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.
In the 1970s, Artie Owens often gained inspiration to run hills and practice sprints from watching the Philadelphia Pioneers track team and U.S. Olympic speedster Bob Hayes on Wide World of Sports. The means of motivation worked as Owens went from a three-sport star athlete at…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →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 →During many of his long touchdown runs during the football season, Parkland senior Andre Williams got a good rest before going back out onto the field and trying to go the distance again. Not so in track and field when you run the 110-meter high hurdles and 100 dash, but…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A standout Liberty swimmer is headed to Duke and two star women’s basketball players have decided to extend their athletic and academic careers at Lehigh and Bloomsburg, respectively. The college decisions were announced at a press conference at Liberty’s art gallery Tuesday…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A standout Liberty swimmer is headed to Duke and two star women’s basketball players have decided to extend their athletic and academic careers at Lehigh and Bloomsburg, respectively. The college decisions were announced at a press conference at Liberty’s art gallery Tuesday…
· 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 →— Chanelle Price beat Usain Bolt around the Franklin Field track on Saturday. Amazing, huh? But Price, a sophomore distance standout with the University of Tennessee and former Easton All-American, got to take a victory lap an hour before Bolt after she helped lead the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →She was not vintage Chanelle Price. She was strategical. Competing in her first race since suffering a chest infection 10 days ago, Price ran a solid opening leg for Tennessee in the Championships of America 4×1,500-meter relay at the Penn Relays on Friday at Franklin Field. The…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →“I’m 5-3, between 105, 109 pounds,” she said following a blowout win in the 400-meter dash in a tri-meet at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium Monday afternoon. A junior, Smith is in her first year running track and she has quickly gone from a sprinter nobody knew anything…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Quakertown High School athletic director Sylvia Kalazs considers new head football coach George Banas to be the perfect fit for the Panthers. Twenty candidates applied for the job, vacated in January by John Donnelly, who left to take over the same position at Central Bucks…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty senior Stephen Lewis had an unusual Thursday by most early-season track and field standards. But Lewis has his own expectations and they are high and will rise even higher as the PIAA Track and Field Championship weekend nears. On Thursday, during a dual meet against…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty’s girls track team is just plain loaded, Saucon Valley has a defending state sprint champion who’s even faster this year, Lehighton boasts a multi-event standout, and Whitehall features a vaulting sensation. And because of the all-around strength of defending Lehigh…
· 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 →Bruised at heart, the Lehigh women now seek to ease the pain from another lopsided NCAA Tournament loss by preparing for next season. Topping the list goals is winning the Patriot League title a third straight year, extending its 33-game home winning streak, and beating teams…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →No tears trickled, no heads hung. A daunting task for Lehigh Thursday night was over in Oklahoma City. Overmatched inside the paint and simply not as gifted as No. 1 Kansas, Lehigh failed in its attempt at history and succumbed like every other No. 16 seed in the history of the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →History will have to wait for at least another year. But Lehigh, unruffled by powerhouse Kansas, gave a good shot Thursday night at trying to become the first 16th seed to beat a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. But the the Mountain Hawks, champions of the Pariot League,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh had plenty of fight, but was ultimately wobbled, fatigued and defeated tonight by top-ranked Kansas, 90-74 in an NCAA Tournament Midwest Region first-round game at the Ford Center. Kansas just had too much size, too much second-half kick and denied Lehigh its bid to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Fear did not enter into the hearts of Lehigh players. Never mind the mammoth challenge ahead in Oklahoma City. Excitement still reigned at Goosey Gander in Bethlehem on Sunday when the Patriot League champion Mountain Hawks (22-10) discovered they will play Kansas (32-2) in the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →In the sea of Lehigh students, most dressed in brown, some bare-chested, a spirited group known as “Tricia’s Militia” bounced around with a life-size poster of senior guard Tricia Smith. Just the way Smith, a fifth-year defensive workhorse, plays. It’s a relentless stye that her…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →One game, albeit the biggest of their careers, will not define Lehigh seniors Marquis Hall and Zahir Carrington, All-Patriot League players and all-around good guys away from the court. Sure, Hall and Carrington want to lead Lehigh (21-10) to a victory over Lafayette (19-12) in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Kutztown’s Stephen Dennis went two-for-two in major awards on Wednesday, earning the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East and Daktronics NCAA Division II Atlantic Region player of the year awards. Now, the 6-foot-6 senior guard with the deceptively quick first-step…
· 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 →Lafayette’s Jared Mintz was barefooted, Ryan Willen in flip flops, and their coach, Fran O’Hanlon, had his tie loose. It was easy to be relaxed after what the Leopards accomplished in the Patriot League semifinals on Sunday before a packed and spirited crowd at Kirby Sports…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Patriot League tournament is now about survival and in the case of Lehigh junior guard Prentice Small, about just getting on the floor and staying on it by any means possible. If that means chasing around the opponent’s toughest guard, so be it. If that means, diving…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh is on a 13-game winning streak and has the determination to extend it three more games and advance to the NCAA women’s tournament for a second straight year. Lehigh (26-3) opens defense of its Patriot League tournament title in quarterfinal action at Holy Cross in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →East Stroudsburg guard Andy Heimbach’s 3-pointers looked good, felt good and six times swished through the net. Cheyney appeared helpless trying to stop Heimbach in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference quarterfinal game at Koehler Fieldhouse. “Once Andy made a couple, I had…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh freshman C.J. McCollum was rewarded for his end-to-end domination and Lafayette coach Fran O’Hanlon was honored for leading a team not expected to do well to a third-place finish in the Patriot League regular season. McCollum averaged a league-best 27.8 points over the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Moravian women’s players and coaches were presented with long stem red roses on Monday for winning the school’s first Landmark Conference title. On Friday, Moravian (25-2) will begin chase after the school’s first NCAA Division III title. The DeSales men and women, both…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It was a run of futility. Muhlenberg scored just one field goal over the final 5 minutes, 11 seconds and was outscored 18-2 by McDaniel in the Centennial Conference women’s championship game Sunday at Memorial Hall. Layups, jumpers, free throws were missed, some on airballs. Bad…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →E ast S troudsburg University coach Jeff Wilson didn’t have expectations four years ago that Andy Heimbach would provide highlight-reel dunks. Heimbach, a graduate of Central Catholic, is not that type of player. But he is a shooter, the best in East Stroudsburg’s history from…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lafayette guard Jeff Kari did not write a Senior Day script for Sunday’s Patriot League matchup against Lehigh. It just seemed that way during a second-half stretch where Kari, energized by the crowd, drilling three straight 3-pointers. The Kirby Sports Center crowd went crazy.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →T he Lehigh women own Stabler Arena and, seemingly, every team that visits. A 31-game home winning streak validates it and the Mountain Hawks have no intentions on losing on Saturday night against Lafayette in their final regular-season home game. Lehigh (23-3 overall, 10-1…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →E very year about this time bracketology talk begins in reference to Division I teams who appear in, out of, and on the NCAA Tournament bubble. It’s tough to do such a thing in Division II. But it should not be difficult to determine that Kutztown (20-3) and East Stroudsburg…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Just four regular-season games remain and DeSales men’s coach Scott Coval is three wins shy of his 300th victory. He seems guaranteed to reach the milestone this winter. If he doesn’t, then the close to his 17th season in Center Valley will be a bad one. But the chances are…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The decision of where they wanted to play college football had long been made by Parkland’s Andre Williams, The Morning Call’s player of the year, and star quarterbacks Anthony Gonzalez of Liberty and Tyler Smith of Wilson. But there’s still nothing like the day of unrestrained…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The decision of where they wanted to play college football had long been made by Parkland’s Andre Williams, The Morning Call’s player of the year, and star quarterbacks Anthony Gonzalez of Liberty and Tyler Smith of Wilson. But there’s still nothing like the day of unrestrained…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →— Chuck Bednarik, the Eagles’ Hall of Fame two-way performer, light-heartedly joked about the Super Bowl in the form of a question. “The Super Bowl, that’s a nice name, isn’t it?” he asked, decked out in his Hall of Fame jacket Monday night at the Philadelphia Sports Writers’…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Chuck Bednarik, the Eagles’ Hall of Fame two-way performer, light-heartedly joked about the Super Bowl in the form of a question. “The Super Bowl, that’s a nice name, isn’t it?” he asked, decked out in his Hall of Fame jacket Monday night at the Philadelphia Sports Writers’…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Frances Koons, one of the greatest distance runners in Lehigh Valley history, has had no greater triumph than beating cancer and then returning to the track and again succeeding in national races. The former Villanova All-American hopes to compete for the United States in the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Frances Koons, one of the greatest distance runners in Lehigh Valley history, has had no greater triumph than beating cancer and then returning to the track and again succeeding in national races. The former Villanova All-American hopes to compete for the United States in the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Respect is not something you’d think would have been hard for Plymouth-Whitemarsh, undefeated and the No. 1 team in the state before Sunday, to earn. But Plymouth-Whitemarsh, led by 6-10 St. Joseph’s-bound center C.J. Aiken, is not nationally ranked, probably wasn’t even given…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It’s not all fine and dandy that Lafayette will enter the second half of Patriot League play either in sole possession of first place or tied with Lehigh atop the standings. Never mind that the Leopards were picked to finish last in the league in the preseason. That’s a long…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Moravian shared the ball with extreme pleasure and scored more than 100 points with ease. It was all about balance as six Moravian players scored in double figures in a 108-70 rout of Drew in a Landmark Conference women’s game Friday night at Johnston Hall. It was also about a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Moravian shared the ball with extreme pleasure and scored more than 100 points with ease. It was all about balance as six Moravian players scored in double figures in a 108-70 rout of Drew in a Landmark Conference women’s game Friday night at Johnston Hall. It was also about a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The DeSales men are not among the nation’s ranked teams in Division III, but the Bulldogs are 7-0 in the Freedom Conference and have a two-game lead with seven to play. Which means, barring a collapse, the Bulldogs will win the Freedom title again and have homecourt advantage…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The DeSales men are not among the nation’s ranked teams in Division III, but the Bulldogs are 7-0 in the Freedom Conference and have a two-game lead with seven to play. Which means, barring a collapse, the Bulldogs will win the Freedom title again and have homecourt advantage…
· 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 →The only team Kutztown could not floor with its push-it-to-the-metal style of play was Villanova. Several of the big boy Division I programs have had the same problem. So, there was no shame in Kutztown losing, 110-84 on Nov. 5. Besides, it was only a scrimmage, played at the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The only team Kutztown could not floor with its push-it-to-the-metal style of play was Villanova. Several of the big boy Division I programs have had the same problem. So, there was no shame in Kutztown losing, 110-84 on Nov. 5. Besides, it was only a scrimmage, played at the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Will Witherspoon expressed the feelings of a battered boxer who needs time to heal. It’s not what the Eagles linebacker expected, but there he was on Sunday at his locker at the team’s NovaCare Complex, emotional pain rooted in his heart. “I live and die by the 24-hour rule and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A year ago, Eagles middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter was a couch potato. Watching football on your living room sofa does that, but the Eagles brought Trotter out of retirement this season and he’s not ready to return to flipping television channels. He’d rather try to crack…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A year ago, Eagles middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter was a couch potato. Watching football on your living room sofa does that, but the Eagles brought Trotter out of retirement this season and he’s not ready to return to flipping television channels. He’d rather try to crack…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The road to termination is not easy to accept. There is too much disappointment, emotional pain that lingers, questions about if this or that was done a different way. In the Eagles’ 24-0 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in the regular-season final on Sunday at Cowboys Stadium, not…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The road to termination is not easy to accept. There is too much disappointment, emotional pain that lingers, questions about if this or that was done a different way. In the Eagles’ 24-0 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in the regular-season final on Sunday at Cowboys Stadium, not…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →College football has a new darling — and it’s the Temple Owls. It’s a pretty easy choice. Temple, after all, has not played in a bowl game in 30 years. That drought ends at 4:30 today when the Owls (9-3) play UCLA (6-5) in the EagleBank Bowl at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Chanelle Price won with grace and speed. She won everywhere, except the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials. But Price, the greatest female track and field athlete to ever come out of the Lehigh Valley, will likely get another chance at the Olympics in 2012. “I want to run 1:56, 1:57,”…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Brian Dawkins returned to respect and love. The former standout Eagles safety, attired now in a Denver Broncos uniform, also received loud cheers, a standing ovation and even greater appreciation when fans chanted his name on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field, That’s what you…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Brian Dawkins returned to respect and love. The former standout Eagles safety, attired now in a Denver Broncos uniform, also received loud cheers, a standing ovation and even greater appreciation when fans chanted his name on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field, That’s what you…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Allen Iverson was the Philadelphia 76ers’ version of Lil Wayne during the 2000-2001 NBA season, using his crossover dribble and fearless drives to make the Wachovia Center rock like a hip-hop concert. Fans jammed the arena while Iverson and the Sixers rolled on the court,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Three games, three carries, 14 yards. That was the extent of Austin Scott’s brief and disappointing experience with the Cleveland Browns in the 2008 preseason, a far cry from what happened nearly every time he touched the ball six years earlier. And for Scott, his ex-coaches Rob…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Three games, three carries, 14 yards. That was the extent of Austin Scott’s brief and disappointing experience with the Cleveland Browns in the 2008 preseason, a far cry from what happened nearly every time he touched the ball six years earlier. And for Scott, his ex-coaches Rob…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The San Francisco 49ers had 13 points in the third quarter Sunday and then the Eagles defense put on the freeze. Pressure, disruption, and unyielding defense then took over, especially in the fourth quarter when the Eagles scored a technical knockout. Running back Frank Gore, so…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The San Francisco 49ers scored 13 points in the third quarter Sunday and then the Eagles defense put on the freeze. Pressure, disruption, and unyielding defense then took over, especially in the fourth quarter when the Eagles scored a technical knockout. Running back Frank Gore,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Steve Shiffert is a retired teacher, who has no plans of retiring soon as Easton’s football coach. He still enjoys teaching and building, and of course, winning. Easton went 13-2 this season, twice beating Nazareth and Parkland. A share of the Lehigh Valley Conference title and…
· 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 →The Eagles are loaded with young bucks. Baggy jeans, smokin’ warm-up suits, stylish sneakers, expensive jewelry. They sport it all. Aside from all the bling-bling, the Eagles’ young players, led by second-year pro DeSean Jackson, also play with enthusiasm and beg-for . It’s all…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Eagles are loaded with young bucks. Baggy jeans, smokin’ warm-up suits, stylish sneakers, expensive jewelry. They sport it all. Aside from all the bling-bling, the Eagles’ young players, led by second-year pro DeSean Jackson, also play with enthusiasm and beg-for it. It’s…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Andy Reid reached a coaching milestone on Sunday as he joined Miami’s Don Shula (1970s), Dallas’ Tom Landry (1970s) and New England’s Bill Belichick (this decade) as the only coaches to lead their teams to 100 regular-season victories in a decade. Reid, now in his 11th season…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Andy Reid reached a coaching milestone on Sunday as he joined Miami’s Don Shula (1970s), Dallas’ Tom Landry (1970s) and New England’s Bill Belichick (this decade) as the only coaches to lead their teams to 100 regular-season victories in a decade. Reid, now in his 11th season…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Two ex-Allentown boxers who spilled their share of blood during their careers, made their return to the ring on Saturday. But it was just to pose for pictures. Luis Melendez, a former lightweight, and Art “Breeze” Baylis, a sparring partner for former heavyweight champion Larry…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Central Catholic was taken out of offensive rhythm with five turnovers and picked apart on defense behind the precise passing of Selinsgrove quarterback Cory Briggs Friday night at Kemp Memorial Field. It made for a night of disappointment and the end to a great season as the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Dave McFadden is Central Catholic’s quiet storm on defense. The type of storm that comes up quickly, catching people by surprise, usually wreaking havoc. McFadden causes damage by blowing past the offensive line. He has been quite a force — and in a quiet way — for the Vikings…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton was the first District 11 team to play a Philadelphia team in a PIAA playoff game — in 2004 — and the result was a 15-10 victory over Public League champion George Washington. Five years later, Easton will become the first area team to play a Philadelphia Catholic League…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A llen Ive rson returned to the Sixers on Wednesday, the team he deserves to eventually retire from, right before his No. 3 jersey is retired. He’s back where chapter upon chapter of his great shots, drives, hard falls and unyielding fight were scripted over 10 memorable…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Allen Iverson returned to the Sixers on Wednesday, the team he deserves to eventually retire from, right before his No. 3 jersey is retired. He’s back where chapter upon chapter of his great shots, drives, hard falls and unyielding fight were scripted over 10 memorable seasons.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Asante Samuel makes a lot of noise on the field in practice and in games. His teammates want him to talk, especially since the Eagles’ two-time Pro Bowl cornerback often backs it up. “A silent defense is a scared defense,” Eagles rookie free safety Macho Harris said. “You want…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton extended its decade of playoff domination over Parkland Saturday night. And the way the Red Rovers did it was with a punishing attack on both sides of the ball. The Easton defense, tops in the Lehigh Valley Conference with an 8.5 per game scoring average, stopped Parkland…
· 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 →It was two-sided domination by Easton. On offense, junior quarterback Justin Pacchioli picked apart rival Phillipsburg with his passing and outslicked the Stateliners’ defense with swift runs in the 103rd Thanksgiving Day meeting between the rivals. On defense, senior linebacker…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland again knocks on destiny’s door, hoping another star running back can crash through and carry the Trojans to the District 11 Class 4A title. A mean, stubborn Easton defense awaits, fresh off a punishing effort against rival Phillipsburg on Thanksgiving Day. But punishing…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →O utside of playing in a traditional rivalry game today, the next best thing is practicing for a Thanksgiving weekend playoff game. That’s what Central Catholic, the District 11 Class 3A champion, and Parkland, which is in the District 11 Class 4A title game, are doing this…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →O utside of playing in a traditional rivalry game today, the next best thing is practicing for a Thanksgiving weekend playoff game. That’s what Central Catholic, the District 11 Class 3A champion, and Parkland, which is in the District 11 Class 4A title game, are doing this…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Outside of playing in a traditional rivalry game today, the next best thing is practicing for a Thanksgiving weekend playoff game. That’s what Central Catholic, the District 11 Class 3A champion, and Parkland, which is in the District 11 Class 4A title game, are doing this…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →ARMY 5-6 (Independent) Beat North Texas 17-13 Mike McDermott (Bethlehem Catholic) So. OT, 6-6, 255. Game: Played. BOSTON COLLEGE 7-3, 4-2 (ACC) Lost to North Carolina 31-13 Steve Aponavicius (Easton) Sr. PK, 5-10,. 193. Game: 1-for-1 on PATs; 2-for-2 on FGs, 28 and 20 yards.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →ARMY 5-6(Independent) Beat North Texas 17-13 Mike McDermott (Bethlehem Catholic) So. OT, 6-6, 255. Game: Played. BOSTON COLLEGE 7-3, 4-2 (ACC) Lost to North Carolina 31-13 Steve Aponavicius (Easton) Sr. PK, 5-10,. 193. Game: 1-for-1 on PATs; 2-for-2 on FGs, 28 and 20 yards.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The basket did not have a lid on it. It just seemed like it did on 43 of the 59 shot attempts the Muhlenberg women missed in the Scotty Wood championship game Saturday at Memorial Gymnasium. The Mules missed jumpers, short-range and far away, open as well as tightly defended.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Top-seeded Easton battered and wore down No. 4 Hazleton en route to a 28-6 victory in the District 11-2-4 Class 4A subregional semifinals Friday night at Cottingham Stadium. Easton (11-1) is now faced with its annual improbable task: trying to win three games in eight days. The…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Only two running backs since 2002 have run rampant on the Easton defense. One was Parkland’s Austin Scott in 2002, who carried the Trojans to the PIAA Class 4A title. Two years ago, a less flashy, but more bulldozing back from Hazleton named Nate Eachus ran for 263 yards and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bob Mitchell will retire as Northwestern’s football coach Friday and will take with him the blueprint for success both on and off the field. It’s a blueprint any athletic director in the Lehigh Valley looking to hire a football coach might want Mitchell to share with them. It’s…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bob Mitchell will retire as Northwestern’s football coach Friday and will take with him the blueprint for success both on and off the field. It’s a blueprint any athletic director in the Lehigh Valley looking to hire a football coach might want Mitchell to share with them. It’s…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The beauty of nature in the fall is something Northwestern legendary football coach Bob Mitchell has only heard about over the last three decades. Next fall, he’ll finally get to enjoy it, perhaps holding his grandchild. His daughter Stacey is expected to give birth in February.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The DeSales men’s basketball team tips off its season tonight in Center Valley with a tough player with all-around solid skills expected to lead the show. Senior guard Darnell Braswell, who last year became the school’s first NABC first-team All-American, returns with a jump…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →ARMY 4-6 (Independent) Beat VMI 2-17 Mike McDermott (Bethlehem Catholic) So. OT, 6-6, 255. Game: Played. BOSTON COLLEGE 7-3, 4-2 (ACC) Beat Virginia 14-10 Steve Aponavicius (Easton) Sr. PK, 5-10, 193. Game: 2-for-2 on PATs. Season: 34-for-34 on PATs; 7-for-7 on FGs. BROWN 6-3,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Unruffled by a three-point deficit and sluggish early play, Wilson cranked it up on both sides of the ball and demolished visiting Pottsville 44-19 in the District 11 Class 3A semifinals Saturday afternoon, setting up a dream matchup with Central Catholic. Talked about for weeks…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton bulldozed on offense, bone-crushed on defense and coasted to a 28-0 victory over Nazareth in a District 11-2-4 Class 4A quarterfinal matchup Friday night at Cottingham Stadium. The top-seeded Red Rovers (10-1) have won their last four games by a 132-21 margin, their only…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →No team in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference pushed the ball up the floor faster than the Kutztown men last season and that figures to be the case again. The Golden Bears, who averaged 87.7 points per game en route to a school-best 28-5 record, return senior guard…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Back in the 1960s Nazareth High’s football team filled up the school’s trophy case. “Back them we won championships pretty regularly,” said Easton coach Steve Shiffert, a 1969 Nazareth grad. “Nazareth was the big school. We played Wilson, Bangor, East Stroudsburg. “I think…
· 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 →Tipoff to the 2008-09 men’s and women’s basketball season for Lafayette comes Friday in a doubleheader at Kirby Sports Center. On Monday night at Lafayette’s basketball media day, men’s coach Fran O’Hanlon and women’s coach Tammy Smith, shared thoughts on the upcoming season and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →ARMY 3-6(Independent) Lost to Air Force 35-7 Mike McDermott (Bethlehem Catholic) So. OT, 6-6, 255. Game: Played. BROWN 5-3, 3-2 (Ivy League) Beat Yale 35-21 Brendan Gallagher (Parkland) Sr. LB, 6-1, 225. Game: 1 assisted tackle. Season: 8 solo tackles,10 assisted, 2 INTs, 43…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty quarterback Anthony Gonzalez displayed elusiveness and speed on his first carry, which he ran 70 yards for a touchdown against rival Freedom Saturday afternoon at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. More impressive dashes followed for Gonzalez in a must-win game for…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton no longer has a chip on its shoulder. Instead, the Red Rovers have a bulls-eye on their chest. That’s because a year after having a 10-year district playoff run ended, Easton bullied to a 9-1 regular season record and finished as Lehigh Valley Conference co-champs with…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →All six Lehigh Valley Conference games this weekend have importance, including the Doughnut Bowl Saturday at J. Birney Crum Stadium between Allen and Dieruff. Both those teams are 0-9. All the other games have playoff implications. Central Catholic (8-1, 7-1) and Easton (8-1,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The final score, Villanova 110, Kutztown 84 was not anything for the Golden Bears to be disappointed about Thursday night at the Wachovia Center. There were too many other positives, starting first with just having the opportunity to play a scrimmage in a 20,000-seat arena…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Creating a “Wild, Wild East” slogan for Lehigh Valley Conference football may not be a bad idea, especially for this season. It’s been a wild and entertaining season in the LVC and it could end with Easton (8-1 overall, 7-1 LVC), Central Catholic (8-1, 7-1) and Parkland (7-2,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →As the top of the ninth inning was about to start in Game 6 of the World Series, Bill Tress turned to his mother, who was sitting among nervous Phillies fans, and blurted out, “Let’s go baby, No. 27,” at Pizza Como USA 50 Yard Line Sports Bar in Bethlehem. A night of emotional…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →BOSTON COLLEGE 6-3(ACC) Beat Central Michigan 31-10 Steve Aponavicius (Easton) Sr. PK, 5-10,. 193. Game: 3-for-3 on PATs, 18-yard FG. Season: 32-for-32 on PATs; 7-for-7 on FGs. BROWN 4-3, 2-2 (Ivy League) Lost to Penn 14-7 Brendan Gallagher (Parkland) Sr. LB, 6-1, 225. Game: 1…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton boiled with emotion and played with unstoppable force on both sides of the ball to thwart Lehigh Valley Conference rival Liberty 28-7 on Senior Night Friday at Cottingham Stadium. Statistically, Liberty outgained Easton, 293-135. But Easton worked on a short field most of…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →I t’s Easton vs. Liberty tonight at Cottingham Stadium in what could be the first of two meetings between the Lehigh Valley Conference powerhouses this season. They could meet again in come in the District 11-2-4 Class 4A subregional playoffs as they did in 2005 and 2006. Easton…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →As the season turned into a rollercoaster ride, Whitehall essentially stared in the mirror and readjusted its goal. Not many teams do that because the mentality is often all-or-nothing. Can’t argue with that, but there probably isn’t a football player in the Lehigh Valley…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty played with punch on both sides of the ball to knock Nazareth out of a much-hyped Lehigh Valley Conference game early in the first quarter Friday night. Ahead 21-0 after the first, Liberty added 14 more points in the second quarter and breezed through the rain and chill…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Trap games do exist in high school football. Emmaus, Easton and Liberty will try to avoid them tonight in Lehigh Valley Conference matchups that have District 11-2-4 Class 4A subregional playoff implications. Next week is the traditional rivalry showdowns, featuring Emmaus…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Following six straight seasons of three wins or less, Nazareth’s football team is displaying a new mental and physical toughness this season. Already a winner of four games in 2009, Nazareth is playing tougher football because second-year coach Rob Melosky has refused to listen…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton deflated Freedom’s defense with a 19-play, 66-yard scoring drive that took up most of the fourth quarter Friday night at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. Then the Red Rovers clinched a 14-10 Lehigh Valley Conference victory because of their own rugged defense.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The intensity level in the Easton vs. Freedom Lehigh Valley Conference matchup tonight at Bethlehem Area school District Stadium will be so high that a lot of players may be very sore when they wake up Saturday morning. “When Bethlehem [schools] and Easton get together the kids…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Former high school quarterbacks from Emmaus and Parkland will meet for the first time in college on Saturday in Orono, Maine. A major streak will be on the line. Defending Football Championship Subdivision champion Richmond (5-0 overall, 3-0 Colonial Athletic Association) enters…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →ARMY 3-3 (Independent) Beat Vanderbilt 16-13 (OT) Mike McDermott (Bethlehem Catholic) So. OT, 6-6, 255. Game: Played. BOSTON COLLEGE 4-2, 2-2 (ACC) Lost to Virginia Tech 48-14 Steve Aponavicius (Easton) Sr. PK, 5-10,. 193. Game: 2-for-2 on PATs. Season: 20-for-20 on PATs;…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The top two playmakers, Liberty seniors Anthony Gonzalez and Jarrod West, had already made their share of standout plays in their final homecoming game Friday night at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. Senior kicker Jordan Roman then joined in the fun when he booted a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Central Catholic’s bid for the perfect season continues Saturday night at J. Birney Crum Stadium. The Vikings (5-0, 4-0) are the lone undefeated Lehigh Valley Conference team and will rely on sophomore quarterback Brendan Nosovitch, a threat running and passing, to try to topple…
· 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 →Central Catholic football players and coaches did not dwell on what happened at the end of last season. The Vikings’ parents, on the other hand, probably stewed for a while over the school administration’s decision to reject an Eastern Conference Class 3A playoff invitation.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →ARMY 2-2 (Independent) Lost to Iowa State 31-10 Mike McDermott (Bethlehem Catholic) So. OT, 6-6, 255. Game: Played. BOSTON COLLEGE 3-1, 1-1 (ACC) Beat Wake Forest 27-24 (2 OT) Steve Aponavicius (Easton) Sr. PK, 5-10, 193. Game: 3-for-3 on PAT, 2-for-2 on FGs of 32, 23 yards.…
· 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 →No Lehigh Valley Conference team is going to pick on Easton this season. Sounds weird saying “pick on” and “Easton” in the same sentence, but last season the Red Rovers lost five games to LVC opponents by a 112-0 margin. Luckily for the Easton players, coach Steve Shiffert…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →BOSTON COLLEGE 2-1, 0-1 (ACC) Lost to Clemson 25-7 Steve Aponavicius (Easton) Sr. PK, 5-10, 193. Game: 1-for-1 on PATs. Season: 11-for-11 on PATs; 3-for-3 on FGs. BUCKNELL 1-2 (Patriot League) Lost to Cornell 33-9 Anthony Carter (Freedom) So. OL, 6-0, 275. Game: Started. BUFFALO…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →In the previous two seasons, Easton was not a serious contender for the Lehigh Valley Conference title. Last season, without four-year starter and four-year Morning Call all-area defensive back Jarred Holley — now a redshirt freshman at Pittsburgh — Easton didn’t even post a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty senior quarterback Anthony Gonzalez got to see a classic Miami and Florida State college football game in person in on Sept. 7. Florida State lost, 38-34, but that’s not the reason Gonzalez won’t be packing his bags and relocating to Tallahassee next fall to play for the…
· 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 →Donovan McNabb now has two backups who’ve played in multiple Pro Bowls. But it’s unknown how long McNabb, Michael Vick and Jeff Garcia, who was signed to a one-year deal on Monday, will be “Three’s Company.” For now, with Vick not eligible to return until Week 3 and with McNabb…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Donovan McNabb now has an A-team of offensive talent with a line eager to block, mash and clear the way to help him finally get his finger fitted with the one ring that has eluded him and every Philadelphia Eagles quarterback before him. And that’s a Super Bowl ring. McNabb, who…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland backup defensive back Dan Castillo has been called nicknames that no football player wants to be called. “I get it all,” he said. “Tiny, midget, munchkin.” Well, he is only 5 feet, 5 inches tall. But he probably felt taller than the PPL building in Allentown after…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Brian Westbrook has returned to practicing with the Philadelphia Eagles, but rookie LeSean McCoy will start with the first team offense in the Eagles’ preseason road game against the Indianapolis Colts Thursday night. A slap in the face to the Pro Bowl running back? Not even…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →At the University of Cincinnati, the game plan for tight end Brent Celek was to block first then block again. That’s usually the main job of a tight end. But the Philadelphia Eagles have discovered that the 6-foot-4, 255-pound Celek also has good hands and can make a nifty…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A season of high expectations for the Philadelphia Eagles’ is not totally lost because of the rash of injuries in training camp which may have prevented total chemistry and consistency from being developed. It’s three days before the first preseason game and not three days…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Attack at will. That was the mentality of the Eagles defense under Jim Johnson the previous 10 seasons and nothing figures to change now that his understudy, Sean McDermott, is the defensive coordinator. McDermott is not yet the mastermind Johnson was considered around the NFL,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The arrest of defensive end Juqua Parker hours earlier did not appear to dampen the mood of Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie as he made his annual state of the team address Wednesday morning at Lehigh University’s Goodman Campus. Lurie said it was “improper” to talk about…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Remember Allen Iverson’s famous practice quote from 2002? “We’re talking about practice,” the former Philadelphia Sixers’ guard said in response to being criticized by then-coach Larry Brown about his practice habits after the Sixers’ were eliminated in the first-round of the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Kevin Curtis refuses to become the forgotten wide receiver in the Philadelphia Eagles’ offense. He wants to return to the level he reached in 2007, his first season with the team, when he excelled with career highs in catches (77) and touchdowns (8). On Thursday at Lehigh…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The University of Florida won the national football championship last season and all tight end Cornelius Ingram could do was watch from the sidelines because of an injury. He tore his anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during practice — on a noncontact play — before the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →In the locker room after the Philadelphia Eagles lost the NFC championship game to the Arizona Cardinals in January, defensive coordinator Jim Johnson apologized to the Eagles owner for his defense not coming up with more stops. “Oh my God, Jim, I’ve got the best defensive…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Donovan McNabb enters his 11th season as the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, closing in on another 30-something club. Actually, a 30,000-something club. The five-time Pro Bowler, who turns 33 in November, enters training camp at Lehigh University on Monday with a stronger cast…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Philadelphia Eagles fell one game shy of playing in the franchise’s third Super Bowl last season. That they even made it to the NFC Championship Game, following a 5-4-1 start that included a midseason benching of quarterback Donovan McNabb, was impressive. Though they lost…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The U.S. Women’s Open was stirred by Creamermania on Friday. And Ochoamania. And Kerrmania. Paula Creamer, though, had the most frenzied support as the 22-year-old from Pleasanton, Calif., played with flamboyance during the second round at Saucon Valley Country Club. She was…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Alexis Thompson and Jessica Korda are too young to expect the world, but both feel like they’re on top of it after un-kid-like first rounds of play at the U.S. Women’s Open on Thursday. Both admitted to being nervous when they arrived at Saucon Valley Country Club for the 64th…
· 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 →Everything quickly fell in place on Jarrod West’s visit to Stanford University last weekend. Before he left the scenic Pac-10 school in California with his mother and father, West had verbally committed to coach Jim Harbaugh’s Cardinal football program. “When you go to these…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It was 1 yard and no more. But it was “no mas.” A stop by Northampton’s Aaron Chamberlain on a fourth-and-3 with the help of other gang-tacklers, was the game-saving play of the 39th annual McDonald’s Lehigh Valley Football Classic Thursday night. Only 10 points had been scored…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Kyle Pochek and Matt Stengel became stepbrothers when they were 6 years old. Helped by a mutual interest in football, bonding became easy. They competed on the same teams through high school at Southern Lehigh, and tonight they’ll compete as all-stars on the Lehigh, Carbon and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →For one game, their last as high school football players, Liberty’s Brandon Brader and Freedom’s Eddie Mateo will compete as teammates. And the two star running backs hope to put on a show. No better showcase than an all-star game. Mateo, who’s headed to Stony Brook University…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The drama was high. Less than 10 seconds remained in Saturday night’s Big 33 Football Classic at Hersheypark Stadium, and Pennsylvania was inside the 40-yard line, trailing by a touchdown. It seemed like Liberty against Bethel Park all over again, and Hurricanes wideout Devin…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty’s Devin Street has done a lot of eating, socializing and building confidence this week. Tonight, the 6-foot-4 wideout hopes to help Pennsylvania extend its winning streak against Ohio in the Big 33 Football Classic to four games. Kickoff of the 52nd annual game is at 7…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →This has been a month of all-star football for Liberty linebacker Daryl Klotz. On June 7, he played in the New Jersey-Northeast All-Star Classic at Rutgers University. Tonight, the Hurricane star who often had more blood stains than dirt spots on his uniform after games, will…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Two-a-day practices have not bothered Freedom’s Jermel Lee this week. He used to hate them during the early days of summer practice back in Bethlehem. But Lee, a Morning Call all-area defensive back last season, has practiced with all-state players from Pennsylvania this week…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →You do not need to be an all-state player or get a scholarship to a big-name college to get selected to play in the Big 33 Football Classic. Liberty linebacker Horvin Latimer is proof of that. But he was an easy sell to the Pennsylvania coaches, who believe Latimer is capable of…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Freedom’s Jermel Lee rolled over, smacked the floor and said to Liberty’s Devin Street, “I’m going home.” Street had just remarked how Liberty beat Freedom twice last season, including 28-14 in the District 11 Class 4A final en route to winning the PIAA Class 4A Championship. “I…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →One race on tired legs that Wilson senior Anthony Davidson lost by a slim margin did little to detract from the astounding two-week period he had running the 400-meter dash. No Lehigh Valley sprinter had ever run under 48 seconds in the 400 — and Davidson did it three times over…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →— Bethlehem Catholic sprinter Hansol Song had one thing on his mind before the start of the Class 2A 400-meter relay final in the PIAA Track and Field Championships on Saturday at Seth Grove Stadium. It might have seemed crazy to some. “I was thinking I will break my legs just…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Wilson senior Anthony Davidson is on the verge of pulling off a rare feat in the PIAA Track and Field Championships. A year after winning the Class 2A 400-meter dash, Davidson made huge strides toward validating himself as the best in Class 3A at Shippensburg University. Focused…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Top-seeded Emmaus unleashed shots on goal fast, building a 6-0 lead before the concession stand had even opened up Wednesday at J. Birney Crum Stadium. The Green Hornets stayed on strong attack, led by Dan Kinek and Will Scott, to bombard Easton 15-4 in a District 11 boys…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It was cloudy, unseasonably cool and occasionally rainy. The weather, however, didn’t prevent Wilson senior Anthony Davidson and other top District 11 sprinters from blazing to impressive victories in the boys Class 2A and 3A track and field championships on Thursday at…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It’s time to run fast, throw far, jump and vault high. It’s time to be better than just good. It’s time to win a District 11 track and field medal, preferably gold. Sprinters Anthony Davidson of Wilson and Bethlehem Catholic’s Tevrin Brandon are confident they’ll achieve their…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Combine the number of athletes on the Bethlehem Catholic, Liberty and Freedom track and field teams and it still wouldn’t equal the size of Parkland’s team. The Trojans have 368 male and female participants, a program record. It sometimes makes the Parkland squad look like a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Wilson’s Anthony Davidson had one race left and he faced a deficit in the final leg of the 1,600-meter relay on Thursday. Anticipation built as Davidson took the baton, seeking a fourth gold medal in the Colonial League Track and Field Championships at Bangor Memorial Park.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Make no mistake, Saucon Valley’s Alyssa Lombardo is young. Just not as young as she was listed in the program for the Colonial League Track and Field Championships on Thursday at Bangor Memorial Park. “They have me listed as a freshman” Lombardo said in a calm and composed…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Motivated to carry her 3,200-meter relay team into her school’s record book, Emmaus senior Lindsey Graybill took the baton and raced the Green Hornets to a convincing victory in the Lehigh Valley Conference track and field championships at J. Birney Crum Stadium on Wednesday.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Whitehall’s Doug Henninger won with strength and Easton’s David Hightower won with speed and crisp hurdling. Then, there was Parkland’s Matt Gillette, who used long strides and a solid finishing kick to anchor the Trojans to victory in the 3,200-meter relay before closing out…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Rich Sniscak listened in amazement as one inspiring story after another was told. Then Sniscak, the former star Dieruff High football-player-turned-Parkland High football coach/administrator, got his chance to tell stories Friday night at the Lehigh Valley Chapter of the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Freedom senior Dan McLaughlin prepared for the Liberty-Freedom track and field meet Monday by isolating himself before heading to Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. “I went home, listened to my music, tried to get myself psyched for it,” he said. “I was trying to get myself…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Anthony Gonzalez was in Liberty High’s weight room Tuesday afternoon when he was told to take a break by his coach. It ended up being the best break of his life. Three U.S. Army recruiters were waiting for him, very important paperwork in hand. Gonzalez’s teammates crowed…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A nip-and-tuck 3,200-meter relay turned lopsided once University of Tennessee freshman sensation Chanelle Price took the baton for the second leg Saturday. The former Easton High middle distance state and national champion has a history of racing away from the pack. Fueled by…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It was Tennessee’s Chanelle Price, then Villanova’s Frances Koons, one former Lehigh Valley high school track and field All-American following another. Both had memorable runs in the college women’s distance medley Championship of America relay Thursday at the Penn Relays. It…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Editor’s note: Today is the second article in a weekly series of Q&As;, including video, with participants in Gatorade’s Easton-Phillipsburg Replay football game at 3 p.m., April 26, at Lafayette College’s Fisher Field. Gatorade required The Morning Call to submit questions to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Nothing’s popping in track and field just yet. Many coaches prefer to keep it that way this early by not having any of their league- and district-title hopefuls pull muscles that could linger the entire season. The more serious meets are the Penn Relays April 23-25 and Allentown…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Jamelle Cornley set the tone for Penn State early with his hustle, scoring, relentless defense and the heart of a lion Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. Talor Battle, scoreless in the first half, came on in the second half, but Penn State’s 69-63 win over Baylor for the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Th ousands of Penn State fans roared throughout and Talor Battle and his Nittany Lions teammates responded with a near first-half knockout of Notre Dame Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. Back in the NIT semifinals for the first time since 2000, Penn State treated its fans…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland two-sport star Jaleel Clark added another all-state honor to his remarkable high school resume Monday. Clark, the 6-foot-5 centerpiece of the Trojans’ 26-4 team that advanced to the PIAA Class 4A quarterfinals, was named to the Associated Press Class 4A third team. The…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Penn State has been to Madison Square Garden four times since 1990 and has three semifinal losses and one championship game defeat to show for it. This year, the Nittany Lions are hoping for a more memorable experience. Senior forward Jamelle Cornley doesn’t see how it will not…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Wilson senior Anthony Davidson, the 2008 PIAA Class 2A track and field champion in the 400-meter dash, and Palmerton senior Austin Cseh, the state runner-up to Davidson, headline the top boys returners this spring. Newcomer Andre Williams, a junior at Parkland who transferred…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The DeSales men’s and women’s basketball programs earned a piece of the national spotlight over the weekend during the NCAA Division III’s championship weekend. Darnell Braswell, the ex-Allen High star, wished that it would have been because of what he and his teammates…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Lehigh University women’s basketball team went on a sightseeing tour of New York City Thursday night. Something unexpected happened. “We went to David and Buster’s and watched American play Villanova,” said sophomore guard Erica Prosser with a sparkle in her eyes on Friday…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The greatest men’s basketball season in Kutztown University history can be extended — or ended — tonight in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region final at Gannon University’s Hammermill Center in Erie. Coach Bernie Driscoll says it comes down to whether the Golden Bears can…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The final buzzer sounded and DeSales junior guard Darnell Braswell froze near half-court. Seconds later, the Bulldogs leading scorer and inspirational leader lifted up and bit hard on his jersey as he walked slowly off Franklin & Marshall’s Mayser Center court. A spectacular…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Melissa Rich never got discouraged when she went from starting forward her sophomore and junior seasons at Lehigh to a backup role earlier this season. The former Parkland High star just believed that she’d eventually get her opportunity to deliver in the clutch for Lehigh. That…
