b> oT An Ua VR ME NY The Dallas Post Vol. 103 No. 48 Wednesday, December 2, 1992 Mounts winners despite title loss By DAVE KONOPKI Sports Correspondent The Dallas High School football team had a hard time stopping the Valley View Cougars in the East- ern Conference football champi- onship last Saturday in Peckville. And after their disappointing 34-13 loss, they had an equally hard time controlling their emo- tions. It was a tough loss for a Dallas team that put itselfamong the elite Class AA teams in the state this ason and was one of the better runs to ever wear a Mountaineer uniform. The Mountaineers finished the 1992 season with an overall record of 11-2 and as co-champions of the Wyoming Valley Conference Division II. The 11 wins mark the most wins by a Dallas team in the Ted Jackson era. The Cougars rode two special team plays to touchdowns in the second quarter and stellar tail- back Russ Canaveri broke off two big runs to paydirt in the third quarter as Valley View raised their record to 13-0. _gJackson knows that his team 3 simply outplayed on Satur- y. “They (Valley View) played an outstanding game,” Jackson said. “They played great on offense, defense and on special teams. They were definitely the best team we've played all season and I think they were the best team we've ever played in the Eastern Conference -~. championships.” Because of the special bond between Jackson and this year’s ~ group of seniors, the loss was even “more difficult. ®i of the looks on the kids swhen they were receiving their medals made me sick to my stom- - ach,” Jackson added. “These were 2me of the hardest working kids A t8®®ver play here at Dallas. They're a fun group to coach. They played hard and they practiced hard. There's not much more that a coach can ask for.” While the final score will most likely be remembered for years to come, there were other numbers posted by this year's edition of the DALLAS SENIORS - Senior members of the 1992 Dallas High School Division II co-champion football team are, kneeling, from left, Tom Bolesta, Chris Updyke, Todd Paczewski, Al Brzezinski, Joe Voitek. Standing, from left, Chris Thomas, Brian Burd, Joe Kelley, Jim Moran, Dave Fisher, Tom Adams, Tim Dewey. (Post photo/Ron Bartizek) Mountaineers that will not soon be forgotten. Senior tailback Brian Burd (86 yards against Valley View) finished the season with 1,632 yards rush- ing on 312 carries. Burd, who fin- ished his career with more than 3,500 rushing yards (A Dallas school record), also had 23 recep- tions for 211 yards and he scored 17 touchdowns. Throw in kickoff return yards and Burd goes over the 2,000-yard mark in total of- fense. Burd led the WVC Division II in rushing, rushing attempts and scoring. “He is just phenomenal,” Jackson said of Burd. “He was the key to our success. He was du- rable. He returned kickoffs, punts, played defense and carried the ball 30 times a game if we needed it. He is an outstanding athlete.” Senior receivers Dave Fisher and ‘odd Paczewski finished 2-3 in theWVC in receiving yards. Fisher hauled in 36 passes for 559 yards while Paczewski caught 35 passes for 503 yards. Fisher had 19 rushes HEADED FOR NATIONALS - Matt Samuel is shown above during his run for the District 2, Class AA cross country title earlier this year. Samuel will run in the AAU national championship race December 5 in Bensalem. Samuel qualifies for AAU National Cross Country meet Matt Samuel qualified for the Amateur Athletic Union National Cross Country Championships on Saturday at the Middle Atlantic Championships held at Upper Perkiomen, Pa. Samuel was part of a local group of runners from the Scranton area that took first in the high school boys race and thus qualified for the National Champi- onship race which is to be held on December 5 at Bensalem, Pa. Runners from around the coun- try compete each year in regional 5k races, then meet at a desig- nated race at the end of the year. Last year’s meet was held in Ala- bama, but this year’s race offers the opportunity for some local race fans to view this national champi- onship race since it will be held in the Philadlephia area. Matt Byrne of Scranton High School placed first in Saturday's race, with Matt Rossetti also of Scranton, Samuel of Dallas High School, Jim Finans of