Indexed locally for search — headlines, people, teams, and short excerpts from reporting originally published in The Morning Call (1998–2010). Full article text on mcall.com; DRE'S TAKE links out and does not republish Morning Call copy.
The run for championship medals seems to bring out the best in Brianna Broyles when she’s down to her final attempts. At Allen High, Broyles won the 100-meter high hurdle title in the PIAA Track and Field Championships as a senior. It was her only state title in an illustrious…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Dave Brown has four daughters under the age of 10 and his wife, Sarah, is not open to the idea of having more kids. So, Liberty’s new football coach won’t get the opportunity to coach his own son one day. “I think we’re good. I think we’re going to wrap it up right where we are…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Ten seconds. That’s the freelance time new Lafayette women’s basketball coach Dianne Nolan said she gives to her players at the start of games. Her system is helter-skelter after that. “We like to say that we pack 60 minutes into it,” she said. Run and press are the blueprint as…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty’s Stephen Lewis is lean and fast. Parkland’s Andre Williams is lean, fast and powerful. Both are outstanding senior hurdlers coming off top five finishes in the Class 3A 110-meter hurdles in the PIAA Track and Field Championships last year. Lewis was fourth in the 110 in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →LEHIGH79 AMERICAN57 Lehigh senior Dave Buchberger was on from downtown. Freshman C.J. McCollum was on from everywhere. Then, there was senior guard Marquis Hall simply playing an all-around smooth game and senior forward Zahir Carrington rebounding with force. The sensational…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It seeme d like the Lehigh Valley’s Division II and III men’s and women’s college basketball teams could not top what they combined to accomplish during 2008-09 season. It’s still to be determined since it’s only January and it’s tough to top a season in which the DeSales men…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It seemed like the Lehigh Valley’s Division II and III men’s and women’s college basketball teams could not top what they combined to accomplish during 2008-09 season. It’s still to be determined since it’s only January and it’s tough to top a season in which the DeSales men…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Disgruntled over his perception that the Bethlehem Area School District is not supportive enough of his powerhouse program, Liberty football coach Tim Moncman has applied for the head coaching vacancy at Palisades. But he has not resigned at Liberty, one year after he coached…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It’s time for a Central Catholic road trip out of the Lehigh Valley. It’s been planned for a while. Sophomore quarterback Brendan Nosovitch, often rushed but hardly rattled, helped finalize it with three touchdown passes in the Vikings’ 28-14 victory over Abington Heights in a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Since last season ended, the East Stroudsburg women’s basketball team has been in disarray. Jackie Yandrisevits, the all-time leading women’s basketball scorer at the college, graduated in May, and then on Aug. 20 school officials announced that head coach Julienne Simpson had…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Shawn Martell, the son of an established local college football coach, began his inevitable climb up the coaching ranks when he was hired as the wide receivers coach at Nazareth last year. The 24-year-old Martell, a 2002 Morning Call all-area wide receiver from Bethlehem…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Your football program is in serious trouble when its internal problems are just as heavy as its external ones, caused by bickering, losing, and parents trying to market their sons as if they’re free agents. That was the shambles Bethlehem Catholic was in while posting a 4-7…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Freedom senior tailback Darrius Webb is always only one missed tackle at the line of scrimmage from going the distance. That’s because trying to tackle the speedy, elusive Webb is tough once he gets into the open field. He displayed his talents over the previous two seasons at…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It’s Allentown vs. Bethlehem weekend and contender or pretender night in Orefield. There are also Lehigh Valley Conference matchups in Easton and Northampton that figure to be highly competitive. Easton (3-0 overall, 2-0 LVC), Central Catholic (3-0, 2-0), Nazareth (3-0, 2-0) and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It’s premature to write Liberty off, despite an 0-2 start and a tough road game to play at Central Catholic Saturday night at J. Birney Crum Stadium. After all, the defending PIAA Class 4A-champion Hurricanes opened up the season losing to state-title contender and established…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Wide receiver Brandon Gibson put on a slick open-field move. Stunned, cornerback Asante Samuel slipped and went down. His teammates laughed. Samuel fired back. It was verbal sparring in a jokingly manner, something the Pro Bowl cornerback has been doing a lot of this preseason.