FN ees (VC UE UT ede AV ddd vo da Ud vi No Tt iy ot a FY TN aid MASEL ld gC Pded aT Tie SDALLASCP0ST Vol. 103 No. 47 Tuesday, November 24, 1992 Sports\Week Mountaineers play for Eastern Conference title By DAVE KONOPKI Sports Correspondent Now that all that can be said has been said. And all that can be written has been written. Now that all the speculation is over, it's time to get down to business. : ~ People have been anxiously awaiting a Dallas-Valley View showdown in the Eastern Conference football final since midway through the season. This Saturday, the waiting will come to an end. ~The Mountaineers and Cougars : for the Eastern Conference title and the right to move on to the state playoffs this Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at Jack Henzes Stadium in Peckville. The two teams have taken different roads to get here. “Valley View was the overwhelming favorite to capture the Big 11 championship and an Eastern Conference berth. They didn't disappoint, running roughshod over their opponents en route to a perfect 12-0 record. The Cougars, who have been the top-ranked Class AA team in the state all season, thumped Jim Tlygrpe, 47-12, in their EC semi- fimtl to advance to the championship game. Hopes ran high in Dallas as well but perhaps nobody could have predicted the kind of success the Mounts have enjoyed this season. The Mountaineers advanced to the EC final with a 7-0 win over District 12 champion Montrose last Saturday at Dallas. Dallas has faltered just once this season, a 28-21 setback to eventual co-champion Nanticoke back in October. With five of their first six games being played on the rof@. including three Class AAAA schools, the impressive 11-1 record posted by the Mountaineers has been a pleasant surprise. EASTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME Dallas vs. Valley View Sat., Nov. 28, 1 p.m. Jack Henzes Stadium, Peckville Even to their coach. “We thought that we could be competitive,” said Dallas High School coach Ted Jackson, whose Mountaineers will be playing in their first EC final since 1988 when the Mounts captured their second of two consecutive EC titles. “But I really don’t know if we expected to be 11-1. Eleven wins puts this Dallas team into an elite category. It's the most wins we've had since I've been here at Dallas.” To win their twelfth, Jackson knows the Mounts may have to play their best game of the season. “End to end, tackle to tackle, they are outstanding,” said Jackson ofthe Cougars. “They have avery big and physical line on both sides of the ball and and they are extremely quick. They are a lot bigger and stronger than we are. “Their quarterback (George Howanitz) and running back (Russ Canevari) are just great athletes,” added Jackson. “Both are very strong and have great speed. We're going to have to play an outstanding game to beat them.” But Jackson knows his team will show up. “Hey, we have our shot,” said Jackson. “That's what we've played all season for. We're going to go up there as a big underdog and they are going to fill the place. They're 12-0 and we're 11-1. Two very good teams playing on television (WNEP-TV 16) for the championship. You can't ask for much more than that.” Dallas has been led by one of the state's best defenses, especially over the past six games. The Mounts first-team defense has yielded just 12 points over the past 24 quarters of play. Dallas has posted six shutouts this season and has given up just 73 points in 12 games. Senior linebacker Chris Updyke has been the leader of the defense and should break the all- time Dallas record for tackles in a season. The key to stopping Valley View is containing their quarterback. The senior signal-caller is an outstanding runner, carrying the ball on nearly half of Valley View's plays. Howanitz can also throw the ball, completing 36 of 71 passes for 617 yards and five touchdowns. If you can stop Howanitz, then you have to contend with Canevari, a 5-8 185-pound spark plug with excellent speed. Canevari has rushed for 1,004 yards this season, scoring 13 touchdowns and kicking 26 extra points for 104 total points. Offensively, the Mountaineers are led by senior tailback Brian Burd and junior quarterback Brian Brady. Burd, the Wyoming Valley Conference Division II rushing champ, has amassed more than 3,300yards in his career at Dallas, including more than 1,500 this season. Brady, the WVC Division II's leading passer, has thrown for more than 1,500 yards this year, utilizing talented skill people Todd Paczewski and Dave Fisher as well as Burd out of the backfield. PREDICTION: If Mother Nature cooperates, this game could be a classic. The game showcases at least five of the top athletes in Northestern Pennsylvania and two of the best defenses in the state. Despite dominating opponents, the Dallas defense hasn't quite received the recognition they deserve, as evidenced by a so-called high Once again, the Paczewski name will be in the Dallas lineup By DAVE KONOPKI Sports Correspondent As a 14-year-old manager for the Dallas High School football t{{@n. Todd Paczewski watched as his two older brothers, Mark and Eric, helped lead Dallas to their second consecutive Eastern Conference title. Todd watched. And learned. And ‘hoped. Hoped that someday he, too, would be able to be a part of a Dallas football championship. .