· 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 Kutztown men are back in the NCAA Division II basketball tournament for the first time since 1988, and hope to stick around for a while. In Division III, the DeSales men and Muhlenberg women have reached the “Sweet 16” and hope to continue playing on. The Golden Bears,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It’s Brown and White against Maroon and White. It’s Bethlehem against Easton. For the first time since 1997, it’s Lehigh against Lafayette for the Patriot League women’s basketball tournament title at 6 tonight at Stabler Arena. It seemed like an unlikely showdown when the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Led by a trio of pesky guards, Lehigh cranked it up and blitzed Army with 14 consecutive second-half points Sunday afternoon. That decisive run enabled the Mountain Hawks to turn a two-point deficit into a 12-point advantage in the Patriot League women’s tournament semifinals at…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →March is filled with Cinderella tales and Lafayette is writing its own in the Patriot League women’s tournament. Loser of 10 in a row entering the postseason, seventh-seeded Lafayette turned the seemingly improbable into a reality with its second consecutive win, a 62-55…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →For spring break entertainment the Muhlenberg women’s team gets to take a 430-mile bus trip to Brunswick, Maine, for at least one NCAA Division III tournament game Friday. “Outside of maybe going to Alaska, I’m not sure if there is a place farther away that they would not want…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →If one finger roll doesn’t work, try another and another. That’s what Kutztown’s high-scoring backcourt duo, senior Dave Ben and junior Stephen Dennis, did in the final 20 seconds of the Golden Bears’ 97-86 win over Mansfield in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The DeSales men’s and women’s basketball teams, the Muhlenberg and Moravian women’s teams, are all NCAA Division III Tournament-bound. The DeSales men and women and Muhlenberg women earned automatic berths by winning their conference tournaments over the weekend. The Moravian…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Hold nothing back, finish strong. That was the message from Muhlenberg coach Ron Rohn to his players with less than two minutes remaining in the Centennial Conference championship game Sunday afternoon at Memorial Hall. Erin McSherry, the 6-foot-1 senior center, then made a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lafayette has a young basketball team that has been on a seesaw ride all season. Four days after an emotional win over rival Lehigh, the Leopards missed a barrage of jumpers, layups and free throws against Army Wednesday night at Kirby Sports Center. The lethargic shooting — not…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lafayette has a young basketball team that has been on a seesaw ride all season. Four days after an emotional win over rival Lehigh, the Leopards missed a barrage of jumpers, layups and free throws against Army Wednesday night at Kirby Sports Center. The lethargic shooting — not…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Muhlenberg College women achieved Centennial Conference perfection. It wasn’t easy. Deadlocked 65-65 with Ursinus in the final seconds last Saturday, freshman guard Alexandra Chili drilled a 3-pointer that lifted the Mules to a 68-65 road win and became the first team to go…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Women’s college basketball is at its all-time best in the Lehigh Valley this winter and Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan hopes his city will bank on Lehigh’s success. The Patriot League women’s basketball tournament, hosted by Lehigh, is March 7-8 at Stabler Arena, and will be…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →There’s nothing like handling your own business. Muhlenberg could have lost its final two regular-season games and still backed into the Centennial Conference playoffs. But the prospect of that did not sit well with the Mules, who relied on balanced scoring and perfect…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It’s imaginable to go undefeated in conference play. It just doesn’t happen too often on any level in college basketball. Which is why the Muhlenberg women, 16-0 in Centennial Conference play, are determined to win at Dickinson tonight and at Ursinus on Saturday to close out the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →DeSales and Muhlenberg took breaks away from conference play to compete against each other in a non-league game Monday night in Center Valley. But it was no breather for either team. It was a physical, heart-stopping game that wasn’t decided until the final 10 seconds. DeSales’…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Freedom High senior Eddie Mateo was down to the final days and his mind was about made up to sign a National Letter of Intent to attend NCAA Division II Bloomsburg University. All it took was just his signature on dotted lines during Wednesday’s Signing Day. Mateo, an Associated…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland senior field hockey player Kyle DeSandes-Moyer signed her National Letter of Intent inside the school’s auditorium on Wednesday. Kisses from her mother and father followed, in addition to extended pound-pounds of the hand with her father, which drew laughter.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Levi Brown, an all-state defensive lineman at Liberty, pointed jubilantly to the Temple Owls’ hat on his head, then smiled as he looked out into the standing room-only crowd inside the school’s Arts Gallery on Wednesday. Liberty football coach Tim Moncman then came up and rubbed…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Cedar Crest College is now on the Division III national basketball map and has developed marketing schemes to try to bring more fans to tiny Less Gymnasium in West Allentown. Thursday night, the Falcons promoted their Colonial States Athletic Conference home game against…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh and Lafayette are both winless on the road in Patriot League games and that does not bode well for Lehigh on Saturday afternoon, because that’s when the Mountain Hawks will visit the Leopards at Kirby Sports Center. Lafayette is 2-0 at home and beat expected Patriot…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The drive from Hellertown to East Stroudsburg University never seems that long to Warriors coach Jeff Wilson. It’s something he has enjoyed. “I’ve found whether it’s going to work or coming home from work it’s a good time to get some reflection done,” said Wilson, who’s in his…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Brian Hunter is back to running the break, slashing down the lane and playing the type of quality minutes he never got the opportunity to play at Lehigh last season. But Hunter transferred to DeSales, a Division III program that appears to be a much better fit for the 6-foot-3…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Defensive stops started to become tough, offensive makes even tougher in the final 12 minutes for the DeSales men Sunday. As a result, a school-record nine consecutive wins to open the season ended. But junior guard Darnell Braswell, an Allen graduate, refused to be disheartened…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty football coach Tim Moncman called his team the “Land of the Misfit Toys” because of the diverse lifestyles his players have. Here’s another name: state champions . It wasn’t easy to accomplish. After all, Liberty lost in the PIAA Class 4A final in 2005 and 2006. But the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The road to Hershey was still the same — long and winding. But the road back was different than the one in 2005 and 2006. That’s because Liberty, fueled by big plays from two-way star Anthony Gonzalez, relentless blocking from Levi Brown and other linemen, and punishing tackles…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A week after Liberty High coach Tim Moncman and his star player Anthony Gonzalez shared tears, hugs and the glory of winning the school’s first state football title, the dynamic duo made a sweep of the Associated Press’ All-State Class 4A top honors. Moncman, who has managed the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →For Liberty High fans, it was Anthony Gonzalez, the Hurricanes’ two-way star, who took over the PIAA Class 4A championship game against Bethel Park in overtime last Saturday in Hershey. For his mother, Nancy Mojica, it was just her baby boy finding a way to lead his team to a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Former Central Catholic High standout football player David Horton has one goal for tonight’s Football Championship Subdivision title game. Horton, a 2005 Central graduate, is a redshirt junior who starts at defensive back for Richmond. The Spiders meet Montana (14-1) in the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Hours after Liberty’s dramatic 28-21 overtime win over Bethel Park in the PIAA Class 4A title game in Hershey on Saturday night, Hurricanes coach Tim Moncman had a gift from his neighbor waiting for him when he came home. “I got home at 2:30 and the next-door neighbor had taped…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Overtime belonged to Liberty. Junior two-way star Anthony Gonzalez made sure of it against Bethel Park in the PIAA Class 4A championship game Saturday night at Hersheypark Stadium. “Everybody wanted to win the first state title in school history,” Gonzalez said. “We were not…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bethel Park High has advanced to its first PIAA Class 4A football final, helped by fundamentally sound play and luck, according to its coach, Jeff Metheny. The Black Hawks, after all, are 15-0 and have won each of their last three playoff games by four points or less. “There are…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Daniel Curatola suffered a broken collarbone while playing pick-up football during his sophomore year at Bethlehem High and his parents refused to let him play on the school’s varsity team — in 1935. He had hoped to play because he wanted to be part of a program that he said…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The hug that warms Liberty senior Devin Street’s heart and motivates him to play his best comes before each kickoff and often throughout games. His father, Ted, an assistant coach at Liberty, has been one of his coaches since he was 5 years old. And Ted Street figures he’ll shed…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Some players listen to iPods or Walkmans before games. Liberty senior defensive tackle Al Pujols gets his peace of mind by reading a book. “I read as much as I can and sometimes I read on the bus,” Pujols said. “Sometimes I do it at home, but once I get home I’m usually tired.”…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Nazareth coach Rob Melosky hopes that he’ll be joined by Liberty coach Tim Moncman in a glorious company of coaches who have led a Lehigh Valley team to the PIAA Class 4A football title. Since 2002 when Melosky coached Parkland — powered by the record-breaking feats of running…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Sunday was the day after Liberty senior Daryl Klotz carried the ball a season-high 19 times, absorbing one hard hit after another by North Penn defenders in the PIAA Class 4A Eastern final on in Coatesville. Sunday is considered a day of rest, and Klotz took advantage of it.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Freedom fans may find it interesting that an alumnus of the school is leading rival Liberty in its greatest football era. Tim Moncman, a 1987 Freedom graduate, is 80-29 in nine seasons as Liberty’s coach and led the Hurricanes to PIAA Class 4A runner-up finishes in 2005 and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty appears headed for another grueling PIAA Class 4A Eastern final against North Penn, one that figures to be dominated by defense. That was the case in the 2005 state semifinal when Liberty edged North Penn, 14-12. This season, Liberty’s defense has been overshadowed again…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Brandon McManus is the only four-year starting kicker in North Penn history, and he’s been one of the most effective Knights under pressure. “I’m a big fan of pressure,” McManus said. “I’ve liked it my whole life.” North Penn (14-0) averages 36.7 points per game mostly because…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Christian Rodriguez was the backup quarterback to Dan Persa on Liberty’s 2006 PIAA Class 4A runner-up team as a sophomore, and it appeared that he was destined to be the starter the next two seasons. Athletic, 6-foot and almost 200 pounds, Rodriguez appeared to have all the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Having to pick a poison is never a good thing. It’s usually devastating either way you look at it. George Washington High, the Philadelphia city champion, swarmed to the line of scrimmage and contained the rushing attack that has made Liberty so potent all season. No problem for…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty today tries to extend its winning streak to 13 games and prevent a Philadelphia Public League team from achieving history. Liberty (12-1), coming off a 28-14 win over Freedom for the District 11 title last Saturday, plays District 12 champion George Washington (10-1) in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty has dominated 50 out of 52 quarters it has played this season. The only two quarters it has not owned was in the first half against North Penn. Blocking assignments were missed and it caused the high-powered Hurricanes to stay out of sync and trail 20-0 at halftime. Levi…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →BOSTON COLLEGE 8-3, 4-3 (Atlantic Coast Conference) Beat Wake Forest 24-21 Steve Aponavicius (Easton) Sr. PK, 5-10, 198. Game: 1-for-1 on PATs; 3-for-3 on FGs. Season: 34-for-34 on PATs; 13-for-20 on FGs. BROWN 7-3 6-1 (Ivy League) Beat Columbia 41-10 Brendan Gallagher…
· 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 →Liberty’s offensive linemen pounded and pounded away, plowing Freedom linemen out of the way to open wide holes for junior quarterback Anthony Gonzalez to run through Saturday afternoon. And, boy, did Gonzalez run. Left, right and up the middle with dazzling speed. An elusive…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Senior running backs Brandon Brader of Liberty and Eddie Mateo of Freedom have been rivals since middle school. They’ve also been good friends and admired each other’s feats. But it wasn’t until last week when one of them decided to nickname the other. “He’s Superman,” Mateo…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →With all five starters back, including all-conference preseason picks Stephen Dennis and Dave Ben, it appeared easy for Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference coaches to tab Kutztown as the team to beat. The Golden Bears were 19-9 last year, and with 80 percent of their offense…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →ALBANY 8-3, 7-0 (Northeast Conference) Beat Wagner 30-11 Justin Peterson (Palmerton) Fr. RB 6-0, 225. Game: 1 carry, 0 yards. Season: 8 catches, 58 yards, 1 TD; 1 carry, 0 yards; 1 solo tackle, 3 assisted tackles, 1 forced fumble. BOSTON COLLEGE 7-3, 3-3 (Atlantic Coast…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The DeSales women missed a barrage of shots — many from close range — as they fell into a nine-point second-half deficit Sunday afternoon. For most teams that might have been the time to push the panic button, but not for d3hoops.com All-American LeighAnn Burke and her…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It’s hard to down lay a team that returns four starters, each a double-figure scorer, but Moravian women’s basketball coach Mary Beth Spirk is still attempting it. Good try coach, but it won’t work. Moravian, coming off a 16-11 season, was picked to finish first in the Landmark…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty senior tailback Brandon Brader might have been perceived as selfish if he asked his teammates to carry him off the field Friday night at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. After all, Hurricanes junior quarterback Anthony Gonzalez outrushed him by 61 yards in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Tammy Smith had been waiting for last season to come. She waited seven years for it. The Lafayette women’s basketball team was 14-16 in 2007-08, its best record in her tenure. It was a R-E-L-I-E-F. The Leopards were just 27-143 in Smith’s first six seasons, finishing in last…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Somebody has to score when Liberty and Emmaus meet in the District 11-2 Class 4A subregional semifinals tonight at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. Even if it’s just by a safety, which is not all that farfetched considering the way No. 2 seed Liberty (10-1) and No. 3…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The DeSales women do not slack off during practice. Senior guards LeighAnn Burke and Kim Rarick, and junior forward Caitlyn Miller won’t allow it. “They only know how to work hard,” DeSales coach Fred Richter said. “We give a practice player of the week [award] out. You might…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Juliene Simpson has returned as the East Stroudsburg women’s coach after taking a year off for personal reasons and the veteran coach has two local players also back who could help make for a good season. Jackie Yandrisevits, a 5-foot-9 senior forward from Nazareth and DeAnna…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The player-hater fans need not waste their time harassing East Stroudsburg center Chris Bach with old man jokes this season. It didn’t work last season as Bach proved that 30 isn’t too old to be an effective college basketball player. The 6-foot-9 Bach averaged 11.7 points and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland senior Jaleel Clark made one Liberty coverage player miss, then he eluded another and continued to race up field en route to a 38-yard punt return Friday night. It was his only memorable play in the Trojans’ 19-0 loss in the District 11-2 Class 4A subregional…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →ALBANY 7-3, 6-0 (Northeast Conference) Beat Robert Morris 41-7 Justin Peterson (Palmerton) Fr. RB 2-0, 225. Game: 3 catches, 33 yards. Season: 8 catches, 58 yards, 1 TD; 1 solo tackle, 3 assisted tackles, 1 forced fumble. BOSTON COLLEGE 6-3 (Atlantic Coast Conference) Beat Notre…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Freedom manufactured three scoring drives of less than 30 seconds and went the distance in less than three minutes in four other drives Saturday afternoon. Wyoming Valley West, a District 2 foe, tried to counter with wideout Muhammad Ali, who broke tackles and beat defensive…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty controlled the line of scrimmage and the clock, which put Parkland in an essentially no-win situation in the rematch between Lehigh Valley Conference foes Friday night at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. Liberty has now made a habit of dominating opponents. Last…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty enters its first-ever district playoff game against Parkland tonight with two senior linebackers who are determined to have fun. Never mind that fun for Daryl Klotz and Horvin Latimer is administering punishment. “We like to tackle and hit people,” Latimer said. “Yeah,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton is a proud football program with a winning tradition that’s much longer than any other Lehigh Valley Conference team, but the Red Rovers’ administration and coaches did not let their pride get in the way of making a smart decision that will benefit their players. Which is…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →ALBANY 6-3, 5-0 (Northeast Conference) Beat Monmouth 35-17 Justin Peterson (Palmerton) Fr. RB 6-0, 225. Game: 1 solo tackle, 1 assisted, 1 forced fumble. Season: 5 catches, 25 yards, 1 TD; 1 solo tackle, 3 assisted tackles, 1 forced fumble. BOSTON COLLEGE 5-3, 2-3 (Atlantic…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It was about control. Liberty had it in the trenches, led by big Levi Brown, whose emphatic blocking helped clear the way for quarterback Anthony Gonzalez and tailback Brandon Brader to run effectively against rival Freedom in a 20-14 Lehigh Valley Conference victory Saturday…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton’s future stars stole the show on Senior Night to help the Red Rovers close out the regular season with a dramatic 38-31 Lehigh Valley Conference victory over Bethlehem Catholic Friday night at Cottingham Stadium. The game-clinching play was like a Larry Holmes left hook.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Lehigh Valley Conference’s version of boxing’s “Main Event” takes place Saturday afternoon at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. That’s when Liberty (8-1, 8-0) and Freedom (8-1, 7-1) clash on the Frank Banko Field turf. “As everybody knows, there’s a lot at stake,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Lehigh Valley Conference’s version of boxing’s “Main Event” takes place Saturday afternoon at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. That’s when Liberty (8-1, 8-0) and Freedom (8-1, 7-1) clash on the Frank Banko Field turf. “As everybody knows, there’s a lot at stake,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →ALBANY 5-3, 4-0 (Northeast Conference) Beat St. Francis (N.Y.) 27-3 Justin Peterson (Palmerton) Fr. RB 2-0, 225. Game: One catch, 5 yards. Season: Five catches, 25 yards, one TD; two assisted tackles. BOSTON COLLEGE 5-2, 2-2 (Atlantic Coast Conference) Lost to North Carolina…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Northampton had its shot at Emmaus, Freedom and Liberty, but lost. The defeats were in successive weeks, knocking the Konkrete Kids out of contention for the Lehigh Valley Conference title and jeopardizing their chances at qualifying for the District 11-2 Class 4A subregional…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A slug-it-out affair between two Lehigh Valley Conference teams, an affair that was scoreless after three quarters, turned lopsided in the fourth quarter Saturday night. That’s because Northampton, backed by a defense that continued to attack and a run-oriented Wing-T offense…
· 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 →Two regular season games remain and Easton and Parkland are both trying to avoid something that has not happened since 1994. And that’s the District 11 playoffs being held without either of them being involved. But the traditionally strong Lehigh Valley Conference teams still…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →ALBANY 4-3, 3-0 (Northeast) Beat Sacred Heart 26-21 Justin Peterson (Palmerton) Fr. RB 2-0, 225. Game: One catch, 2 yards. Season: Four catches, 20 yards, one TD; two assisted tackles. BOSTON COLLEGE 5-1, 2-1 (ACC) Beat Virginia Tech 28-23 Steve Aponavicius (Easton) Sr. PK,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Freedom kicker Gregory Taylor settled his nerves with the help of his teammates, then zoned in on the goal post 22 yards away Friday night. Less than five seconds remained in the Lehigh Valley Conference classic between Bethlehem city rivals and the game was tied. Taylor, a…
· 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 →Some high-profile athletes have transferred from one Lehigh Valley Conference school to another in recent years for athletic reasons. A fuss was made about most, and rightfully so since they were blatant, which has put District 11 officials under the gun more to try to stop…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →ALBANY 3-3, 2-0 (Northeast Conference) Beat Central Conn. St. 24-22 Justin Peterson (Palmerton) Fr. RB 2-0, 225. Game: Two catches, 16 yards; one assisted tackle. Season: Three catches, 18 yards, one TD; two assisted tackles. BROWN 2-2 (Ivy League) Lost to Holy Cross 41-34…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bethlehem Catholic running back Darrius Webb fumbled once, but made amends before the Nazareth defense could react Saturday afternoon. It was on a fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line late in the second quarter. Webb, who is the Lehigh Valley Conference’s leading rusher, retrieved…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton and Freedom engaged in a shootout Friday night at Cottingham Stadium. It played to Freedom’s advantage — especially in the first and third quarters — when the Patriots unleashed their speed. But Freedom’s 36-28 Lehigh Valley Conference victory was not manufactured solely…
· 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 →Dieruff coach Keith Brader has a question for all other Lehigh Valley Conference coaches, excluding Chris Kinane at Allen, who is 0-6 in his first season and facing a tough battle trying to make the Canaries competitive. Do you want to trade places? “We probably would not have…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Lehigh Valley Conference is a tough conference and will be even tougher once Nazareth starts posting winning seasons on a consistent basis. Winning the LVC title probably won’t happen anytime soon because the Blue Eagles do not draw from a talent pool that’s similar to the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →BOSTON COLLEGE 4-1, 1-1 (Atlantic Coast Conference) Beat N.C. State 38-31 Steve Aponavicius (Easton) Sr. PK, 5-10, 198. Game: 5-for-5 on PATs; 1-for-1 on FGs, 17-yarder. Season: 18-for-18 on PATs; 6-for-8 on FGs. BROWN 2-1 (Ivy League) Lost to Rhode Island 37-13 Brendan…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Back and forth Bethlehem Catholic and Liberty went, staggering each other with big plays Saturday night. But the blow-for-blow exchange lasted only for a half before a spirited crowd at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. In the second half, Liberty, upset in the city series…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Freedom snapped a 12-game losing streak against Parkland last week, which raised the Patriots’ confidence level entering tonight’s Lehigh Valley Conference showdown against Northampton at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. Both teams are 4-1, 3-1 in conference play, but…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →There are two sides to Liberty junior quarterback Anthony Gonzalez, and both have made him popular with teammates and coaches. “He is low key,” Liberty senior Devin Street said about Gonzalez off the field. But on the field, it’s his aggressiveness and intensity that sets him…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →What happens in a game between longtime rivals is not easily explained. Liberty knows that all too well from its stunning defeats by Bethlehem Catholic the last two seasons. Liberty was considered a PIAA Class 4A title contender both years and seemed to hold major advantages on…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →BOSTON COLLEGE 3-1 (Atlantic Coast Conference) Beat Rhode Island 42-0 Steve Aponavicius (Easton) Sr. PK, 5-10,. 198. Game: 5-for-5 on PATs. Season: 13-for-13 on PATs; 5-for-7 on FGs. BROWN 2-0, 1-0 (Ivy League) Beat Harvard 24-22 Brendan Gallagher (Parkland) Jr. LB, 6-1, 225.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The mark of a good coach is not only winning and making the playoffs on a consistent basis, but how well he teaches and develops other men to become just as successful as he is when they’re in charge of their own programs. Emmaus coach Joe Bottiglieri is a frontrunner in that…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →No longer overlooked, Northampton is excited to welcome Emmaus to Al Erdosy Field tonight for a showdown between undefeated teams battling for first place in the Lehigh Valley Conference. Both teams are 4-0 overall, 3-0 in league play. “This is certainly a big game for us,”…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →No longer overlooked, Northampton is excited to welcome Emmaus to Al Erdosy Field tonight for a showdown between undefeated teams battling for first place in the Lehigh Valley Conference. Both teams are 4-0 overall, 3-0 in league play. “This is certainly a big game for us,”…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →In terms of taking steps forward, Freedom football coach Jason Roeder has no complaints. His teams did just that in each of his first three years, going from 2-8 to 5-5 to 9-3 and winning the Eastern Conference Class 4A title last season. Last season marked a school record for…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →BOSTON COLLEGE 2-1 (Atlantic Coast Conference) Beat Central Florida 34-7 Steve Aponavicius (Easton) Sr. PK, 5-10, 198. Game: 4-for-4 on PATs; 2-for-3 on FGs of 22 and 25 yards. Season: 8-for-8 on PATs; 5-for-7 on FGs. BROWN 1-0 (Ivy League) Beat Stony Brook 17-7 Brendan…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Surprise, surprise, that’s what Northampton (4-0, 3-0 LVC) has been in posting a perfect record out of the gate to remain tied with Emmaus (4-0, 3-0) for first-place in the Lehigh Valley Conference entering their showdown Friday at Al Erdosy Field. Elsewhere in the conference,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Central Catholic scored the hard way, grinding on the ground and relying on quarterback Paul Elliott to scramble around and find receivers open. Bethlehem Catholic scored faster, on 87- and 92-yard runs by tailback Darrius Webb and another on a Tevrin Brandon 91-yard punt…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →One streak was extended and another one ended for Emmaus Friday night. Both were huge. Both streaks further validated Emmaus as a Lehigh Valley Conference and District 11 title contender. That’s because Emmaus blew Easton off the line of scrimmage and bent little on defense —…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Something disturbingly different happened to Easton last week against Parkland. It wasn’t the lopsided score of Parkland 26, Easton 0. Every team gets crushed once in a while, but Easton coach Steve Shiffert wasn’t as concerned about the final score as he was about the way his…
· 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 →Every strong defense is keyed by an impact player, one who’ll go to any limit to try and punish the opponent each down he’s on the field. Parkland has that player in defensive end Clint Miller, a 6-3, 235-pound Division I recruit, who came into his own last season en route to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →CONNECTICUT 3-0 (Big East) Beat Virginia 45-10 Robbie Frey (Lehighton) R-Fr. RB, 6-0, 191. Game: Eight carries, 31 yards. Season: 18 carries, 66 yards, one TD; one kickoff return, 10 yards; one solo tackle, two assisted, one fumble recovery. Mike Ryan (Marian) R-Fr. OT, 6-5,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Something new in Week 3 of the Lehigh Valley Conference: Neither Liberty, Parkland nor Easton is involved in the top game. Easton (2-0, 1-0) opens its home schedule against Parkland (0-2, 0-1) at 7 tonight at Cottingham Stadium, and it promises to be a festive atmosphere as the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton has played two teams it was supposed to crush. The Red Rovers did just that, beating Stroudsburg by 27 points and Dieruff by 35. Now Easton (2-0, 1-0) hosts two-time defending Lehigh Valley Conference champion Parkland on Friday night at Cottingham Stadium. It’s Easton’s…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →BOSTON COLLEGE 1-1, 0-1 (ACC) Lost to Georgia Tech 19-16 Steve Aponavicius (Easton) Sr. PK, 5-10,. 198. Game: 1-for-1 on PATs; 3-for-3 on FGs of 36, 34 and 26 yards. Season: 4-for-4 on PATs; 3-for-3 on FGs. CONNECTICUT 2-0, 0-0 (Big East) Beat Temple 12-9 Robbie Frey (Lehighton)…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →On every snap of the ball Friday night against Parkland, Liberty offensive lineman Levi Brown looked like a raging boxer leaving his corner at the sound of the bell. Instead of throwing a punch, Brown’s mission was to blow Trojans off the ball and clear the way for Liberty…
· 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 →Bethlehem Catholic senior Tevrin Brandon was electrifying on punt returns, scoring one touchdown and setting up another with an impressive burst of speed. The Golden Hawks’ small but lightning-quick junior tailback, Darrius Webb, also dazzled with his own speed and acceleration…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The wait is over for Freedom. Tonight, the defending Eastern Conference Class 4A champion will try to extend its winning streak in season openers under coach Jason Roeder to four games. “There is not a whole lot of room for error,” said Roeder, whose Patriots open at Central…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Winning streaks and more will be on the line in season-opening games for Liberty and Parkland tonight. Both play state-ranked teams that will provide the ultimate early-season test. Liberty, 8-0 under coach Tim Moncman in openers, puts that record on the line when it hosts…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →ALLEN Coach: Chris Kinane (first year) Last year: 0-10 (0-9, LVC) Impact players: QB Justin Quaye, sr.; QB Nick Rhodes, jr.; WR Matt Wingler, sr.; WR Nik Davis, sr.; WR/RB David Gibbs, sr.; WR Siddiq Shabazz, sr.; OL Lance Troxell, sr.; OL Eddy Torres, sr.; RB/LB Luciano…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It’s been a decade of memorable games and streaks, of championship glory and the agony of defeat in state title games for District 11 football teams. History was made in 2002 when Parkland, behind Austin Scott’s state-record 53 touchdowns and 3,846 yards rushing, became the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →ALLEN Coach: Chris Kinane (first year) Last year: 0-10 (0-9, LVC) Impact players: QB Justin Quaye, sr.; QB Nick Rhodes, jr.; WR Matt Wingler, sr.; WR Nik Davis, sr.; WR/RB David Gibbs, sr.; WR Siddiq Shabazz, sr.; OL Lance Troxell, sr.; OL Eddy Torres, sr.; RB/LB Luciano…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Philadelphia Force assistant general manager Erin Statmore is looking for a big sparkle in her life. She’ll have it if the Force win the National Pro Fastpitch league championship tournament in Kimberly, Wisc. this weekend. “I’m looking to fly back with a diamond ring on the…
· 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 →Parkland senior wideout Jaleel Clark accomplished his top goal when he verbally committed to the University of Missouri on Sunday night. Now that Clark, The Morning Call’s 2007 player of the year, has relieved the pressure of having to choose a school, he can tackle the rest of…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland senior Jaleel Clark stood at the podium, his two diamond-stud earrings sparkling, and spoke enthusiastically about the upcoming football season and the Trojans’ attempt to go undefeated a third straight season in the Lehigh Valley Conference. Clark, the 2007 Morning…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Devin Street is no sleeper pickup for the University of Pittsburgh. Never mind that Street, entering his senior year at Liberty, only had five catches last season, turning three into touchdowns. This summer, the 6-4 Street has attended the Nike Camp at Penn State, the U.S. Army…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Fantasy baseball and football camps are cool, but nobody is supposed to get hurt. In fantasy boxing, well, that may not be the case, if NBC 10 (WCAU) sports anchor and ex-Philadelphia Eagles return man Vai Sikahema is able to sneak inside on the much larger Jose Canseco and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Joey Orlando always just found a way. He was a two-way starter on a Liberty football team last season that had an All-American linebacker in Brendan Beal, who’s now at the University of Florida on a scholarship. There also was Ahkeem Smith, now at Temple on a scholarship. But…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →He has long legs, long strides and speed. They all became winning ingredients for Wilson’s Anthony Davidson, who won the Class 2A 400-meter dash title at the PIAA Track and Field Championships Memorial Day weekend. Davidson, a rising senior, was the only District 11 athlete to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Jarred Holley could have been mistaken for Krazy Glue on a hot Saturday night at HersheyPark Stadium. The Easton High defensive back started at left cornerback for Pennsylvania against Ohio in the Big 33 Football Classic and made two sensational plays in the end zone — one an…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Jarred Holley could have been mistaken for Krazy Glue on a hot Saturday night at Hersheypark Stadium. The Easton High defensive back started at left cornerback for Pennsylvania against Ohio in the Big 33 Football Classic and made two sensational plays in the end zone — one an…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Jarred Holley will not be a utilityman in tonight’s Big 33 Football Classic. Which means he will not play quarterback, running back, wide receiver, kick returner or punt returner when Pennsylvania meets Ohio at Hersheypark Stadium. He played all those positions in four stellar…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →He’s a Big 33 replacement player, but Parkland quarterback John Laub is also a proven winner. Last season, he led Parkland to a 15-1 record and PIAA Class 4A runner-up finish. It was his first season as a starter, and Laub ran coach Jim Morgans’ Wing-T offense to near perfection…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Speaking with passion and nearly breaking down throughout his marathon speech, former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes thrilled the crowd on the museum grounds of the International Boxing Hall of Fame on Sunday. He was frank and funny as he talked about life, family, career and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Larry Holmes fought until age 52, beating Muhammad Ali once and Earnie Shavers twice along the way before retiring for good with a 10-round unanimous decision over Eric “Butterbean” Esch on July 27, 2002. Now, six years after whipping the fat off Butterbean in Norfolk, Va.,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Wilson teammates Anthony Davidson and Adam Eckhart were the only District 11 male athletes to win gold medals in the PIAA Track and Field Championships last weekend at Shippensburg University. Davidson won the Class 2A 400-meter dash and Eckhart won the triple jump. Catasauqua’s…
· 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 →Unperturbed by the wind that whipped across the field, Wilson senior Adam Eckhart raced the runway with confidence and posted the top mark in the Class 2A triple jump at the PIAA Track and Field Championships on Friday at Shippensburg University. With the gold medal already…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The two-day PIAA Track and Field Championships begins at Shippensburg University this morning with one major question for District 11. Can it get any better for the district than in 2003, when Bethlehem Catholic won the Class 2A team title, becoming the first school in the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Adam Eckhart has a crazy passion for jumping over things, which is why it’s best for him to always wear sneakers. “I jump everywhere I go,” he said. “It’s like everyone knows me for that. I just jump and jump and jump.” This weekend, the Wilson senior will be jumping in the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Jesse Sell would prefer to smash a volleyball over crashing the books any day of the week. But the Emmaus senior never lost sight of the fact that he needed to be successful in both. On Wednesday, Sell was rewarded for his hard work in both at the Lehigh Valley Conference…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Wilson sprinter Anthony Davidson spent more time watching youtube.com than anything else over the last week. He didn’t like what he saw, but he kept clicking back onto the popular Web site to watch how he lost to Palmerton’s Austin Cseh in the 400-meter dash in the Colonial…
· 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 →He’s not all hulked up, but Palmerton sprinter Austin Cseh had all the speed and endurance necessary to prevail over Wilson’s Anthony Davidson in a thrilling race to the finish line in the finals of the 400-meter dash at the Colonial League Track and Field Championships on…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bethlehem Catholic junior sprinter Tevrin Brandon is an underdog no more. Fast and confident since his freshman year, Brandon still entered this spring unfulfilled because he had yet to win the 100-meter dash at the Lehigh Valley Conference Track and Field Championships. But…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It’s finally time to get down to serious business in track and field. Next week’s Lehigh Valley Conference, Colonial League and Mountain Valley Conference championship meets will weed out the pretenders and establish the boys’ athletes who are most likely to contend for district…
