyle Helisek. Highly-regarded corner infielder Tyler Bream (son of Carlisle native and MLB veteran Sid Bream) also returns for the Raiders, who beat Souderton in the PIAA final last June.

Friday, January 25, 2008

Team Tournament update

Fallout from Thursday night's dual meets:

Carlisle's 58-18 win over Chambersburg earned the Thundering Herd a berth in the District 3 Class AAA Team Duals for the first time since 1998-99 regardless if the team beats West Perry on Saturday.

East Pennsboro clinched a spot in the District 3 Class AA Team Duals thanks to a close 40-35 win over Camp Hill.

Cedar Cliff beat Red Land but still needs to beat Central Dauphin East on Saturday to solidify its spot in the 3-AAA Duals.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Cedar Cliff scenario, revised

Cedar Cliff beat Middletown on Wednesday, 36-29, but the Colts have more work to do than originally thought.

Cedar Cliff travels to Mid-Penn Commonwealth foes Red Land on Thursday and Central Dauphin East on Saturday. The Sentinel did not receive word of the Colts' rescheduled dual meet with East until Wednesday evening, rendering the earlier scenario useless.

The Panthers, who beat Susquenita 32-29 Wednesday, are still in the running for the division's third-place spot, making it a three-team race in the division.

"We've still got to win," Cedar Cliff coach Robert Rapsey said after his team beat Middletown. "If we don't beat East we don't go because they would could technically move up to third. There's still a lot of work to be done."

Two wins and the Colts are in, it's that simple. Two losses coupled with a Middletown win against Susquenita puts the Blue Raiders in the postseason. East can earn the third spot by beating Cedar Cliff and hoping Susquenita beats Middletown.

Susquenita's loss to East eliminated any hopes the Blackhawks had of qualifying for the District 3-AA field.

Here's the updated Commonwealth standings (third through fifth) with division games remaining and opponents:
3. Cedar Cliff 4-2 at Red Land; at Central Dauphin East
4. Middletown 4-3 at Susquenita
5. CD East 4-3 vs. Cedar Cliff

Cedar Cliff, Carlisle scenarios

It's coming down to the last week of wrestling for Carlisle and Cedar Cliff to punch their tickets to the District 3 Class AAA Team Tournament next week. Cedar Cliff's scenario is easier to understand and the Colts are the only local team vying for one of the Commonwealth's three spots, so we'll start there.

Commonwealth
The do-or-die meet for the Colts (3-2) is tonight against Middletown (4-2). A win tonight and tomorrow against rival Red Land gives the Colts third place at 5-2. Middletown is at Susquenita tomorrow in a toss-up meet.

The best scenario for Cedar Cliff is to win both. A loss tonight would practically doom the Colts to fourth, even if Middletown losses tomorrow, thanks to head-to-head.

Colonial
Let's start off easy: If Big Spring beats West Perry tomorrow, the Bulldogs sew up the division. A loss to the 1-4 Mustangs is unlikely.

If Cumberland Valley (5-1) beats Waynesboro (4-3) tomorrow the Eagles finish second.

Carlisle is the team on the bubble here. The Thundering Herd (4-2) has Chambersburg (3-3) and West Perry (1-4) on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.

The biggest threat to Carlisle is Waynesboro. Carlisle beat Waynesboro, 53-14, Dec. 6, so the Herd owns the head-to-head meeting but two losses and a Waynesboro win over CV would give the Indians third.

Carlisle's best option is to win both of its meets. A win over Chambersburg gives it the head-to-head advantage against both teams below it. A CV win over Waynesboro all but eliminates the Indians from district contention and at the same time helps Carlisle, but only if the Herd takes care of business.

For Chambersburg to have any shot, it needs to beat Carlisle, have CV beat Waynesboro, hope its postponed meet against CV is rescheduled and win that. A lot to ask, ineed.

In each case, the local teams control their own destiny. If either slip up there are teams below them ready to grab that last playoff spot.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Sectional Alignments

Here's where the local teams are headed and who they'll be up against for this year's Sectional tournaments. All Sectionals are Saturday, Feb. 16.

Class AA
Section IV at Susquenita High School
Boiling Springs
Camp Hill
East Pennsboro
Susquenita
James Buchanan
Halifax
Juniata
Newport
Upper Dauphin

Class AAA
Section I at Mechanicsburg High School
Big Spring
Carlisle
Chambersburg
Cumberland Valley
Mechanicsburg
Northern
Shippensburg
West Perry
Gettysburg
Greencastle-Antrim
Waynesboro

Section II at Central Dauphin East High School
Cedar Cliff
Red Land
Central Dauphin
Central Dauphin East
Elizabethtown
Harrisburg
Hershey
Lower Dauphin
Middletown
Susquehanna Twp.

For a list of all District 3 Sectional Tournaments, go to the district's Web site.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Trinity's Dill in Big 33

R.J. Dill, Trinity High's 6-foot-6, 285-pound offensive/defensive lineman, was selected to the Pennsylvania team for this year's Big 33 Classic on Saturday afternoon.