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lorena Ochoa looks so young that she could pass for a teenager. Not an ordinary one, of course, because not many teenagers can afford to walk around wearing an expensive diamond ring, chain and earrings. But Ochoa has earned the finer things in life. She has was a star golfer in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Twenty-two years ago, Dave Madeira made a bold pitch to become the head men’s basketball coach at Muhlenberg College. And it came with a promise that Madeira made sure he never broke. It’s a story that Madeira proudly told Tuesday night, hours after announcing to his players…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The final 10 seconds of a wild game between rivals Lehigh and Lafayette was decided by free throws Saturday in Easton. Lafayette’s Jared Mintz missed his two foul shots, but Lehigh’s Zahir Carrington converted his two attempts with 3.0 seconds left to lift the Mountain Hawks to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A Bethlehem Catholic football program that went from a consistent district championship contender to rock bottom over the last two seasons is now without a head coach. And Dan Kendra Sr., a longtime Bethlehem Catholic coach, teacher, and admitted die-hard lover of the program,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Crunch, crunch. That’s what the Parkland defense, fueled by the return of star lineman Clint Miller from a knee injury, did to Emmaus in a grueling Lehigh Valley Conference matchup Friday night. Miller, a 2007 Associated Press all-state first-team selection, missed the previous…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The scoreboard operator at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium figures to be busy tonight. That’s because high-scoring city rivals Freedom (31.4 ppg) and Bethlehem Catholic (29 ppg) meet in a Lehigh Valley Conference matchup that has playoff implications with just three…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Freedom senior tailback Eddie Mateo ran for season highs of 198 yards and four touchdowns last week. He ran rampant on synthetic turf against a Northampton defense that’s one of the Lehigh Valley Conference’s best. Now Mateo, who transferred from Bethlehem Catholic during the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bethlehem Catholic High’s two-way senior lineman Brandon Lally was fired up at practice Tuesday as he prepared for Saturday night showdown against Central Catholic. “It’s the biggest game of the year, the two Catholic schools, rivals,” Lally said. But it’s a rivalry that has…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It’s a Week 2 matchup that would have even more hype had it been scheduled for later in the season with the Lehigh Valley Conference title and possibly the No. 1 seed in the district playoffs on the line. But after not playing the last two seasons, Liberty and Parkland are…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Fair or not, Nazareth football coach Rob Melosky knows that he can’t prevent people from judging his every move because that’s expected when you are a high-profile coach. Melosky’s public perception soared, perhaps more so in the negative than positive last month, when he was on…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Northampton Community College athletic program is making the transition from small-time to a bigger and more competitive level of play. That was Troy Tucker’s No. 1 goal after he was hired as the Spartans’ athletic director on June 2. Coming from the University of Maryland…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Anthony Davidson appeared to be facing a daunting challenge when he showed up later than expected for the finals of the Class 2A 400-meter dash. Lucky for the Wilson junior, he had rival sprinter Austin Cseh of Palmerton to help settle his mind and help him prepare for a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It was an arena football game that ended like a wild, wild west brawl. There were still 3 minutes, 22 seconds left on the clock in the fourth quarter when the officials called the CIFL game between the Lehigh Valley Outlawz and Rochester Raiders Saturday night at Stabler Arena.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It was an arena football game that ended like a wild, wild west brawl. There were still 3 minutes, 22 seconds left on the clock in the fourth quarter when the officials called the CIFL game between the Lehigh Valley Outlawz and Rochester Raiders Saturday night at Stabler arena.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →One of the most gratifying 11-day spans in Rob Melosky’s life was capped off Tuesday when he was introduced as Nazareth’s new head football coach. Austin Scott, the greatest football player Melosky has ever coached, had rape charges against him dropped on April 18, and the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Brett Reed is in a battle over a lot of things in his first season as Lehigh’s head coach. There’s the battle to maintain consistency and to earn at least one home game in the Patriot League tournament, something the Mountain Hawks (12-13, 5-6) — currently No. 4 — will secure if…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Fred Richter has never coached on the Division I level, but he’s learned a lot from the legendary Bobby Knight, who resigned Monday at Texas Tech, ending his illustrious 42-year coaching career. Richter, the DeSales women’s coach, prescribed years ago to Knight’s defensive…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →John Laub has parlayed one season as a record-breaking quarterback at Parkland into a college scholarship. Laub, a Morning Call All-Area first-team selection, made his official visit to Division I-AA Richmond last Friday and verbally committed to the Colonial Athletic…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh University basketball coach Brett Reed got a little taste of everything except consistency from his team during the