· 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 →Steve Roberts and his Quakertown teammates didn’t worry about the blazing times being posted by the Jamaicans and other superfast 1,600-meter relay runners Saturday at the Penn Relays. All Roberts concentrated on was the 400 meters he had to run in his anchor leg of the 1,600…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Steve Hixson had another memorable run at the Penn Relays. Never mind that he was not able to rally Kutztown University to a victory in the college men’s Wetzler/Pennsylvania 1,600-meter relay Friday at Franklin Field. Hixson was still overjoyed that he ran one of his fastest…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Nazareth High senior Kevin Kroboth has had an easier time sprinting to 100- and 200-meter dash victories than he did breaking away for touchdowns during the football season. A first-year track and field athlete, Kroboth has used the dual-meet season to prove himself as a league,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty’s Joey Orlando and Whitehall’s Matt Hamscher are both getting one last opportunity to make standout plays on both sides of the ball. And Emmaus’ Joe Davis, who enjoyed trying to rip the helmet off offensive players, gets one last chance to try and make an impact on…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →In track and field there’s fast and there’s really blazing, which Nazareth senior Kevin Kroboth was in the 100-meter dash Thursday afternoon at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. A first-year participant in the sport, Kroboth has been under 11.0 seconds in most of his races…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The house belonged to Matthew Riddle on Wednesday night at the Palmerton Hotel. It’s like that when you are a star in the making, which the bold and brass Riddle appeared to be in his debut fight in “The Ultimate Fighter 7” series on Spike TV. A packed house cheered, hugged and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Devin Street appears to be a natural in track and field. A first-year participant for Liberty, Street established himself as the top long jumper in the Lehigh Valley Conference before the weather even turned warm. He entered the week with an area-high mark of 22 feet, 51/2…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →For a break from March Madness, here’s an important announcement from Lafayette coach Fran O’Hanlon: Speed, shooters and height are coming to College Hill in the fall. The veteran Leopards coach announced his second scholarship class on Wednesday, and it includes 6-10, 250-pound…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Distance runner Trevor VanAckeren of Liberty and sprinter Aneurys Santos of Salisbury figure to dominate the headlines in boys track and field this spring. Never mind that both began the season injured — the long-legged Princeton-bound VanAckeren with a tweaked left knee and the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Ray Barbosa’s mother, sister and stepfather each sat near-motionless in the RBC Center as the minutes in his college basketball career counted down Friday. Unable to shake free from a suffocating Georgetown defense, Barbosa missed shot after shot, and his University of…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Concerned and nervous, Pam Tillett sat still in the stands amongst raucous University of Maryland-Baltimore County fans Saturday afternoon at RAC Arena. Her son, UMBC senior guard Ray Barbosa from Allen High, was focused on the court, trying to help his teammates stave off a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Ray Barbosa and Jay Greene jumped from their seats, overwhelmed with jubilation Sunday night. They had a lot of happy company. A day after the University of Maryland-Baltimore County won the America East Conference championship, Barbosa, from Allen High, and Greene, from…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Jay Greene scored his team’s first points on a 3-pointer, he handed out the first assist, and throughout the biggest game of his life, the former Whitehall High star also crashed the boards hard and played lockdown defense. An automatic NCAA Tournament bid was on the line, and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Ray Barbosa has allowed himself to dream about this day for a long time. But the former Allen High basketball star doubted it would ever arrive. Jay Greene, former Whitehall star, however, began believing this day would come as soon as the 2006-07 season ended. Today, the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A warning light seemed to go off in Ray Barbosa’s head with nine minutes remaining in the America East Conference semifinals Sunday afternoon. The University of Maryland Baltimore County trailed Vermont by six points, and Barbosa feared that his dream of playing for a conference…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →An Allentown boxer, who nearly died after being shot 10 years ago, makes his return to the ring on Saturday night at the Days Inn & Conference Center in South Whitehall Township. Julio Caesar Mathews, 37, was 2-0 as a light heavyweight and was ambitious about trying to climb up…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A game of one tenacious defensive stop after another got final separation on a 3-point from the corner by DeSales junior Kim Rarick that bounced once, twice and then hung on the rim before falling through the nets. You can call it a lucky bounce, but it was just a good player…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It was a game of fun, run and gun offense that was filled with impressive highlights. But Moravian nearly ran itself ragged trying to keep pace with John Jay College, a quick and athletic team from New York City that brought many spirited fans to Johnston Hall for the school’s…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Revitalized after receiving a surprise NCAA Division III tournament bid, Moravian hopes to make amends for its play of late when it meets John Jay College tonight. The Greyhounds lost their final three games, including a conference semifinal playoff game, but the the NCAA…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Kutztown University allowed too many open looks from beyond the arc and got burned for it, and allowed too many second-chance points and was punished even more by Millersville in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference men’s basketball quarterfinals Tuesday night at Keystone…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh freshman guard Rob Keefer scored six points in his first game, eight in his second and 12 in his third. Get the picture? He continued to improve, and eventually became a starter, winning six Patriot League rookie of the week awards. A graduate of Abington Friends, Keefer…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The rowdy DeSales students chanted “You can’t cover her” after point guard Kim Rarick pulled up and splashed a short jumper Saturday afternoon. Rarick had a good overall game, but her main job was to get the ball into shooting guard LeighAnn Burke’s hands as often as possible…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Scott Coval did not have a happy ending Saturday to his 400th career game as a coach at DeSales. That’s because the Bulldogs had a collapse on both ends of the court in the final 10 minutes and lost to King’s College, 71-62, in the Freedom Conference tournament final at Billera…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh is one of the most unpredictable teams, playing in one of the most unpredictable conferences in America. But in a season of ups and downs galore in the Patriot League, Lehigh pieced together a 50-39 victory over Bucknell on Wednesday night at Stabler Arena that rekindled…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Losing the final regular season game is not good for any team hoping to enter the playoffs with momentum. But the Moravian men, who were routed 82-60 by Landmark Conference foe Scranton on Saturday, will get a chance to bounce back on their home court. The second-seeded…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →“RayJay” was speedy and dynamic, confident and fearless, the driving force behind the University of Maryland-Baltimore County clinching the America East regular season title Saturday night. “RayJay” is how UMBC coach Randy Monroe referred to Ray Barbosa and Jay Greene after the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Muhlenberg backup center Bethany Enterline played only one minute against Dickinson in the first half Wednesday night. But she made up for it in the second half, scoring seven points in a key stretch that helped the Mules pull away from a one-point game and eventually down pesky…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Couldn’t make it off your high school team’s bench to get playing time but still want to play college basketball? Don’t worry, Northampton Community College women’s coach Art Wolfe may have a spot for you on his team. And it’s not riding the pine. Wolfe, who finished his 19th…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Everybody who attempted free throws in the final 40 seconds of Saturday night’s Patriot League grind between Lehigh and Army missed. That is, except the one player who probably should have been at home in the bed. But Lehigh senior Bryan White, who missed the previous two days…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lafayette has to play five more Patriot League war games, which is the way conference games tend to be throughout the country this time of season. Once the surprise team in the league after starting 5-1 for the first time since 1998-99, Lafayette has now lost three straight…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Every high school athlete should have winning a championship — whether league, district or state — as one of their main goals because they cannot legitimately compete without drive. Making good grades should be an even higher goal. It would only be an excuse for an athlete to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton celebrated its biggest Signing Day since 1968 with football star Jarred Holley and U.S. Olympic track and field hopeful Chanelle Price heading the list of five Red Rover athletes who signed national letters of intent to Division I-A schools on Wednesday. Holley, a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Brendan Beal’s postseason parade of high school football honors has continued even though Beal has already begun taking classes and participating in strength and conditioning drills at the University of Florida. Beal, a standout linebacker at Liberty High School last season, has…
· 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 →The reward for Parkland football coach Jim Morgans leading his team to a 15-1 season and finishing as PIAA Class 4A runner-up is a fourth trip to Hersheypark Stadium to coach in a big game. Morgans, 60, has been named Pennsylvania’s head coach against Ohio all-stars in the Big…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Perfection on the basketball court is hard to achieve, which is why DeSales junior Kim Rarick chose to give her team a “B” as a midseason grade. The Bulldogs, under veteran coach Fred Richter, are 11-3 and considered a contender for the Freedom Conference championship. “Nobody…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →There’s nothing better than a point guard who thrives on setting up his teammates for baskets instead of trying to fill up the scorebook with his own points. DeSales senior guard Eddie Ohlson is just 5-8 but he’s the Bulldogs’ most valuable player because of his passing skills…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →DeSales guard Darnell Braswell and post players Phil Stricker and Ed Lapinski only had to worry about one thing when Eddie Ohlson had the ball in his hands Saturday night. And that was what type of dish Ohlson was going to deliver. Already the owner of every major assist record…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Rutgers redshirt freshman Andres Morales has entered 2008 doing what he most loves to do. “It’s kind of cool because all we do is play football now, like a pro team,” Morales said. “School is over. You just relax and play ball.” A punishing all-state linebacker at Liberty High…
· 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 →Back in August when shoulder pads and helmets were first strapped on, Parkland had a team that on paper looked like it would be good. Good enough to contend for a league and district title. But not good enough to end up in Hershey playing for the state title. After all, Liberty…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Boston College kicker Steve Aponavicius has a simple game plan for tonight’s Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, Fla. “Just to go out and put the ball through the uprights,” said Aponavicius, an Easton High graduate, who’ll be making his 22nd career start when the Eagles (10-3) meet…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Pius X wide receiver Wade Williams got open to catch passes and score touchdowns with ease. “He’s real smooth on the football field, that’s for sure,” said his coach, Bob Goffredo. Williams caught 45 passes for 958 yards and 11 touchdowns this season, breaking the Royals’ school…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Palmerton senior Justin Peterson bowled over opposing Colonial League players with his hard running style. He punished them even more as a standout linebacker, which is where he really changed the course of games in leading Palmerton to a 9-3 record and a District 11 Class 2A…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland junior wide receiver Jaleel Clark was unstoppable, gracefully and effortlessly racing downfield to make tough catches and score touchdowns. Easton senior Jarred Holley once again played the role of lockdown defensive back, Liberty senior Brendan Beal was a hard-hitting…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland did not return from Hershey with a state championship trophy Saturday night. Too much went wrong. But everything went right for 15 games. That’s why the Trojans went into the PIAA Class 4A title game undefeated. And, after the tears as a result of the Trojans’ 21-0 loss…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Some Parkland players stood frozen in place, some cried and many embraced as the state championship they dreamed of winning ended on a bittersweet note Saturday night. Unable to manufacture the offensive plays or make the defensive stops that had been the cornerstones to its…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The burning in the heart won’t last forever. However, positive memories of Parkland’s accomplishments this season will play over and over again in the minds of the Trojan players, coaches and fans. It was special. It just ended with pain, without the Trojans scoring a point for…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Pro Bowl quarterbacks Dan Marino and Marc Bulger are part of the rich history of football at Pittsburgh Central Catholic, Parkland’s opponent today in the PIAA Class 4A title game. But so too is the 16-0 Viking team of 2004 that captured the school’s second state 4A title. Terry…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland coach Jim Morgans is a former offensive tackle and nose guard from Louisiana College who describes himself as having been just an average player. The same cannot be said of his coaching. He won two PIAA Class 3A titles in an eight-year span at his alma mater, Central…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland is one win away from a perfect 16-0 season and its first PIAA Class 4A championship since 2002. Win or lose against powerful Pittsburgh Central Catholic Saturday night at Hersheypark Stadium, Parkland has already surpassed the accomplishments of any other team in the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →He has two solo tackles and one forced fumble. Normally, those are defensive statistics that might be overlooked, except when it’s the kicker. It’s something that Parkland senior kicker Robert Lawler is proud of, especially the forced fumble, which he caused on a kickoff return…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Larry Holmes celebrated being chosen for the 2008 class of the International Boxing Hall of Fame on Tuesday at his A Step Up Restaurant and Lounge in Easton, recounting the $63 he won in his first pro fight in 1973 in Scranton and the millions he’s earned since. “Every time I…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It’s easy for Austin Scott and Nick Pinchek to be remembered because they scored the most touchdowns on Parkland’s 2002 PIAA Class 4A championship team. The Decker brothers, Cody and Travis, were defensive standouts, who posted 30 sacks between them for a defense that allowed…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The final 10 minutes, 36 seconds of Saturday’s PIAA Class 4A semifinal game belonged to Parkland. The key series during that stretch of time was a 99-yard scoring drive that sealed the Trojans’ 35-21 victory over Ridley and sent thousands of Parkland fans into a frenzy at J.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland offensive lineman Ian Tomcho hopes to continue what his dad and his uncles did in the 1960s and 1970s and 1980s at J. Birney Crum Stadium. And that’s win big games. None, however, have been as big as the one that Tomcho will play at noon today when Parkland (14-0) and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Hike the football quickly, Parkland wideout Jaleel Clark is matched up one-on-one with a defensive back. Throw it deep, and Clark promises to make something good happen. “I’m mostly going to win because I have moves to make on them,” Clark said. At 6-4, he also has the height to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland head coach Jim Morgans and his top assistant coaches, Tom Filipovits and John Quinn, have been coaching together longer than any of the Trojan players have been alive. They’ve had so much success together that parting ways would be difficult. “I never think about it…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Eric Zuber and Sam Tajiri are two of the smallest and lightest players on the roster of Parkland’s undefeated football team. But they are also two of the most respected — by their teammates and opponents. That’s because Zuber, a 5-7, 160-pound junior, and Tajiri, a 5-9,…
· 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 →The George Washington High School football team has never traveled up the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike to play a game, but the Eagles were scheduled to board a bus in Philadelphia at about 6:30 this morning bound for Allentown and J. Birney Crum Stadium. The…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Brendan Beal paused, gathered himself and then rejoiced at the news that made his Friday. The Liberty High senior linebacker, who posted 113 tackles in his one season with the Hurricanes, was named Gatorade’s 2007-08 Pennsylvania football player of the year. “I’m definitely…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Playoffs, playoffs, playoffs. That’s all Moravian men’s coach Jim Walker is thinking about — and he has four experienced and talented seniors to rely on most to accomplish that goal. The Greyhounds went 11-14 and missed the playoffs in their final year in the Commonwealth…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Moravian coach Mary Beth Spirk has what can be considered a platinum resume. She led the Greyhounds to six NCAA Division III Tournaments and posted winning seasons in 18 of her 20 seasons at Moravian. Her last NCAA Tournament appearance was in the 2005-06 season. “It seems like…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Muhlenberg College men had one of the more memorable finishes in school history last season. The Mules had to win their final five regular-season games to clinch the fifth and final spot in the Centennial Conference playoffs. They did just that, but lost to Gettysburg 60-51…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It was like the final seconds of the 15th round of a heavyweight title fight and it was close. For Parkland, it was also all too similar to the last time it went came down to the final seconds of a playoff game, and it lost on a field goal. But 371 days after suffering…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →His name is Nate Eachus and Parkland’s defense will see a lot of him in the District 11-2 Class 4A subregional final tonight in Orefield. The Hazleton senior running back figures to be the challenge of all challenges for the Trojans, who have posted shutouts in seven of their…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton senior Jarred Holley had just finished a memorable Thanksgiving Day game against Phillipsburg when the realization that he’ll never wear the Red Rovers’ red and white uniform again hit his father Lincoln. “We’ll move on and he’ll have the memories, but something that…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It’s the year after the 100th Thanksgiving Day meeting between Easton and Phillipsburg and everything surrounding the game is different. “Yeah, quite a bit,” Easton coach Steve Shiffert said. “I think it’s to be expected … that the build up is not the same, but I think you have…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Jarred Holley was the last Easton player standing on the Bensalem High field on a cold December afternoon in 2004, answering questions and putting a season that had finally ended with a playoff loss to Neshaminy in proper perspective. You would have thought that he was a senior…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland senior quarterback John Laub can be used as an inspiration to help motivate other Trojan players in the future — those who are talented enough to start, but can’t seem to make it off the bench until it’s their turn. Laub patiently waited his turn, not earning the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The District 11 Class 4A trophy is owned once again by Parkland, but the Trojans want more hardware for their awards case before this season ends. They sure played like it Friday night. Behind a balanced offensive attack, led by seniors John Laub and Kale Sweeney, Parkland…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Any team that’s still playing football past the first week of November has something to treasure, which is why Freedom and Whitehall plan to go all out tonight when they meet for the Eastern Conference Class 4A title. Kickoff is at 7 at Whitehall. Both teams are 8-4. They did…
· 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 →Parkland coach Jim Morgans has been speechless all week, despite requests seeking comment about the dominance of the 2007 Trojans, who are 11-0 and have posted seven straight shutouts. The Trojans’ 17-0 win over Emmaus in the District 11-2 Class 4A subregional quarterfinals…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →How many Lehigh Valley Conference teams already have a wish list for next season? Five teams are still playing — Liberty and Parkland in the District 11-2 Class 4A playoffs; Freedom and Whitehall in the Eastern Conference 4A title game Friday night. Easton lost to Hazleton,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland’s bruising offense was overshadowed by its stubborn defense, which posted its seventh straight shutout in a 17-0 win over Emmaus in the District 11-2 Class 4A subregional quarterfinals Friday night in Orefield. The streak was jeopardized in the final minute after Emmaus…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It was a failed defensive stop that frustrated young defensive lineman Joe Davis more than the average flag football player. His mother, Lisa, still remembers the play that America’s Funniest Videos would have loved. “Joey was running downfield trying to get the kid’s flag, but…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland has put together back-to-back undefeated regular seasons and the PIAA Class 4A title in 2002, which will forever warm Trojan hearts. Easton has nine straight district playoff appearances, the second most wins in state history, and, of course, that 100th game…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Not many players can keep their football coach on hold for the entire summer deciding whether they’re going to play or not, but Central Catholic coach Harold Fairclough didn’t mind waiting for Scott Gulyas to make up his mind. It’s clear why. Gulyas is one of the top wide…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty quarterback Anthony Gonzalez accounted for more than 200 yards of offense, wideout Joey Orlando made circus catches and tailback Ahkeem Smith gained the tough yards. All three owe gratitude to big Levi Brown and the other Hurricane offensive linemen for the way they…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bethlehem Catholic and Easton entertained fans at Bethlehem Area School District Friday night with a back-and-forth second half that featured one breakaway run after another. But the play that helped Easton prevail 28-24 in the Lehigh Valley Conference matchup was a forced…
· 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 →The Lehigh Valley Conference all-star team won’t be announced until the regular season ends, but I don’t have to wait that long to make my selections. The final regular season games won’t prove who’s the best because anybody can have a really good game. But the best do it week…
· 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 →Parkland finally played a team it could not run over and run away from Friday night. Horrendous weather conditions played a factor, but so too did the hard-sticking defensive effort of Emmaus in a Lehigh Valley Conference game that was decided by three plays. Parkland made all…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty senior linebacker Brendan Beal figured he was in a no-lose situation. He had scholarship offers from defending national champion Florida, perennial powerhouses USC, LSU and Boston College, which is currently ranked No. 2 in the Bowl Championship Series and No. 2 by the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The intensity level among certain teams figures to exceed that of any other Friday night of the season. The increased shift in adrenaline is because of showdowns between rival Lehigh Valley Conference teams. Pick a game: Parkland (8-0, 7-0 LVC) at Emmaus (6-2, 5-2) or Liberty…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Emmaus boys soccer, field hockey and swim teams may have reasons to be jealous of football stars C.J. Billera, Joe Davis and their teammates. That’s because Emmaus football is starting to steal the spotlight those winning programs have long enjoyed, and it may stay that way,…
· 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 →Next week’s final regular-season games in the Lehigh Valley Conference will have even more suspense, if certain things happen this Friday. And the No. 1 if? If Parkland (8-0, 7-0) beats Emmaus in the battle between Cedar Crest Boulevard teams Friday, then the Trojans can clinch…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It was grueling game with a dramatic finish Saturday night at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. Freedom senior quarterback Joe Weaver faked a handoff, dashed left and ran for the end zone. Bethlehem Catholic defenders reacted slowly, but then several tried to form a wall…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Emmaus junior tailback C.J. Billera hurt Whitehall with hard up-the-gut runs Friday night. More punishment was administered by the Green Hornets defense, which intercepted two passes, forced a fumble and cut off all penetration to the outside in holding Whitehall to 39 yards…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Whitehall senior Matt Hamscher was offended by not being mentioned as a player to watch in the Morning Call’s high school football preview issue in August. It was a mistake, a big one, and it just goes to show that really good players get overlooked. Hamscher doesn’t have to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Five years after riding Austin Scott to the PIAA Class 4A title, Parkland is off and running behind a stable of running backs, and the results are once again impressive. Scott had more breakaway speed and elusive moves en route to posting state single-single records of 3,853…
· 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 →Parkland coach Jim Morgans doesn’t want to hear any talk about his team being unbeatable. Some people thought that of Liberty, which unraveled on both sides of the ball in losing 28-14 to Bethlehem Catholic last Friday night. “We don’t concern ourselves with other teams, except…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Pius X is still the little guy — still hoping that the Colonial League will give it an invitation to join and still hoping that it will, one day, not have to drive all the way across the state just to find an opponent. But, despite all the people that may “player hate” against…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Freedom has pummeled all the teams it was supposed to beat by 28, 48, 49 and 21 points this season, but obliterating weak teams does not bring the same pleasure as posting a signature win against one of the Lehigh Valley Conference’s top teams. So far, Freedom is 0-2 against the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty seniors Ahkeem Smith and Justin Rivera have been haunted for the last 364 days over what happened the last time they played city rival Bethlehem Catholic. Terrell Dobbins ran for 162 yards and Kyle John blocked an extra point attempt in helping Bethlehem Catholic…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Statistics hardly show the impact Easton senior Jarred Holley has had in the first five games. But he is the best player in the Lehigh Valley Conference, probably the whole area and already a strong candidate to be named to the Associated Press Class 4A first team as a defensive…
· 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 →Bethlehem Catholic is not about to wave the white flag just because it has three losses and cannot afford to lose another game. Not if it wants to keep alive hopes of making the District 11 Class 3A playoffs. There are many reasons why the Golden Hawks (1-3, 1-2) are in this…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The high school football season reaches its midway point this weekend and the Lehigh Valley Conference has its share of teams with questions yet to be answered. The No. 1 question, of course, is who’s going to win the conference title? Liberty (4-0, 3-0) and Parkland (4-0, 3-0)…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Central Catholic quarterback Thad Kosciolek was mesmerized the first time he walked into the Central Catholic athletic halls. “My first tine ever at Central I was walking through the coaches room, and they have all the state championship pictures of all the state championship…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty made a whole lot of big plays Friday night. But only a few were on offense, which suited Hurricanes two-way senior standout Joey Orlando just fine. That’s because Orlando made as many big plays on defense as he did on offense in helping Liberty prevail 21-7 over Emmaus…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Emmaus can forget about being overlooked by high-powered Liberty in their Lehigh Valley Conference matchup tonight at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. That’s because one loss could be detrimental to the Hurricanes’ chances of earning the No. 1 seed and homefield advantage…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Over the last four years Freedom’s football team has produced three Division I players. Ryan Ehrie is a redshirt sophomore offensive lineman at Syracuse, Colin Neely a redshirt freshman at Michigan State, and Jeremy Kametz is in his final season at Delaware. The three of them…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Freedom no longer has to give up the home side of Bethlehem Area School District Stadium to visiting teams. It never should have been that way in the first place, and the BASD administration saw to it that it never will be that way again by announcing Monday that home side of…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It’s Validation Week in the Lehigh Valley Conference. Thrill-a-second Whitehall (2-0) and high-scoring Freedom (2-0) both play their toughest opponents. The circumstances couldn’t be any better for both. Whitehall, coming off a 31-28 double-overtime win over Northampton, plays…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →What happened in Emmaus last Friday night is not being be dwelled on. That’s because of the request Green Hornets coach Joe Bottiglieri made to his players. Bottiglieri, who’s in his sixth season at Emmaus, tells his players to only concentrate on the current challenge and not…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Normally, you wouldn’t think that a team could set a positive tone for its season by losing, but Central Catholic did it Saturday afternoon. The Vikings did it by fighting back from a 20-3 second-half deficit to pull within seven points of powerhouse Liberty late in the fourth…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →There’s no such thing as meaningless games for District 11 Class 4A teams anymore, considering the complicated points system used to determine qualifiers for the PIAA subregional playoffs. But some Lehigh Valley Conference teams aren’t worried about matters they can not control…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty senior Ahkeem Smith is ready to carry the offensive load, and his teammates, on his shoulders. It’s a big task, especially considering one of his teammates is 6-3, 315-pound two-way tackle Levi Brown. But Smith has waited four years to be in the spotlight and to be a…
· 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 →Jarred Holley is now buying shaving cream and razors regularly. He’s also looking at life a whole lot differently as he enters his final high school season at Easton. “I’m growing up a little bit. That’s always good,” said Holley, 17, who will start at defensive back for a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Terrence Roderick has finally moved on to a bigger stage, albeit a stage that is 800 miles away from Allentown, his closest friends and the guarantee that he could get a nice, fresh haircut any time he wanted it. But the former Allen High basketball star is happy with the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty High senior linebacker Brendan Beale requested the No. 1 for his jersey and was granted his wish without debate or jealousy. “I’m not cocky, but I’m confident that I’m No. 1, and that’s how I want to represent,” said Beale, a transfer from Roxbury High in New Jersey,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty High senior linebacker Brendan Beale requested the No. 1 for his jersey and was granted his wish without debate or jealousy. “I’m not cocky, but I’m confident that I’m No. 1, and that’s how I want to represent,” said Beale, a transfer from Roxbury High in New Jersey,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Tony Stewart is NASCAR’s version of former New York Yankees’ slugger Reggie Jackson. He gets hot when it’s crunch time, taking more checkered flags late in the season in much the same fashion as Jackson used to belt home runs in October. Stewart, 36, has won 17 races from June…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Basketballs will swish nets and bank off backboards. Softballs and volleyballs will be smashed. Footballs and Frisbees will fly. Sheaves will be tossed, muscles will be flexed and dogs will jump through hoops. At the 11th edition of Lehigh Valley SportsFest, kicking off tonight…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Aaron Gray has his first fan in Chicago, and it’s a guy who for 24 years had held the distinction of being the last Lehigh Valley athlete drafted into the NBA. Now 46 years old and with a surgically repaired left knee that prevents him from playing basketball anymore, former…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Aaron Gray is on board with draft analysts, who are predicting Ohio State’s Greg Oden and Texas’ Kevin Durant to go No. 1 and 2 in tonight’s NBA draft. “They can play basketball and they will be great,” Gray said. “They will be the No. 1 and 2 picks in the draft, let’s face it.”…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bethlehem Catholic’s Joe Kovacs is committed beyond the norm to playing in McDonald’s Lehigh Valley Football All-Star Classic at 7 tonight at Parkland Stadium in Orefield. If he wasn’t, Kovacs would be in Puerto Rico, perhaps tanning, eating spicy food and enjoying the scenery.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →What happened last December at Hersheypark Stadium is still fresh in the mind of Wilson’s Adam Thomas and Sean Monahan. Chris LaBatch, their teammate, also still has great memories of the Warriors’ 29-28 win over Jeannette that earned the school its first PIAA Class 2A title.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Aaron Gray is now two days away from a new basketball home. The 7-2 center from Emmaus High School and the University of Pittsburgh has traveled all over the country since the first week of June to work out for NBA teams. He makes his last stop today in Utah, and then he’ll fly…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Wilson quarterback D.J. Lenehan came alive in the second half of the PSFCA East West All-Star Game, rifling passes all over the field that led to touchdowns and stirred memories of his many feats last season. But the ending Saturday night wasn’t as rewarding as last December,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehighton’s Robbie Frey has the speed, Bethlehem Catholic’s Terrell Dobbins the power. Together, they hope to be double-trouble tailbacks in the the seventh annual PSFCA East-West All-Star Game tonight in Altoona. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. at Mansion Park Stadium. Frey and Dobbins,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Before this week, only Parkland teammates of the Trojans’ dominating offensive lineman Michael Fay had seen his humorous side. That’s because Fay, a Morning Call All Area first team pick and second-team Associated Press Class 4A selection, doesn’t play around when he’s…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Wilson quarterback D.J. Lenehan isn’t ready to be reminded of what it’s like to lose a football game. He hasn’t lost a game since Dec. 10, 2005, and that was in the PIAA Class 2A title game. Since that defeat, Lenehan has gone 16-0 as a starter, winning each game during a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →For the second straight week, a record-breaking quarterback from the Lehigh Valley will showcase his talents in an all-star game. Wilson’s D.J. Lenehan, who’s headed to Toledo on a scholarship, will play his final high school game in the seventh annual Pennsylvania Football…
· 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 →Liberty quarterback Dan Persa plays his final game at Hersheypark Stadium tonight, hoping to help Pennsylvania win its second straight game against Ohio in the Big 33 Football Classic. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. It’s the 50th anniversary of the all-star game that has often been…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty coach Tim Moncman is a happy student this week. That’s because he’s learning from other coaches who’ve won state championships. Moncman, 37, is still chasing that dream. He led Liberty to the PIAA Class 4A title game the last two years, but fell miserably short both…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty quarterback Dan Persa won everything in high school, except a game at Hersheypark Stadium. Now bigger, stronger and faster, Persa hopes to finally experience victory in Chocolatetown USA when he teams with other Pennsylvania all-stars for the 50th Big 33 Football Classic…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Every time he makes his spin move and lifts the shot put, Bethlehem Catholic’s Joe Kovacs is pointing toward heaven, where his father, Joe, has been watching and enjoying his every throw. His mother, Joanna, has been only a hug away, offering warmth, support, and also the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Pius X’s Eric Woodruff and Moravian Academy’s Trent Binford-Walsh took unusual paths en route to winning medals at the PIAA Track and Field Championships Saturday in Shippensburg. And it was a coach from the school neither attended who helped them achieve their goals. Woodruff…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bethlehem Catholic senior Joe Kovcs relaxed himself, then blew past the Class 2A discus field to win his second gold medal of the PIAA Track and Field Championships Saturday at Shippensburg University. His winning throw traveled 179 feet, 11 inches, which was five inches shorter…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bethlehem Catholic’s Joe Kovacs delivered his best-ever shot put to win the Class 2A gold medal and establish a record in the PIAA Track and Field Championships Friday at Shippensburg University. Whitehall’s Andy Fahringer, in the discus, and Catasauqua pole vaulter Kyle Miller…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty junior Trevor VanAckeren is participating in his fifth varsity sport this school year and he appears to be just as charged up running distance races as he was booting soccer balls and kicking footballs through the uprights in the fall. That’s because he’s still in the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bethlehem Catholic senior Joe Kovacs is seeded No. 1 in the Class 2A shot put and discus by wide margins, which gives him a strong chance of winning two gold medals in the PIAA Track and Field Championships. Several other Lehigh Valley male athletes also appear to have strong…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Aaron Gray is not out to prove anybody wrong, especially mock draft experts, who each week post on Web sites their predictions of where players will likely be drafted in next month’s NBA draft. Gray is not out to prove them wrong because he doesn’t care what they think. “If you…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Mike Hartenstine was an All-American defensive lineman at Penn State and a starter on the Chicago Bears’ 1985 Super Bowl team. He said both experiences were unbelievable. For years, Hartenstine, who lives in Chicago, also savored the area shot put record of 62 feet, 11 3/4…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The pressure is now off Bethlehem Catholic senior Joe Kovacs. He took it off with the throw of his life, breaking the 36-year-old area record in the shot put on his final attempt Thursday in the District 11 Track and Field Championships at J. Birney Crum Stadium in Allentown.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bothered little by the rain and dark clouds, Catasauqua junior Kyle Miller cleared 14 feet, 7 inches to establish a Class 2A record in the pole vault in the District 11 Track and Field Championships Thursday at J. Birney Crum Stadium. The height was a personal best for Miller,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The chase is on again for Bethlehem Catholic standout thrower Joe Kovacs. Kovacs, a senior, will attempt to break the area shot put record of 62-113/4 in the District 11 Track and Field Championships. The two-day event begins at 3 p.m. today at J. Birney Crum Stadium in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →He’s diminutive and he goes to a small school, but Salisbury’s Anuerys Santos proved that he’s one of the area’s best sprinters by sweeping the sprints in the Colonial League track and field championships on Thursday. “I have something in me: I don’t quit. I know for sure that…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The chance of an athlete winning a medal in his or her first PIAA Track and Field Championships is pretty slim. Often, athletes who were dominant in an event in intra-district competition, complete their high school careers without ever having won a state medal. Ryan Wagner, a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The finish line was 100 meters away and Liberty junior Trevor VanAckeren was determined to make it there first Wednesday at J. Birney Crum Stadium. His legs were heavy, he was fatigued, and he was being pushed to the limit in the finals of the 800 run at the Lehigh Valley…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Standout throwers Joe Kovacs of Bethlehem Catholic and Andy Fahringer of Whitehall both faced immense pressure Tuesday afternoon. It was in different events, and the chase was also different for both in Day 1 of the Lehigh Valley Conference Track and Field Championships at J.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Seniors Joe Kovacs of Bethlehem Catholic and Andy Fahringer of Whitehall have had as much attention paid to them in the throwing events as sprinters, the usual glamor grabbers, have had heeped on them this spring. It’s been hard not to pay attention to good pals Kovacs and…
· 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 →Bethlehem Catholic senior Joe Kovacs had the mark he wanted to reach in the discus visualized Saturday morning. He just pressed too hard to try and reach it, which threw off his mechanics and spoiled his chance of winning the high school discus event in his first-ever Penn…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Mother Nature frowned on the Penn Relays on Friday. But Whitehall senior Andy Fahringer didn’t use the grey clouds, drizzle, and slippery runway as an excuse for not winning the high school javelin championship event at Rhodes Field. The competition was just the best field he’s…
· 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 →The high school track and field preseason is now over. It’s time to get serious. The athletes who are likely to contend for district and state titles will be competing in either the 113th Penn Relay’s in Philadelphia this weekend or in today’s Allentown School District…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It’s tough to succeed in track and field without having confidence to go along with talent. Fortuntely for him, Whitehall High senior standout thrower Andy Fahringer definitely has both. He also has posted early-season results in the discus and javelin that validate him as a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →There are hurdlers who have been affected by the cold, windy and rainy weather, which seems to dampen the start of the track and field season each spring. Northampton senior Ryan Wagner, however, has not been slowed. That’s because inclement weather doesn’t bother him, and it…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Seniors Andy Fahringer of Whitehall and Joe Kovacs of Bethlehem Catholic headline the top returning boys track and field performers in District 11 this spring. Both are standout throwers. Fahringer is the defending PIAA Track and Field Class 3A discus champion. Fahringer, who’s…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Morning Call tabbed it as “Bracket Showdown 2007” — the sportswriter vs. the hairstylist. I considered it as a no-win situation. How could I not? Here’s me, an avid basketball fan before I even knew how to tie my own shoes and a college basketball writer, picking NCAA…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Aaron Gray’s uncle, Steve, a former Duke player, had his dream for a second-round NCAA Tournament matchup between his alma mater and Pittsburgh spoiled. But Steve Gray, who played at Duke 1975-79, did not cancel his flight and room reservations after Virginia Commonwealth…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Aaron Gray’s matchup against rival center Roy Hibbert in the Big East tournament championship game Saturday night at Madison Square Garden was lopsided. It wasn’t in Gray’s favor. The 7-0 Gray, Pittsburgh’s senior center and Emmaus High graduate, didn’t score his first field…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Times are not as tough as they may seem for Penn State sophomore Courtney Molinaro, a former Central Catholic basketball star. That’s because Molinaro is not discouraged by the meager 8.9 minutes per game she averages, fourth lowest on the team, or her 1 point per game scoring…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh’s season is officially over, but the controversy remains. The Patriot League announced Thursday night that Army’s 47-46 playoff victory over Lehigh in will stand, despite acknowledging that Josh Miller’s buzzer-beating shot left his hand after the clock expired. The…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Division III South tournament is the equivalent of the Division I NIT and WNIT tournaments. But that doesn’t mean that the games will be any less intense for the DeSales men’s and the Moravian women’s teams, who accepted ECAC playoff…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Cheyney center Robbie Simpson had a career game, and the Wolves’ guards had big fun dribbling at will through Kutztown’s vulnerable defense Tuesday night. Simpson, a 6-10 sophomore center, dunked four times over Kutztown players en route to a career-high 26 points in helping…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Patriot League Tournament starts next Wednesday with the top four seeds hosting quarterfinal games. The two remaining highest seeds will host semifinal games next Sunday. The championship game will be held at the surviving highest seed. This is the first year the league has…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Muhlenberg men’s team finished 9-9 again in Centennial Conference play and in fifth place for the second straight season, which seems like the Mules did not make an improvement. But records don’t always tell the story, especially this tale of a Mules team that went from…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Muhlenberg’s Tom Scott couldn’t be stopped on drives, capping off his final game at Memorial Hall with one huge basket after another Thursday night. His final bucket was the best, a breakaway two-handed dunk for the exclamation point in the Mules’ come-from-behind, 91-84…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh University center Jason Mgebroff didn’t return with a bang in his first game of 2007 on Wednesday night. But coach Billy Taylor was not discouraged by the five points Mgebroff scored in the Mountain Hawks’ 56-53 overtime win over Colgate in a Patriot League matchup in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Chris Huber was spoiled when he was at Parkland High. That’s because Huber, now a senior shooting guard at Muhlenberg College, had the perfect point guard in Eddie Ohlson, who’s a junior at DeSales University. Back at Parkland, all Huber had to do was get open and Ohlson was…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Every offensive possession for Muhlenberg College seemed like a grueling task against Dickinson Tuesday night at Memorial Hall. But that wasn’t surprising. Dickinson, which has the fourth-ranked scoring defense among NCAA Division III women, drives its opponents insane with…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →You’ve probably heard of Michael Jordan coming out of retirement, Evander Holyfield repeatedly leaving his rocking chair to return to the ring, and Brett Favre declining to retire. But they are professional athletes. Alyssa Antolick, a former 1,000-point scorer at Bethlehem…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It’s all over. There are no more college recruiting trips to take, no more worrying about whether this school or that school is the right fit. Childhood dreams of playing college football were brought one step closer to reality by several Lehigh Valley Conference standout…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Super Bowl XLI is a huge event for Lehigh men’s basketball coach Billy Taylor, who grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, loving the Bears with all of his heart. But on Sunday his heart will be split. “I’m a Bears fan through and through,” he said, “but I really like Tony Dungy and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Kutztown figured out a way to stop East Stroudsburg’s offense just in time to flip the script of a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference matchup that had been back-and-forth Wednesday night. Switching from a man-to-man to a zone defense, Kutztown limited East Stroudsburg to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Before March Madness there is “February Tightness” as the chase to make it to the NCAA Tournament intensifies across the country. That’s in all Divisions — I, II, and III. Some teams live for the pressure, but there’s a long list of teams that cannot handle the heat. But the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Villanova has another fearless guard with a nasty crossover dribble and awesome finishing ability coming to the Main Line in the fall. Corey Fisher, the starting point guard for nationally ranked St. Patrick’s of Elizabeth, N.J., displayed his wide range of skills before an…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Jose Olivero believed he had a strong game. Kyle Neptune wanted him to prove it. That was four summers ago, when both were incoming freshmen at Lehigh. Olivero was coming from the Washington metropolitan area, Neptune from Brooklyn, N.Y. They were both guards, Neptune three…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Moravian College men’s coach Jim Walker has long been a part of the 300 club. “You mean 300 wins or 300 losses,” Walker said with a laugh. “I think I might be in both,” he added. Walker is 366-326 in 28 seasons, all but one of which has been at Moravian. He went 15-10 in his…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Dan Persa’s postseason awards parade continued Thursday night. The Liberty High senior, who led the Hurricanes to a second straight PIAA Class 4A runner-up finish last month, was named winner of the Maxwell Football Club’s 22nd annual Jim Henry Award as the best high school…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →DeSales College has to move forward and forget its stinker Tuesday night in Madison, N.J. Losing 72-38 to FDU-Florham was bad — really bad — considering the Bulldogs were just 1-for-16 on 3-pointers and 15-for-56 overall from the field for 27 percent shooting. Also bad is that…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Moravian didn’t have to think too long to figure out why it lost Friday night. Not being as athletic as William Patterson was one reason, but the Greyhounds did not help their cause by failing to execute the basics. William Patterson had four double-figure scorers, led by…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Every day of practice is a grueling test for West Virginia offensive lineman Jake Figner. That’s because Figner, who’s 6-5, 300 pounds, goes up against teammates are who are just as big and dominating. He was never tested to the limit when he was at Northwestern High, but then…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty senior quarterback Dan Persa got an early Christmas gift on Saturday. And it wasn’t gift-wrapped. But Persa, who recently capped off the best statistical season by a quarterback in school history, got the gift he’s coveted his entire career. He was named the Associated…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty seemed like it was moving in slow motion at times against Upper St. Clair on Saturday night. And the scoreboard reflected it. Upper St. Clair, led by five rushing touchdowns from Indiana University-bound tailback Dane Conwell, trounced the Hurricanes 47-13 in the PIAA…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →One vs. 11 doesn’t work on the football field. Wilson’s defense proved that en route to winning the PIAA Class 2A Championship Saturday at Hersheypark Stadium. The Warriors did it by halting Jeannette quarterback Terrell Pryor’s one-man show in the second half. “We knew coming…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Upper St. Clair coach Jim Render is still coaching the same way he did 28 years ago. Nobody at USC is complaining because Render has a 315-99-6 record that includes winning the 1989 PIAA Class 4A title. “I’m kind of a traditionalist,” Render said. “I still believe heavily in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Even though Bethlehem Catholic and Liberty are bitter rivals, Golden Hawks coach Tarik Haddad is not about to cheer for Upper St. Clair Saturday night. Haddad is also not willing to share information with the Panthers’ coaching staff about how to beat Liberty. Haddad and his…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Players are always asked to exhibit sportsmanship and the same should be demanded of coaches. A handshake before, and especially after a game, is a good place to start. A few good words to each other isn’t a bad idea, although there are Lehigh Valley coaches who probably want to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty High coach Tim Moncman and Wilson coach Bret Comp have identical 27-3 records over the last two seasons. For the second straight season, both men have also led their teams into a PIAA championship game in Hershey. It is the first time in Lehigh Valley football history…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A few Liberty players showed up at practice on Monday still sore, some really sore. “That will go away as the week goes on,” Liberty offensive coordinator Bill DeNofa said. “It’s OK to be a little dinged up after 17 weeks.” But it’s not OK to be on crutches, which is the way…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Enough. Everybody was spent, cold, and as several Liberty players admitted later, very sore. No matter what it took, Liberty defensive end Braxton Isaac was determined to finally put an end to the PIAA Class 4A Eastern final Saturday afternoon before a standing-room-only crowd…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty senior quarterback Dan Persa has a lot on his mind, but having his career ended by Pennsbury today is not one of them. He’s ready to play, ready to lead the Hurricanes to their second straight appearance in the PIAA Class 4A Championship game. The ‘Canes (13-1) meet…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Ron Rohn is winning at a faster rate than any past Muhlenberg coaches, and sometime next season, he’ll be the school’s all-time winningest coach. It took Tammy Smith, now coaching at Lafayette, seven seasons to win 113 games at Muhlenberg. Smith also lost 68 games during her…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Three seconds. That’s all Liberty junior tailback Ahkeem Smith said he needs to follow his lead blocker Ray Mamuzich and find a hole in the defense. “It’s a big deal,” Smith said. “Three seconds, that’s all you need.” With honor, Mamuzich helps clear the way, often against…