Dill, who plans to continue his career at the University of Maryland, anchored both lines as the Shamrocks finished the regular season 10-0, won the Mid-Penn Capital Division and gained the top seed for the District 3 Class AA playoffs. Trinity fell in the championship game, 25-0, to Delone Catholic.

Other Mid-Penn players selected to the Pennsylvania team include Altoona's A.J. Alexander (athlete), Bishop McDevitt running back Mike Jones, who has committed to Syracuse, and a trio from District 3-6 Class AAAA champion Harrisburg including defensive end Adrian Robinson, defensive back Joshua Potts and 6-5, 340-pound lineman Brandon Ware.

The game is scheduled for June 14 at Hersheypark Stadium.

Complete Pennsylvania roster.

Friday, January 11, 2008

Area players honored by PFN

Gettysburg continues to haunt Red Land.

Two months after the Warriors’ 40-7 win over Red Land in a crucial Mid-Penn Keystone Division game, Gettysburg quarterback Evan Lewis beat out Red Land signal-caller Skyler Hunt as the first team quarterback for the All-Pennsylvania Football News Class AAA team.
Lewis was also named Class AAA Player of the Year.

Hunt, a four-year starter, threw for 1,985 yards and 19 touchdowns last year, both an area-best.

A bit of good news for Red Land was the selection of Chad Christen as first-team placekicker. Lewis also handled kicking duties for the Warriors, so Red Land can at least claim something over Gettysburg from the 2007 season.

The Patriots, who advanced to the District 3 quarterfinals before losing to Hershey, placed defensive end Aubrey Moore — The Sentinel’s 2006 and 07 Defensive Player of the Year — on the second team and Dan Klein was named to the third team as a defensive back.

Northern running back Michael Davies, who rushed for 1,578 yards as a senior, joined Hunt on the second team. Shippensburg’s Shayne Clark, a Sentinel first-team offensive lineman, was tabbed as a third-teamer.

Trinity offensive linemen Nick Kindler and R.J. Dill, headed to the University of Maryland, garnered Class AA first- and third-team honors, respectively.

The Shamrocks’ defense, which averaged 6.4 points against and blanked six opponents, had Ryan Skotnicki dubbed as a first-team defensive lineman and athletic safety Christian Kuntz honored as a third-team defensive back.

The Shamrocks were 12-1 and made an appearance in the 3-AA final where they lost to Delone Catholic.

Steelton-Highspire junior running back Jeremiah Young was announced as the Class A Player of the Year.

For complete teams, including this year's Mr. Football, check out the PFN's Web site.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Red Raider baseball ranked

With the start of the college baseball season roughly a month away, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper released its annual preview issue last week.

Defending PSAC tournament champion Shippensburg starts the year ranked 39th in Collegiate Baseball's Fab 40 preseason poll. The Red Raiders went 28-24 last season and, thanks to the conference title, earned a berth in a North Atlantic Regional.

To go with a decent team ranking, junior left-handed pitcher Matt Wright and senior outfielder Justin Garber were tabbed as preseason All-Americans in the North Atlantic Region. Mentioned among Players to Watch is outfielder Tyler Reddick. First baseman Steve McCardell is listed as a Newcomer to Watch in the region.

West Chester, a PSAC East power, is the conference's highest ranked team, checking in at No. 22. Shippensburg's PSAC West rivals, California and Slippery Rock, are ranked 26th and 30th, respectively. Defending PSAC East and North Atlantic Regional champion Kutztown starts the year at No. 37.

The Red Raiders open the 2008 season at Mount Olive (N.C) on Feb. 16 and begin their home slate March 15 against Bloomsburg.

Monday, January 7, 2008

Top dual meets this week

The wrestling dual meet season is rapidly winding down. Teams have separated themselves as division contenders while others are harboring thoughts of District 3 titles and runs toward PIAA gold.

Here are the best dual meets for the first full week in January.

Tuesday
Big Spring at Northern –
The defending Mid-Penn Colonial Division champion Polar Bears try to keep Big Spring from taking a step toward winning the 2008 title. Northern will have its hands full with 103-pounder Colten Keck and 152-pounder Mallie Shuster, who won their respective weight classes at Council Rock South’s Escape the Rock Tournament last weekend.

Wednesday
Cumberland Valley at Cedar Cliff –
This is a good tune-up meet for CV heading into the Cedar Cliff Duals on Saturday where they’ll face, among others, state power Central Dauphin. CV 160-pounder Mike Evans hasn’t seen any action this year while nursing an ankle injury. Evans is expected back for the Duals. It would be a big boost for the Eagles if he’s back to face Cedar Cliff, who finished runner-up to Northampton on Saturday at the Cedar Cliff Duals.

Thursday
Cedar Cliff at Susquenita
A rough week for the Colts doesn’t get any easier with this trip to Perry County. If Cedar Cliff falls to Cumberland Valley on Wednesday, this will be a must-win to keep the confidence up. A loss to Northampton isn’t anything to fret about, but three straight losses would be. It will be interesting to see if 171-pounder Tom Heckman is healthy after leaving the Duals early due to an illness.

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Cedar Cliff finishes second

Due to Internet issues at Cedar Cliff's gymnasium, an updated meet-by-meet blog wasn't possible.