non-league part of the season. A lack of consistency is a major problem, and will cause the Mountain Hawks (7-7) to lose Patriot League games that are far…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Editor’s note: This is the first in an occasional series of in-depth interviews with Lehigh Valley sports figures. Thirteen games into his first college basketball head coaching job, Lehigh coach Brett Reed is trying to develop a Patriot League championship contender out of a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →West Virginia offensive lineman Jake Figner was credited with 20 knockdown blocks last season, which was impressive enough for the Northwestern High graduate to remain a starter. The number of pancake blocks Figner had this season has not been released, but he’s confident that…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It wasn’t necessarily David against Goliath, but the Parkland Trojans were bigger, stronger and more experienced than the George Washington Eagles and showed no mercy as they roared past the Philadelphia Public League champions Saturday and on to the state football semifinals.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Billy Taylor is now coaching in a tougher conference and a better basketball school, but the former Lehigh University coach appears to have a tough rebuilding job ahead of him at Ball State. The Cardinals were in disarray before Taylor was hired on Aug. 8, following a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A showdown between two Lehigh Valley Conference powerhouse teams could be only one week away. Liberty and Parkland need to win tonight in District 11-2 Class 4A subregional semifinal games to set up a battle between the two stalwarts. Neither team will admit that they’re looking…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A player from Freedom High apparently said something that offended players from Liberty. “This is the first time that we’re the underdogs in a game, which is pretty surprising, but let the best team win,” said Liberty senior linebacker Brendan Beal, who verbally committed to the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →All 12 Lehigh Valley Conference teams have something important to play for in the final regular season games Friday and Saturday. In alphabetical order: Allen (0-9, 0-8): The Canaries, who’ve scored just 18 points all season, will try to get out of the last place by beating…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Boston College kicker Steve Aponavicius is still waiting for the perfect scenario: Final play of the game, win or lose on his field-goal attempt. Maybe that moment of make-or-break pressure will come Thursday night when Boston College, ranked No. 2 in both the Associated Press…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It was the backbreaker in a game filled with backbending plays, most of which were administered by Freedom on Friday night. Determined to finally put Easton away, Freedom’s Yusef Reddick broke across the middle to catch a quick pass from Joe Weaver. Then, before Easton could…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →One week after losing its first game, Easton seeks redemption. But the Red Rovers have to beat Central Catholic to achieve it. It won’t be easy. Central Catholic has been one of the top early-season success stories in the Lehigh Valley Conference, helped by a strong…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Northampton senior tailback Kevin Kowalishen usually turns gaping holes opened by his linemen into big gains or touchdowns. Last season, Kowalishen averaged 9.4 yards per carry, which led the Lehigh Valley Conference. He’s gained 386 yards on 43 carries for an average of 9 yards…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty is bent on trying to make it back to Hershey and finally win the PIAA Class 4A title, but first must earn its stripes against Easton and other tough Lehigh Valley Conference opponents. That’s because the LVC season figures to be another series of weekly dogfights.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →There will be no more “In Taylor we trust” signs at Lehigh University’s Stabler Arena next basketball season. That’s because Billy Taylor, the first African-American coach of any sport in school history, resigned Tuesday to take over the vacant men’s head coaching job at Ball…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty quarterback Dan Persa once again found himself running for his life at Hersheypark Stadium. But this time he used elusive moves and breakaway speed to twice escape and rumble to the end zone. This time, Persa also kept making big plays, running and passing en route being…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Dieruff has not had a top-notch boys track and field athlete since Andrew Battle nine years ago and not a standout sprinter since Stacy McCarthy won the District 11 Class 3A title in the 100- and 200-meter dashes in 1996. There have been a lot of downs since then, but first-year…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Courtney Molinaro has two more years left to play college basketball, but she won’t be playing them at Penn State. The former Central Catholic star center announced Thursday that she is transferring from the university. Molinaro, who won three PIAA Class 3A titles at Central…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Aaron Gray had another night of honors, winning an award that was based as much on his academic excellence as his athletic accomplishments on Tuesday night in New York. Gray, the University of Pittsburgh’s 7-0 senior center and Emmaus High graduate, received the Aeropostale…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →With a little under 11 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter Saturday afternoon, Liberty finally called off its defensive assault. The 35-point mercy rule was in effect. Frankford then scored 15 unanswered points, but it was against Liberty’s second-team defense. And that…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Moravian women’s coach Mary Beth Spirk is not ready to tab her team, “The Comeback Kids.” She’d rather just call them good. The Greyhounds were not good in the opening 20 minutes against Widener Tuesday night at Johnston, and as a result they trailed by 20 points at halftime and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It’s no secret that Easton and Liberty want to hit each other hard. It’s still great hearing them say it. It will be even better seeing them do it when Easton (8-0, 7-0 LVC) and Liberty (7-1, 6-1) meet in the much-anticipated Lehigh Valley Conference showdown at 7 tonight at…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Chris Blount is no longer a coach for all sports. That doesn’t mean he’s less busy. Blount, a 1986 Dieruff High graduate, was hard at work coaching the Southern Lehigh girls basketball team at SportsFest X Friday at Cedar Beach. He was hired as the Spartans’ head coach on June…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The passion that burns inside Princeton University professor Edward Belbruno when he’s not working on an aerospace or astronomy project is different than that of most men in their 50s. Table tennis and scuba diving? Done that numerous times. Golf? Not interested. Instead, the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh coach Billy Taylor is playing a waiting game to see if he’ll be offered the vacant men’s basketball head coaching job at the University of Pennsylvania. Taylor confirmed in a statement released by Lehigh officials on Thursday that he has been contacted by Penn athletic…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Back in November, Lehigh junior guard Jose Olivero was dejected when he found out that he was not named to the All-Patriot League preseason team. He posted that team up on his dormitory wall to fuel his desire to prove that he deserved to be considered among the league’s elite…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Frank Scagliotta has his high school football coaching dream job. It’s at his alma mater, Bangor, where Scagliotta was an all-state basketball player and state long jump medalist in track and field in the 1960s. The Bangor School Board unanimously approved Scagliotta as the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Villanova coach Jay Wright has been given everything by the university that, years ago, wasn’t interested in offering him a scholarship to play basketball. “I grew up in Philly,” Wright said. “I grew up a Big 5 fan. Of all the Big 5 teams, Villanova is my favorite team. I wanted…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bruce Hall’s talent as a scorer wasn’t being maximized at Cheyney University, so he transferred to Kutztown and is now having a high-scoring senior season. His passion for the game remained high even after he averaged just 10.6 points and 3.0 rebounds in two seasons at Cheyney,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →His heartbeat had slowed down and many of the teammates who had piled on him had retreated to the locker room to continue celebrating Sunday night in Whitehall. But James Potocnie, AKA Whitehall’s playmaker, was still on the soggy field, reflecting back on the catch in the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bob Stem returns to coaching tonight against a man who admires him, but who’s also yet to beat him. That doesn’t mean that Northampton coach Teko Johnson has already conceded. It’s quite the opposite because Johnson’s Konkrete Kids, led by the multi-talented and dangerous Josh…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty has “Hoagie,” which is what they call star senior linebacker Andres Morales, who’s being recruited by N.C. State, Duke and other Division I schools. It also has junior quarterback Dan Persa, an accurate passer and slick runner who’s healthy again and can pick apart…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Kyle Newell has plowed and leaped over other athletes on the football field. He has rebounded, intimidated and dunked with ease on the hardwood. And he has been named to several all-star teams in his four years at Bethlehem Catholic. But Newell doesn’t consider himself any…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Erika Smith is a former Miss Pennsylvania contestant, but don’t let her astonishing looks fool you. She’s more than just glamorous. When her school day as an English teacher at Dieruff ends, she prefers to tie up her hair, throw on sweats and head across town to J. Birney Crum…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Northampton senior distance runner Tyler McCandless still wants to run a personal-best in the 3,200 and to beat area rival Sam Luff of Emmaus in at least one big race this spring. Recently, McCandless signed a national letter of intent to the University of Maryland where he…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Billy Taylor insists that he was not interested in the no-longer-available UNC-Greensboro job and that he’s not going to pursue any other vacancy. He’s excited about building for his fourth season, one that figures to be his most challenging as the Mountain Hawks try to rebound…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Members of Villanova’s 1985 national championship team developed a bond that extended way beyond the court. That’s because they were more than just teammates. “It was like a