· 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 →He’s 6-4, 305 pounds, and he enjoys sacking quarterbacks. He has scholarship offers from West Virginia, Temple, and James Madison. It’s hard not to notice Frankford senior defensive lineman Tyree Dudley. Last season, however, Dudley didn’t stand out all that much when Frankford…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Nobody may ever see Lehigh coach Billy Taylor rattled. He’s just too smooth, and he’s played and coached at levels much higher than the Patriot League. But in today’s society, it’s always about what have you done for me lately. Winning sells tickets. Losing pushes fans away. So…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →With 22 seniors gone from last season’s PIAA Class 4A runner-up team, Liberty entered this season with only a few standout playmakers and vocal leaders. So it seemed. Senior quarterback Dan Persa figured to provide the playmaking, while seniors Oscar Rivera and Al Petros figured…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty senior quarterback Dan Persa made his game against Easton a memorable one Saturday night. He did it with speed, swiftness, and in a testament to his overall toughness, Persa at times also went airborne and dove to pick up yards. Whatever it took, Persa willingly did it,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty doesn’t want to hear any excuses about Easton being fatigued or too emotionally drained to play its best football. And Easton doesn’t plan to make any. “This is the icing on the cake for us,” Easton coach Steve Shiffert said. “Our kids will be just as determined…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton came from the right and left with blitzes and bulldozed through the middle, and each time the result was punishment for Phillipsburg on Thursday morning at Lafayette College’s Fisher Stadium. Often, it was Phillipsburg quarterback Justin Viscomi being swarmed, and on one…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →More players have the freedom to shoot away at Muhlenberg this season. That’s what comes with experience, which the Mules certainly have with eight seniors back for its largest senior class in 25 years. In all, 84.8 percent of the offense has returned, which has created optimism…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →With the exception of playing quarterback in midget football in Palmer Township, the only other experience Easton senior Jon Baltz had throwing the ball before this season was when he used to goof off with friends in backyard games. But despite his lack of experience, he’s…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Last week, all Liberty heard about was talk about the Easton-Parkland District 11 showdown. This week, the majority of attention throughout the Lehigh Valley is on the 100th Thanksgiving Day meeting between Easton and Phillipsburg at Lafayette College’s Fisher Field. There’s…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Steve Shiffert that Easton High fans see intensely pacing the sidelines with his trademark white towel either hanging on his shoulders or gripped tightly in his hands, has a different demeanor on Sundays. Sundays are not only his day of peace. They are his days to get out of…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Phillipsburg coach Bob Stem has so many stories to tell, many of which will have you bent over laughing. He’s been involved in football as both a player and coach for more than 50 years. And though he was a center and linebacker on the Syracuse University team that beat Texas…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton-Liberty II is now set. Liberty tuned up for the rematch with a 42-7 annihilation of Abington Heights in the District 11-2-4 Class 4A subregional semifinals Saturday afternoon before a standing-room only crowd at scenic Comets Stadium. Liberty’s main offensive star was…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Fans of legendary old boxing matches would likely call Easton and Parkland’s District 11-2-4 Class 4A subregional semifinal a 15-round cliff-hanger with a telling blow at the end Friday night before a capacity crowd of 9,000 in Orefield. Ian Heck’s 36-yard field goal with 2.7…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Two streaks will be on the line when Easton and Parkland meet in the District 11-2-4 Class 4A subregional semifinals tonight in Orefield. Parkland (11-0) will try to extend its winning streak to 16 games, dating back to Oct. 21, 2005. The other streak belongs to Easton (10-1),…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Don’t pay too much attention to Phillipsburg senior quarterback Justin Viscomi’s skinny body. It doesn’t matter that he’s only 5-11, 170, or that he played defensive back his first two years at Phillipsburg, seeing no action behind center. Bob Stem returned to Phillipsburg last…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Several Bethlehem Catholic players bent over, some crying, while others simply appeared dumbfounded Saturday night. The Golden Hawks had just lost 35-33 to heavy underdog Northwestern in a District 11 Class 3A semifinal at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. It may be one of…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Northwestern brought everything it needed to Bethlehem Area School District Stadium Saturday night, except boxing gloves. Twice, Northwestern, however, was penalized for roughing the kicker, both 15-yard penalties that enabled the Golden Hawks to keep alive drives. But…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Four years after winning the PIAA Class 4A championship, Parkland returns to the district playoffs with a balanced team that appears capable of making another run to Hershey. The Trojans don’t have a running back breaking school and state records as Austin Scott did in 2002 with…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Jose Olivero is now the “Lone Star” in Lehigh’s backcourt. And he’s been a star since arriving on the Bethlehem campus in 2003. As a freshman, Olivero hit a jumper with 3.9 seconds left that lifted Lehigh past American, 59-57, for the Patriot League tournament championship at…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Pius X quarterback Cole Hildabrant has passed for 2,089 yards, and his favorite wideout, Wade Williams, has caught 53 passes for 883 yards and 16 touchdowns. Those are eye-popping statistics that have helped Hildabrant, a senior, and Williams, a junior, receive Division I…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland, Easton, Liberty and Bethlehem Catholic, start your engines. It’s time to begin the more serious chase on the road to Hershey. Each Lehigh Valley Conference team is heavily favored to win its first-round playoff game this weekend. Parkland (10-0), Easton (9-1) and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty senior Oscar Rivera rushed to the locker room at halftime on Saturday afternoon, fumes seemingly blowing out of his ears. Rivera was frustrated that Liberty, the team with the high-powered offense and inflated confidence following an emotional victory over Easton last…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →With their demolition of Bethlehem Catholic finally over, Easton’s seniors lapped the field, and then, following a postgame speech from coach Steve Shiffert, they retreated outside into the cold to dig up pieces of the Cottingham Stadium grass field Friday night. It was a night…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland can complete it’s first 10-0 regular season since 1996 by beating rival Whitehall tonight. Even better, Parkland (9-0, 8-0 LVC) will clinch its first outright Lehigh Valley Conference title since 2002, the year the Trojans also won the PIAA Class 4A championship.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Phil Bortz is back to running with power and back to cherishing every single down as if it could be his last. Bortz is a senior football player, who starts at fullback and outside linebacker for Parkland High, which enters the final regular-season weekend 9-0 and ranked No. 1 in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Emmaus football coach Joe Bottiglieri grew up two blocks from Easton’s Cottingham Stadium and had early ambitions to play for the Red Rovers. He eventually did suit up for Easton and then went on to play at the collegiate level. After graduating from Easton in 1966, he played a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Lehigh Valley Conference finally had a high school football game live up to the hype Friday night. It wasn’t because it was a shootout. It wasn’t because it went down the final seconds before being decided. It was because Easton and Liberty went toe-to-toe, each taking and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bethlehem Catholic has been in good hands this season with Ben Eichman as its starting quarterback. Eichman had not rolled up big numbers passing-wise, not until Saturday afternoon, that is, when he threw for a career-high 261 yards in leading the Golden Hawks to a 31-14…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Dan Persa was bent backwards, his helmet driven hard into the NeXturf Friday night. Easton’s Connor Moore had just leveled Persa with the hit of the game, forcing Liberty into a fourth-and-four late in the fourth quarter. On the next play, Persa ran right back into the heart of…
· 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 →Aaron Gray plans to buy his mother, Sandy, a 41-foot boat, and his father, Michael, a plain white Ford truck. Gray plans to buy those gifts next year, because he’s likely to be quite wealthy after the NBA draft in June. Gray has a bright future as a professional basketball…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bob Stem was nearing his exit from a diner in Easton when an older woman walked by and expressed her high school football loyalty in a very sharp, yet also funny, tone. “Bad luck Thanksgiving,” the lady said. “I wouldn’t be an Easton rooter if I didn’t say that.” The man with…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty senior quarterback Dan Persa will face the daunting prospect of trying to beat Easton standout defensive back Jarred Holley on deep throws Friday night at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. He’ll also be summoned to score points against Easton’s first-team defense,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Two weeks ago, Bethlehem Catholic senior Kyle John bulldozed through Liberty offensive linemen with the most fierce pass rush of his life. It was overtime, his Golden Hawks were ahead by a point, and it was loud inside Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. It became even…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →College football has a Cinderella story that’s far more appealing than the ugliness that was the brawl between Miami and Florida International players last Saturday night. The story is the one about walk-on kicker Steve Aponavicius, the baby-faced Boston College sophomore who…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It’s time for the 20-some remaining players on Dieruff’s football team to walk the hallways, the cafeteria line, and maybe even the streets of East Allentown to ask the former players who abandoned them if they’re happy about the Huskies’ 18-game losing streak, which dates back…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Brothers Oscar and Justin Rivera used to play roughhouse football in their parents’ living room growing up and, as a result, they’d often shake up the furniture. The brothers are now two-way starters at Liberty, and their coach, Tim Moncman, has demanded all season that they…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Andres Morales, Andrew Lee, Rich Jarnagin and Mike McClarin, all big playmakers with voices that carry on the sidelines and in the locker room, are not around to fire up their teammates at Liberty High, anymore. They graduated in June, but somebody else better try and find a way…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty coach Tim Moncman, a former linebacker at Lafayette College, a married man with two young children, and at times a father-figure to many of his players, deserves some praise. Even if his Hurricanes don’t make it back to Hershey to compete in the PIAA Class 4A…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Northampton coach Teko Johnson wasn’t too quick to delete one particular e-mail from his inbox this week. He enjoyed knowing whom it was from and everything it suggested. “I got an e-mail this week from the coach at Colorado, and it was, “Are you willing to take a risk, are you…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →No longer does Matt Rice have to worry about playing time. Like all good players, he wants to be on the field all the time. He didn’t get his wish at Bethlehem Catholic, but he transferred to Liberty after last fall and is now a two-way starter for the Hurricanes. “I was over…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The head coach of the only team in the Lehigh Valley Conference that has not allowed a point yet this season hesitated little in answering a question about how he’d stop Parkland’s Wing-T offense. “Call Doug Powell,” Easton coach Steve Shiffert said, referring to his defensive…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Jarred Holley intercepted two passes, rushed for a touchdown, caught passes, returned punts, and was one of the first Easton High players to give Brittany Ryan a high five as she came to the sidelines after becoming the first girl in school history to kick a field goal last…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Northampton coach Teko Johnson hasn’t flashed back to the last time he was in the heat of battle with Parkland. That was last Sept. 16 at Parkland Stadium in Orefield, when Johnson suddenly felt faint and short of breath. His left side became numb, and he felt pain in his upper…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Easton offense would have reason to be jealous of its defense, if it were not for the fact that most of the standout players go both ways. It’s on defense that they’ve excelled the most. “Their defense is outstanding,” said Whitehall coach Bob Panny, whose Zephyrs managed…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Want bulletin board material, Parkland? Forget about it. The Bethlehem Catholic coaches and players have too much respect for the Trojans. So the Golden Hawks are saying all the right things. Maybe it’s because Bethlehem Catholic coach Tarik Haddad and his offensive coordinator,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Central Catholic coach Harold Fairclough’s shirt was drenched once again, his palms were sweaty and his heart was pumping fast. Finally, he was in a ballgame at the end, his first victory as a head coach within grasp if his players could make clutch plays late. It was Saturday…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Three Freedom players limped off the field, each the victim of punishing tackles by the Parkland defense Friday night. Excluding one big-scoring pass play in the fourth quarter, Freedom managed zilch against the Trojans’ fast-pursuing and hard-hitting defense in a Lehigh Valley…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton, Liberty and Parkland are coming off 41-, 42- and 48-point victories. Just as telling is the fact that their opponents did not score. So, after three weeks, the “Big Three” have established themselves as the teams to beat in the Lehigh Valley Conference. Bethlehem…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →You cannot be considered a winner until you’ve done it on a consistent basis. Like year-after-year. And against elite opponents. The latter is why, despite starting 2-0, Freedom doesn’t have many jumping on its bandwagon just yet. The Patriots started last season by routing two…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bethlehem Catholic senior Mark Scattene closed out the first and second quarters by thwarting Central Catholic with his hands, moves and speed Saturday night. Terrell Dobbins, the Golden Hawks’ bulldozing tailback, stymied the Vikings even more with breakaway touchdown runs that…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →There might be a traffic jam around Emmaus High tonight. Perennial Lehigh Valley Conference powerhouse Easton, led by star defensive back Jarred Holley and hard-hitting linebacker Ryan Hartzell, will be playing in Emmaus for the first time since Sept. 26, 1997. “It’s a big game…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Every down of every game, one thought will be running through the minds of Nazareth players. “Nobody will give up on the guy next to him,” said senior Shawn Sylvainus. “We’ll never give up.” It was not that way last season, which opened with the Blue Eagles losing 9-0 to Blue…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Way too much attention has been given to the players who transferred from Bethlehem Catholic, and not enough praise has been given to the star wideout who stayed put after last season. But stay tuned. Golden Hawks senior Mark Scattene may soon play his way into some headlines.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The questions were so annoying. “The whole offseason people were asking me, how are we going to replace Charles [Irvin]?” said Liberty quarterback Dan Persa. “How are we going to replace Hoagie [linebacker Andres Morales] ? How are we going to replace all those seniors that we…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The stadium lights will be on tonight from Allentown to Easton as Lehigh Valley Conference teams begin play. What should be expected? “I’ll let you know around 9:30,” Easton coach Steve Shiffert said a few days ago. “It’s a lot different when you have 3,000 fans out there,” said…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Harold Bellis has experienced every aspect of the Easton-Phillipsburg rivalry for the last 73 years. Now 90 years old, Bellis is the oldest living man to have played and coached at Phillipsburg. “I saw my first game when I was 10 years old, 1926, and ever since then I’ve been at…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →As the 100th Thanksgiving Day meeting between Easton and Phillipsburg draws nearer, memories of the rivalry’s greatest games, players, and coaches come flooding back. There have been scoreless ties in 1944 and 1967, unexpected blowouts, like Easton’s 31-0 victory in 2004 in a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Nobody is going to overlook Whitehall this season. The Zephyrs have too much size to be ignored as a contender for the Lehigh Valley Conference title, along with Liberty, Easton and Parkland. “We think we have kids who can be competitive and that are powerful,” said Whitehall…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Star quarterback Alex Atiyeh may have thrown his final high school pass. Atiyeh, a junior quarterback at Bethlehem Catholic last year, has transferred to Allen and had hoped to take over in the Canaries’ wide-open offensive set this season. But the District 11 Athletic Committee…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Nobody from Nazareth wants to dwell on the last game of the season, a 13-3 loss to Nor-Gwyn on Friday night. There are too many good memories from the 28-game season. There’s the Northampton County title it won for the second straight summer, an accomplishment that followed a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →All-Big East Conference center Aaron Gray, former Colonial Athletic Association all-rookie guard Ray Barbosa and 2005-06 Morning Call boys basketball Player of the Year Terrence Roderick from Allen will play in the sixth annual Adult Mid-Summer Basketball Classic, which runs…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Where’s the eraser? North Parkland needs it before taking to Owls Field at Ted Palka Park this morning. Two Buffaloes pitchers were battered for seven runs in the top of the ninth inning Tuesday morning, enabling perennial powerhouse Boyertown to hammer out a 13-3 victory in the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Where’s the eraser? North Parkland needs it before taking to Owls Field at Ted Palka Park this morning. Two Buffaloes pitchers were battered for seven runs in the top of the ninth inning Tuesday morning, enabling perennial powerhouse Boyertown to hammer out a 13-3 victory in the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Amy Heffner ignited the Parkland girls rally from an eight-point deficit with steals, deft passes and the type of all-around hustle that could help her get on the radar screen of Division I scouts. Her Trojans teammate, Erin Anthony, has already received D-I offers, and the 6-0…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →John Babb’s lingering memory about his amateur boxing debut at SportsFest X will be over the decision he wasn’t awarded Saturday. Many fans may remember most the Scottish kilt and socks that Babb wore during his Pennsylvania Golden Gloves super heavyweight novice division bout…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty quarterback Dan Persa has made his college choice and is now focused on trying to lead Liberty to a state championship next season. “We got there last year,” he said. “We just need to finish the job this year.” Finish it, that is, before Persa, who established a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Finally, after a mostly frustrating game of overthrown passes, Whitehall quarterback Mike Gnall settled down. Less than a minute remained. Game tied, first-and-10 with 43 yards to go for a touchdown Thursday night at Nazareth’s Andy S. Leh Stadium. Pressure? Not for Gnall, who…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Finally, after a mostly frustrating game of overthrown passes, Whitehall quarterback Mike Gnall settled down. Less than a minute remained. Game tied, first-and-10 with 43 yards to go for a touchdown Thursday night at Nazareth’s Andy S. Leh Stadium. Pressure? Not for Gnall, who…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bethlehem Catholic’s Mike Bishop won’t have to search hard to find his biggest fan Thursday night. His brother Matt, 19, who also played at Bethlehem Catholic, plans to be boisterous in the stands at Nazareth’s Andy Leh Stadium. Mike Bishop will be playing linebacker for the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Aaron Gray has a passion for everything in the city of Pittsburgh, except the Super Bowl-champion Steelers. “I was never an Eagles fan,” Gray said with laughter. “I was never a Steelers fan. I’m a Raiders fan.” But Gray loves the fans who cheer on the Steelers because a lot of…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Jim Tkach got his father’s day gift Saturday night. Tkach, the retired Northern Lehigh football coach, sat in the stands at Hersheypark Stadium while his son, Tyler, played defensive end for Pennsylvania in the Big 33 Football Classic. Pennsylvania won the shootout, 61-42,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Andres Morales bulled forward and rammed into one Ohio player after another. He was Pennsylvania’s starting fullback, and to a large degree, he handled his job well Saturday night. He even mouthed off a few times, but Morales has never been the quiet type. He was the vocal,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Andres Morales is finally a day away from playing in HersheyPark Stadium for the first time. No need to ask if he’s ready. The Big 33 Football Classic is a game that Morales, Liberty’s all-state and Morning Call all-area linebacker, has always dreamed about. That’s why his heart…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Andrew Lee has been confronted with one big test after another since practice for the Big 33 Football Classic began on Saturday. He’s had to learn new defensive schemes and adjust to covering wideouts who are faster than he is. He’s also had to prove that he belongs on the same…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Warren West is no longer nicknamed “Smurf,” though he’s still close friends with Ricky Watters and others whom he shared a memorable Big 33 Football Classic experience with 19 years ago. At 5-6, 190 pounds, West was the smallest Pennsylvania all-star player, however he had…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Rushane Scott is still running on clouds. He can’t help it because his emotions have remained high. Last Saturday, Allen’s standout senior accomplished what no Lehigh Valley sprinter had done in 41 years when he won the Class 3A 100-meter dash at the PIAA Track and Field…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →To become a state champion in the 100-meter dash, Allen’s Rushane Scott had to spend countless hours running sprints, often in the most unfavorable conditions, Whitehall’s Andy Fahringer spent as many hours tossing around a disc, javelin, and heavy steel ball. The payoffs came…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Rushane Scott’s tears of joy lasted for several minutes. Memories of what he accomplished at the PIAA Track and Field Championships Saturday will last forever. The Allen senior closed out his career by winning the Class 3A 100-meter dash in a time of 10.60. Scott surged into the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Andy Fahringer’s mind said, “Go slow,’ but slippery conditions forced him to move faster than he wanted to in the Class 3A discus throw Friday morning at Shippensburg University. But driving rain could not prevent Fahringer from winning the event to become the first Whitehall…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bethlehem Catholic did in 2003 what no Lehigh Valley team had ever done — win a PIAA Track and Field team title. Three years later, the Golden Hawks are boasted by a standout distance runner in Eric Yeager, a rising sprinter in Chris Carter and a top-seeded discus thrower in Joe…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Give Rushane Scott a paint brush — or anything else to draw with — and he’ll craft an image of exactly what he plans to accomplish at the PIAA Track and Field Championships. Allen’s star senior sprinter will paint a picture of himself winning the Class 3A title in the 100 and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Rushane Scott proved, for the second straight year, that he was the fastest sprinter at the District 11 Track and Field Championships. He did it with ease, leaving the crowd in awe as he overcame a sizable deficit in the 400-meter relay to lead Allen to a Class 3A victory at the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It didn’t take long for Tyrone Faverey to become one of the state’s top high jumpers. The Parkland senior track and field star won the PIAA Track and Field Class 3A high jump title last year at Shippensburg University in just his third year as a jumper. He’s considered a state…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It was raining and windy, but Bethlehem Catholic junior Joe Kovacs was not bothered. He was pumped and anxious to blow out the competition early in the Class 2A discus throw at the District 11 Track and Field Championships Wednesday at Blue Mountain High School. “I practice in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Eric Yeager has eaten mostly pasta and has resisted the temptation for junk food since last Wednesday. He has also focused harder and trained harder. Now, a week later, the Bethlehem Catholic senior is set to close out one of the most successful distance running careers in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Joe Kovacs will never win 12 district gold medals, which is what his mother, Joanna Rampulla, a standout thrower for Nazareth High in the late 1970s, did. But two weeks from now, the Bethlehem Catholic junior has a solid chance to accomplish something his mother never did. And…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Brad Walter refused to go to the pine, despite a right hamstring pull that he had suffered less than an hour earlier. His coach even pleaded with him, but to no avail. The Wilson sprinter, who has been the Colonial League’s best in the 100- and 200-meter dashes all spring, had…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Allen sprinter Rushane Scott had other sprinters looking at the back of his jersey each time he ran Wednesday afternoon at J. Birney Crum Stadium. But he said his victories weren’t as easy as they seemed. Scott gained early leads in the 100- and 200-meter dashes and pulled out…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland senior John Carelli made the high jump and triple jump seem like routine business Tuesday at the Lehigh Valley Conference Track & Field Championships. It seemed that way because Carelli won both jumping events for the third straight year. He tied his personal best in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lafayette won’t be small in the middle next season. Nor the season the follows. Marek Koltun, a 6-10, 265-pounder, will likely be manning the paint, and who knows what towers Leopards coach Fran O’Hanlon will get to commit to Lafayette next spring. After all, O’Hanlon now has…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton seniors Colin Brett, Derrick Lambert, Alex Nourse and Gerald Lebar have formed an awesome foursome. They have the area’s best time in the 3,200-meter relay (8:28.5) and they are the catalysts on a Red Rovers team that’s 3-0-1 in the LVC. The Red Rovers still have to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The greatest athletic accomplishment of his life was over, and Parkland’s Tyrone Faverey and his mother, Karen, were driving back to the Lehigh Valley from Shippensburg. There was no music blasting, no horns honking. “I fell asleep,” said Faverey, who won the PIAA Class 3A high…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Villanova forward Jackie Adamshick is paying more attention to North Carolina than any of the other three teams playing in the women’s NCAA Tournament’s Final Four in Boston. It’s not that she’s in love with those Tar Heel baby blue jerseys. Adamshick is doing some advance…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The deans of area track and field coaches are back. Freedom’s Ray Herman returns for his 41st season and Southern Lehigh’s Brian Souerwine is back for his 34th. While not a lot has changed since last spring, a whole lot has changed in general over the years. “It’s amazing,” said…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →For Jason Donnelly, the gut-wrenching final seconds of Villanova’s NCAA Tournament game against Arizona last Sunday night were nothing compared to the final days of his mother’s life. But the mentally tough way he reacted to both was the same. That’s because Donnelly,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Villanova senior guard Allan Ray can see fine, and he’s ready to shoot. Past Monmouth and into the second round of the NCAA Tournament, that is. Ray practiced for two hours Wednesday afternoon at The Pavilion, on Villanova’s campus. His jump shot was on and so was his overall…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The only thing missing was a drum roll. Everything else was there — blowing trumpets and cheering fans and, as the moment of truth neared, heartbeats that raced off the charts. This was not the frenzied final seconds of a very big game. This was exuberance about the history made…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Villanova senior Allan Ray found out more about the New York City streets than he wanted to Friday night. He didn’t like it. Not even close, and the thing about it is he wasn’t driving. Instead, he was a passenger in an ambulance that was transporting him to St. Vincent Hospital…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Pittsburgh center Aaron Gray’s walk was slow, his emotions were drained as he left the Madison Square Garden court Saturday night. His dreams of winning his first Big East Tournament championship were spoiled, done in by Syracuse senior guard Gerry McNamara and the teammates who…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Pittsburgh center Aaron Gray’s walk was slow, his emotions were drained as he left the Madison Square Garden court Saturday night. His dreams of winning his first Big East tournament championship were spoiled, done in by the spectacular play of Syracuse senior guard Gerry…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Maybe, the Big East Tournament just wasn’t meant for Connecticut and Villanova, the nation’s No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams, respectively, to win. Maybe it’s just meant to be the G-Mac Show. Syracuse senior guard Gerry McNamara’s inspired play helped beat UConn in the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Maybe, the Big East Tournament just wasn’t meant for Connecticut and Villanova, the nation’s No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams, respectively, to win. Maybe it’s just meant to be the G-Mac Show. Syracuse senior guard Gerry McNamara’s inspired play helped beat UConn in the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Jay Wright is now the top coach, and his star senior guard, Randy Foye, the best player in the Big East Conference. That was revealed Tuesday night in New York City, when Wright, following a 24-3 regular season that included going 14-2 in conference play, was named the coach of…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh coach Billy Taylor hopes his season isn’t over, that the Mountain Hawks’ 19-12 record puts them in contention for a National Invitational Tournament bid. It’s nice to hope and it would certainly be a major boost for the Patriot League’s profile if Lehigh received a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh plans to start its engine early this afternoon and keep it running. But the Mountain Hawks (19-11) do not have history in their favor. They have not beaten Holy Cross (19-11) at the Hart Center since 1998. They are 0-4 against the Crusaders in Patriot League Tournament…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Muhlenberg and Moravian women’s basketball teams have experienced enthusiasm like never before this week. They both hope to create even more excitement as NCAA Division III tournament play opens today. Muhlenberg, owner of a school-record 25 wins with just two defeats, meets…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Muhlenberg, the Centennial Conference women’s champion, and Moravian, the Commonwealth Conference runner-up, will both begin NCAA Division III tournament play in Virginia on Friday. The coaches from both schools can’t wait to hit the road. And the players? “I think kids have to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lauren Boyle’s adrenaline was still running high, so much so that the Muhlenberg freshman was thinking about what big play she could make next. Within seconds of that thought, however, Boyle was swarmed by her teammates. “Sometimes you don’t know that the game is over, but…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →There’s little doubt that Lehigh and Bucknell have a heated rivalry, especially since six of the last eight meetings have been decided by five points or less. You’d expect the fans, those who are loyal, to be more jacked up than normal when the two Patriot League teams meet. The…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Baseball Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins, a former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher, and former Philadelphia 76ers center Darryl Dawkins both went straight from high school to their respective professional leagues. Neither got to experience college, something both men said Thursday…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →This is the week that college basketball players dream about, and it’s when coaches really earn their pay. This is a week for all fans to enjoy, at the Division I, II and III levels. On of the biggest games will involve the area’s hottest men’s team. Lehigh (18-9, 11-1) will try…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →“February Madness” has arrived for local teams at DeSales, Moravian and Muhlenberg. That’s because playoff seeds and berths are on the line. The DeSales women (14-9, 8-4) will have their chance to punch a Freedom Conference playoff ticket with a road victory over Delaware Valley…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Rich Jarnagin entered Liberty High School four years ago as a skinny freshman, but one with a lot of potential. He became stronger and faster and this year made several game-breaking plays on both sides of the ball to help Liberty go 13-2 and finish as the PIAA Class 4A…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →There was never any doubt in Lehigh junior guard Jose Olivero’s mind. He was going to drive to the basket, and take on anybody who got in his way, including 6-10 Holy Cross center Tim Clifford on Saturday night. Clifford had blocked Olivero earlier, but that, Olivero said, was…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh junior Adrienne Blount did what her coach asked her to do in the second half against Holy Cross on Saturday night at Stabler Arena, but it wasn’t enough to save the Mountain Hawks. She scored 16 of her career-high 20 points and collected all six of her rebounds after…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty High defensive stars Andres Morales and Andrew Lee will have a second chance for a last impression of before closing the book on their high school careers. Morales and Lee were selected on Sunday to the Pennsylvania squad for the 49th annual Big 33 Football Classic in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh’s student fans have a chance to prove that they are more loyal than fairweather Wednesday night. They have a chance to get rowdy and become a more effective “sixth man.” They have chance to prove that Stabler Arena is a place you need to bring earplugs to rather than a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Syracuse senior guard Gerry McNamara made his final appearance in the Wachovia Center as a college player on Saturday. There was nothing he liked about it. “I had two open looks, my first shot and my last shot, and that was it,” said McNamara, a Scranton native who averaged 18.0…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Syracuse center Sara Antolick recalled an awesome highlight from a high school matchup with Villanova forward Jackie Adamshick. It was in Antolick’s sophomore year at Bethlehem Catholic. Adamshick was a senior at Central Catholic, the school Antolick transferred to for her…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The stage is never as big, the spotlight far from blinding, but Moravian coach Mary Beth Spirk has always considered the NCAA Division III playoffs just as important as March dancing that Division I teams do. That’s why Spirk and her players are dreaming big now, hoping that…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Lehigh men and women closed out 2005 by losing non-league games at Stabler Arena on Friday, but they cannot afford to dwell on those setbacks as they prepare for Patriot League play. And fresh starts. They have final tune-ups in doubleheader action Wednesday at Stabler. The…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh guard Sara Ellis swished 3-pointers off the dribble, and sometimes from another area code. She also had a sweet short-range game against Fairfield in the nightcap of the ninth annual Christmas City Classic, Thursday night at Stabler Arena. She was so confident in her…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Andres Morales gave his mother, father, brothers, and sister Rutgers paraphernalia for Christmas gifts on Sunday. Then, the all-state and Morning Call all-area linebacker from Liberty asked them if they could figure out which college he had orally committed to attend next fall.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehighton running back Robbie Frey often ran by, and away from, linemen during a 2,000-yard season. Central Catholic offensive lineman Chris Waldron bowled over opposing linemen, and as a result, exceeded his own expectations in helping to clear the way for an offense that…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Andrew Lee took a few minutes away from watching King Kong at a movie theater Saturday night to reflect on some of the beast-like things he and co-defensive star, linebacker Andres Morales, did this season for Liberty. For Lee, there was the PIAA Class 4A Eastern final against…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The biggest game of his coaching career, the biggest in school history, ended with Liberty getting drubbed 49-10 in the PIAA Class 4A championship game last week in Hershey, but coach Tim Moncman did not shed a tear. Not in front of his players, not away from them. After the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Dan Persa was knocked down, intercepted, disheartened and even defeated in big games this season, but the Liberty junior kept coming back with pinpoint passing and breakaway speed to enjoy the most prolific season for a quarterback in school history. He finished with school…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A little more than 12 hours after losing in the PIAA Class 4A title game, a few Liberty players engaged in a snowball fight inside Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. They were still disconsolate after losing 49-10 to McKeesport on Saturday night in Hershey. But the tears…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The flashbacks have been re-occuring throughout the season for Wilson wideout Adam Thomas. Flashbacks of how it used to be when he and his best friend, Wilson quarterback D.J. Lenehan, ran roughshod over youth league defenses. But the days of being standout youth players in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The PIAA board of directors did not bend Saturday morning. The board voted by a 22-5 margin not to accept Bethlehem Area School District superintendent Joseph A. Lewis’ proposal to amend Section B of Article XIII of the PIAA bylaws. As a result, the high school career of…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty ran into a machine in the PIAA Class 4A championship Saturday night at Hersheypark Stadium. McKeesport was the machine, especially on defense. The Tigers were superbly fast, from the quarterback to the tailbacks, and even to the kicker, who kept trotting onto the field…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty quarterback Dan Persa showed up at Carl’s Corner steak and sub shop a few blocks from school earlier this week and saw an NBC-10 television reporter interviewing the owner about the football team Persa has helped lead to the PIAA Class 4A championship game. He was awed.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It’s going to come down to the final hour for Liberty senior Andres Morales, who still hopes he’ll be able to close out his high school career playing for the PIAA Class 4A title Saturday night in Hershey. Morales was ejected from last weekend’s game by official Ted Deptula for…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →They made jokes, lots of them. They will do so again tonight, and maybe even on Saturday before making the first-ever trip to Hershey for a Bethlehem Area School District team to play for a PIAA football championship. Pressure, you see, is easier to deal with when you share…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty quarterback Dan Persa tends to have as much fun as the kids he meets at the playground near his house. “Me and my friends will go there and just try to hit random objects [with a football],” Persa said. “I’ll hit the top bar of the swing set, then I’ll try to throw it at…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →An error in judgment was made by a PIAA official, and it will probably prevent Liberty senior Andres Morales from playing in the PIAA Class 4A championship Saturday in Hershey. It’s a game he’s dreamed about playing in his whole life, and he will spend tonight doing what he has…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →His fist was closed and he was steamed, but Liberty senior Andres Morales says he did not do anything that warranted his being ejected from Saturday’s PIAA Class 4A Eastern final at J. Birney Crum Stadium. But Ted Deptula, the back judge, thought Morales threw a punch, and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty’s Andrew Lee pounded his fist off his chest a few times, once after blocking an extra-point kick, and another time after scoring on an acrobatic reception in the end zone. But his most memorable pounding came after the most emphatic hit of the game, a shot by Lee so hard…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Uniform turn-in is not scheduled for next week at Liberty, and senior lineman Mike McClarin would like to keep it that way. “We never think like that,” McClarin said Friday before practice. “We have to think that we are going get a state championship, like we did all year.