North Pocono also being members of the winning team. Samuel was the District AA Cross Country winner and also was first team all-state at the state championships. He travels to Van Cortland Park this weekend to compete in the Kinney Regional meet as well, with qualifiers there going to the Kinney Nationals at San Diego, California. Steve Oliver, a previous Dallas graduate now running at Penn State, was the only area runner ever to qualify for the Kinney Na- tionals, where he finished in the top 15 runners and thereby be- came an “All-American” runner. Local young runners will have an opportunity to also compete in some age-group races since the inception of a running organiza- tion started locally by Coach Dick Daniels of Tunkhannock. This group will be making announce- ments next year concerning local area runs for all youth age groups and hopes to become affiliated with the A.A.U. as a local Wyoming Valley chapter in the near future. for 234 yards while Paczewski scored nine touchdowns, kicked 21 extra-points and two field goals for 81 points. trade all the individual successes for the EC title. “It was a tough loss,” Fisher said. “It came down to who got the breaks and they did. Coach Jackson kept stressing to us that we were one of the elite Dallas teams. But we really wanted towin that game.” It was tough for Fisher, who has been playing since his freshman season, to leave the locker room for the last time. “I was just sitting there thinking about not being able to play for him again,” Fisher said of Jackson. “The past four years he's always Juniorquarterback Brian Brady led theWVC Division II in almost every passing category, complet- ing 115 of 219 passes for 1,601 yards and 18 touchdowns. Brady's 18 touchdowns were nearly double that of his nearest competitor and he threw just eight interceptions this season. But the Mountaineers would been there. I told him that I was honored to play for him. I miss it already.” GAME NOTES: Despite the near 50-degree temperatures, the turn- out by the Dallas fans was far from spectacular. By the end of the game only a handful of Dallas fans re- mained in the stands to give the Mounts a well-deserved standing ovation...Fisher made an incred- ible catch over VV’s George How- anitz for Dallas's second score. Howanitz is considered one of the best athletes in the Big 11...The win by VV was their eighth EC title, a conference record...Can the Mountaineers return to the EC playoffs next year? Well, despite the loss of Burd; Paczewski and’ Fisher, the Mounts have a solid nucleus returning. The Mountain- eers junior varsity team went undefeated, posting a 9-0 record and the junior high school team finished in a tie for the regular season title with GAR. Sports\Week Section 2 A School news J Classified J Calendar By DAVE KONOPKI Sports Correspondent with relative ease. the Eastern Conference title. without the ink and spotlight, intensity and success. football team: a game. defense when called upon. linebacker when he was hurt. all-conference consideration. special. All the stars names | weren't always | In the headlines For Dallas High School football fans the names Brian Burd, Todd Paczewski, Dave Fisher and Brian Brady roll off the tongue And with good reason. The quartet combined to put together | some outstanding numbers during the Mountaineers chase for But a closer inspection of this year's Wyoming Valley Confer- | ence Division II co-champion team reveals players who performed Here, then, is a look at the unsung heroes of this year’s Dallas y CHRIS UPDYKE: The 5-9, 185-pound senior linebacker is the epitome of what hard work and dedication can do. The leader of one of the state's best defenses, Updyke shattered the school rec- ord for most tackles in a season, : Updyke played hurt through much of the season but didn’t miss TOM BOLESTA: Pound for pound, the 5-8, 185-pound Bolesta was one of the strongest players on the team, bench pressing more than 300 pounds. Bolesta was also a steady performer for head | coach Ted Jackson and while he was at center, there was not one fumble between himself and quarterback Brian Brady. ; JIM MORAN: Early in the season Jackson called Moran the | most improved player on the team. The 6-2, 220-pound senior was a steady performer at the tight