family, a brotherhood, a fraternity, whatever you want to call it,” said Chuck Everson, a reserve center…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Freedom High officially has a new football coach and athletic director Fred Harris hopes he doesn’t eventually follow in the footsteps of the last two Patriots head coaches. But Jason Roeder, who was formally introduced as the coach to the players and media on Tuesday, doesn’t…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Freedom’s two-month wait for a new football coach may soon be over. According to two sources close to the Freedom football program, Jason Roeder has been offered the job. Roeder has to be approved at a Bethlehem Area School District school board Monday night before he can be…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bethlehem Catholic senior two-way tackle Matt Kushner appeared to be an unlikely Division I product before last season. He’d made just 12 tackles in two previous seasons. He had played mostly as an offensive lineman and pancake blocks are not listed on any stats sheets. But…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The page was turned back to the old days of the Big East, when defense dominated. Fittingly, Villanova’s legendary former coach Rollie Massimino was in the Pavilion Wednesday night, doing color analysis for the first basketball game televised live on ESPN Classic. West Virginia…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Central Catholic senior David Horton probably has Vikings coach Donnie Roberts high on his Christmas list. Roberts’ decision to move Horton from running back to wide receiver as a junior has panned out wonderfully. Horton’s 51-catch, 617-yard season with five touchdowns was…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Thanksgiving is for feasting. The big gifts aren’t supposed to come until Christmas. But opportunistic Easton collected early against mistake-prone Phillipsburg in the 98th Turkey Day Bowl before a sold out crowd Thursday at Lafayette College’s Fisher Field. And Easton defensive…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Thanksgiving is for feasting. The big gifts aren’t supposed to come until Christmas. But opportunistic Easton collected early against mistake-prone Phillipsburg in the 98th Turkey Day Bowl before a sold out crowd Thursday at Lafayette College’s Fisher Field. And Easton defensive…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →No matter where he travels these days, Saint Joseph’s senior guard Pat Carroll believes people will know where he plays college basketball, as long as he’s wearing anything with SJU on it. That’s recognition earned from last season’s magical run that included a 27-0 regular…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Games that resembled Mud Bowls were played throughout the Lehigh Valley Friday night. Dieruff may have enjoyed slopping around more than any other team its 21-7 victory over Whitehall. The Huskies snapped a 15-game losing streak that dated back to Sept. 6 of last year. But the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →If he were ever hired as an NBA assistant or head coach, Darryl Dawkins would probably wear a different suit for every home game. Many of them would be colorful. “He has 90 suits,” his wife Janice said. “The best way to describe his closet is Skittles, like a big bag of…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Don’t expect Easton coach Steve Shiffert to be all fired up for the McDonald’s Lehigh Valley All-Star Football Classic tonight at Nazareth High. The fund-raising game for the Ronald McDonald’s charities just won’t seem the seem as Easton playing against Parkland or Bethlehem…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lafayette College can now focus on its rematch with Lehigh. But the Leopards won’t carry any momentum into the showdown for first place in the Patriot League after being manhandled 79-61 by Bucknell Friday night. A crowd of 3,308, the second-largest at the 13-month-old Sojka…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Temple coach John Chaney’s sleeves were rolled up, his tie loosened. His voice kept rising, his eyes focusing intensely on the court and on the players he was trying to guide to a victory Wednesday night. It was typical Chaney, an elder statesman fired up from the opening…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The men in suits who represent the NCAA and the college basketball coaches who are often at odds with them, met in Chicago before the season started and discussed ways to help change apparent perceptions that coaches will go to unethical lengths to win and stay on top. Also…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton still owns Parkland in the playoffs. More importantly, Easton now also owns the District 11 Class 4A title for the first time since 1993. The Red Rovers improved to 4-0 against the Trojans in the playoffs with a 23-15 victory before a crowd of 5,800 Friday at Cottingham…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Catasauqua could not be accused of being greedy for more goals at the expense of further devastating Tamaqua on Tuesday afternoon. Otherwise, Rough Riders senior defender Zachary Leddy, who had spent most of the District 11 Class 2A first-round game protecting goal with pesky…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A look at each sideline instantly revealed the difference between the Bethlehem Catholic and Freedom programs. Bethlehem Catholic had more than twice as many players as Freedom and seemed to develop more swagger as the Lehigh Valley Conference Northampton Division game continued…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Salisbury junior forward Jason