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →North Penn coach Dick Beck reclined in his office chair on Thursday and reeled off the names of Lehigh Valley players and teams he has admired. He humbly talked about his team, which is coming off a 55-20 win over Downingtown East in the District One championship game, which…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Andrew Lee is like a magnet when it comes to the spotlight. He loves being in it. Whether he’s playing football, doing the pole vault, or in a classroom at Liberty High, Lee is often the center of attention “You never see him without a smile on his face,” said Liberty football…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Nobody can look into the mind of Liberty junior quarterback Dan Persa, holder of the school’s single-season passing touchdown record, and see what’s brewing. Liberty fans probably hope that it’s full of excitement and drive, and that he doesn’t have any space available for fear.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Now it’s time for Liberty to play a team that won’t buckle every time tailback Charles Irvin makes a dance move at the line of scrimmage, then breaks loose up field. Now it’s time for Liberty’s defense to match up against a team that won’t crumble every time linebacker Andres…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Now it’s time for Liberty to play a team that won’t buckle every time tailback Charles Irvin makes a dance move at the line of scrimmage, then breaks loose up field. Now it’s time for Liberty’s defense to match up against a team that won’t crumble every time linebacker Andres…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Frankford did not tune up for its first-ever PIAA Class 4A quarterfinal appearance the way coach Mike Capriotti had hoped it would on Thanksgiving Day, losing to previously winless North Catholic, 12-0. But the Pioneers woke up Friday morning a renewed team, Capriotti said. They…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Andres Morales is the Homecoming king at Liberty, but he’s no pretty boy. The Hurricanes senior linebacker considers himself the opposite, because what he does on the field is not pretty. He hits hard, and doesn’t care if he gets bruised in the process. There are days following…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Often you hear quarterbacks and running backs wisely give credit for their standout performances to their offensive linemen. Austin Scott, the ex-Parkland High great and owner of the state’s single-season rushing record, did it every week in 2002 en route to leading the Trojans…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty missed no beats on offense, allowed only 20 first-half yards, and made its jubilant fans forget that it was below 30 degrees Friday night. Dominating play does that, and Liberty’s 42-7 bombarding of Hazleton in the PIAA District 2-11 Class 4A subregional final at…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Mike Gnall is best man in his brother Joe’s wedding next Saturday. But, if Whitehall wins tonight’s District 2-4-11 subregional Class 3A title game, he may not get the chance to wear the tuxedo he was recently fitted for. The fourth-seeded Zephyrs (9-2) visit No. 2 Pottsville…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty’s 48-10 victory over Easton last Friday earned the Hurricanes their third District 11 Class 4A Championship, and gave them a 10-win season for the third time in school history. It also finally got the monkey off the ‘Canes’ backs. They had lost nine straight to Easton,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh coach Billy Taylor upgraded his non-league schedule, adding Princeton of the Ivy League and Big East preseason favorite and national championship contender Villanova. And the Mountain Hawks competed in the Black Coaches Association Invitational preseason tournament in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The black and red bull-rushed, seeking once again to tackle, deflate and possibly sideline Liberty quarterback Dan Persa. Three times Persa was tackled for negative yards. Each time he rose quickly, apparently more determined to prove that he could survive every one of Easton’s…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty opened fiercely, especially on defense, and continued to emphatically erase memories of past failures against Easton in the PIAA District 2-4-11 subregional semifinals Friday night. It seemed easy, especially every time Hurricanes linebacker Evan Bauer charged into the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Whitehall responded to a season-opening 49-20 loss to Berwick by winning eight straight games and earning a share of the Lehigh Valley Conference title and a berth in the PIAA District 2-4-11 Class 3A subregionals. Now the Zephyrs have to mend broken hearts from a 28-21 loss to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Defending 4A district champion Easton appeared unbothered by the fiercely whipping wind Thursday afternoon, and focused on playing with the same fury in its rematch with Liberty tonight. Despite the heavy wind, passes sailed crisply through the air, most landing into eagerly…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A coach who has established a legacy in the state, and who might be able to run for mayor in Slatington and win, is about to make one final run at a PIAA Class 2A title. But Northern Lehigh coach Jim Tkach would first like to win a PIAA District 11 Class 2A subregional semifinal…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty quarterback Dan Persa did not see black and red jerseys, or Jarred Holley blanketing his wideouts, or anything else on Freedom’s defense that served as a haunting reminder of his last game against Easton. Instead, Persa saw only open field, open receivers, and for the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Oh brother, here came Whitehall, right back in striking distance for quarterback Mike Gnall, with less than two minutes on the clock Friday night at Parkland Stadium. Down seven, ball near midfield, first-and-10, Gnall back in the pocket, bouncing around, trying to see if he can…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Whitehall has won eight straight games, but may need to extend that streak to nine to secure a District 11/Sub-Regional Class 3A playoff spot. “It’s something the way things fell,” said Zephyrs coach Bob Panny. “After eight conference games we have a chance.” A chance to return…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →His teammates had walked somberly off the Cottingham Stadium field Friday night. Liberty junior Ray Olivo stayed back, reflecting on the Hurricanes’ fourth-quarter collapse and how his once pee-wee football rival and good friend, Eaton sophomore Jarred Holley, had managed to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Go ahead, if you will, and think of Easton as just some undersized, offensively-challenged team that wasn’t supposed to be within tail-light distance of Liberty Friday night at Cottingham Stadium. But don’t forget about Easton’s storied past: About the 718 all-time victories,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →First-year Dieruff coach Jake Williams didn’t think he’d contend for the Lehigh Valley Conference title this season. He didn’t figure on finishing last, either, but that will be the harsh reality if Dieruff (0-8 overall, 0-6 LVC) doesn’t pull off an upset over the next two…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Getting mentally up for Dieruff on Sept. 16 at J. Birney Crum Stadium was no problem at all for Liberty, even though the Hurricanes knew they had major advantages on both sides of the ball. Liberty played Dieruff with the same tenacity it expects to have against Easton (5-2,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →An athletic defeat is nowhere near as tough to deal with as a life casualty because the latter can hurt forever. Through eight games, Liberty coach Tim Moncman’s team has been perfect and he’d like to keep it that way with a victory over Easton Friday night at Cottingham…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Breakaway tailback Charles Irvin and his Liberty teammates can now focus solely on next Friday night’s showdown against Easton at Cottingham Stadium. It’s serious business, serious because Liberty lost only two games last season, and both were to Easton. It’s serious because…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Emmaus stopped making mistakes and excuses, and stopped losing after its embarrassing Week 4 loss to Nazareth. Maybe it was hard to walk the school hallways after losing 28-7 to Nazareth, a team that had not won a game entering that Lehigh Valley Conference matchup on Sept. 23.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Darryl Dawkins coached the Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs to United States Basketball League titles in 2001 and 2004, and had hoped that his success would land him a job as a head coach in the NBA Development League. He’s still hoping. In the meantime, Dawkins will try to win another…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty coach Tim Moncman has a quick response to parents who complain about play-calling and about playing time for their sons, even if that player has Division I talent. “I’d say go some place else,” Moncman said. Another high school, another program, another coach might…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Somebody needed to redirect focus and refuel the hunger in Liberty’s attack Friday night. Enter linebacker Andres Morales, who had already laid a few mean licks on Northampton players in a Lehigh Valley Conference game played in rainy and muddy conditions at Al Erdosy Stadium.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →John Gross does not experience quiet nights, the way he did growing up in Slatington. As a starting offensive lineman for Temple, he doesn’t experience many victories either. The Owls are 0-6 this year and have gone 7-34 in his four seasons. That’s not what he was used to in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty, Easton and Whitheall control their PIAA sub-regional playoff destinies with four regular-season games remaining. All each has to do is win, though somebody will lose when Liberty (6-0, 4-0) and Easton (5-1, 3-1) meet Oct. 28 at Cottingham Stadium. Whitehall (5-1, 4-0)…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Whitehall does not care what people say about it, whether good or bad. It does not care if people say its lucky not having to play Liberty or Easton this season. Actually, Whitehall does not care about anything, except what happens on that football field each week. “I live to…
· 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 →Alex Watty and Mike McClarin, two of Liberty’s grunts in the trenches, had fun plowing Bethlehem Catholic linemen Friday night. But they had even more fun watching tailback Charles Irvin turn their yeoman work into touchdowns in a Lehigh Valley Conference mismatch at Bethlehem…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Nobody is going to silence Rich Jarnagin, Liberty’s bullish tight end and linebacker. And he is particularly loud and animated when expressing his feelings about Bethlehem Catholic. The 6-1, 213-pound Jarnagin has had plenty to say this week because Liberty (5-0, 3-0) and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Central Catholic and Liberty established the identity of their teams in one quarter Saturday night. It takes some teams a whole season to do that. For Liberty, a 32-25 victor in overtime, moxie, determination, and clutch playmaking ability was discovered as it overcame an…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Steve Shiffert may be known to his players as a perfectionist, intense, and at times, intimidating. But last November, Shifffert’s soft side came out after a loss to Neshaminy in the PIAA Class 4A Eastern final. Shiffert, 53, cried for extended minutes, along with his players,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The game that will likely decide the Bethlehem city championship is a week away. But Bethlehem Catholic and Liberty must first contend with tough Lehigh Valley Conference opponents before worrying about their showdown at BethlehemArea School District Stadium next Friday night.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Lehigh Valley Conference has become more interesting thanks to Allen’s resurgence with consecutive victories over Freedom and Bethlehem Catholic. However, the Canaries (2-2) are in an uphill battle to advance to the PIAA Class 4A sub-regional playoffs because it’s difficult…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →When Charles Irvin intercepted a pass at the 10-yard line with a little over five minutes remaining, he wanted to run for a touchdown, run out of the end zone, and if possible, run up into the Bethlehem Area School District stadium stands Friday night. In his dreams, his…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty hopes to blow out Parkland in the same fashion it has its first three opponents. But it might not satisfy at least one Liberty High teacher. “One of my teachers said, “Can you make the games more interesting,’ but I said interesting games are usually the bad ones. The…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Central Catholic seeks validation. Beating defending Lehigh Valley Conference champion Easton at 7 p.m. Saturday at J. Birney Crum Stadium would help validate the Vikings as a conference contender. “I don’t have to get them pumped up,” said Central Catholic coach Donnie Roberts.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Jason Roeder’s hiring was heavily opposed by most Freedom players in February when he was chosen to succeed Jim Morgans as football coach. Roeder, 30, had never been a head coach and most of the players had developed a closeness to Michael Heimbach, who had been an assistant on…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The memory of his own watery eyes and the disconsolate looks on his teammates’ faces as tears trickled down their faces has not faded from Liberty quarterback Dan Persa’s memory. He cannot walk into the weight room or the locker room without being reminded of that 14-7 loss to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Brothers Oscar and Justin Rivera were so excited the first day they put on pads as 95-pound players for the Bethlehem Steelers’ football team that they went home and continued tackling. But not outside. Oscar and Justin, who now play for Liberty High School, plowed each other…
· 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 →Central Catholic will never be just an average football program, because the coaching staffs and players dressed in Vikings gear will always think they’re as good, if not better, than everybody else. Even if the victories don’t equal the always-high expectations. The fact is…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →He did not sleep with his helmet Thursday night and will not walk around school today with a football. But chances are Bethlehem Catholic quarterback Alex Atiyeh won’t take too long to get dressed in his brown and gold uniform for a Lehigh Valley Conference season-opener against…
· 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 →Danny Hargrove, a former Morning Call All-Area player got his wish to play in front of Allentown fans again and he made the best of it Sunday in the championship game of the Adult-Mid Summer Basketball Classic at Roosevelt Park. Aaron Gray, the starting center at the University…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Haldeman Ford’s adult men’s basketball team is not expected to have a big advantage on the Roosevelt Park blacktop this weekend like it did last summer. That’s because Haldeman won’t have 7-foot center Aaron Gray to depend on as it tries to repeat as Adult Mid-Summer Basketball…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →David Horton has drawn up a few plays in his mind, plays he hopes to execute in the Big 33 Football Classic Saturday night in Hersheypark Stadium. They are plays that involve catching, running, eluding, and, of course, scoring a touchdown as Horton did so often throughout his…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Domenique Price sat still and quiet, his body exhausted from a Tuesday morning workout with the other Pennsylvania all-stars in scorching heat at Hershey High. “I’m a little beat from two practices a day and it’s hot outside,” he said. “There is a lot of running around.” But he…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton’s Raymere Palmer talked himself up and believed he could back it up in the ring. The judges just didn’t see it that way. Palmer lost to Camden’s Mike Anderson in an action-packed 178-pound novice division title bout on a sizzling Sunday afternoon at Cedar Beach. The fans…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →SportsFest chairman Ray Atiyeh did not frown when Mother Nature dampened the Cedar Beach blacktops and grass with rain Saturday afternoon. Because not many people left the park. After the rain stopped more people began showing up, helping make the Day 3 crowd the largest in the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Cedar Beach was packed Thursday evening. And not everybody was playing games. Or walking. Or running. There were a lot of people grabbing free food in the overcrowded SportsFest hospitality tent. On the blacktop, there were high school basketball teams playing their hearts out…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Todd Kresge will have one more chance to make his mark on a Lehigh Valley football field Thursday night at Nazareth’s Andrew S. Leh Stadium. But he won’t get a chance to do it on defense, which was where he made one of the most memorable plays in Easton football history last…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Darryl Dawkins is going across the ocean and Iraqi lines, where more than 1,600 American soldiers have died since President Bush deployed troops there in March of 2003. Dawkins is going there to crack jokes, raise spirits, and lace up his super-sized sneakers to conduct clinics.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The bigger the meet, the tougher the competition, the faster Justin Gaymon runs. He’s winning gold medals and breaking his own Phillipsburg High track and field records. “The thing now is he knows he has the potential to be pretty good,” said Phillipsburg coach Bill Hurst.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bob Goffredo was on the sidelines waiting to be transported to the hospital in his last high school football game, an all-star classic at Catasauqua in 1982. But he was cognizant enough to know the outcome. “Yeah, we won,” said Goffredo, now the Pius X football coach. “The boys…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Tyrone Faverey reached down and touched the surface, rose up and leaped high into the air. He landed, stretched his back, glared forward and, after a few seconds of deep concentration, the Parkland junior sprinted toward the high jump pit and the destiny that awaited him…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Emmaus senior Nate Gilbert didn’t need his sunglasses until after his fifth jump. By then, he needed them to block the sun and to hide the tears he thought he was about to shed. He had one jump left and his heart was pumping faster than ever, because he had already clinched the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →John Carelli doesn’t worry about the stares he often gets from more-imposing athletes, the ones he has to compete against in the high jump. He just does his thing. Often, that’s win. He’s just 6-feet tall, and many of the athletes the Parkland High junior has beaten in the long,…
· 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 →Allen junior Rushane Scott was slightly behind out of the blocks, but he was way ahead at the tape. He’s closed many 100-meter dashes in the same fashion this spring. The stakes were higher in the Class 3A final in the District 11 track and field championships, but Scott easily…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →He was just about even with his rival, the one distance runner Northampton High senior Tyler McCandless said he thought he had lost to 80 times before. This time, only 50 meters remained in the 3,200-meter run and McCandless was no longer worried about past failures against…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bethlehem Catholic still has speed in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, just not the best around. That’s because former Becahi standouts Brandon Carter and Eddie Scipio have graduated and the area’s fastest boys runner is Allen’s Rushane Scott, who’s been timed at 10.6 in the 100…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Southern Lehigh stamped its name all over Bangor Memorial Park in the Colonial League track and field championships Thursday. But winning their second straight league championship — with 163 points — was not good enough for the Spartans. They can’t wait for next Wednesday and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →John Carelli probably won’t show up at J. Birney Crum Stadium with a broom this afternoon. Maybe his Parkland teammate Tyrone Faverey will bring one for him. Carelli is on the verge of sweeping the jumping events in the Lehigh Valley Conference Championships for the second…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The main event ended with blood, bruises, and two fatigued fighters Saturday night. The standing-room only crowd responded with a standing ovation. After a more than 50-year absence of professional boxing in center city Allentown, the John Karoly Four Corner Promotions show…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The numbers may startle you because you are talking about a track and field team — not a football team. But Parkland’s track team is much larger than any other team in this area, perhaps as large as any team in the state, maybe even the country. The Trojans have 297 athletes —…
· 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 →Frank Banko has not visited Bethlehem Area School District Stadium much since graduating from Liberty High in 1937. But he was there Thursday morning, recalling pleasant memories of when he rumbled on the grass field as a JV football player. “That was in the first few years that…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Justin Gaymon refused to settle for a repeat performance of his 2004 showing in the 400-meter hurdles at the Penn Relays. Never mind the 9 a.m. starting time for the high school boys championship race, the wet track and the driving rain. All Gaymon, a Phillipsburg High senior,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Emmaus High senior Sam Luff calmed his nerves and then went out and ran the best 3,000-meter race of his career Friday evening at Franklin Field. His debut at the Penn Relays was a memorable one. He used a solid breakaway kick over the final 200 meters to finish in second place…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Allen High junior Rushane Scott stunned his coach, Erika Smith, when he finished the 100-meter dash in 10.9 seconds on March 31. But Smith was stunned even more on April 14 when Scott clocked a 10.7 in a dual meet against Parkland. She won’t be surprised by anything else Scott…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Southern Lehigh seniors Justin Babich and Mike Snowden will try to lead the Spartans to another memorable Penn Relays finish at Franklin Field. Meanwhile, two first-time participants, distance runners Sam Luff of Emmaus and Tyler McCandless of Northampton, will try to achieve…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Arthur Perryman has probably looked down through the clouds countless times over the last 10 years to bless the people who once cheered and idolized him during his standout basketball career at East Stroudsburg High. Many of those people have refused to let memories of the…
· 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 →In with the new — and the old. The Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs are under new ownership for the third time in their six-year existence as businesswoman Valerie McQueen from Newport, Ky., completed all transactions with the league late Tuesday. And Darryl Dawkins will remain as head…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs may have finally secured financial backing to survive at least another season and are expected to open defense of their United States Basketball League championship Friday night at Dieruff High School. Service Electric Cable president John Walson…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Chris Pates was running with the wrong crowd and headed toward a dead end until he joined the Liberty High track and field team in the spring of his freshman year. Finally, he had goals to chase, first in the classroom, because without making the grade he wouldn’t have been…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The first week of April is far from when you’d expect track and field athletes to be peaking. But Parkland junior Tyrone Faverey may have done just that in the high jump. The hope is that he’ll continue to improve, but it may be tough to surpass the 6 feet, 10 inches he posted…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →John Bryant stood by his cubicle in the locker room of Madison Square Garden Thursday night, reeling off a list of great memories — and not disappointing finishes — to his last two seasons. He talked about his pride in wearing the Saint Joseph’s uniform the last four seasons,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The scrapping, clawing fight finally ended with Saint Joseph’s getting caught with a haymaker Tuesday night. Great champions have fallen before at Madison Square Garden. Saint Joe’s did not end as a champ, but coach Phil Martelli believes his team played like one until the final…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Andrew Koeffer sat at the far end of the Saint Joseph’s bench Tuesday night, extremely proud to be wearing his crimson and gray uniform at Madison Square Garden. He only broke a sweat in warm-ups because he did not play in the Hawks’ National Invitation Tournament semifinal game…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Dwayne Jones was everywhere inside the lane that Saint Joseph’s needed him to be Tuesday night against Memphis at Madison Square Garden. He was on the boards, ripping down rebounds. He was rushing to the left and right side of the lane, blocking and altering shots. Jones was…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Madison Square Garden could provide the stage for Saint Joseph’s senior guard Pat Carroll to do something Hawks junior point guard Dwayne Lee has not seen too often the last three years. And that’s a Pat Carroll dunk. “You know what? I might have seen him dunk 10 times since…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →For the final time in his Saint Joseph’s career, senior guard Pat Carroll glistened as the student body he’s thrilled so much with his shooting began to chant, “The Hawks will never die.” Just eight seconds remained when Carroll exited the game, a hard-fought National Invitation…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Saint Joseph’s freshman guard Abdulai Jalloh did not pretend on Saturday night that he knows anything about Holy Cross, or any other Patriot League team. Actually, Jalloh doesn’t know much about any team he hasn’t seen on television, or competed against in the Big 5 or Atlantic…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The stage is not as big as the one Saint Joseph’s coach Phil Martelli and his players danced on last March. But it does not matter that the Hawks are in the National Invitation Tournament as opposed to competing in the NCAAs and it will not matter as long as they keep dancing…
· 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 →Jackie Adamshick sat silently, her hands clutched as she nervously watched the NCAA women’s selection show on ESPN Sunday night at the Pavilion. Adamshick, a redshirt sophomore from Central Catholic High, did not expect to be disappointed, not with Villanova having posted a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Tom Brennan clipped the nets Saturday one final time at Patrick Gymnasium in Burlington, Vermont. Now he’s going dancing one final time in the NCAA Tournament. Brennan, a Phillipsburg native, will not coach past this season, his 23rd overall and 19th at Vermont, an America East…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Villanova’s players and coaches sat anxiously in front of a big screen television in the Connelly Center Sunday night on the Main Line campus waiting to see who their next opponent will be, where they will play and when they will play. A portion of “Nova Nation” was stationed in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Overtime was so close Friday night. But Villanova did two things it had not done well all game — box out under the boards and grab a rebound. So the Wildcats ended up getting their hearts broken with two-tenths of a second remaining against West Virginia in the Big East…
· 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 →Lehigh senior Jessica DePalo displayed the same grace when she spoke as she had when she played Saturday afternoon. But she did it with tears in her eyes instead of a smile of her face. Her season-high 30 points had gone for naught because Lehigh squandered a 12-point lead with…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Winning in the playoffs often comes down to who handles the pressure the best as well as who bumps and grinds the hardest. That’s what Lehigh senior Jessica DePalo, the Patriot League’s player of the year, kept doing until only one second remained in the tournament quarterfinals…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Winning in the playoffs often comes down to who handles the pressure the best, and who bumps and grinds the hardest. That’s what Lehigh senior Jessica DePalo, the Patriot League’s player of the year, did until only one second remained in the tournament quarterfinals against…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh coach Sue Troyan has finally earned the Patriot League Coach of the Year award that her star senior Jessica DePalo thought Troyan deserved four years ago. DePalo’s league-best 18.0 points per game, to go with her 5.4 rebounds and 47.9 percent field-goal shooting and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →This time of the college basketball season, opinions on teams can vary from week-to-week, depending on how those teams play. Good teams don’t falter, suspect ones do. Last week, I touted Lafayette for having won two straight games. Then the Leopards got wiped out by a 71-33…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh did not die easy. And Lafayette refused to die on its own court. The Leopards had an 11-point lead with 1:48 remaining, which dwindled down to one, before settling for an 81-76 victory Saturday afternoon at Kirby Sports Center. Lafayette had lost its previous game by 19…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Teams that make postseason runs in March usually start to play harder and smarter and win more convincingly at this time of the season. Lafayette has done that in its last two Patriot League games. Teams that have short runs in March usually do what Lehigh has done over its last…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Drexel senior Danny Hinds experienced the worst drive to the basket of his life Monday night. He jump-stopped and was going up for a layup when his left knee buckled. Tears quickly welled in his eyes as he dropped to the floor during the second half of a Colonial Athletic…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Saint Joseph’s is making another run at the NCAA Tournament. And the Hawks don’t even control Philadelphia. But that’s the beauty of college basketball because rankings and computers do not determine a team’s fate. Saint Joe’s (12-9) can advance to the “Big Dance” for the third…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →With pens in hand and wearing broad smiles, four Liberty High football players signed letters of intent with Division I-AA and Division II schools Thursday afternoon in a conference room adjacent to Liberty’s main office. Brendan Van Ackeren, who made big plays on both sides of…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bucknell coach Pat Flannery did not allow his spirits to be dampened after losing to Lehigh 57-54 on a Joe Knight 3-pointer at the buzzer Sunday at Stabler Arena. Flannery had missed three games because of an undisclosed medical condition. He hated being out, hated not having to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Phillipsburg native Tom Brennan has reached a point in life where he’d rather spend his summers sailing on Lake Champlain in Vermont than recruiting players across the country for his Catamounts basketball program. Brennan, 55, announced his retirement as Vermont’s head coach on…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Drexel University senior Danny Hinds is not about to let a fractured left wrist keep him out of the Dragons’ starting lineup. He’s worked too hard to get into it, so he’s not about to let discomfort in his non-shooting hand spoil his last season. Besides, Drexel coach Bruiser…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →There are some games in which Villanova guard Jackie Adamshick is all-world — just like she was in high school when she led Central Catholic to back-to-back PIAA Class 3A titles in 2001 and 2002. Her 25-point performance in leading Villanova to a 59-54 upset of then-No. 4 Notre…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Will Sheridan’s game-tying dunk with 2.4 seconds left was followed by Villanova’s biggest defensive lapse of the season Saturday afternoon at The Pavilion. The Wildcats blinked. That’s all it took for Georgetown’s Darrel Owens to race down court, pull in a baseball-like pass…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The excitement is slowly returning to Navy basketball. Though the Midshipmen’s 4-9 start has included a 75-69 loss to Division III Gettysburg on Dec. 18 in Annapolis, first-year coach Billy Lange is not discouraged. A stale offense was the main reason the Midshipmen compiled a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lafayette College has a slim chance of pulling off this college basketball season’s biggest upset Tuesday night in a non-league game against No. 9 Georgia Tech in Atlanta. But the Leopards (3-6) may not get too blown out of Alexander Memorial Coliseum, which is located on the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Jim Morgans sat in Parkland principal Rich Sniscak’s office Wednesday and said he’s made his final coaching stop. Morgans, 58, was approved Tuesday night by the Parkland school board to succeed Rob Melosky as the Trojans’ head coach. It’s his third coaching job since 1998,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Opposing defensive linemen might have been more successful blocking Keith Weaver, Palisades’ massive 6-4, 320-pound senior lineman, if they had done what Pirates coach Brian Gilbert used to do in practice. “What we would do was put two guys over him and just treat them as one,”…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Pius X wide receiver Quintin Lopez likes to imitate his NFL idol, Randy Moss. The senior enjoyed nothing better than frustrating defensive backs, who were charged with trying to prevent him from making a big play. He would catch passes over their outstretched arms and use his…
· 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 →Lafayette will experience on Dec. 28 what former Allen High star Ray Barbosa has already experienced when the James Madison sophomore and his teammates played then-No. 3 Georgia Tech Dec. 15 in Atlanta. Lafayette coach Fran O’Hanlon is in no rush to find out. “They are pretty…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Pennridge High senior tailback Ryan Greiser, The Morning Call’s player of the year, received an expected honor but at an unexpected position Saturday. And Parkland’s 6-4, 310-pound, two-way standout lineman Morgan Thomas, finally got his due. Greiser and Thomas were selected to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The opponents hit hard. Easton just hit harder. The opponents were often bigger. Easton never buckled. For 13 straight games, Easton just won, mostly with smashmouth offense and punishing defense, and by taking advantage of some turnover opportunities in the playoffs during…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland High may not shoot many opponents out of the gymnasium and will not be bigger in the paint in most of its game. So what the Trojans proved in a 43-28 Lehigh Valley Conference victory over Easton Tuesday night in the 25th Street Gymnasium is that they can win with…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It was impossible to look into the dejected faces of the coaches and players from Easton High Saturday and feel their actual emotional pain. It was difficult to understand their devastation after losing 21-14 to Neshaminy in the PIAA Class 4A Eastern final at Bensalem High. It…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton clawed and scrapped and kept Rover Nation’s hope alive until the final gun. Even then, Red Rover players pleaded with the officials for just one more play, hoping that they would call a pass-interference penalty. But they didn’t, and Easton’s bid for a school-record 14th…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton’s defense has been clearly undersized against 11 of 13 opponents, but has allowed an average of only seven points per game. Because the Red Rovers’ fearsome foursome of Kevin Danko (5-10, 190), John Suozzo (6-0, 185), Michael Anderson (5-5, 200) and Jarrid Myers (5-10,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton senior tailback Ovid Goulbourne broke quickly to the outside and raced 34 yards down the sideline. Along the way, last Saturday, he stiff-armed a couple George Washington defenders. It was a vintage run, his longest of that PIAA Class 4A quarterfinal game in Philadelphia.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Get ready, Easton. Here comes speed, precision and high-powered offense. Here comes Neshaminy High (12-1), a 51-34 destroyer of 2003 PIAA Class 4A champion North Penn in the District One final last week. Here comes a Redskins team that’s driven, by any means possible, to win the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton played its third game in eight days, second in just three days, but the Red Rovers sure did not play like a fatigued team Saturday night. The Red Rovers were just as tenacious, hard-hitting, and efficient on offense when they absolutely had to be in persevering 15-10 over…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →PIAA playoff rookie George Washington can’t wait to play Easton in the Class 4A Eastern semifinals at 7 tonight at Northeast High’s Charles Martin Stadium in Philadelphia. But the Eagles (12-0) aren’t talking smack because they’re just happy to be in the chase for what would be…
· 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 →The 98th Thanksgiving Day meeting between Easton and Phillipsburg is not just a game for bragging rights. It’s for historic achievement since both teams will enter Lafayette College’s Fisher Field Thursday morning undefeated for the first time since 1958: Easton at 11-0,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton High is willing and able to play rival Phillipsburg on Thursday and a PIAA Class 4A Eastern semifinal two days later. And the Red Rovers don’t care who thinks they’re physically incapable. Last year has nothing to do with now. Just bring on the competition. Easton’s…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton’s defense bailed out its offense with a takeaway, life-sucking performance over the final 14 minutes, leaving Liberty devastated at the final whistle in the PIAA Class 4A sub-regional championship Friday night at Cottingham Stadium. In that time frame, Red Rovers…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Muhlenberg College men’s basketball team has felt lost for a couple years. Losing seasons can cause disarray. The Mules had made the Centennial Conference tournament 12 straight years, but have now missed it two straight seasons. Last season, they went 8-17, the first time…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty has yet to hit the panic button in a game this season. There’s that one loss — 21-7 to Easton — but the Hurricanes have demonstrated mettle and perseverance in many tough games, including last week’s dramatic 28-23 win over Wyoming Valley West that set up a rematch with…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Muhlenberg College women’s team probably won’t come close to any 30-second shot-clock violations. The Mules will push the ball upcourt and shoot from any distance, and won’t worry about being pulled from the game if they miss. They may make their opponents dizzy trying to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton coach Steve Shiffert would rather forget about the 2001 District 11 Championship Game, and hope that his players don’t dwell on the memory too much, either. It’s not easy because Easton carried a 10-0 record into the 4A title game against Bethlehem Catholic and got routed…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Winning has created such enthusiasm at Lehigh that sophomore guard Kyle Neptune inadvertently slipped into a dream world when discussing this season’s goals. “We are just excited to start the season, try and repeat [as Patriot League Tournament champs] and go to the national…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →An area high school football coach, who showed little mercy when it came to an opponent, was just a fan Saturday afternoon watching the District 11 Class 4A subregional playoff game between Easton and Emmaus at Cottingham Stadium. But former Bethlehem Catholic High coach Bob…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Finally, after the last of grueling tackle on a Saturday afternoon full of punishing plays, Easton coach Steve Shiffert loosened the grip on his white towel. The fight was over. Easton senior lineman Jarrid Myers made sure of it by powering past Emmaus linemen to sack…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty’s heart had appeared snatched out after a 7-yard punt had resulted in Wyoming Valley West getting field position at the 22, and scoring with relative ease to take command of a see-saw PIAA Class 4A sub-regional semifinal Saturday night. Then, Liberty’s “Kid Cool”…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Parkland High football team will look to rebound from a disappointing 3-7 season without the coach who, two years ago, led it to the PIAA Class 4A championship. The Parkland High School administration announced in a press release Friday that Rob Melosky will not be retained…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →With Easton sporting a 9-0 record and Liberty, Emmaus and District 2’s Wyoming Valley West each 9-1, the PIAA Class 4A sub-regional playoffs would appear to be up for grabs. “Anything can happen,” said Easton coach Steve Shiffert. But Easton losing at Cottingham Stadium may not…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty junior Andrew Lee did not need an alarm clock to wake him up Saturday morning. Neither did many of his teammates. That’s because the Hurricanes were anxious to play Saturday’s game with Freedom, in which a win would mean the Christmas City championship and berth in the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton would prefer to have its first-round playoff opponent — either Liberty, Emmaus or District 2’s Delaware Valley — to think that it still has room for improvement. As if 9-0 doesn’t speak volumes. As if winning by an average score of 31-9 the last three weeks doesn’t say…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton is 8-0 and has already clinched the No. 1 spot in the PIAA Class 4A sub-regional playoffs, but the Red Rovers still have as much pressure on them as Emmaus and Liberty have entering the Lehigh Valley Conference’s final weekend. Liberty (8-1, 6-1) and Emmaus (8-1, 6-1)…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Though he’s just 6-0, 165 pounds, Liberty junior Brendan Van Ackeren is fearless on the football field. In fact, he seemed to go beyond the norm to prove it against the bruising Easton defense last Friday night. He loved it. So did his teammates, who have come to expect nothing…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →After the big showdown against Easton that turned into the big letdown, none of the Liberty players seemed in a rush to leave the chewed-up field at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium Friday night. Not even to attend any Halloween parties or catch a late movie. Eventually,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The football gods finally frowned on Moravian Saturday afternoon. It had nothing to do with the muddy, ripped-up Leslie C. Quick Stadium field at Widener University. After all, Moravian outgained Widener 517 yards to 337 in total offense, had a 21-12 advantage in first downs,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton freshman Jarred Holley was a tone-setter, a game-breaker and, for Liberty, a heartbreaker Friday night. In fact, he was all those things and more in just the first four minutes of play at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. After his big game, which included a 69-yard…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty and Easton tuned up for the “Battle of the Unbeatens” by smashing their opponents last Friday night. Liberty beat Nazareth 22-0 and Easton rolled over Northampton 45-14. Liberty (8-0, 6-0) did not play its best game, but still proved merciless, holding Nazareth to just…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton is the top Class 4A team in the Lehigh Valley Conference and in District 11 until proven otherwise. Seven teams have tried. Seven have failed. Now Liberty (8-0) will try to topple Easton (7-0) when the teams meet at 7 p.m. Friday at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton only had one smashmouth drive. Most other scoring drives were easy. In fact, just about everything was easy as the Red Rovers turned Northampton’s Homecoming Friday into a disaster. “I don’t have anything to do with that,” Northampton coach Teko Johnson said when asked…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Emmaus could finish the season 9-1 and not make the PIAA Class 4A sub-regional playoffs. It’s not a joke. It’s just the harsh reality of the new playoff system, which has combined Districts 11, 2 and 4. Just four teams will qualify for the playoffs. Currently, Easton (6-0),…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Defending Patriot League tournament champion Lehigh isn’t worried about preseason predictions. They’ve been wrong the last two seasons. So Lehigh coach Billy Taylor doesn’t consider it a snub that the Mountain Hawks have been picked by the league’s coaches and sports information…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The students are now mad about basketball at Lehigh. Really mad. Tonight, they plan to prove it with Lehigh’s first-ever “Midnight Madness” at Grace Hall. ESPN’s Trey Wingo will be on hand to host the event, which is free to the public. Service Electric TV2 will televise the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton and Liberty are still undefeated in the Lehigh Valley Conference, but will probably have to battle hard tonight to stay that way. And again next week. Then, on Oct. 29, Easton (5-0) and Liberty (6-0) will meet each other at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium, but will…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →There was nothing flat about the way Liberty played rival Bethlehem Catholic in the second half of a Lehigh Valley Conference game Saturday night. It was more like a dogfight. Runs were hard. Hits were harder. But that was to be expected. After all, the schools are separated by…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →There was nothing flat about the way Liberty played rival Bethlehem Catholic in the second half of a Lehigh Valley Conference game Saturday night. It was more like a dogfight. Runs were hard. Hits were harder. But that was to be expected. After all, the schools are separated by…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →No more proof is needed. Liberty is for real. The Hurricanes were solid, even merciless at times in a 42-14 pummeling of Central Catholic Friday night at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. The ‘Canes turned two first-half fumble recoveries into touchdowns and built a 28-0…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Emmaus and Whitehall are no longer being overlooked by other Lehigh Valley Conference teams. “That’s too bad,” said Emmaus coach Bottiglieri. “We need them to overlook us a little bit.” Neither Emmaus (3-1, 1-1 LVC) nor Whitehall (3-1, 2-0) will get breaks tonight, next week or…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh Valley Conference teams have to be on their own Hurricane watch, but it has nothing to do with high winds and heavy rains. “Watch out for Liberty,” Easton coach Steve Shiffert said before Liberty went to Parkland Stadium Friday night and throttled the Trojans defensively…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton’s highly-touted band figures to rock in the stands as the Red Rovers football team goes after the 700th win in school history against Dieruff at 7 tonight at J. Birney Crum Stadium. It’s big. Maybe, the biggest storyline in the LVC in Week 3, but in an unusual twist, it…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →East Stroudsburg-South may or may not be as good as some LVC teams such as Easton (2-0), Parkland (2-2), Liberty (3-0) or Freedom (3-0). However, the Cavaliers may never know. It would be nice to find out on the field, but that can only happen in the PIAA Class 4A sub-regional…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Potential thrillers lie in wait as Lehigh Valley Conference play opens tonight. Who will be surprise winners? Well, the LVC is so balanced that most games tonight and Saturday could be decided late. Who’s feeling the pressure? It’s heaviest for Bethlehem Catholic (0-2), Allen…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →In the review of the second week of high school football games, much was observed. The main observation is that all seems well at Parkland, Phillipsburg, Pennridge and Northern Lehigh. Those teams are considered the area’s top heavyweights along with Easton, which was idle. Each…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →North Penn, the defending PIAA Class 4A champion, and Mount Carmel, a Class 2A powerhouse with five PIAA titles since 1994, will both be playing in the Lehigh Valley Saturday night. Whether that’s good news or bad for the Lehigh Valley Conference teams they are playing remains…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Diehard Lehigh Valley sports fans might have had discussions over coffee or tea Saturday morning about many of the high school football teams that played Friday night. Like Parkland, which blew a 21-point fourth-quarter lead in losing to Cumberland Valley 41-38 in overtime. Like…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bethlehem Catholic, Easton and Parkland have had their runs of dominance in the previous two years of the Lehigh Valley Conference. Now, Central Catholic hopes to make its own run. The Vikings, who have gone 10-12 under coach Donnie Roberts the last two seasons, begin their…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Must-win games will begin the second week of the season for Lehigh Valley Conference teams after they lose their season-openers. That’s because of the PIAA’s new sub-regional playoff format that has combined District 11 with District 2 and District 4 teams in a chase to secure…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Nobody threw up or fainted at Easton High. Nobody took lunch break and decided not to return for the afternoon practice. Most of the 108 players on the practice field were in good shape and brought good attitudes as far as coach Steve Shiffert was concerned as the high school…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Please, not another inning. Nobody from Birches yelled that out, but shortstop Brendon O’Connor sure thought it a few times against Boyertown in the American Legion Region 2 Tournament semifinals Friday night at Hackett’s Park in Easton. He probably wasn’t alone. After all,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →All-stars from Pennsylvania and Ohio will finally get to pop, juke and, in all likelihood, trash talk each other in the 47th Big 33 Football Classic tonight at Hersheypark Stadium. As usual, the cast on both sides of the field features players headed to Penn State and Ohio…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →At the top of the not-so-fun list for Allen High’s Eugene Clay, preparing this week for Big 33 Game, is practice. His fun list is a lot longer, including a visit to the Adventure Sports amusement park with his host family, feasting and sharing laughs with teammates — experiences…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs vice president Sam Unera held the USBL Championship trophy high in the air and let the summer breeze smack up against it as he rode down the busiest streets from South Whitehall Township to Easton in a Chrysler PT Cruiser convertible Tuesday evening. A…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs have the United States Basketball League title again. Now they are in search of bandwagon jumpers in the Lehigh Valley. But they don’t plan on waiting until next season to find them. On Monday, less than 24 hours after beating the Brooklyn Kings for…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs don’t care who, but they want one of their players to get married during the season next year. The tying of vows seems to be the good luck charm the ‘Dawgs need to win a USBL title. Thank you, Marcus Fleming. That was the sentiment Pennsylvania coach…