- Now, nearly four years to the day after that game, Todd's day has arrived. The Mountaineers (11-1) square off with unbeaten Valley View (12- 0) this Saturday afternoon at Jack Henzes Stadium in Peckville for the Eastern Conference championship. ~The Eastern Conference playoffs have become a family affair of sorts for the Paczewskis. Three times the Mountaineers have made it to the EC playoffs. And three times t ame Paczewski has appeared onxhe roster. ~ At a time when the nation is stressing family values, the value the Paczewski family has had on the Dallas football program cannot be measured. “They are three great kids from a great family,” said Dallas head football coach Ted Jackson of Mark, Eric and Todd, sons of Frank and Marsha Paczewski. “They all had great work habits and they were each different. Mark was a lineman, Eric was a fullback and linebacker, and Todd is a receiver and safety. Mark had a great senior year, Eric was one of the toughest kids I've coached and Todd is one of the top three best all-around athletes in the valley. They were special kids who weren't afraid to do what it takes to get the job done.” For years Frank Paczewski sat in the stands during Dallas football games, dreaming of the day when one of his sons would don the blue and white. His dream came true six years agowhen Mark, then a sophomore, decided to forego his soccer pursuits and try football. Twoyears later, he was the starting center on Dallas's first EC title team. Next came Eric. Although he saw limited playing time during the Eastern Conference games as a sophomore, Eric grew into one of the most fierce competitors in the Dallas program. Finally there is Todd, who was brought into the varsity program at Dallas when he was just a freshman. After three years of hard work, Todd, who also is a basketball and baseball standout, has developed into one of the league's premiere receivers and defensive backs. But to know the Paczewskis as football players is to see only part of the picture. These aren't just outstanding people on the field, they're outstanding off the field, as well. They're the “Yes, sir, No sir” kind of people. You don't have to tell them to do their homework; it's already done. You don't have to tell them to make their beds; they've already been made. And you don’t have to tell them to stay out of trouble; they never thought about getting into it in the first place. They say that behind every successful man there is a good woman. And behind these successful sons are good parents. Although they may have disagreed during their backyard football, basketball and baseball games as kids, the Paczewski Boys can agree on one thing as young adults. They had one great set of parents. “Our parents were always there for us,” said Mark, 21, a senior at Wilkes University. “They were very supportive. They always knew what we were going through on the days ofthe games and they would always accommodate us with whatever we needed.” “I think that sometimes they worried about us getting hurt,” said Eric, 19, from his off-campus apartment at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. “But they always supported us. They were always active in the gridiron club and they still are.” SLOPPY GOING - Dallas quarterback barely got the pass away during the Mounts’ win over Montrose last week. Dallas battles for the Eastern Conference title this week. (Post photo/Charlotte Bartizek) school football “expert” in a local daily newspaper who predicted that Montrose would score three touchdowns against the Mounts. It would be easy to pick the Cougars TODD PACZEWSKI “It's nice to have parents who will support you in whatever you do,” said Todd. “It's nice to know that your parents are at the game watching you. My mom and dad never putany pressure on us. They just told us to do our best.” And the best is what they have done. Mark, who works at Ertley Motorworld as does his father, will graduate from Wilkes in two semesters. Eric is a Dean's List studentatIUP and Todd, an honors student, should have his pick of which college he will attend. Frank and Marsha Paczewski play an active role in the Dallas football program. Frank, a former baseball player at West Virginia University, is the president of the Dallas Gridiron Club. Marsha organizes the post-season banquet. And the two of them host post- game parties for the players, their families and the coaches. First deer rifle should be easy to handle ‘By GRACE R. DOVE Post Staff With a good portion of the state poised to shut down for the beginning of buck season Monday, November 30, hunters young and old will probably spend the holiday weekend busily cleaning and sighting in their rifles. For beginning hunters, the first trip into the woods with a new gun, or possibly Granddad's treasured old .30-06, will be a day that they'll not soon forget. ~ Choosing a good rifle for that first hunting season. one that will ~~ provide enough challenge but not be too hard to handle, is very ~~ important. “A good first rifle for teen-age ¥ “beginners should be rather light. ' have very little kick and a shorter stock, all necessary for a smaller person,” Frank Gelsleicter, former owner of Hi-Score Gun Shop in Fernbrook recommended. “Something on the order of a bolt- action .243 Winchester is ideal for