Yeisley is being talked about by Colonial League coaches more than any other player in the league. And it’s for good reason. Yeisley has scored 53 goals the last two seasons, and may be just as prolific dialing up net as he leads the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs coach Darryl Dawkins is battling the tough odds of joining John Lucas and Eric Mussleman as the only United States Basketball League coaches to be hired as head coaches in the NBA. Is Dawkins ready? He says yes. Is he qualified? He says yes. Is his 88-54…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Confetti will not be dropped from the rafters and fireworks won’t be fired off in the building. No big-named musician will sing the National Anthem. The Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs just want to open their home season at Stabler Arena, please the fans with dunks, long-range…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Emmaus center Aaron Gray will be playing Division I basketball next season, but it is no longer guaranteed that he will be wearing a University of Pittsburgh uniform. The 6-11 Gray was disappointed to learn last week that Ben Howland had resigned as Pittsburgh’s coach to take…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Lehigh men’s basketball coach who seemed to be tailor-made for the position will have the opportunity to prove himself and his team to the man who taught and motivated him back in Illinois. Dennis Taylor, whose son Billy is in his first season as Lehigh’s coach, will make…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →They were beauty on offense, and a beast on defense, in the PIAA Class 4A semifinals Friday night. Parkland’s offense was led by perhaps the best dancer in cleats that the Lehigh Valley has ever seen, in senior tailback Austin Scott. The Trojans were also that dominant on…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →First-year Lehigh men’s coach Billy Taylor decided he’d rather have his wits and the moxie of his players tested the second game of the season with a road trip to Big Ten power Illinois Saturday night than to play Wagner. The Engineers played Wagner the second game of the season…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Down, set, hike. The former high school and college quarterback is being rushed from all points, but he is not running anywhere. Parkland coach Rob Melosky is just standing there, taking all the shots and handling the pressure just as he used to do when he was taking snaps from…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Liberty defense was being attacked by air and surrendered a first down to Dieruff on fourth-and-11 with less than two minutes to go at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. Pop, pop, another first down for Dieruff. But junior defensive back Jeremy Kittek intercepted…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Donovan McNabb was rarely stopped when he passed or ran the ball and the Philadelphia Eagles defense roughed up a mistake-prone Dallas Cowboys offense Sunday afternoon in the home opener at Veterans Stadium. The crowd of 65,537 had roared long before kickoff and Dallas could not…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The swagger is still there, though the players who figure to be leading the Bethlehem Catholic charge are different. The speed is also there, maybe more so than in the past. Look out for a junior named Brandon Carter. There is a new team leader, senior quarterback Adam Bednarik,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh University’s rookie men’s basketball coach Billy Taylor has quickly found out how much of a demanding job it is to maintain cohesiveness in a Division I program. Taylor, 28, has also come to understand that there are some things that he just can not control. Like…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Too much has been wrong with the Dieruff High boys basketball program since 1996, starting with apparent neglect of academics for student/athlete and, of course, the continuing number of losses on the court. Tim Geiger, in his first year as the school’s athletic director, is not…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The marketing department at Lehigh University would probably have some fun promoting the men’s basketball program, perhaps billing it as “chocolate delight,” if the man formerly known as “Chocolate Thunder” is hired as the school’s next head coach. Don’t laugh. This is serious.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →His university asked him to stand out more than he does on the basketball court, to project what Lehigh is about in an astute and more vocal way than most student athletes. Bobby Mbom did that time and again, speaking to national scholars entering the school, serving on the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →In the end, all the hustle any coach could expect of his players was there. Victory just was not. Neither was the patience of Lehigh University Athletic Director Joe Sterrett, who decided on Tuesday not to extend the annual coaching contract of men’s head basketball coach Sal…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It was 30 seconds of extreme distress for Penn junior Ugonna Onyekwe, whose six missed free throws in that span allowed Saint Joseph’s to extend a Big 5 thriller to the final buzzer Saturday. The suspense extended for another minute or so while officials Jack Sweeney, Ray Perone…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Darryl Dawkins walked into Larry Holmes’ business office on Wednesday to visit his good friend, the ex-heavyweight champion, and he ended up receiving the most stunning phone call of his post-playing career. Angel