· 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 →Bethlehem Catholic tailback Fred Rice never cared about being chased down by faster defensive backs or linebackers, because they still had to take him down once they caught up to him. He also never worried much about who was in front of him, because he’s nicknamed “Boomer” for a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Joe Crispin perked up and had the type of second-half shooting performance that brought a huge smile across the face of Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs general manager and vice president Sam Unera. Crispin had a season-high 35 points, including 28 in the second half of the ‘Dawgs’…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The “missing link” has finally joined the Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs. That’s what ‘Dawgs coach Darryl Dawkins calls Darrin Hancock, a 6-7 forward who played one season at Kansas and has 133 NBA games on his resume. Also on his bio is the USBL title he won last year with Dodge…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →So many times during his high school career, Parkland senior Steve Stern sensed that he was being stared down by opposing sprinters. He was probably right. At just 5-8 and without any bulging muscles, Stern just didn’t care what other sprinters thought because he was confident…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Unseasonably cool temperatures and persistent rain were not strong enough elements to force Allen sophomore Rushane Scott to change his mind about competing in a local Junior Olympic track and field meet Saturday at J. Birney Crum Stadium. A year ago, Scott wasn’t so…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland had an efficient running machine in senior Steve Stern, a sophomore jumper who demonstrated solid bunny hops in John Carelli and a senior pole vaulter who overcame the windy elements to vault to a fifth-place medal in Scott Rogasta. And there were other standout…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland High senior Steve Stern pictured the place on his stacked bedroom wall where he could put his silver medal. Emmaus junior Sam Luff, also a silver medal winner, said he was going to hang his medal on a wall, too. Easton senior Rich Ryan said he was going to give his…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →This time, the color of the medal didn’t suit Parkland sophomore John Carelli’s taste. That’s because Carelli had gotten spoiled after winning six gold medals over the previous two weeks in the Lehigh Valley Conference and District 11 Class 3A Championships. Otherwise, Carelli…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →His speed picked up and his head bobbed as the lead to the finish line narrowed. The previous two years, Allen High senior Eugene Clay had been denied victory in the Class 3A 110-meter high hurdles in the District 11 Track and Field Championships, placing second as a junior and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →No more 800-meter runs for Bethlehem Catholic senior Jules Eggleston. Once was enough, so he hoped. “After I run one lap, my body shuts down,” Eggleston joked. “I’m not ready for two laps.” But it may be hard for Bethlehem Catholic coach Gary Mohylsky to grant Eggleston his…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Seeds mean more than what’s on paper, at least according to Bethlehem Catholic track & field coach Gary Mohylsky. If he’s right, then the most accomplished sprinter in the Lehigh Valley over the last two years will dominate in the District 11 Track & Field Championships today…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs center Frantz Pierre-Louise did not grow up in the Lehigh Valley, did not attend college here, and does not currently live here. But Bethlehem will forever be a special city to him. “This is where I won my championship,” Pierre-Louise said Saturday,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Northern Lehigh sprinter Bob Sutjak cleared hurdles with ease to establish school and meet records Thursday in the Colonial League Track and Field Championships at Bangor Memorial Park. Sutjak had already broken the school record in the 100, 200, and 400-meter dashes, the 110…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Something about that attempt, his third and final at 6 feet, 6 inches, fueled Parkland sophomore Jon Carelli to accomplish a personal-best Tuesday at J. Birney Crum Stadium. Carelli cleared 6-6 to win the high jump event in the Lehigh Valley Conference track & field…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton High track and field coach Frank Messa looked down at a piece of paper crammed with times, distances, and lots of names Thursday night and uttered the words a college student would say this time of year. “I feel like I’m studying for a math exam,” Messa said. He wasn’t…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Darryl Dawkins played 14 years in the NBA and never recalled an official puffing out his chest and barking during a heated dispute, “I ain’t scared of you.” No NBA player ever approached Dawkins in that manner. “No, not like that,” said Dawkins, who has been coach of the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Blowing out the field and breaking school records would not have been as special to Northern Lehigh senior Bob Sutjak had his team not won the meets. The success of the team means more to Sutjak than his personal triumphs. Lately, he’s been able to enjoy both. Last Thursday in a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Antonio Meeking looked like an NFL defensive lineman visiting the Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs’ practice Tuesday at Lehigh Carbon Community College. But team vice president and general manager Sam Unera painted a more intimidating picture of the 6-8, 265-pound Meeking, who has…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A 1,600-meter relay race that appeared dim after one lap turned into a success story for the Southern Lehigh boys Saturday at the Penn Relays at Franklin Field. That’s because junior Mike Snowden rallied the Spartans from near last place into third with a solid second leg.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The great Wilt Chamberlain and the famous Harlem Globetrotters once dazzled crowds at Liberty High’s Memorial Gymnasium. Former Philadelphia 76ers center Darryl Dawkins hopes to do the same today, but he’ll have to rely on his Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs players. The ‘Dawgs will…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Central Catholic High distance runner Frances Koons capped off two days of fantastic running in the Penn Relays Friday at Franklin Field. Koons, a senior, ran a 2:12.8 anchor-leg that helped the Vikettes place eighth in the High School Girls Championship of America 3,200-meter…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Artie Owens made sure he did his offseason conditioning work when he was with the San Diego Chargers in the late 1970s and 80s, but he also made sure he scheduled his vacation time around the Penn Relays in Philadelphia. Owens had been a football and track and field star at…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Lehigh Valley’s fastest sprinter has entered the spring track and field season without a college scholarship offer. That could change for Bethlehem Catholic senior Brandon Carter after he competes in the Penn Relays, April 22-24 at the University of Pennsylvania’s Franklin…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Saint Joseph’s and Xavier of the Atlantic 10 were so close to the Final Four last Saturday, they could just about taste the sizzling fajitas of San Antonio. But both lost in regional finals, Saint Joe’s 64-62 to Oklahoma State in East Rutherford, N.J., and Xavier 66-63 to Duke…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Home-grown official Frank Scagliotta will be sitting by his television this evening in his Slate Belt home watching the Final Four games, cheering more for the three guys wearing zebra shirts than for Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State, Duke or UConn. Scagliotta, 53, officiated 1996…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →In 1997, Lafayette College’s Winston Davis was the skinny 15-year-old high school sophomore with the crazy hops participating in the Kingdom of the Sun Slam Dunk Contest in Florida. But, that year the the older players, like one 18-year-old Jumaine Jones, had even crazier hops…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Saint Joseph’s has the clippers in hand. Championship nets are close to being cut down. The Hawks need one more victory to win the East Rutherford Regional and advance to the Final Four in San Antonio. If the Hawks beat Oklahoma State in the regional final tonight, Philadelphia…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →When Jameer Nelson was starring at Chester High, his mailbox didn’t fill up with scholarship offers until after his junior year. By that time, Saint Joseph’s coach Phil Martelli had offered Nelson a full ride to the tiny Jesuit school on Hawk Hill. Later, Kentucky, USC,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →At Liberty University, they talk a lot about religion, love, good sportsmanship, and all things good. That’s to be expected since Rev. Jerry Falwell is the founder and chancellor of school in Lynchburg, Va. In addition, Liberty coach Randy Dunton graduated from Baptist Bible…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs management is busy doing what it does each March — watching the NCAA Tournament and getting serious about a new United States Basketball League season. The season, which begins in April, will bring a change of homes for the Dawgs. They will play each of…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Temple had the last chance to keep the candle burning in the Atlantic 10 Tournament for Philadelphia Thursday night. But the Owls were blown out just like La Salle Wednesday and Saint Joseph’s earlier Thursday. Temple’s 64-49 loss to Richmond in the quarterfinals at the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh senior guard Ra Tiah has been a good sport about having to give up his starting spot to a freshman. even though Tiah entered the season as a co-captain and as Lehigh’s poster boy. This was supposed to be his best season. His jump shot and confidence had improved. His…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →American University advanced to its third straight Patriot League Tournament championship game with a victory 65-55 over Colgate on Sunday. But the Eagles would have felt cheated had Lehigh not also won. That’s because the Eagles’ two regular-season losses to Lehigh remain sore…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Now might be the time to jump on the Lehigh bandwagon. The Mountain Hawks will be returning to Stabler Arena with a chance to win their first Patriot League Tournament championship and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1988. Senior guard Austen Rowland made…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh and Lafayette both slumped at the end of the Patriot League season and both could be headed for one-and-done games in the league tournament this weekend. Lehigh, which went 10-4 in league play to finish tied for first and earn the No. 1 seed for the first time ever, needs…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Perfection was the way Saint Joseph’s guard Jameer Nelson crossed up St. Bonaventure players, either scoring or dishing to an open teammate for a drop in the net Tuesday night. Perfection was also Nelson attacking the glass, out-leaping taller players to yank down rebounds.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Perfection was the way Saint Joseph’s guard Jameer Nelson crossed up St. Bonaventure players, either scoring or dishing to an open teammate for a drop in the net Wednesday night. Perfection was also Nelson attacking the glass, out-leaping taller players to yank down rebounds.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Danny Hinds was one of the many Drexel players disappointed with Saturday’s 76-64 loss at Delaware, which prevented the Dragons from clinching first place in the Colonial Athletic Conference. But Hinds, a 6-6 junior forward from Central Catholic, also knows how to look past the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Lafayette women’s basketball team that was on the Kirby Sports Center floor when the final buzzer sounded Saturday afternoon, got tackled. Soon after, all the players got drenched with water. “We did it,” Lafayette senior forward Colleen Fitzpatrick said was her immediate…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lafayette College is in a must-win situation entering its regular-season finale at 3:15 today against American at Kirby Sports Center. In the last three games, all losses, the Leopards’ defensive and rebounding weaknesses have been exposed. “I saw them every day in practice,”…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →All that is apparently wrong with Lafayette College needs to get corrected soon. Otherwise, Lafayette won’t be playing too long into March. The Leopards’ weak rebounding, defensive lapses while trying to press and 1-for-13 shooting from leading scorer Justin DeBerry, were too…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lehigh University senior guard Austen Rowland zoned in on his coach Billy Taylor longer than usual at practice on Wednesday. Rowland could not stop staring at the sparkling watch Taylor was wearing and was wondering what it would be like to win a similar piece of jewelry this…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Catasauqua blocked shots, forced turnovers and trimmed a 12-point second-half deficit to three points against North Schulylkill Tuesday night. But the Rough Riders’ shooting and rebounding problems never improved in a 55-46 loss in the District 11 Class 2A semifinals at…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Lehigh students did not storm onto the Stabler Arena floor after the Mountain Hawks’ 78-73 win over Lafayette Sunday. So Lehigh senior guard Ra Tiah raced over, leaped over the railing and dove into a frenzied sea of Lehigh students wearing Lehigh T-shirts. “I told a couple…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Temple assistant coach Mark Macon and college basketball analyst Digger Phelps, a former coach at Notre Dame, both need to get up to speed with what Saint Joseph’s has done this season. That would help keep both from putting their feet in their mouths as the No. 2-ranked Hawks…
· 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 →Mercy rules do not exist in college basketball. That suited DeSales University women’s coach Fred Richter just fine against Delaware Valley Tuesday at Billera Hall in Center Valley. Richter, who is bidding for his sixth NCAA appearance with the Bulldogs, paced the sidelines and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lafayette College coach Fran O’Hanlon couldn’t have been more correct Saturday when he said, “We haven’t won anything yet.” O’Hanlon was responding to Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard’s statement that he had picked Lafayette to win the Patriot League title. Lafayette (18-5) beat…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It was an elbow-throwing, body-flying, back-and-forth Patriot League game between Lafayette and Holy Cross Saturday at Kirby Sports Center. It was just like their first meeting on Jan. 17 in Worcester, Mass., which Lafayette won by two points in overtime. This time, Lafayette…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Northampton High athletic director Mike Schneider would like nothing more than for interest in the school’s football program to boom following the Jeff Pammer’s ceremony this morning for NCAA national letter of intent day. Pammer, a multiple position star who was named The…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Fantastic guard play figured to be the featured attraction between No. 3 Saint Joseph’s and Villanova on Monday night. There was no disappointment. It’s just that it took a half of basketball before Villanova’s three-guard tandem of Mike Nardi, Randy Foye and Allan Ray to catch…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Villanova showed Allen High football star Eugene Clay the town and got what it wished for in return. Clay, a two-time Morning Call All-Area selection and Associated Press PIAA Class 4A second-team pick at wideout in December, announced Tuesday that he had orally committed to the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Drexel’s Danny Hinds shot only twice. James Madison’s Ray Barbosa converted only one shot in 10 attempts Wednesday night. It was far from the way it used to be when they were high school stars in Allentown. No longer can they just gun away and score at will because the offensive…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Whitehall has effectively used a slow-down brand of basketball to frustrate and topple many teams over the years. Remember the Zephyrs’ 33-29 overtime victory over Central Catholic earlier in the season? Just boring. “Yes it was,” said Whitehall guard Jason Greene. But the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A couple months ago, Salisbury forward Matt Bubba didn’t get many chances to dribble, shoot and score. That’s because he was the goalie on the Falcons’ boys soccer team that won the District 11 Class 2A title and a game in the first-round of the PIAA playoffs before losing in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →You’ve probably seen the Hollywood movies where the former water boy grows up to to earn a position on the high school football team. Rarely is that position as a starter. Hardly ever does the water boy become the star. But in a real life story, Northampton senior Jeff Pammer is…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Salisbury played a controlled, patient game of basketball that included simple passes, slick cuts that resulted in open jumpers and layups against Wilson Tuesday night. Simple was almost perfect from the outset as the Falcons built a 15-1 advantage and executed the basics en…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Aliquippa High’s multi-purpose star Darrelle Revis had breakaway speed and open-field moves, which he used to keep breaking the back of Northern Lehigh’s defense Sunday in the PIAA Class 2A championship football game at Hersheypark Stadium. “He has special giddy-up,” said…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Northern Lehigh needed one last touchdown to cap off the greatest season in school history with the most memorable comeback Sunday in the PIAA Class 2A Championship game at Hersheypark Stadium. But the dreams of the Bulldogs players and estimated 3,500 fans were shattered along…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →This morning, the Easton football players should be able to stare in the mirror and feel proud. The reflection will be of players who demonstrated more vigor, drive and fight than seemed humanly possible considering they played two games against immensely talented and fast teams…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton senior Mike Easterday has enjoyed the blocking and growling up front with other offensive linemen over the years, even though he has always had a wide receiver-type body. Even now, the 6-0, 205-pound Red Rovers center is slim and apparently athletic enough to be catching…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →All anyone had to do was look into the watery eyes of the Easton players and coaches to understand how passionate the Red Rovers were about their annual Thanksgiving Day game against Phillipsburg Thursday at Lafayette College’s Fisher Field. The game meant the world to the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →All anyone had to do was look into the watery eyes of the Easton players and coaches to understand how passionate the Red Rovers were about their annual Thanksgiving Day game against Phillipsburg Thursday at Lafayette College’s Fisher Field. The game meant the world to the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Now that Easton has played it’s all-important Thanksgiving Day game against Phillipsburg, losing 26-23, the Red Rovers (11-2) appear headed for an extremely difficult mission Saturday night. Up next is high-powered and defensively stingy North Penn (13-0) in the PIAA Class 4A…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →North Penn junior quarterback Adam Hearns was the only Knights player left on the field on a brisk Tuesday night, but it was not by choice. He still had running to do. Again, it was not by choice. It was by demand of coach Dick Beck that Hearns did a series of flexibility drills…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton High was undersized at the line of scrimmage, but was mightier than Cumberland Valley everywhere else in the PIAA Class 4A football quarterfinal playoff game Friday night at HersheyPark Stadium. The Red Rovers’ might came from senior Brad Piperata and junior Ovid…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton senior tailback Brad Piperata rumbled to the outside, plowed over a defender, maintained his balance on the sidelines and then rumbled even harder toward the end zone Friday night at HersheyPark Stadium. More Cumberland Valley defenders tried to converge and make…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Marcus Millen’s right wrist wouldn’t stop throbbing after he made a second-quarter tackle against Nazareth Oct. 3. But the Easton standout and son of former NFL star Matt Millen stayed in the game and continued to make plays. After the game, he found out his wrist was broken. “I…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The green light that will allow players to race up and down the court and shoot at will, will be on just about every time the Kutztown University men’s basketball team takes to the hardwood this season. “We want to push the ball up and down the court, get the game into the 80s,”…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Kutztown University women’s basketball team may not be an easy team for opponents to contain from either the perimeter or inside the paint. That’s because the Golden Bears will often run a three-guard rotation, keyed by seniors Danielle Warntz and Amanda Zinobile, that will…
· 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 →Parkland High’s defense was a bone-crushing unit last week in a 35-0 win over East Stroudsburg South. Star lineman Travis Decker figures the Trojans will be even more punishing against Easton at 7 tonight at Cottingham Stadium. “Everyone is pumped up for this game,” Decker said.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton showed its nasty side on offense and defense and booted Northampton from the District 11 Class 4A playoffs in the process Friday night at Cottingham Stadium. The Red Rovers’ two running backs, junior Ovid Goulbourne and senior Brad Piperata, bowled over and blew past…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Northampton had already been out of playoff contention by the time October rolled around and the leaves had changed colors over the past few years. Not so this fall. But how much longer will Northampton’s football season last? The Konkrete Kids (7-3) qualified for the District…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Saint Joseph’s University star guards Jameer Nelson and Delonte West are back and eager to try to press the pants off opponents and score fastbreak points galore. The Hawks are the only Atlantic 10 Conference team to receive national preseason rankings, garnering Top 20 notice…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Notre Dame of East Stroudsburg junior goalie Justin Ross rolled up his sleeves, dropped down and pounded the turf Tuesday at J. Birney Crum Stadium in Allentown. Bishop O’Reilly junior midfielder Alex Gionta knelt down, reflected with a silent prayer, and calmed his nerves…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The season-ending game for Bethlehem bragging rights had been circled on the schedules of Freedom and Liberty since August. But only Liberty seemed ready for the challenge when the two rivals met in a Lehigh Valley Conference Northampton Division matchup before a spirited crowd…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton High erased the nightmares of past failures against Bethlehem Catholic with a big-play offense and a crunching defense Friday night. The Red Rovers needed just two plays to score on their first drive and rolled up seven more points in just five plays on their next drive.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lafayette College fifth-year senior guard Winston Davis has envisioned what his coach, Fran O’Hanlon, has refused to think about. That’s a Lafayette team ready and capable of unseating Holy Cross as Patriot League champion and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The first goal by sophomore forward Ben Vauter turned the tide in favor of third-seeded Notre Dame of East Stroudsburg in the District 11 Class 1A boys soccer championship Thursday at J. Birney Crum Stadium. The next two goals, both by junior midfielder Jeff Natale in the fist…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →For the fifth straight year, Easton and Bethlehem Catholic will meet in a meaningful game. But it’s more meaningful for Easton. The Red Rovers (7-1, 4-0) can clinch the Lehigh Valley Conference Northampton Division title outright and the No. 1 spot and homefield advantage in the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Northwestern sophomore Jordan Smith was undisturbed by the Palisades defense and windy, brisk weather Thursday afternoon in New Tripoli. Playing on his home field, Smith seemed in control from the outset of the second half of a District 11 Class 2A boys soccer quarterfinal. His…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bethlehem Catholic is still alive and making a strong run at qualifying for the District 11 Class 4A playoffs for the sixth straight year. Parkland is just hours away from proving it is the best team holding residence on Cedar Crest Boulevard, and the Trojans (6-2) visit Emmaus…
· 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 →The wake-up call Easton apparently needed came on Sept. 26 when the Red Rovers were smashed 40-20 by Altoona at Cottingham Stadium. It was the Red Rovers’ first loss and it was devastating. Gone, along with Easton’s aura of invincibility, was the No. 1 ranking in The Morning…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Palisades senior Christa Plummer didn’t allow a headache, sore throat or windy conditions to slow her down in the Colonial League girls cross country championship Thursday at DeSales University. That’s because nothing was wrong with Plummer’s legs as she completed the 3.1 mile…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The intensity of their claps picked up and the volume of their voices raised as the start of the second half neared Tuesday at Kutztown University. “Come on girls get pumped,” a Kutztown women’s soccer player hollered. “You’re not pumped up yet.” These days, there is a lot to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It didn’t matter that the Parkland High offense stumbled for most of its Lehigh Valley Conference game against Central Catholic because the Trojans’ defense gave a bone-crushing performance Saturday night at J. Birney Crum Stadium. Led by defensive end Travis Decker, the Trojans…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →With its offensive creativity and the execution to match it and a defense that placed a stranglehold on Liberty in the second half, Northampton proved Friday night that it really is a program on the rise. Maybe, even a team headed to the District 11 Class 4A playoffs for the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Compelling questions about Freedom (5-1) and Easton (4-1) will be answered when they meet in a Lehigh Valley Conference Northampton Division game at 7 tonight at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. Who’s tougher? Who can run the ball better? And, of course, who’s No. 1? With…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →For Liberty, reversing a trend of always losing to city rival Bethlehem Catholic over the last 19 years came down to making one final defensive stand on fourth-and-four with 21 seconds remaining Friday night. A stop on fourth-and-four before hobbled Liberty defensive star Barry…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Opportunity to beat an elite team knocks for Liberty when the Hurricanes play Bethlehem Catholic at 7 tonight at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. “It knocks too many times,” said Liberty coach Tim Moncman, which isn’t exactly a joke considering that the Hurricanes (3-2)…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Challenged to win every game in order to keep its District 11 Class 4A playoff hopes alive may turn out to be a good situation for Bethlehem Catholic. Especially if the Golden Hawk defense plays with the same intensity as it did in a 34-7 homecoming victory over Whitehall…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton was expected to be a top contender for the Lehigh Valley Conference title and a top District 11 Class 4A playoff spot. Emmaus and Northampton did not have the same expectations, but all three teams enter the fifth week of the season with stronger possibilities for…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A year ago, Bethlehem Catholic and Parkland played two games that were like the Super Bowls of Lehigh Valley football. Bethlehem Catholic won the first meeting, 29-28 in overtime. Parkland prevailed in the second game, 14-11 to win the District 11 Class 4A title en route to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →His NCAA championship victory in April, his 635 coaching victories over 27 seasons and his three Big East Conference Coach of the Year Awards rank as great sports accomplishments for Syracuse University men’s basketball coach Jim Boeheim. But his biggest victory did not come on…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The atmosphere was not like old times between Bethlehem Catholic and Central Catholic, at least not the way former Central Catholic lineman and current Vikings assistant coach William Edwards proudly remembered. “We used to play in front of 18,000 fans,” he said during the week.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland and Liberty linemen tangled at the line of scrimmage, both trying to plow over the other. Only Parkland succeeded. Liberty was missing key players, but the lopsided final margin still might not have mattered had the Hurricanes been at full strength. That’s because…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Liberty High survived last week, beating Pleasant Valley 35-28 in double overtime. Now comes a bigger team, a bigger task. Parkland’s visit to Bethlehem Area School District Stadium to play Liberty at 7 p.m. Saturday will be the Hurricanes’ biggest home game in years. Parkland…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bethlehem Catholic High’s national ranking in USA Today will be gone this week. The Golden Hawks’ chase for the District 11 and PIAA Class 4A titles will still continue. But the Golden Hawks’ offense needs to iron out several wrinkles and the ballyhooed defense needs to have its…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The stadium lights will be turned on and the blocking, tackling, passing, punishing and juking between the lines will commence throughout the Lehigh Valley this weekend as the high school football season kicks off. Lehigh Valley Conference powers Parkland, Bethlehem Catholic and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →One game in 2001, another in 2002. Both were District 11 Class 3A boys soccer championship thrillers that just didn’t go Pleasant Valley’s way. The Bears were upstaged by Emmaus, 1-0 in 2001 and 3-2 by Parkland in 2002. “Both of them were real tough games,” said Pleasant Valley…
· 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 →It did not matter whether it was first, second or third down. Pennsylvania just could not move the ball — until the final five minutes of play. By then it was too late, but Bethlehem Catholic quarterback Adam Bednarik’s 17-yard draw for a touchdown put Pennsylvania on the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Austin Scott, the record-breaking Parkland High tailback who’ll begin his college career at Penn State next month, will have plenty of star company in the PNC Big 33 Classic at 7 tonight at Hersheypark Stadium. But will Scott be the biggest star? The run-and-shoot offense that…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Adam Bednarik had a celebrated high school football season at Bethlehem Catholic last fall, throwing for 27 touchdowns and over 2,300 yards. He was named to the Associated Press Big School first team and was The Morning Call’s all-area quarterback. He was also selected to the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →There is a no-blitz rule for the PNC Big 33 Classic Saturday night at Hersheypark Stadium. But defensive players can hit quarterbacks, wideouts and running backs as hard as they want. And Freedom defensive star Jeremy Kametz can’t wait to make contact with an offensive player in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →With crushed hearts and tempers not yet cooled, the Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs had hoped a feast at Applebee’s would ease their discontent over losing the United States Basketball League championship by a point Sunday night in Dodge City, Kan. But it didn’t. The controversial way…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →He swarmed the dribbler from one end of the court to the other, and when the ball was passed off, he still stayed on his man like an annoying gnat. It was just practice, but playing pesky defense is just something the Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs’ 5-11 guard Tim Winn loves. Even…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Like all the players in the McDonald’s Football Classic, Bethlehem Catholic quarterback Adam Bednarik will wear his school’s helmet for the final time at 7 tonight at Nazareth High. It just won’t be the same Golden Hawks helmet he wore during the season, the one that was loaded…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →He was in the middle of a game with Emmaus High when his helmet clamped down awkwardly, resulting in a nasty gash on his face. “It was painful,” said Parkland High senior Nick Pinchek. But Pinchek finished the game and continued to play through the discomfort of the gash until…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Ace Custis experienced the disappointment of his basketball career following a 16-point, eight-rebound performance in just 23 minutes during a 2001 summer league game with the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs had 17 players on the roster that summer, and, though he played well,…
· 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 →The Brooklyn Kings showed up late Monday night, forcing their United States Basketball League game against the Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs to be delayed an hour at Stabler Arena. The ValleyDawgs made Brooklyn pay for making them wait, using an avalanche of 3-pointers and fastbreak…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Allentown Sports Festival’s Web site had 44,955 hits from July 1 to July 13 last year. “The athletes go on the Web a lot,” said SportsFest chairman Ray Atiyeh, adding, “And we have a pretty good webmaster [Kathy Moyer]. She lists all the winners, even from past years. It’s…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →How small was Bethlehem Catholic sprinter Brandon Carter when he was a freshman? “I don’t know if his head came up to a hurdle,” said Golden Hawks track and field coach Gary Mohylsky. “I was pretty tiny,” admitted Carter, who was 5-2 as a freshman. He’s a shade under 5-8 now,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs were out-jumped, out-dunked and out-hustled by the Dodge City Legend Tuesday night at Stabler Arena. Maybe the ‘Dawgs are not as skilled as Dodge City. The 115-97 loss marked the second time in 10 days they have been subdued by the Legend. The ‘Dawgs…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Quakertown High senior distance runner Adam Breisch crossed the finish line in the PIAA Track and Field Championships’ Class 3A 1,600-meter final with his arms raised and his mind running faster than his track shoes Saturday at Seth Grove Stadium. Though Breisch had just won his…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →In his 10th and final race over the two-day period, Bethlehem Catholic High junior Brandon Carter experienced a terrible feeling with approximately 200 meters left in the Class 2A 1,600-meter relay at the PIAA Track and Field Championships Saturday at Seth Grove Stadium. “My…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland High senior Ryan Kleintop visualized the triple jump that clinched his first ever PIAA Track and Field Championships medal Friday at Seth Grove Stadium. But before he focused on his final attempt, he stood on the runway and blocked out the distractions of sprinters…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bethlehem Catholic sprinter Frank Trovato has already rented his tuxedo, shined his shoes and has limousine service set up for him and his prom date for Friday night. Trovato even has plans for his girlfriend to ride with him from the Lehigh Valley to Shippensburg University…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →For 400 meters, one circuit around the track, Kutztown University senior Scott Eisenhart says he falls into a relaxed zone. Even when he has trailed, Eisenhard has not changed his style or his focus. “You want to stay relaxed,” he said. “You don’t want to try too hard so your…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Allen’s Eugene Clay jumped up and exclaimed, “Yes!” His teammate, Desroy Miller, said joyfully, “Wow,” to a close bystander. You’d have thought that the Canary juniors had won their races. But Miller was second in the 100-meter dash and Clay second in the 110 high hurdles in the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Bethlehem Catholic 400-meter relay fell behind early, rallied to gain the lead over the next two legs and then closed with the six other anchor-leg runners looking at the back of Golden Hawks junior Brandon Carter. Carter was focused on the finish line, rousing the crowd as…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Freedom track coach Ray Herman, who has been coaching and winning consistently in the sport for more than 30 years, has a request that he wants all the principals and members of the District 11 Committee to consider. “I prefer the two-day meet, like our league [Lehigh Valley…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →As he prepared to try to vault to a personal-best height, Catasauqua junior Allan Fatzinger paid no attention to the deceptively positive omens that appeared. There was a rainbow to his left and the sun had just broken through the clouds on his right. But Fatzinger focused only…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Feet don’t fail me now. How many runners prayed for that not to happen in the Lehigh Valley Conference track and field championships Wednesday at J. Birney Crum Stadium in Allentown? Bethlehem Catholic junior Brandon Carter didn’t have to worry. He won the 100-meter dash in 10.9…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The veins in Parkland senior Ryan Kleintop’s neck seemed as if they would burst through his skin each time he sprinted down the straightaway leading to the jumping pit. “I just try to get as pumped up for each jump as I can,” Kleintop said. He jumped farther and higher than…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Freedom two-sport senior Tyler Jones may look imposing at 6-3, 280 pounds, but his twin sister Amy says he’s really a teddy bear. “He doesn’t cry at movies or anything,” Amy said. “He’s just one of those brothers who you get along with. Maybe, it’s because we are the same age…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs changed uniforms at halftime. They didn’t change the way they were drubbing the Brevard Blue Ducks in transition Saturday night at Stabler Arena. And the fun continued even when the ball wasn’t in play. Former NBA center Olden Polynice playfully…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →In the next four weeks league, district and state champions will be crowned in track and field. May is designed for that. April is supposed to be about building speed, strength, distance and mental toughness. Unfortunately, April was also a misleading month for far too many area…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Southern Lehigh junior Steve Hixon was being pelted by raindrops as he awaited the baton Saturday at the University of Pennsylvania’s Franklin Field. Winning the 1,600 relay heat was impossible because of the distance the Spartans trailed before Hixon began his anchor leg. But…
· 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 →Two defending PIAA Class 3A track and field champions, Beth Crocus of Freedom and Liberty’s Lauren Birckhead, will head the list of local athletes who will compete in the 109th Penn Relays today at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. An intriguing question is: Will both try to peak…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bethlehem Catholic sprinters stampeded the grass field, perhaps awakening the dead the faster they ran, and passed the baton from hand-to-hand at Wednesday’s practice. Odd as it seemed, practice was at Memorial Park Cemetery, located across the street from the high school. “This…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Tony Lattimore is an assistant track & field coach at Easton and the father of one of the area’s top female sprinters. But he doesn’t brag much about daughter Danielle. Sure, he’s always happy about her accomplishments in high school and the Junior Olympics. But Tony is just as…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Losing wasn’t anything Freedom High thrower Beth Crocus feared in a dual meet against Easton on Tuesday at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. It wasn’t a district, state or national meet. That’s where Crocus, a senior and two-time defending PIAA Class 3A champion in the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →If they had played on the same high school basketball team, Allen’s Ray Barbosa and Emmaus’ Aaron Gray believe they would have won a PIAA Class 4A title. “No question,” said Barbosa, The Morning Call’s Player of the Year who has a scholarship to James Madison University. “If we…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland senior Austin Scott had many breakaway runs en route to a 53-touchdown football season last fall. Often, he seemed on the verge of being off to the races the second he took handoffs. But a change of season has brought a different result for Scott. His football feats…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Darryl Dawkins, the former Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets center, is currently being more outspoken than during any of his 14 seasons in the NBA. He is more vocal about many NBA issues, including those involving inflated salaries and egos. He is naming names and telling…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Who’s back? Who’s fast? Who’s faster? Who’s stronger and hungrier? Every spring those are the No. 1 questions in track and field. Nothing has changed, except the weather has been absolutely horrible, making it difficult for sprinters and field performers to train like normal.…