Cedar Cliff advanced to the championship meet of the Cedar Cliff Duals via a thrilling 34-31 win over Garnet Valley in the final meet of Pool B action. Both teams were 2-0.

The Colts fell to Northampton, 61-6, in the championship dual meet.

Cedar Cliff posted 20 pins -- three each by Christian Norris, Kevin Ortenzio and Clint Morrison -- as the Colts beat Manheim Central 48-23 and Pocono Mountain East, 67-10 in early action.

Colts seeded third

Here is a tentative schedule and pool pairings for today's Cedar Cliff Duals. Seeds are in parenthesis

Pool A
Great Valley (2)
Cedar Cliff (3)
Manheim Central
Pocono Mountain East

Pool B
Northampton (1)
Red Lion (4)
Mt. St. Joseph's (5)
Boyertown

Each team wrestles once against each pool opponent. Times for those dual meets are 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Crossover meets are tentatively set for 4 p.m.

Cedar Cliff's schedule was not immediately available.

Any changes to this schedule will be posted here by 8:45 a.m.

Friday, January 4, 2008

All-Sentinel Defense

The All-Sentinel defensive football team ran in the Thursday, Jan. 3 edition of The Sentinel. Along with a story on Player of the Year Aubrey Moore you can find photos and stats of the first-teamers and a list of the second team.

First Team
Player of the Year –
Aubrey Moore, Sr., Red Land
Defensive Lineman – Jake Scott, Sr., Northern
Defensive Lineman – Antonio Myers, Jr., Northern
Defensive Lineman – Greg Hychko, Sr., Trinity
Linebacker – Ted Spinelli, Jr., Trinity
Linebacker – Matt Connors, Jr., Trinity
Linebacker – Nick Osevala, Sr., Camp Hill
Linebacker – Jared Strayer, Sr., East Pennsboro
Corner – Tyler Guise, Sr., Cumberland Valley
Corner – Jordan Weber, Jr., Camp Hill
Corner – Matt Morell, Sr., Mechanicsburg
Corner – Christian Kuntz, Jr., Trinity
Punter – Chad Christen, Jr., Red Land
Return Specialist – Eddie Stephenson, Sr., Northern
--
Second Team
Defensive Lineman –
Carl Sheaffer, Sr., Red Land
Defensive Lineman – Bill Phillipy, Jr., Trinity
Defensive Lineman – Ryan Skotnicki, Sr., Trinity
Linebacker – Colt Kostelac, Jr., Trinity
Linebacker – Wade McKown, Sr., West Perry
Linebacker – Travis Friend, Soph., Cumberland Valley
Linebacker – Ben Anderson, Jr., Mechanicsburg
Corner – Steve Kazor, Soph., Trinity
Corner – Dan Klein, Sr., Red Land
Corner – Robbie Bleiler, Jr., Northern
Corner – Logan Sheely, Sr., Cumberland Valley
Punter – Jeff Martz, Sr., Susquenita
Return Specialist – Juan Steward, Cumberland Valley

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

All-Sentinel Offense

Happy New Year!

The All-Sentinel football team for offense ran in the Wednesday, Jan. 2 edition of The Sentinel. Along with a story on Player of the Year Tyler Shover and Coach of the Year Rick Mauck you can find photos and stats of the other first teamers and a list of the second-team qualifiers.

First Team
Player of the Year — Tyler Shover, Jr. quarterback, Camp Hill
Quarterback —Skyler Hunt, Sr., Red Land
Running Back — Michael Davies, Sr., Northern
Fullback — Rod Trevino, Sr., Trinity
All-Purpose Back — Kahlil Bunce, Sr., Carlisle
Wide Receiver — Trevor Polly, Jr., Camp Hill
Wide Receiver —Teed Wertz, Sr., Red Land
Tight End — Brandon Nye, Sr., East Pennsboro
Offensive Line — Matt Brown, Sr., Cumberland Valley
Offensive Line — Ryan Beam, Sr., Cumberland Valley
Offensive Line — R.J. Dill, Sr., Trinity
Offensive Line — Allen Proper, Sr., Red Land
Offensive Line — Shayne Clark, Sr., Shippensburg
Kicker — Jim Murphy, Sr., Trinity
——
Second Team
Quarterback — Chris Jordan, Sr., Cumberland Valley
Running Back — Ethan Naylor, Jr., Shippensburg
Fullback — John Hostetler, Sr., East Pennsboro
All-Purpose Back — Tarik Leftenant, Soph., Mechanicsburg
Wide Receiver — Sean Kelly, Jr., Cedar Cliff
Wide Receiver — Zane Frederick, Jr., Boiling Springs
Tight End — Ryan Skotnicki, Sr., Trinity
Offensive Line — Travis Polilo, Jr., Mechanicsburg
Offensive Line — Dylan Pennington, Sr., Northern
Offensive Line — Nick Kindler, Jr., Trinity
Offensive Line — Tyler Freeman, Jr., Camp Hill
Offensive Line — Travis Baughman, Sr., Carlisle
Kicker — Andrew Reiersen, Jr., Cumberland Valley