a young hunter.” Rifles in the .30-caliber range, such as a .308 or .270, are better for older first-time hunters, he said. It makes no difference if the rifle is pump. bolt or lever action; no style is safer than any other. Gelsleicter’'s son-in-law, Don Dymond, who recently took over the business, believes that a .12- gauge shotgun with a slug (“ounce ball”) can be as effective as a rifle for the beginning hunter. “Abeginner has probably already used a .12-gauge with bird shot during small-game season, and won't have much trouble switching to a slug,” he said. “Later, after gaining more experience in the field, he or she can graduate to a high- powered rifle.” “No matter what kind of gun you have, you need to practice with it until it becomes a part of you,” he continued. “Remember to hold it as high to your shoulder as possible, so that you don't have to drop your head at all to look through the sights.” Both Dymond and Gelsleicter advised beginning hunters to always practice shooting at a target with a deer's silhouette instead of a bull's-eve. He believes that the silhouette target teaches hunters to aim for the animal's vital spots. “Deer don't have little bull’s- eyes on their vital spots for your convenience,” he said. “You have to know where they are.” Faced with a sometimes bewildering array of ammo, hunters occasional succumb to the fallacy that the higher grain bullets (those containing more gunpowder) are the best, Dymond said. “A mid-weight bullet designed for your caliber of gun is more than adequate for the average white-tail deer,” Dymond said. “The higher- powered bullets are too strong — they'll go right through the deer before expanding.” Knowing one's rifle and ammo, lots of practice and safety are extremely important for any hunter, particularly a beginner, Dymond and Gelsleicter said: “Always think before you shoot.” with their perfect record and top state ranking. Bul not too many people can prepare a team for the likes of a Valley View like Dallas's Jackson and his outstanding staff MARK PACZEWSKI It's just away of giving something back to a program that has given them so much. A program that gave Mark confidence, made Eric a leader and made a man out of Todd. “I always dreamed that one day one of my kids would be playing football for Dallas,” said Frank. “This is a thrilling time for all of us. Besides the times I played, I can't remember anything being this exciting. All three boys are close to each other. They do a lot of talking one on one. Thev're reallv great kids.” With the EC title game just days away, the older Paczewski sons had similar advice for their younger brother. “1 told him to enjoy the experience,” said Mark. “You really don't know how much you miss playing until you don't play anymore. You really want to be back out there. But now I can look back and remember all the fun of assistants. This game could go: into overtime but Todd Paczewski's 32-yard field goal proves to be the difference. VIEW 14 ERIC PACZEWSKI times I had when I played.” Eric echoed his brother's sentiments. DALLAS 17 VALLEY | “I told Todd that he is the luckiest person in the world,” said Eric, whose roommates at IUP include former Dallas standout quarterback Jay Cherup and Paul Boteck, 'a former player | at....umm....Valley View. “I'd do anything to be in his shoes. I call him before each game and wish him luck. I told him to enjoy it | while he can. You don't miss it until it's over with.” Perhaps a couple of years from now Mark, Eric and Todd } Paczewski will sit in the bleachers of the Dallas football field dreaming of the day that one of their sons will | play for the Mountaineers. Until then we can just wait, hope, || and pray that the name Paczewski || will once again be on the roster of | the Dallas High School football team. One hunter's tall tales Anyone who hunts has heard (and possibly told) more than his or her share of stories. Some of of them sound highly implausible, but the teller always swears that they're all true. Having married into a hunting family (both times), I've also heard and told my share; these are two of my favorites. They're both true. e The one that got away: While Uncle Ralph and his nephews were hunting buck in Dushore, they suddenly saw a huge deer standing at the opposite end of the cornfield where they had their tree stands. “Look at the size of that buck!” hissed the youngest nephew. “That's no buck. It's a doe standing in front of a small tree,” Ralph replied. “I don't need to put the scope on it — I can see it from here.” The heated whispered debate EO oN BE Ne NC NT 3nd continued until the deer walked away. : Ralph, the only hunter in the group with a scope on his rifle, | sighted in on the monster deer too late to get a good shot at it. It wasn't a doe standing in front of a tree. : It was a twelve-point buck. And it's still out there. e My first buck: Every hunter is proud of his or her first buck, boring the family and friends with endless stories of how he or she | stalked it, outwitted it and finally bagged it with just one shot. So do I. I got my first buck, a huge seven- | pointer, in 1988 near a friend's || farm outside of Fleetville. In the middle of Route 108. At midnight. With a three-month-old car. by Grace R. Dove |
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