· 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 →Hasim Rahman’s quest to regain a portion of the heavyweight championship belt won’t be realized anytime soon. At least, not until Rahman beats David Tua. Rahman, the former WBC and IBF champion, thought he had done that Saturday night in the co-featured main event at the First…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Undisputed middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins has been to a place he called the “bottom of the world.” Listen up. It’s a place Hopkins said he is not willing to be exiled back to, not by Frenchman Mourade Hakkar, whom he’ll defend his WBA, WBC and IBF titles against Saturday…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →South Carolina tried to bump and hold, but Penn State retaliated with roughhouse play of its own in a women’s basketball NCAA Mideast Region second-round game Tuesday night at the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State also had offensive punch, led by Kelly Mazzante. Tanisha Wright led…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Drexel sophomore Danny Hinds patiently waited, towel often resting on his shoulder, and his jaws working hard as he chewed gum. His first national postseason tournament game was coming to a close. Hinds was disappointed because he believed that he had not done enough to help…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Senior forward Nicole Druckenmiller tightly held onto the television remote control from her front row seat and braced herself for the NCAA Selection Committee’s announcement on Sunday. She anxiously waited to see which team she and her Villanova Wildcats teammates were going to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Gerry Cooney is satisfied with his life 21 years after he failed to win the heavyweight championship from Larry Holmes. That loss has not haunted him. It only made him stronger and more committed to helping other boxers get their lives in order after they retire. His health is…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The conference and NCAA Tournament games of March should not be overshadowed by the scandal and controversy of a few naughty programs. Because for every Georgia, Fresno State and St. Bonaventure, there are dozens upon dozens of Lehighs and Lafayettes, Penns and Princetons —…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Saint Joseph’s has a blazing backcourt, led by All-American candidate Jameer Nelson and shooters galore. The Hawks also have a coach, Phil Martelli, who does as much cheering as anyone with pompons. Their 22-5 season includes a 4-0 record against Philadelphia rivals, giving them…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The game moved faster than Lafayette College probably would have liked Sunday night. So did American. As a result, Lafayette coach Fran O’Hanlon doesn’t have to worry about trying to get any more miles out of his players. American saw to that, using its speed on both ends of the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →First-year Lehigh coach Billy Taylor is ready and confident as he leads the Mountain Hawks into the Patriot League tournament this weekend. These are the games that can lead to tears trickling down the faces of the losers and exuberance overwhelming the winners. It takes three…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Billy Taylor won people over by winning more games than any other first-year men’s basketball coach at Lehigh. On Wednesday, the Patriot League named Taylor its coach of the year, marking the first such accomplishment for Lehigh. Taylor’s honor was one of four postseason awards…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The DeSales University players fought hard, extending themselves to their limits to erase a 16-point deficit and briefly take a one-point lead. But Scranton just kept on coming, sinking all the big shots and playing pesky defense to pull out a 72-65 victory in the MAC Freedom…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland running back Austin Scott and Bethlehem Catholic quarterback Adam Bednarik will rush and pass as high school players on the same football field one more time. Finally, it will be as teammates. They have been selected to the Pennsylvania All-Star team that will play the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Austin Scott turned into Kid Scott on Tuesday afternoon at the Wyndham Franklin Plaza Hotel grand ballroom. He just couldn’t believe that he was in the same room with athletes and coaches he has seen so often on television. Nor could Scott believe that later Tuesday the Maxwell…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →In normal games, Lafayette College guard Justin DeBerry could probably keep track of his rebounds in his head. But the 6-3 junior was scrapping so hard to get position and yank down boards in the Leopards’ 57-43 Patriot League victory over Army Wednesday night at Kirby Sports…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Two tough road losses last weekend to Holy Cross and Colgate did not spoil what was a successful first half of play in the Patriot League for the Lehigh men’s basketball team. The losses — 63-39 at Holy Cross and 77-68 at Colgate — have the Mountain Hawks waiting impatiently to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lafayette threw everything it had at Patriot League heavyweight Holy Cross, except a knockout blow, Saturday afternoon at Kirby Sports Center. For Lafayette, there were guards Justin DeBerry and Winston Davis popping 3-pointers from way out. There was 6-10 center Rob Dill…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland High’s all-everything running back Austin Scott has fallen into countless daydreams while watching ESPN’s SportsCenter. Often he hears the voices of Stuart Scott and Chris Berman ringing through his mind. Stuart Scott, the master of airwaves slang, is saying, “Did you…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Big East Conference has been a headache to Patriot League teams this season, though not as big as you might think. Not even to improved Lehigh, which had a chance to drown the fans in Coral Gables, Fla. on Dec. 30 with disappointment before Ohio State’s football team did the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Tom Osonte was just as involved in Parkland football games this season as anyone dressed in uniform or on the coaching staff. Never mind that he was the statistician, because he was just as busy as coach Rob Melosky on game nights, mostly charting each Austin Scott run. Scott…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →They started the season by having their hearts ripped out. Bethlehem Catholic capped off a stirring season-opener with quarterback Adam Bednarik’s completion of a two-point conversion pass to Fred Rice for a 29-28 overtime victory. But after that loss, Parkland did all the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bethlehem Catholic senior quarterback Adam Bednarik seemed to almost faint when told that he had been selected to the Associated Press Big School (Classes 4A/3A) All-State team. “That’s awesome,” Bednarik said, pausing on the phone before becoming even more exhilarated over his…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →He is now an all-everything to Central Catholic on the hardwood, and it’s a role that Central Catholic senior Jim Curran handled well in a physical Lehigh Valley Conference game against rival Whitehall Tuesday night at Rockne Hall. Helping rouse Curran even more were the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →If faced with the challenge, could the Parkland defense have swallowed up Trojan record-breaking tailback Austin Scott in the same nasty way it did Woodland Hills in the PIAA Class 4A Championship game Saturday night in Hershey? Think about it. No defense stopped Scott. Some had…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →She was the lady in the fur coat standing on the muddy steps in Hersheypark Stadium Saturday night, requesting to talk to the star Parkland running back, her nephew Austin Scott. He was the man wearing a much less flamboyant coat, proudly talking about the astuteness of his son,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →There are many ways to score touchdowns. Long runs, short runs. Long pass receptions, short pass receptions. Punt returns. Kickoff returns. Defensively. Parkland’s Austin Scott has explored most of these options during his memorable and historic season. And he’s not done, yet.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Woodland Hills High football team has three 300-plus-pound starting offensive linemen and a safety in Ryan Mundy, who is being recruited by Pittsburgh, Penn State, Michigan, Virginia and Notre Dame. In essence, it’s the type of talent pool that veteran Wolverines coach…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →They often yelled during stretching drills, “Orefield Beach, baby,” despite bitter cold temperatures that had frozen the ground Wednesday at Parkland Stadium. “I think it was colder out here [Tuesday], but it’s nice to be out here now when nobody else from the Lehigh Valley is…
· 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 →The school buses that are used to transport Parkland football players, band members and fans will have to be cranked up for one more trip. And it will be a sweet one, because the Trojans are going to Hershey for the PIAA Class 4A championship. “We’ve been working since March for…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →North Penn kind of backed into the District One playoffs as the eighth seed. And the Knights refused to be kicked out once they got there. They won three straight, including last week’s 25-14 win over Interboro in the district championship game, to secure a matchup against…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland High senior Nick Pinchek had to turn over the reins of the Trojans offense, knowing that the return of tailback Austin Scott would mean less handoffs and the possibility of not rushing for 1,000-plus yards again. But less touches of the football has not meant less…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The way Parkland senior lineman Cody Decker likes to eat, the refrigerator at the Decker’s house has to be stacked with food. “He’s chowing all the time,” said Decker’s father Gary. “He’s at the refrigerator now.” But Decker wasn’t looking for junk food. He’s more interested in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Some of them rolled around on the artificial turf. One even kissed the surface. “The game is over,” said Parkland senior fullback Nick Pinchek Saturday afternoon. “It’s the greatest feeling in the world. Until they play again. Junior defensive end Travis Decker assured that…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The planning is over. Now it’s time for Parkland to just go out and beat the USA Today’s 13th-ranked team, a team that is averaging 47 points and which once rolled up 76 points on an opponent this season. That team is Central Dauphin, which will bring a 12-0 record into…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Central Dauphin coach George Chaump has been an assistant coach under the legendary Woody Hayes at Ohio State and under John McKay with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He has also been a head coach at Marshall, Navy and Indiana University at Pennsylvania. He has been around awhile.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It’s not surprising that the Muhlenberg College men received 11 first-place votes in the coaches’ pre-season Centennial Conference poll. The Mules have won or shared the title eight out of the last nine years. However, those votes may have been based more on reputation than on…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Some of the East Stroudsburg players looked like a pack of jubilant kids the way they were belly-flopping and sliding on the muddy field at Eiler-Martin Stadium Saturday afternoon. For many of them, a childhood dream had just been fulfilled. The Warriors clinched a share of the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →As guaranteed by star tailback Austin Scott 12 weeks ago, Parkland got the rematch with Bethlehem Catholic Friday night with the District 11 Class 4A title on the line. And led by Scott’s 222 yards rushing and touchdown runs that covered 57 and 28 yards, Parkland made the best…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →First, Parkland tailback Nick Pinchek did his part with hard, punishing blocks, helping teammate Austin Scott rush for over 200 yards and into the state record books Friday night in the District 11 Class 4A championship game at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. Then the…
· 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 →Following his sensational running show, which made Bethlehem Catholic’s defense appear to be frozen in place, Parkland tailback Austin Scott huddled his teammates and made a very bold prediction. “We will see them again,” Scott told his teammates. Many of those Parkland players…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →No team has stopped the offense of Bethlehem Catholic or Parkland. They didn’t even stop each other. But the defenses of both teams will give it another shot when Parkland (10-1) meets Bethlehem Catholic (11-0) at 7 tonight for the District 11 Class 4A championship at Bethlehem…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Their District 11 Class 4A semifinal games were going awfully poorly for Bethlehem Catholic and Parkland Friday night, raising doubts in both at halftime that the dream rematch between the two powerhouses for the district title might not happen. Underdogs Easton and Freedom…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Northern Lehigh used a bruising defense and two first-half scoring plays by all-purpose star Ryan Hluschak to take all the pop out of Springfield (Montco) in a District 11 Class 2A subregional semifinal playoff game Saturday night in Slatington. It was the type of grinding and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bethlehem Catholic’s gritty effort against Easton was kind of like scraping for every penny in the piggy bank. Survival depended on what was found. The end to an undefeated season and rematch with Parkland also depended on Bethlehem Catholic’s ability to solve and score on an…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bethlehem Catholic-Parkland II now appears to be only a week away. At least that’s what most people outside the Easton and Freedom programs believe. “It’s high school football,” said Easton coach Steve Shiffert. “Anything can happen. You never know how they will react.” So hold…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →They are not called “hogs” or “beef brothers” or the “the plow crew.” Nothing intimidating. Instead, Parkland’s offensive linemen go by the nickname, “Merculators”, which sounds more suited for a dance studio than for the trenches on a football field. But they are called that…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Their mark in school history was cemented before they even stepped onto the field Saturday at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. They had already earned the first-ever District 11 Class 4A playoff berth for Freedom. But there’s a more important mark still to be accomplished…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The sight of Parkland tailback Austin Scott warming up his throwing arm on the sidelines in the fourth quarter might have seemed odd at the time, but it sure looked sweet when he actually did it in the game Friday night at Cottingham Stadium. Scott lofted a spiral, landing…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Allen, Easton or Freedom will have their District 11 Class 4A football playoff hopes spoiled this weekend. Delivering the boot could be Dieruff, Parkland or Liberty. Could there be a more interesting climax to the final week of the first Lehigh Valley Conference regular season?…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Northern Lehigh coach Jim Tkach has been getting more “kicks” out of Colonial League games this season than ever before. That’s because junior kicker Aaron Mill has thrilled Tkach, his teammates and Bulldogs fans with his field goal accuracy. Even on rainy nights and muddy…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Great Scott. Parkland tailback Austin Scott didn’t allow the rain, muddy field, or the Freedom defense to slow him Friday night at Parkland Stadium. His cuts to the left were sharp. So were his dashes right and up the middle. Getting a hand on him seemed tough the way Trojans…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →No team in the first-year Lehigh Valley Conference has suffered as much heartbreak with no time left on the clock as Freedom. But the Patriots have become mentally tougher after losing 25-24 to Dieruff on a Brian School 20-yard field-goal on Sept. 20, and 22-21 to Easton on a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →And Rob Hauke scored. And again. And again. And the Central Catholic tailback scored four more times, the last on a 60-yard punt return in the fourth quarter, for the final exclamation mark in the Vikings’ 49-0 nonleague victory over host Crestwood of District 2 Saturday…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Oh mercy! Dieruff could have cried or shouted it out because it was obvious by late in the second quarter that Bethlehem Catholic was not going to take its foot off the gas pedal Saturday night. Instead, the Golden Hawks just kept flooring Dieruff behind an offense that clicked…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →With its crunching tackles, the Parkland defense seemed to break the spirit of Liberty about as much as Trojans tailback Austin Scott’s elusive running did Friday night in Orefield. But it was only the same devastating double-dose that the Trojans have used to beat every…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Dieruff and Liberty are playing “Survivor” this weekend, both going against powerhouse Lehigh Valley Conference teams that are among the best in the state. The chances both have of qualifying for the District 11 Class 4A playoffs may depend on the outcome of Liberty’s visit to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Bethlehem Catholic, Catasauqua and Salisbury football teams each won weekend games that provided encouraging signs about the success they might enjoy the rest of the season. For Bethlehem Catholic, the Class 4A state title that has eluded the last two Becahi teams seems all…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It might have seemed like Easton had brought a bulldozer to Bethlehem Area School District Stadium the way it was plowing up and down the field Sunday afternoon. But the Red Rovers were simply using an overpowering rushing attack to punish the Liberty defense, paving the way to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Easton Red Rovers are going on a shopping spree at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium for the second week in a row when they play the Liberty Hurricanes in a Lehigh Valley Conference matchup at 7 tonight. And the thing the Red Rovers (3-2, 3-1) will be looking for most…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →And now the Lehigh Valley Conference race thickens. No more easy games, at least on paper. Though powerhouse Bethlehem Catholic and Austin Scott-led Parkland appear headed for Dream Match II in the District 11 Class 4A playoffs, Allen, Freedom and Liberty each have a 4-1 overall…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A soft pillow should have been among the requirements for players signing up for the Pius X football team this season. It would have been put to good use. The Royals, a Class 1A school in Roseto, will log 2,500 miles on six away games. On Friday they traveled to Shamokin, losing…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bethlehem Catholic got more gifts than it could have expected from Glen Mills on Homecoming Saturday. And most of them were huge in the Golden Hawks’ 46-22 rout at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. They started when defensive back Kyle Horton recovered a Glen Mills fumble…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Last week, the Allentown public schools had Bethlehem’s number on the football field. In one game, Dieruff rallied from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to edge Freedom, 25-24 on a Brian Scholl 20-yard field goal with time expiring at J. Birney Crum Stadium. In Bethlehem, Allen…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Liberty Hurricanes know they’re not facing a cupcake in the Allen Canaries, who visit Liberty for a Lehigh Valley Conference game tonight at 7. But the Hurricanes aren’t buckling at the knees. They want to prove their mettle against a good team. “As long as everybody plays…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland tailback Austin Scott did not want to be hounded by bandwagon jumpers the rest of the season, especially since his heart has been set on playing for Penn State since his sophomore season. The senior Trojans star will make his choice official today by making an oral…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland tailback Austin Scott helped cure all that had been aching the Trojans the best way he knows Friday night in Orefield. Scott’s way was to just break loose, tire, frustrate and outslick the defense. He seemed to get better with each carry, confounding Central Catholic…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Victoria Abadia, a 24-year-old professional boxer with plenty of potential, fought in the main event for some alphabet championship belt, but his relative cakewalk to victory hardly roused the crowd the way Easton welterweight Derrick Parks had Thursday night at the Days Inn and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Junior featherweight Victoria Abadia will get his second chance this year to prove that he can win a championship fight. But he’s going to have to take out a knockout puncher in Francisco Tejedor to accomplish his goal. The International Boxing Council junior featherweight title…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The game was better than the hype. The ending was cliffhanging, leaving Bethlehem Catholic exhilarated and Parkland drowned in disappointment. It came down to The Decision. One or two points for victory or defeat. “It was in my mind all the time,” said Bethlehem Catholic…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bethlehem Catholic quarterback Adam Bednarik knows the Parkland defense wants to smother him, maybe even turn him into mashed potatoes. But by no means will Parkland distract Bednarik, the strong-armed, 6-3, 220-pound senior. He is just too confident, ready to play against the…
· 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 →Kevin Easterling was selected to play in the 1984 Big 33 Football Classic after rushing for nearly 1,200 yards his senior year at Dieruff, and he believes his son could have similar success at the Colonial League school he currently attends. But Easterling is worried that the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →You can look at his braids, his thuggish attitude, shake your head in disappointment over his allegedly throwing his wife out of the house naked, but don’t think that Philadelphia 76ers’ guard Allen Iverson has lost marketing appeal. What does it tell you when Reebok, the shoe…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Donnie Roberts might have looked like a maintenance worker to people driving or walking by on American Parkway the way he was manicuring the Central Catholic High practice field Saturday. More people might have thought the same of Roberts following the opening day of football…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Running on playing fields as hard as concrete was more fun than swimming for high school football stars Austin Scott of Parkland and Freedom’s Afa Anaoi and Jeremy Kametz on a Monday where temperatures neared 100 degrees. Each player said he had eagerly awaited the opening day…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →You can not win 68 of 74 fights and successfully defend the heavyweight championship 20 consecutive times without having a few easy fights. Former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes does not deny that. In fact, he believes that one of his easiest fights will come Saturday night…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The post-Bethlehem Catholic High football careers of Eddie Scipio and Pat Bedics have become more challenging and enjoyable since they arrived here on July 1. They’re in town to practice with the Pennsylvania All-Stars in preparation for the Big 33 Football Classic at 7 p.m.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The financial stability was there all season. The emotional stability never was. The mixture was a bad combination for the Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs, one that led to disgruntlement within the organization, failure on the basketball court, and ultimately, a disappointing finish to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Darryl Dawkins has been a professional basketball player and head coach, and now some of the Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs hope he is promoted one more level. Veterans Ronnie Fields and Cory Hightower, who helped the team win the franchise’s first United States Basketball League…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs spent about as much energy trying to beat the Adirondack Wildcats as Lehigh University officials probably used trying to keep Stabler Arena cool Sunday afternoon. Cool play that included slashes through the lane for baskets and high-flying dunks were…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Darryl Dawkins, who has awed sports fans throughout the Lehigh Valley since he arrived in the spring of 1999 as head coach of the Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs, isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. He lives in the Valley; his wife is from here. He and assistant coach Rick Nash have…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The rumble is on. The raging bull that is Mike Tyson is fighting the heavyweight champion with the glass jaw, Lennox Lewis, late tonight at The Pyramid in Memphis, Tenn. No heavyweight championship bout has had this much hype since Tyson and Evander Holyfield went “tooth-to-ear”…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The intense look was still there, though occasionally broken with a quick smile. Then, back to focusing, teaching, going over in his mind during a short practice Wednesday evening at Stabler Arena what it is he needs to do to turn the Oklahoma Storm into a winner. It may be the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Lennox Lewis is just four days away from defending his World Boxing Council and International Boxing Federation heavyweight championship titles against the one man former heavyweight champ Larry Holmes believes Lewis is probably scared to fight. That man is the loose cannon that…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Forget about the rocking chair that some people might have been thinking about as a goodbye gift to Evander Holyfield. “I’m going to be here a long time,” Holyfield said following his lopsided victory over Hasim Rahman in a heavyweight elimination bout Saturday night at the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Evander Holyfield used nothing but his fists, padded with boxing gloves. But it seemed like the former four-time heavyweight champion was using a baseball bat against another former heavyweight champion, Hasim Rahman, Saturday night before a crowd of 9,831 at the Boardwalk Hall.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The future fast lanes of District 11 athletes may have been paved by Bethlehem Catholic’s Eddie Scipio and his supporting cast of Golden Hawks sprinters in the PIAA Track and Field Championships last weekend at Shippensburg University. Scipio, a senior three-sport star, anchored…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bethlehem Catholic’s Maurice Simmons boasted about what he did Friday night at the school prom. “I danced all night,” the Golden Hawks junior sprinter said. So did his teammate, junior Frank Trovato. “I had a good time,” Trovato said. In some ways, they rewarded themselves early…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bethlehem Catholic pole vaulter Neil Schwab thought he was going to get an energy boost from a power bar he ate during competition in the Class 2A portion of the event in the PIAA Track and Field Championships Friday at Shippensburg University. Instead, the junior got sick to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Athletes in The Morning Call’s circulation area from District 11 and District 3 who have legitimate shots of winning medals in the PIAA Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg University today and Saturday probably spent most of Thursday reflecting on what they need to do…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Saucon Valley’s Casie Williams is an all-around athlete with an odd love for fast food at McDonald’s. She loves to order large french fries, toss them in a bag, heavily salt them, shake up the bag and um … um … get her eats. “I go there a couple times on the weekend, sometimes…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Eddie Scipio, the fastest of the Bethlehem Catholic High sprinters, enthusiastically raised his voice after winning his fourth gold medal in the District 11 Class 2A championships a week ago and proclaimed, “We’re on the map in track and field.” Not just as a dot, either. Four…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →They made winning their races look as easy as blowing out candles on a cake. Congratulations, however, for these District 11 track and field champions, were awarded in other ways. First, with the cheers of parents, coaches, teammates, and of course, admiring fans. Then with…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A lot has been expected of Bethlehem Catholic three-sport star Eddie Scipio this track season. So far, the senior has handled the pressure well. That was again the case in the District 11 Class 2A track and field championships Thursday at Blue Mountain High. Scipio, appearing…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The promise made to win a state track and field championship in the 100-meter dash by Parkland High sprinter Lee Riley to his mother, Sandra, while she lay in a coma at Hershey Medical Center in March, is one the junior said he will stop at nothing to accomplish. His mother died…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The gold medal seemed as if it might melt in Liberty senior Eric Eggleston’s hand, the way he kept looking at it, caressing it. For the last two years, he had left the District 11 Class 3A Track and Field Championships with a silver medal in the triple jump. All that changed…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Now it’s time to run faster, throw further, and jump higher as the District 11 Class 3A and 2A track and field championships draw closer. “You don’t need much to motivate the kids now,” said Easton coach Frank Messa. Indeed, they now must “just do it.’ Even those who have been…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Winning the Colonial League track and field championship in the 1,600-meter run was basically a given for Southern Lehigh’s Tim Erickson before he even stepped onto the all-weather surface at Bangor Memorial Park Friday. Even with an injured right knee. But Erickson’s runaway…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The answer to the most intriguing question of the scholastic track and field season, “Who has been dedicated enough to win a state title,” will be revealed over the next two weeks. For now, most people in District 11 know that Freedom junior Beth Crocus has a serious shot at…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Parkland senior Erin Cadden could not wait to exchange her track cleats for dancing shoes Tuesday following the Mountain Valley Conference track and field championships at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. The anxiety seemed reasonable, considering that Cadden had…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The sluggishness is still there, otherwise a couple of Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs players would not have botched dunks on two-on-none breaks. “It was just missed concentration, trying to dunk it hard, that’s all,” said ‘Dawgs swingman Cory Hightower. Though comical, neither the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →They were searching for answers, looking for a win, and despite periods of sloppiness, the defending United States Basketball League champion Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs achieved their goal. Being pretty had won them nothing in three previous games, so in their home opener the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →He is the idol of so many kids in the South Side of Bethlehem. They want to go to Liberty High and become standout athletes just like him. He is a product of the Bethlehem Saints, the youth program where he gained his early football stripes as a small, but fast and elusive…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A handful of the top athletes in District 11 have realistic shots at winning PIAA track and field gold medals. To actually accomplish the task, an athlete must first check any case of bad nerves at the front gate of Seth Grove Stadium at Shippensburg University over Memorial Day…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Not enough people around District 11 probably know about the speed of Parkland sophomore Steve Stern and Lehighton senior Katie Grant. Start paying attention. Stern and Grant legitimized their claims as two of the area’s top sprinters with victories in the 100-, 200- and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bethlehem Catholic’s Eddie Scipio, Fred Rice, Brandon Carter and Maurice Simmons have memories from the 108th Penn Relays they will be able to savor the rest of their lives. And for good reason. They ran faster than any team in The Morning Call’s circulation area has ever run in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Outside of the Franklin Field stadium where a record-crowd of 50,827 cheered, clapped and waved Jamaican and American flags on Saturday, Lehigh University’s Patrick Dugan and Lafayette College’s Ethan Blose captured a piece of Penn Relays glory in the javelin event. Dugan’s…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A Penn Relays race that Southern Lehigh senior Tim Erickson sat in the stands of Franklin Field and prayed for for more than three hours Friday, was going fine after two laps. But keeping pace in the studded field of high school boys’ mile runners in Day 2 of the 108th running…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Ebony Barbosa of Allen and Erin Lentz of Emmaus both went to the Crimson Tide Invitational at Pottsville High last Friday expecting nothing big. Like winning. That mindest, however, wasn’t because of a lack of confidence. The field that both competed in was top notch, with…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Crossing the finish line first is something Easton junior Danielle Lattimore has gotten used to this spring. She has, after all, smoked just about every other top female sprinter in District 11. Nothing changed Tuesday at Parkland High, even though windy conditions prevented…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Ottawa Senators’ trap wasn’t that big of a factor. Scoring, however, was another problem for the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers came with furious rushes, unleashed hard attempts, and played with seemingly more passion until things started going awry in Game 2 of the Eastern…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →While others are posting times in sprint and distance events that are impressive, none of them has what Easton High senior D.J. Williams has going for himself. Williams, unlike the rest, was a District 11 and PIAA track and field title contender in the long jump before the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A heavyweight from Philadelphia, who has “lights-out” punching power, will return to the Days Inn & Conference Center in South Whitehall Township on Thursday. Sean Carrington has scored knockouts in his only two professional fights, both in the first round. He forced a stoppage…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Welcome back, Ray Herman. Freedom High, good choice. A legend is back at the head of a track and field program three years after being disloyally treated at Easton, the program he built into a PIAA power over his 31 years there. “I’m just as excited as when I was 25,” Herman…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Victory, the best ever in the history of the University of Maryland men’s basketball program, had just been accomplished. An NCAA championship-game win over Indiana had finalized a 32-4 season on April Fool’s Day. What followed was disheartening to me and many other Maryland…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Some players have shown up at the Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs tryout camps the last two weeks with a support team which has included girlfriends, wives and family members. Juwan Justice, a 6-4 guard from East Stroudsburg University, has traveled to Lehigh Carbon Community College…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The right hand of challenger Ricardo “El Matador” Mayorga kept landing, backing up and often doing damage to Andrew “Six Heads” Lewis. Then came the furious conclusion. Mayorga came with everything in his arsenal and flattened Lewis to score a technical knockout at 1 minute, 8…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The telephone at the Pennsylvania VallyDawgs headquarters in Easton rang more often than usual Tuesday, but not all the calls were from people wondering if head coach Darryl Dawkins was really serious about wanting to coach at Lehigh University. Inquiring minds, mostly those of…
· 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 →It’s time for Lehigh University to consider making a change in philosophy and make history by hiring its first African-American head men’s basketball coach and just the second ever in the Patriot League. Maybe Lehigh search committee chairman Glenn Hofmann should first look at…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →This was for Ivy League bragging rights and the chance to make history. Shooting-wise, it was not a classic. Too many clanks off the rim early on to call the regular-season finale between Penn and Princeton that Tuesday night before an emotionally intoxicated crowd of 8,700-plus…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →This was for Ivy League rank and the chance to make history, a classic in the making. Shooting-wise, though, it was not a classic. There were too many clanks off the rim early on to call the regular-season finale between Penn and Princeton a classic. But that didn’t stop the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The verbal outbursts from the Scream I and II movies will compare little to the noise level inside the University of Pennsylvania’s Palestra at 8 tonight in the most important game of the Ivy League season. “It’s going to be very, very, very packed,” said Carla Shultzberg,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →– Lafayette’s Brian Burke didn’t have it until the end. Teammate Winston Davis had it all game, especially when he soared for rebounds. Davis grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds Saturday afternoon, but the Leopards blew a 17-point lead before surviving a suspenseful finish to beat…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Something besides money made legendary boxing promoter Don King light up like the glamorous lights of Las Vegas Thursday when he visited the Canal Street Pub and Restaurant. And everybody knows that casinos are big in the city that never sleeps. Reading does not have any casinos…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Some people may have thought the Emmaus Green Hornets were buried emotionally with that 1-6 record to start the season. Obviously, somebody forgot that 6-11 junior center Aaron Gray was out with a broken left ankle during that horrible beginning. But Gray was ever present on the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →For one play in the first half, the Lehigh Engineers looked more like the Harlem Globetrotters than the last place team in the Patriot League Sunday afternoon at Stabler Arena. That’s because it was capped off by a deft passing sequence of Alex Jensen to Scott Taylor to Alan…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →That 25-0 record the Parkland Trojans posted in the regular season has been playing on the mind of Emmaus center Aaron Gray. Now more than ever, following Gray’s dominating performance in Emmaus’ 56-47 victory over Freedom in the District 11 Class 4A boys basketball preliminary…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The guessing game of who’s in, who’s out, and who needs to do what to get into the good graces of the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee has heated up as college basketball enters its final two weeks of the regular season. Locally, Lafayette (13-12) and Lehigh (4-21) can only…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It was just the second day of February but it seemed like March. It’s the Temple Owls time of season. Time when they seem to smother opponents with that pesky zone defense. It doesn’t matter who the opponent is or where they play the game. They seem to play every game with the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Wouldn’t it be nice if a boxing match could again be promoted as a “Rumble in the Jungle,” and then live up to its billing? How about a pay-per-view refund if the bout lasted fewer than five rounds or were 12 rounds of drawn-out junk? Is this too much to ask? Yes, when it comes…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →No ear biting, no crying, no hugging. Basically, nothing that you might have seen in the past in a Mike Tyson or Lennox Lewis heavyweight mess-up. No, club-style professional boxers can’t afford to play mind games — just throw on the gloves, maybe draw some blood. It helps when…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Now the man with the baby face looks back at those snowy days in Whitehall when his dreams ran wild along with his older brother, NFL star Eddie McCaffrey of the Denver Broncos. But unlike “Easy Ed,” the now 29-year-old Billy McCaffrey, often thought about playing pro basketball…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Now that the Patriot League games are set to begin, the Lehigh and Lafayette men’s teams believe they will triumph more often than fail the rest of January and February. And March, if one is still alive following the league tournament. Never mind the previous 13 games for Lehigh…
· 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 →It was about 2 hours before game time last Thursday in Emmitsburg, Md., a serene small town about 75 miles north of Washington, D.C., and ex-Whitehall star Jerry Lloyd was seemingly as calm as the environment in which he has lived during the last four school years. “I like it…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Watching from the bench at the climax of a Big 5 matchup in the old and stuffy Palestra seemed a little odd for Drexel freshman Danny Hinds Wednesday night. Especially since the game against neighboring University of Pennsylvania was close. “I don’t know if I would have been…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Easton Red Rovers went from winning red ribbons seven days ago as District 11 Class 4A runner ups to routing their crossbridge rival Phillipsburg 28-7 on Thanksgiving Day. Tears were shed after both games, especially by Easton senior two-way star Jesse Pellegrino. Red Rovers…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Easton senior tailback Sean Burgio is entering another Thanksgiving Day with his dinner plans on hold. But he’s not all that concerned with keeping his grandparents on his mother’s side in limbo, because they live in Phillipsburg, which is Easton’s annual Turkey Day football…
· 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 →Opening the basketball season with opponents his team would be favored to beat is not something that entices Lafayette coach Fran O’Hanlon, even if that decision ultimately leads to the Leopards getting blown out. After opening its season at Albany of the lightly-regarded…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Sean Burgio ran the ball up the middle often, cherishing every yard he gained and sucking up every jolting hit to carry the ball another down. He had become Easton’s best offensive option, but Burgio was rendered to watching from the sidelines as the drive that would decide the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It was madness inside Madison Square Garden between two of last season’s Final Four participants — No. 2 Maryland and mistakenly unranked Arizona. The pollsters do overlook sleepers, if defending national runner-up Arizona can be called that. Sleep on them if you will. Maryland…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Around this time of the football season, some high school coaches warn their players not to say the wrong things, to be careful not to just speak their minds and fuel the rage in their opponents. Not so at Bethlehem Catholic, where shrewd coach Bob Stem has his Golden Hawks…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Maryland Terrapins and the Florida Gators, ranked No. 2 and No. 6 in the preseason Associated Press poll, are looking to get off to perfect starts. Unranked Arizona, the defending national runner-up will be looking to gain confidence with at least five freshmen playing…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Jameer Nelson’s celebrity status extended well past the Saint Joseph’s University campus before he even made his first collegiate basket last Nov. 17. He didn’t even need to win the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year award or play on last summer’s gold medal-winning USA Junior…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Having been blanketed, had its rushing game stymied, and even been socked around a little bit, Easton regrouped at halftime and stomped Parkland on both sides of the ball in the second half Friday night. It was nothing new because Easton has made a habit of wrecking opponents in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Yorel Prosser has had so many injuries in his four-year football career at Kutztown that his teammates figured out a nickname that best describes his gridiron experiences. “They call me Motrin Man,” said Prosser, who has had ankle, knee, shoulder and back injuries that have…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →They were denied crossing the goal line once from inside the red zone. Then, the Easton Red Rovers made sure it didn’t happen again. Now, Easton will head into its final Mountain Valley Conference game next Friday at Parkland assured of at least a tie for the Valley Division…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The guessing game doesn’t work on College Hill. So don’t ask Lafayette men’s basketball coach Fran O’Hanlon to pick a number of games he might win in the 2001-02 season. He can’t do it. He doesn’t want to do it. Besides, a fair prognostication cannot be made now. The Leopards…
· 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 →Discussions of football and war have been persistent at the house of East Stroudsburg University coach Denny Douds. Especially this week. America is striking back for the terrorists attacks of Sept. 11 and Douds and his coaching staff are preparing the Warriors for a key…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →From seventh grade to his senior year at East Stroudsburg University, Jeremy Palm has found the quarterback position to be the best place to maintain control of the offense. The difference now is that the defenders swarming after him are a lot bigger, faster and, in most cases,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Central Catholic entered homecoming Saturday with a 1-3 record and riding on the District 11 playoff bubble. One more loss would have put the Vikings in serious jeopardy of not qualifying for the playoffs. Opponents of CCHS may be in a rush for that to happen, but the Vikings’…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →He’s a co-captain on the field, a bookworm off it. Maintaining a balance between athletics and academics is something Kutztown senior linebacker Alex Daecher has not had a problem with since entering college five years ago as a freshman. He’s been successful at both, leading…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →“Go, Nick, go.” That’s a cheer Parkland junior Nick Pinchek has waited two years to hear more regularly than just a few times a game when he would be given token handoffs. No, the game plan has changed at Parkland. Pinchek is now a key part of the game plan, the running back on…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The atmosphere at Madison Square Garden can be overwhelming for any first-time visitor. You might expect it to be especially so for a 10-year-old from Allentown who has never competed outside Pennsylvania. But to Brianna Broyles, an eighth grader at St. Francis of Assisi School…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →“Beca, Beca, Beca.” The words have become so draining that it’s gotten to the point where all the Parkland players want to do is … well, let them speak for themselves. “I think we may try and strike fear into them right away, show them that we’re coming out to play and that we…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Josh Warren knew right away last Aug. 31 that the excruciating pain he had just felt in his left knee wasn’t like anything he had ever experienced. He was not prepared to deal with a season of hopelessness, sitting instead of playing, cheering instead of rallying the team. 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 →Allen Holloway doesn’t look that tough on the football field. He’s just 5-10, 150 pounds. But Easton’s senior free safety had opposing offensive players wondering last season, “Did you catch that number?” Holloway was everywhere, making plays, sticking hard. “He has some real…