East, Holmes’ secretary, told Dawkins that somebody from the NBA…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Mark Borda has turned into pure adrenaline, taking pretty much what he wants on the hardwood in all but one game for Bethlehem Catholic this season. It’s helping the senior make amends for a football season that was cut short because of a night of drinking., which was in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Dust blew off the ripped-up grass field and over the hills as the sun began to set near the close of a businesslike Easton High football practice Thursday evening. There was no smacking of the helmets, no banging up against each other as the Red Rover players jogged off the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Danny Hinds, the 2000-01 Morning Call Player of the Year in boys basketball, lasted one day in practice at Drexel University last weekend. Now, he’s on the Dragons’ disabled list. But his new coach, James “Bruiser” Flint, told him he must make a fast recovery, even though the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Easton Red Rovers have turned Friday night football games into hammer time. They bring it all, suffocating opponents with a quick-pursuing defense and rolling up points behind an offense that clicks running and passing. Good opponent or mediocre, it hasn’t mattered. The…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →New Parkland head football coach Rob Melosky turned to the immaculate building over the hills from the practice field 13 days ago, raised his arms and the enthusiasm in his voice rose. He has the job, the facilities, the program that the other Mountain Valley Conference teams…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A record-breaking high school football season by Parkland High’s Austin Scott was followed by a spring of mistakes, one that resulted in him being expelled from the school in April and forced to attend a private school the rest of the school year. Scott hung out with the wrong…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The gymnasium at the Philadelphia 76ers’ draft headquarters at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic College had nearly emptied Wednesday night/Thursday morning when the phone rang around 12:20 a.m., drawing immediate attention. Everyone knew it was Maurice Cheeks calling. It…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Philadelphia 76ers’ season started with a 29-point drubbing of the New York Knicks on Halloween night at Madison Square Garden. It ended with a disappointing 108-96 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers Friday night in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, concluding a season of sterling…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →One week is all it took for the Philadelphia 76ers to gain command of the Eastern Conference first-round series against the Indiana Pacers, doing so with what has made them great all season — executing in transition. Few teams can run with the Sixers. The Pacers are not one of…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The quarterback stood in the locker room, drying himself off, reflecting back on the pass he had attempted to complete down court. Unlike the football season when he often had to drop back or scramble to get loose, Bethlehem Catholic junior Mark Borda had nobody guarding him.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Jerry Stackhouse is just like all prolific scorers. Every shot looks good to him. And the former No. 1 Philadelphia 76ers draft pick who’s been wearing a Detroit Pistons uniform the last three seasons, doesn’t get tired of shooting. Actually, Stackhouse believes the only way the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →One minute remained in a blowout win over Columbia at Miami Arena on Nov. 21 when Danny Marakovits was told to take off his University of Miami warmup suit and check into his first collegiate basketball game. What could he do in a minute? That really didn’t matter. He was going…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It hasn’t become so bad at Washington Wizards home games that fans are wearing paper bags, but boos are routinely heard around the MCI Center. A sellout crowd of 20,674 packed into the Wizards’ Nov. 3 home opener against the New York Knicks, an 80-76 Washington loss. Over its…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Allen Iverson’s and Larry Brown’s relationship is far from an issue now, but in reality it never was anything more than egos clashing. Think about it. They’re both strong-willed, and both want to control the Philadelphia 76ers. Think about it. Brown, the head coach, calls all…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The shot blazed ahead, bringing some fans from their cold seats and holding players on the field not involved with the play at a standstill. But Emmaus goalie Kyle Grim did not stay frozen. He turned quickly, leaped into the air and got a hand on the ball that had been rapidly…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →So far, both have carried their weight and deflated their opponents to carry 3-0 records into their most challenging regular-season games. Oh, to be a player at Muhlenberg or Moravian. All has gone so right, yet all can become so much better. All both have to do is subdue…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Have you heard the rumbling sound around Liberty High School? It’s the football team stampeding. Have you noticed the two wins and zero losses? That’s the result of playing up to potential. Do you believe Liberty is really that good? It will be time to find out when the…
· Andre D. Williams
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