· 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 →Nothing like chillin’ in a beach town, even on a rainy Saturday afternoon. What made it even better for forwards Matt Harpring and Robert “Tractor” Traylor is that they were being swarmed by autograph seekers and media, a pleasant experience that neither could have anticipated…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Calvin Robinson Jr. saw the opening and took advantage quickly, cheers almost guiding him as he dribbled toward the basket at Allentown’s Roosevelt Park two Sundays ago. It had been four years since he had people rooting for him so loudly. But with the game clock winding down in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A day after being ousted from the NBA playoffs, Philadelphia 76ers starting power forward Tyrone Hill told the organization he was considering opting out of his lucrative contract before later deciding to stay. On Friday, however, the organization decided to bid farewell to the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Unsettled business remains for the Philadelphia 76ers, with the futures of coach Larry Brown and team president Pat Croce topping the list. But the 79ers settled one major issue Wednesday, sealing guard Aaron McKie’s seven-year, $42-million contract, and figure to settle another…
· 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 →A big cloud of uncertainty hovers over the Philadelphia 76ers organization. And it has nothing to do with whom they will choose in the NBA draft, June 27. The most pressing matters are whether coach Larry Brown will return for a fifth season and whether team president Pat Croce…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The lights were dim, the court had been taken up and all the floor seats removed inside the First Union Center Saturday afternoon, less than 24 hours after the Philadelphia 76ers’ dreams of winning the NBA title were shattered by the Los Angeles Lakers. Light music played in the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The heart, the hustle, and the fight were there for the Philadelphia 76ers until the end. But their prayer was left unanswered because every move they made was countered, every rally was cut short. The best from the West, those cocky and confident Los Angeles Lakers, weathered…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Fat Lady has started to get dressed and may sing tonight, a goodbye tune that the Philadelphia 76ers do not want to hear. The Sixers still have some fight left, still want to get a victory at home, and then take their injured and ragged bodies back to Los Angeles to try and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →George Lynch is just as gritty as his Philadelphia 76ers teammates Eric Snow, Allen Iverson and Aaron McKie, all of whom could legitimately receive a doctor’s note to take the rest of the month off from work. Lynch, who fractured his left foot in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Two towering men are now enraged with each other, both vowing to settle their disputes on the court in Game 4 of the NBA Finals Wednesday night at the First Union Center. Too much lip-bashing and lips-busted-from-elbows have gone on, and now centers Dikembe Mutombo of the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Don’t feel sad about the Philadelphia 76ers losing Game 2 of the NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers. You want to know what sadness is? It’s getting a phone call on your cell phone minutes before the start of a Game 2, and hearing that your kid sister had died in a fire.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The first blow was delivered by Philadelphia, the next one by Los Angeles. Now, it’s an NBA Finals best-of-seven series that’s deadlocked 1-1 after two games. Sweep talk is gone, and so is the Lakers’ invincible air that was generated during a 19-game winning streak, including…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Apparently, there has been a wrongfully perceived notion that the Philadelphia 76ers would play the role of underdog well and get rolled over by the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. Apparently, that just won’t happen, not even in the dreams of Lakers fans, mostly those…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Aaron McKie is not about the rest now. The Philadelphia 76ers’ starting point guard limped around Thursday with a protective boot that team trainer Lenny Currier fitted him with to help ease the discomfort of the chip fracture McKie suffered in his left ankle in Game 1 of the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Happy 26th birthday Allen Iverson. Way to celebrate early, torching the Los Angeles Lakers for 48 points in leading the Philadelphia 76ers to a 107-101 victory in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. “I don’t know if guys that they were playing against were scared of them,” Iverson said…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Philadelphia 76ers had the best record in the NBA — 41-14 — when coach Larry Brown and general manager Billy King looked into their crystal ball and saw the menacing prospect of facing 7-1, 330-pound Shaquille O’Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. Who was going…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Allen Iverson, NBA MVP, came to showtime, and was the biggest star in a Staples Center assemblage that included Oscar and Grammy winners. He made big shots early, performed heroically in overtime, and then exuberantly danced off the court, drenched with sweat and in need of a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Allen Iverson and Kobe Bryant will have at least four games to dazzle the world with their skills in the NBA Finals, which began with Game 1 Wednesday night at the Staples Center. And NBA Commissioner David Stern is ready to be dazzled. Stern made special note of how impressed…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →I exited the Los Angeles International Airport and thought that I had arrived on Fantasy Island Tuesday afternoon. Palm trees, sunshine, cool and relaxing temperatures. If that’s not luxury living, then what is? This is the life, West Coast style. There’s everything to love…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Raja Bell has gone from NBA reject to NBA bench warmer, and now to a player who’s accomplished something with the Philadelphia 76ers that has league MVP Allen Iverson in awe. Bell got the Philadelphia fans to chant, “Raja Bell ….Raja Bell” in the first half of Game 7 of the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Allen Iverson’s arms are not getting tired from hoisting postseason trophies in the air. There’s still one more he’d like to kiss and hold. Whether he’ll get to depends on whether David, which is the Philadelphia 76ers, can slay Goliath, Sixers coach Larry Brown’s…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →As guaranteed by center Dikembe Mutombo, the Philadelphia 76ers are going to the NBA Finals in a true East versus West matchup. Can Hollywood handle them? The Milwaukee Bucks, with All-Star guard Ray Allen aching from a hard fall in the third quarter, couldn’t, because they…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →As guaranteed by center Dikembe Mutombo, the Philadelphia 76ers are going to the NBA Finals in a true East versus West matchup. Can the Los Angeles Lakers handle them? The Milwaukee Bucks, with All-Star guard Ray Allen aching from a hard fall in the third quarter, sure couldn’t,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Let’s get my prediction out of the way: Philadelphia will win. Not just because the 76ers’ Dikembe Mutombo and Allen Iverson both said they are going to beat the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 7 tonight at the First Union Center to clinch the Eastern Conference Finals. No, I just…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Los Angeles Lakers don’t know it yet, but they will be playing the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA Finals. Sixers center Dikembe Mutombo guarantees it. And Mutombo, the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, has been right with all his other postseason predictions this year.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Eric Snow looked up at the giant man walking into the press room at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine Thursday, and the Philadelphia 76ers guard asked, “Am I a warrior?” “Yeah, you are Willis Reed Jr.,” said Sixers center Dikembe Mutombo. Relive the moment to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →All around the sold out First Union Center, people stood, clapping, screaming, and perhaps some even praying as Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals between the Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks came down to a breathtaking conclusion. How many hearts stopped as…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Down by a game and with everybody wondering how effective league MVP Allen Iverson would be in his return from injury, the Philadelphia 76ers blinked little and took out the Milwaukee Bucks. Some may say the Bucks’ Ray Allen tried to take out Iverson with an elbow to the mouth…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Maybe somebody from the Green Bay Packers could have kept Allen Iverson down. The Milwaukee Bucks sure couldn’t. Battered from falling seven times on his already bruised tailbone and later bloodied from a Ray Allen elbow to the mouth, Iverson scored the Philadelphia 76ers’ final…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Without their leader — their scoring machine — and with other players trying to answer the call, the Philadelphia 76ers had to struggle to avoid a massacre by the Milwaukee Bucks. Six times the Sixers pulled even. Twice they pulled ahead. But Milwaukee never stopped running,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Allen Iverson stayed in the Philadelphia 76ers’ team hotel. Maybe Tyrone Hill and Eric Snow should have stayed with him Saturday night. What Hill and Snow gave the Sixers in the Game 3 80-74 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference best-of-seven finals was 10 points…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The battered, bruised, struggling Allen Iverson has arrived here with the Philadelphia 76ers. But the important news may not come until game time. For now, all the Sixers can do is hold their breath, as if they were watching a last-second shot with the game on the line. What has…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Ray Allen’s definitely got game. He brought all of it, mostly a jump shot that destroyed the Philadelphia 76ers and helped the Milwaukee Bucks draw even in the Eastern Conference best-of-seven finals with a 92-78 victory in Game 2 Thursday night before a 20,998 crowd at the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Ray Allen’s definitely got game. And he brought all of it to Philadelphia Thursday night. Mostly, it was Allen’s deadly jump shot that destroyed the Philadelphia 76ers and helped the Milwaukee Bucks draw even in the Eastern Conference best-of-seven finals with a 92-78 victory in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →One of the greatest tributes Philadelphia 76ers coach Larry Brown had ever received in his 18-year NBA coaching career had already been given when he accepted the Red Auerbach Trophy as the NBA’s Coach of the Year Wednesday afternoon. Just as Brown was about to step away from…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Allen Iverson had a sore backside and a jump shot that was also hurting early on. He limped, he yelled, and then he flung his arms up in relief after hitting his first shot, a jump shot early in the second quarter that snapped an 0-for-9 beginning. He had more falls, even more…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Cheerleading is not something Craig “Speedy” Claxton figured he’d be doing a lot of this season after he was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 20th overall pick in last June’s NBA draft. But there he was Sunday night, his heart pumping just as hard as those of the 10…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →One more step. That’s what the Philadelphia 76ers made when they edged the Toronto Raptors by a point to advance to the Eastern Conference best-of-seven finals against the Milwaukee Bucks. One more step. That’s what the Sixers will try to make, first by winning Game 1 tonight at…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Allen Iverson knew that he had to do something special with the ball, only what he did was not light the nets on fire. Instead, he helped his teammates do that by breaking out of double teams and passing the ball to open guys, like Jumaine Jones and Aaron McKie. And they hit…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Nobody can possibly know all that’s going on inside Allen Iverson’s head as the clock ticks down to the first Game 7 playoff game of his five-year career. Winning is obviously his main concern, but he has to have so many other things swirling around. His veins are probably…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It’s hammer time for the Philadelphia 76ers. “When you have a chance to put a team out, you want to put them out,” said Sixers guard Eric Snow following practice Thursday at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Snow and his teammates were preparing to board a plane for…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Allen Iverson lit the fire early and kept fueling the drive, pumping up the fans with dazzling moves, rainbow jumpers, fadeaways and blazing moves into the land of giants. Forward Tyrone Hill, who had been somewhat missing in action, also stepped up. So did a lot of other Sixers…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Sixers had to know it was going to be their night to run rampant over the Toronto Raptors when Tyrone Hill scored back-to-back transition baskets early in the second quarter. Allen Iverson was already scoring at will and talking mad trash to Raptors guard Chris Childs.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →He had a large ice pack wrapped around his right knee, and a bewildered look as question after question flowed his way. Then, there was his voice — almost as soft as he has played in many games this season. But his coach, his teammates — and fans of the Sixers, too, probably —…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →No one could possibly be ready for the curtain to fall on the NBA Playoffs. The show has been too spectacular, from Allen Iverson and Vince Carter to Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, to all the rest of the young guns who are today’s stars. You know the other names. They’re all…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It was again Game 2 of a Sixers postseason series that was the charm. Again it was because Allen Iverson was unstoppable. From 45 points in Game 2 of the previous round against the Indiana Pacers to 54 in Wednesday night’s 97-92 victory over the Toronto Raptors, Iverson has…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The conversation started off with Toronto Raptors forward Charles Oakley talking about ways to guard the Los Angeles Lakers’ Shaquille O’Neal. It continued with Oakley talking about old news to everybody else, but still serious business to him. And that’s the money Sixers…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Allen Iverson did not wait for the defense to come to him. He went at it and around it, torching the Toronto Raptors for a career playoff-high 54 points. He was everywhere, shooting and scoring, especially in the fourth quarter when he scored 19 consecutive points during one…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →There’s no reason to give up. Not yet, anyway. The Sixers are still alive, though heartbroken, after losing 96-93 to the Toronto Raptors Sunday night at the First Union Center. Now they have to find a way to get even as they head into Game 2 of the best-of-seven series,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Thousands of fans started waving white Sixers towels in a frenetic motion from the nose-bleed section down to courtside with a little under 7 minutes remaining, and the Sixers scrambling around the court with ballhawking defensive pressure that was designed to make the Toronto…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Welcome to the second round of the NBA playoffs, Toronto Raptors. Want to know how to handle the boiling pressure? Just ask Allen Iverson or Larry Brown, the star player and head coach of the Sixers, who’ve failed to make it out of the Eastern Conference semifinals the last two…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →One round completed, at least one more to play. Just who their next opponent would be was a mystery to the Sixers and everybody else early Friday, so following practice at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, coach Larry Brown and most of his players chose to enjoy…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Allen Iverson showed up in military fatigues for the elimination playoff game against the Indiana Pacers last year. That was Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals in Philadelphia, and the Sixers lost 106-90. Tonight, Iverson and the Sixers stand a solid chance in Game 4 of…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The echoes of bouncing balls and sneakers scraping against the hardwood floor stopped as players and coaches stood in silence, each focusing on the portion of the gymnasium floor where Sixers guard Aaron McKie had just fallen. Trainers rushed to his side, but as soon as they got…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Free at last … free at last Sixers forward Jumaine Jones is free to just play, no longer looking to the bench to see if coach Larry Brown is trying to find space for him to occupy. The days of hardly playing appear to be over. He certainly waited a long time to become a factor,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Allen Iverson is headed back to Indianapolis for the first time since his much-publicized racial incident Jan. 28, and he says that he’s more concerned about helping the Sixers gain a one-game series edge than how the Indiana Pacers’ fans perceive him. Sitting with a toothpick…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Tyrone Hill was so exhausted and frustrated following the Sixers’ one-point loss to the Indiana Pacers last Saturday that he went home, had a couple of cold beverages and went to bed. His mood was a lot different Tuesday night, following the Sixers’ 116-98 victory over the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Jumaine Jones had seen it so many times before, his teammate Allen Iverson,breathing life back into the Sixers with his words and with his play. “Allen came into the huddle and he was like “Yo, we gonna get this victory,’ and when he says that, we have to jump on his back,”…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Allen Iverson sat by the stereo in the Sixers locker room, bobbing his head to the music, singing a rap tune. All the noise around him, all the pressure heading into a must-win Game 2 against the Indiana Pacers, didn’t seem to matter. Iverson was loose, energetic — he was…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →He used to wag his finger in a scolding motion after blocking shots, until NBA officials made him stop taunting opponents. But center Dikembe Mutombo hasn’t stopped blocking and altering shots, or recording intimidations, a statistic the Sixers resurrected after the 7-2 veteran…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Too much time has passed between games. The Sixers have been shaking their heads about an 18-point lead that once was, and replaying Reggie Millers’ game-winning 3-pointer that enabled the Indiana Pacers to take a 1-0 series lead in the opening-round Eastern Conference series.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It’s the game that slipped away, leaving the Sixers depleted and in a must-win situation against the Indiana Pacers heading into Game 2 of the Eastern Conference first-round series at home Tuesday night. The Sixers can’t afford to lose, not with Game 3 to be played in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →“We’ll find out Tuesday,” is how Sixers coach Larry Brown chose to address questions about how his team would rebound from a Game 1 loss and how confident the Indiana Pacers might become. We’ll find out Tuesday. Can we handle the outcome if it’s the same as Saturday’s 79-78 win…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Indiana Pacers can beat the Sixers. You know it. Everybody knows it. It’s happened twice in the last two Eastern Conference semifinals, 4-love, 4-2. The Pacers still have Reggie Miller and Jalen Rose, Lethal Weapons I and II, and the two jump shooters know that the only way…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The regular-season feats of Sixers guard Allen Iverson concluded Wednesday night with him on the sidelines. His NBA-leading numbers — 31.1 points and 2.5 steals per game — became official following the Sixers’ 92-86 loss to the Chicago Bulls at the First Union Center. Iverson is…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The NBA’s scoring and rebounding champions sat on the bench in street clothes, Allen Iverson dressed in baggy jeans, a T-shirt and a scarf and Dikembe Mutombo in a two-piece suit, as the Sixers closed the regular season with a game against the lowly Chicago Bulls. With the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Aching Sixers guard Allen Iverson has been placed on the injured list for the final two regular-season games, allowing him time to rest and heal before the start of this weekend’s NBA playoffs. The move also virtually ensures that Iverson will win his second NBA scoring title in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Tight, thuggish, heart-thumping. Get used to it. That’s what playoff basketball will be like. A preview of it was shown to a national television audience and a sellout crowd of 20,699 at the First Union Center, Sunday. The Sixers-New York Knicks IV was the final meeting between…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Sixers are going to Indianapolis with everything to gain and a lot to lose. It’s mostly about mind games, especially since the Sixers (55-25) and Indiana Pacers (40-40) will meet in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, which will start either Saturday or…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Sixers’ iron man needs three more games to complete his goal. Pain will not hold him back, even if it’s in his neck or shoulder, as it was last Monday when George Lynch got thumped by the Boston Celtics’ Antoine Walker. Just 6:54 remained in the fourth quarter when Lynch…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Faith Robinson, 9, was seemingly hopeless on the track and field surface at Villanova Stadium last April. She was running fast, but most of the other young athletes were running faster. For Robinson, a fourth-grade pupil at Cheston Elementary School in Easton, the experience was…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs will soon be on the loose. Once off and running, they won’t stop until the end of June, maybe a day into July if they advance to the United States Basketball League championship game. The ‘Dawgs, who are entering their third season — all with former…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Kevin Ollie stood at halfcourt, waving his arms for his teammates to hold onto the ball, not attempt another shot in the closing seconds of the Sixers’ 96-88 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers Friday night at the First Union Center. Actually, Ollie should have been rushing…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Two falls, one in the first half and one in the second, silenced the crowd and lifted Sixers coach Larry Brown nervously out of his seat. Two players the Sixers cannot do without fell to the hardwood, victims of dunk attempts that went for naught in Sunday’s matinee against the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Philadelphia 76ers cleared one hurdle in their last game, reaching the 50-win mark for the first time in 11 years by beating the Golden State Warriors 102-89 Friday at the First Union Center. Today, they must try to keep that momentum going by beating the Indiana Pacers in a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Philadelphia 76ers probably wish that all they had to worry about these days were injuries to Allen Iverson and Aaron McKie. They’ve already proved that they can handle and bounce back from injuries, but now they have to prove they can return to the same dominating team they…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →NBA Coach of the Year candidate Larry Brown is in line for another possible distinction, and the Sixers coach is happy that other people associated with pro and college basketball in this city are in line with him. Brown, who has close to 1,200 professional and college victories…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The First Union Center that had been filled with thunderous applause went silent with 4:52 left in the first quarter when Allen Iverson, the Sixers’ creative and uplifting Sixers guard was hammered to the floor by Orlando Magic’s forward Mike Miller Wednesday night. Already…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The Sixers fans at the First Union Center who boo every time backup center Matt Geiger steps onto the court, misses a shot, or fails to snag a rebound, probably don’t know that their negative outpour is going through one of Geiger’s ears and out the other. He’s giving the best…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →On June 9, 1978, Larry Holmes stopped having to prove himself. That’s the day he punished Ken Norton to win the heavyweight championship He proceeded to hold onto a portion of that title for the next 7 years. Now, at age 51 and riding a four-fight winning streak, Holmes says…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The celebrating team was jumping around, hugging, and shouting at halfcourt. It wasn’t a scene many Central Catholic players could watch without having heavy hearts. That’s because it was the Franklin Knights dancing around, perhaps long into Friday night, following a 58-50…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bill Hager’s coaching milestones are not hard to remember. Win No. 100 came in a playoff game against Kennedy Christian, No. 200 while he was at Maple Wood, No. 300 in his one season in Jamestown, N.Y., and No. 400 in his oldest son Nathan’s senior season at Franklin High in…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The father of the star player began jumping and waving his arm in the stands at Reading High’s Geigle Complex with a little under two minutes remaining, and the frenzied Central Catholic student body began shouting, “We smell Hershey.” For Kenny Hinds, the father of Vikings…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bishop Hannan guard Gerry McNamara had an open floor to dribble and nobody in his way. Big thoughts entered his mind as he moved closer to the basket before rising up and failing miserably on a dunk attempt. “Actually, I didn’t know what to do,” said McNamara, the Golden…
· 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 →Ice packs, wrapped in ace bandages, have rested on the shoulders of Sixers guard Aaron McKie before most games for the last few weeks. The soreness, however, has not prevented him from taking to the court, to help his team in any way possible, even if pulling the trigger…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Toni Kukoc found himself engaged in a battle with somebody in the Sixers organization other than coach Larry Brown. The confrontation was tougher, only because it was against ex-teammates. But that’s part of competition. Kukoc can accept that. He admits to being a little bitter…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →With the game over, fans standing and cheering, Parkland junior Adam Lane took the ball and tossed it up into the air, nearly reaching the rafters inside Allen High’s Sewards Gymnasium Saturday night. An even greater outburst of joy and laughter followed for Lane, his teammates,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The hardwood floor at Memorial Gymnasium opened up like the runway at nearby Lehigh Valley International Airport for Central Catholic’s Daniel Hinds in the second half Tuesday night. With the lanes to the basket more clear, his passion to score and take command of the game…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The final 24 hours before Thursday’s NBA trade deadline were dreadful for Philadelphia 76ers coach Larry Brown. Almost as dreadful as they were for the players who were wondering if they were about to be dealt away from the team with the league’s best record and from teammates…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Central Catholic seniors Daniel Hinds and Andrew Guman handled the ending with poise — not celebrating too much — just walking off the court slowly following the Vikings’ 59-41 victory over Blue Mountain in a District 11 Class 3A quarterfinal Friday at Dieruff High. Whitehall…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →At 21, Lamar Odom has a brighter vision of the future for the Los Angeles Clippers than almost anybody outside of the organization could possibly have. Others look at the Clippers and see seven straight losing seasons, and an agonizing current season that has included losing…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →There were big shots, one after another. There were devastating fastbreaks, capped by behind-the-back or deftly delivered passes for dunks. There were defensive stands, incredible in the hard, fierce way they were carried out. Whatever it took, the Sixers had the means and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The black arm bands worn by the Emmaus High boys basketball team were a tribute to their former classmates and swim team members Tom Gray and Matt Kush, who were killed in an automobile accident early last Saturday morning. The game, an East Penn Conference tournament semifinal…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →On the eve of the 50th NBA All-Star Weekend last Thursday, the towering San Antonio Spurs carried an eight-game winning streak into Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, N.J., to play the so-so New Jersey Nets. So-so, however, is not the way the Nets played, thanks to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Allen Iverson can’t be stopped. Not when he’s racing the court with a serious mission, slicing between defenders to score off the types of shots average basketball players can only dream about making. Iverson is the superstar of the Philadelphia 76ers, who at times plays like…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Two of the game’s biggest, most glamorous and most talented stars are here this All-Star Weekend, and everybody is shaking their heads at the Los Angles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. They see Bryant, an immensely talented 6-7 swingman who can take control of a game…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Wilson’s horror show of missing fourth-quarter free throws lasted until the final 21/2 minutes of this Colonial League game Tuesday night at Catasauqua’s Lincoln Gymnasium. That’s when senior guard Joe Templeton, Wilson’s coolest and most accurate shooter, stepped to the fore to…
· 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 →A thrilling game between Northwestern and Wilson came down to a foul that wasn’t made, a charge that wasn’t called, and a winning basket by Northwestern’s Aaron Foulk that set off an emotional display by players, coaches and rowdy fans. Foulk’s banker with 1.3 seconds left broke…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Allen Iverson is a tough man in a basketball uniform, unwilling to rest his aching body for extended periods of time. He proved that when he returned to the Philadelphia 76ers lineup five days after dislocating his shoulder to score 29 points against the Golden State Warriors…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Ray Barbosa was the creator and Jon Brown the finisher. Get used to it because they have more years to go, more games in which to dominate, more dramatic finishes to enjoy. They are the foundation of the Allen boys basketball team — Barbosa the sophomore guard and Brown the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Building blocks and gaining a measure of respect and perhaps develop an identity to be reckoned with by Mountain Valley Conference opponents the rest of the season is all Easton had to work for in the second half. The Red Rovers are in the midst of another down season and they…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →More truths will be told as the high school basketball season ages and teams mature and settle on an identity. Right now, Emmaus doesn’t appear to be one of those teams searching for anything. The Green Hornets know what they are about, and they have victories over Parkland,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →While All-Star guard Allen Iverson won’t be doing what he does best during the holiday season, Rodney Buford will be opening the one gift he had been hoping for since being waived by the Charlotte Hornets on Oct. 2. That gift is the opportunity to play in the NBA again, and not…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Coach Larry Brown and the Philadelphia 76ers were back together Wednesday night, on the same page, focused on building on their 18-6 record, and hoping that they could somehow keep their family business in-house. But they play and coach in the NBA, a league in which egos seem to…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Money, fame and highlight-reel dunks are far from what Sacramento Kings forward Chris Webber is out for these days. These are the not-so-rowdy days for Webber in Sacramento, his NBA home the last three seasons. There is no Latrell Sprewell or Rod Strickland to bring the growl…
· 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 →The Central Catholic girls will press you out of your shorts and shoes if you allow them. They will rattle your brain and force you to forget the offensive set you are supposed to be in. They will make you rush your shot, almost wilt at the sound of their footsteps. Basically,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Injured point guard Eric Snow is scheduled to have his right ankle operated on today in Houston in a surgical process that Philadelphia 76ers team doctor Jack McPhilemy expects will lead to the end of Snow’s ankle ailments. Snow will have bone grafting with placement of two…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →All the proof has been provided. More will surely follow over the next four months of the NBA season before the playoffs begin. By then, the Philadelphia 76ers should be sitting pretty high, in all likelihood as Atlantic Division champions and as the top seed in the Eastern…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →You better watch out. You better not hesitate. The reason why is Theo Ratliff, the Philadelphia 76ers 6-10 center who jumps above the rim and who often comes out of nowhere to block shots. He started rejecting shots with authority in the season opener against the New York…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Unstoppable is not just Bethlehem Catholic. It’s also Central Bucks West, winner of 58 straight football games. Dominating is not just Bethlehem Catholic. It’s also Central Bucks West, winner of three straight PIAA Class 4A titles. “We want you,” is not what Central Bucks West…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →He wanted the ball. He wanted his line to open up gaping holes. And each time he got into the secondary, all Marian Catholic senior tailback Al Donadi wanted to do was to continue juking into the end zone. And whatever Donadi wanted, he got in the PIAA Class 2A Eastern semifinal…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Stroudsburg kicker David Butts had waited the entire season for a situation where he could win a game with his foot. He could not have planned the game or the moment any better than Thursday’s 51st Thanksgiving Day meeting against East Stroudsburg. It was his final scholastic…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It started early with an interception that set up a long scoring drive of 72 yards in six plays, that consumed 4 minutes, 8 seconds. Believe it or not, that was a long scoring drive for Bethlehem Catholic against Easton in the District 11 Class 4A championship game Friday night…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The hype, the back-and-forth jawing with the opponent, the unstable nerves athletes get as a big competition nears have not been there for Larry Holmes, and probably will not come before he fights Mike Weaver Friday night at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum and Convention Center.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The most rewarding high school football game of Larry Holmes Jr.’s career had just finished, a 41-14 victory over Parkland last Friday in the District 11 Class 4A semifinals. And within minutes, he was on his mother’s cell phone trying to reach his dad in Biloxi, Miss. “I got…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The last time the Philadelphia 76ers lost a regular-season game, the 104th Boston Marathon had just been swept by two Kenyans, Florida residents weren’t slowing up the democratic process, and guard Eric Snow had scored 20 points in a game just twice in his career. That was April…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →They were veteran players for hire and they have not been costly. Rick Mahorn. Billy Owens. Harvey Grant. And now Vernon Maxwell. Maxwell, who was signed by the Philadelphia 76ers four days before the NBA season started, joins Mahorn, Owens, Grant — all players who were signed…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →They needed nobody to tell them what they already knew. ‘We knew the whole week that we were going to win, honestly,’ said Easton quarterback Matt Loebsack. ‘We had the confidence.’ ‘The difference between this game and the last game is I felt a lot more confident, and when you…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It’s a score that continues to be talked about because it was an upset last year that halted Parkland’s undefeated season and continued Easton’s postseason run. Easton 7, Parkland 6. “It was the toughest night I ever played in my life,” said Easton senior defensive lineman Larry…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →For most people who admire legendary past African-American basketball players, names such as the late Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Julius ‘Dr. J’ Erving and Michael Jordan probably come to mind first. That’s because they are revered…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It has been a fun week at East Stroudsburg High fotball practices. Sunday could be a fun day, too, perhaps reminiscing about good things that happened in the Mountain Valley Conference championship game against Parkland. To make for a happy Sunday, the Cavaliers (6-3) must beat…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Tim Massaquoi made Michigan his college choice before the high school football season kicked off, ending speculation over which Big Ten program he’d choose and allowing him to concentrate on scoring touchdowns for Parkland this season. But in nonleague games against Emmaus and…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →One play remained in the first half, which is exactly the way Freedom coach Rob Melosky would later say he wanted it. It was about slamming the door on rival Liberty. And the way Freedom did it was with the quarterback dropping back, rolling to his left and throwing to an open…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Do you have a question concerning the Sixers? You probably want to know if they can make the playoffs three years in a row. If so, check out the 10 questions and answers below. Maybe you’ll have other questions. Maybe your answers are different. Anyway, read on and perhaps the…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Allen Iverson showed up in his baggy clothes, hair nicely braided and with an attitude that gained immediate notice. Then, without being asked, he said to everybody gathered around, ‘I’m the captain.’ That took place on the Philadelphia 76ers’ media day, and it was a firm…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Matt Loebsack has been looking for The Look all week, and the Easton High quarterback said it’s almost the same look of desire and eagerness his teammates had the last time they played Parkland. ‘It’s not quite as much, but it’s starting to come around,’ Loebsack said Wednesday…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →A lot of unbelievable stuff happens in pickup basketball games, especially in big cities, where the wannabes play with NBA players, and the ensuing shootouts can be real crowd pleasers. Philadelphia 76ers veteran guard Aaron McKie invited the team’s No. 1 draft pick, Craig…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The next time they play on this court and rouse the fans in the First Union Center, wins and losses will count much more. Whether 1-0 or 0-1 following their season-opening game Halloween night in New York, when the Philadelphia 76ers play host to the Toronto Raptors Nov. 1 at…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Jeff Van Gundy works in Gotham City where hearts are cold and where expectations are seemingly higher than the Empire State Building. But as coach of the New York Knicks, Van Gundy has not lost his decency or his respect of the men who help make the NBA the greatest professional…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →You are Dieruff High and you are riding a 17-game losing streak. The last thing you need is two fumbles on the opening kickoff. The Huskies recovered the fumble both times, but rebounding from the slump they’ve been in for two seasons seemingly evaporated as soon as they fumbled…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →His first touchdown run was nothing special, although Parkland sophomore Austin Scott plowed through several Freedom defenders en route to a 4-yard score. His second touchdown? Now that was something to talk about, something the Trojans could build on, something Freedom…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Control the hype. That’s what Freedom coach Rob Melosky has tried to do all week, but too much is on the line to be cool. Too much can be gained, and possibly too much lost when Freedom (6-1) travels to Orefield to play Parkland (6-1) in a Mountain Valley Conference matchup for…
· 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 →Before Michael Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA titles in the 1990s and long before Allen Iverson entered the league, a 6-1 guard nicknamed ‘Zeke’ roused crowds with his deft passing and fearless court demeanor. Saturday in Springfield, Mass, where Dr. James Naismith gave…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →His movement in the pocket is swifter, his throws crisper, his ability to read defensive coverages even better, but the thing that has East Stroudsburg quarterback Jim Terwilliger gloating most is in the Cavaliers’ 4-2 record. Six weeks into last season East Stroudsburg was 0-6…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The homecoming king and his teammates opened with a stale drive inside rusty old J. Birney Crum Stadium that resulted in a three-and-out. Then Central Catholic quarterback Frank Novogratz began to sparkle off rollout passes, and the Vikings’ running game began to click against a…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →His Web site opens with “The Wonderful World of Nazr.” At times in the past, it most certainly was wonderful for 6-foot-10 center Nazr Mohammed. In 1997 he won a national championship at Kentucky, and his world was again brightened in the June 1998 NBA draft when he was selected…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →George Lynch has opened the Philadelphia 76ers’ training camp with an invitation to Toni Kukoc — bring it on. To Lynch, this is like his rookie season in 1993 with the Los Angeles Lakers, but with one exception. Seven years ago, Lynch had no shot at being a starter. Not so now.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Allen Iverson is mad and hurt that the Philadelphia 76ers management tried to trade him. He’s also hip and hop, and to understand more about that, check out his upcoming rap album, ‘Non-Fiction,’ an X-rated album that’s loaded with profanity and lyrics about gangster life. Asked…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Only a little running room had opened up near the sidelines, but that was all the space 5-foot-7, 135-pound Bethlehem Catholic tailback Frank Trovato needed to carry the Golden Hawks to a first down and a huge non-league victory. Trovato is a junior varsity player who was called…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →One mistake after another has cost senior YaYah McGurn a chance to resume his high school football career at Easton. The reasons for this action are unknown. McGurn had violated the Easton Area School District’s drug and alcohol policy in August and was serving a six-week…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →He pulled on an off-tackle running play and kept raging through the hole, boiling with anticipation as he neared a seemingly helpless defender. Smack! Just like that, Parkland High senior John Gray “pancaked a linebacker,” Trojans coach Rich Sniscak said, remembering the…
· 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 →Healthy or not, Allen Iverson is expected to join valuable two-way guard Aaron McKie, shot blocker Theo Ratliff, Canadian Olympian Todd MacCulloch and the rest of the Philadelphia 76ers Oct. 3 when the team opens training camp at Penn State University. Iverson, the 6-foot guard…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →‘You can always dream,” said Nazreth coach Whitey Williams, answering whether he was ready to win a state title with the Blue Eagles. But why not? Nazareth is 4-0, having used its defense to beat the snot out of its last two opponents both shutouts. And now the Blue Eagles head…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Whitey Williams, the first-year Nazareth football coach, believed junior Mike Cangelosi had the talent to play quarterback just by looking at him. ‘He has that sparkle in his eye,” Williams said. A look that says ‘He is a competitor,” Williams said, ‘And he has great character.…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Tim Massaquoi looked around the auditorium at Parkland High School on Wednesday and shook his head in amazement. ‘I didn’t think it would be this big,’ he said. ‘I didn’t think this many people would show up.’ That’s because the announcement of Massaquoi’s college choice was big…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →It was the final drill of Parkland High’s exhausting varsity morning football practice, and many of the players were running half-speed. That had head coach Rich Sniscak disgruntled. ‘We’re 45 minutes over schedule, so I know you won’t make it because you’re mentally weak,”…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →This summer has been full of hard work for Greg Solt, the 1997 Northampton High graduate who is entering his senior season on the North Carolina State University men’s swim team. No beach trips, little hanging out. Just swimming 2,000 meters a day inside the Wolfpack pool. ‘And…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Aaron McKie is as professional as they come on the basketball court, and he maintains respect and clean behavior off the court as well. On Friday night at the First Union Center, McKie’s season came to an end when the Philadelphia 76ers were beaten 106-90 by the Indiana Pacers…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Aaron McKie is as professional as they come on the basketball court, and he maintains respect and clean behavior off the court as well. On Friday night at the First Union Center, McKie’s season came to an end when the Philadelphia 76ers were beaten 106-90 by the Indiana Pacers…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bob Stem, the highly successful head football coach at Bethlehem Catholic, has won 201 games in 26 seasons. Obviously, what Stem and his staff have done is working. The results, year-in and year-out prove it. Jim Morgans, the head coach of Central Catholic’s 1993 and 1998 state…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Allen High’s Chris Franklin was not favored to win a gold medal in the 110-meter high hurdles last weekend in the PIAA Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg University. And given District 11’s shortcomings in the sprint events over the last decade, it seemed improbable…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Palmerton High’s Jeff Dobias is the area’s best long distance runner, and he probably could have won the both the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs in Wednesday’s District 11 Class 2A Track and Field Championships in Pottsville. Dobias, a senior, decided to run just the 3,200,…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Bangor Memorial Park, they love you. They love your spongy track surface and well-manicured grass field. They love your environment — a clean stadium, clean bathrooms, nice concession stands. And, most of all, Mountain Valley Conference track and field athletes and coaches have…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →The idea in scholastic athletics is to provide an arena, playing field or surface where a student-athlete can look to achieve maximum results. Personal or for the team. But an athlete can not experience thrills or disappointments without tough competition — at least something on…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →Every year, Emmaus or Parkland — many times both teams — seem to have a swimmer that’s All-Water, that is someone able to swim many events extremely well. This high school swim season it’s Parkland junior Chris Johnson, a key member on the Trojans’ 200 and 400-yard relay’s that…
· Andre D. Williams
Read on mcall.com →