end position, blocking well and . making some clutch catches, including a touchdown against Coughlin. Moran also excelled on special teams and played solid ° TOM ADAMS: While Burd was running roughshod over the league, gaining more than 1,600 yards, it was Adams who was helping to pave the way, The 5-10, 185-pound guard played 30 pounds more than his size and helped to fill in for Burd at outside JOE KELLEY: After a slow start Kelley finished with a flourish , posting some very impressive numbers from his defensive end position. A first-year starter, the 6-2, 180-pound Kelley was one of the more underrated players in the conference. His numbers merit BILL SILVI, TONY CHIARUCCI, HARRY GULICH, SCOTT FRANCIS, JOHN McNEIL AND CLARK VAN ORDEN: While Ted Jackson is quick to get praise for the success of the Mountaineers, these guys are the backbone of the Dallas football program. Silvi is nothing short of an offensive genius, molding standout Dallas quarterbacks year after'year. Chiarucci has done an outstanding job with the offensive and defensive lines while Francis did an outstanding job with the backs and receivers. With scouting trips, long hours of watching film and practice, these guys put in long hours for little pay and even less recognition. It takes a special person to be an assistant coach and these guys are just that - but with the same amount of : registering more than 150 hits. ans aw EE RE SS Lady Knights must overcome obstacles ; By CHRISTINA CONRAD Sports Correspondent The 1992-93 Lake-Lehman Girls’ Basketball team returns this season without three of its starters from last year. But head coach Joe Martini says the Knights have a nice core of seven players who will be looked upon te carry the team. Martini has two returning sen- jor starters in Dyan Dymond and Cherub Honeywell. There will be at least five girls to fill in the other three spots. They will be Heather Gray, switching with Dymond at the guard position. Jessica Hynick will give relief to Honeywell at center. And, Johanna Miller, Deb Coslett and Amy Rogers will rotate the forward positions. Martini said of his seven, “These seven girls with the most experi- ence will have to do well if we are to have any success.” Three-way tie at top of rec basketball league The Lion Inc. upset the previous undefeated Fieldhouse 81-74 in double overtime in the Dallas Adult Basketball League. Bill Cuffled the winners with 23 including 5 in the second over- time. Tony Welgosh helped the cause with 19, Charlie Lamoreaux 16 and Tom Hession13. Mark Farrell took high scoring honors for The Fieldhouse with 24. The Lion improves to 1-3 while The Fieldhouse drops to 3-1. The Greyhounds slid back into a tie for first place by nipping Casey's 61-55. Rick Coslett led the winners with 14 and teammates Dan Muser and Rick Crocker added 13. Pat Flaherty had a fine game with 27 for Casey's and Jim Lister added 11. The Greyhounds im- prove to 3-1 while Casey's drops to 0-4. Humphrey's rode the red hot shooting of Frank Debona to gar- ner their third win of the season and a share of first place in a win over Hozey's 94-64. Debona had 34 points including an incredible 28 in the first half. Jim Jasterl6 points, Mike Carey1 3, Mike Hosey, 12 and Nafty Hage 11 points all helped the winning effort. Jim Seamon had 23 and Brian Ash 22 for Hozey's. Humphrey's is now 3-1 while Hozey's drops to 2- 2. Play continues on Sunday, Dec. 6, with 3 games at Dallas High School beginning at 1:30. STANDINGS The Grevhounds 3 Humphrey's 3 Fieldhouse 3- Hozey's 2 The Lion Inc. 1 Casey's 0 Schedule for Dec. 6. 1:30 - Humphrey's vs. The Field- house 2:30 - The Lion Inc. vs. Casey's 3:30 - Hozey's vs. The Greyhounds Send your sports reports to The Post at P.O. Box 366, Dallas PA 18612 Along with the loss of three starters to graduation the Knights also have to contend with one of the toughest pre-season schedules. They will play at least one state championship winner at Pottsville Nativity. Also, in the regular sea- son the Knights will face the pow- erhouse teams of Bishop O'Reilly, Meyers, and possibly Hanover and GAR. “This should be a year with a lot of good kids coming up,” Martini said of the competition. “Every game is going to be a big game this season. We have the toughest pre-season schedule we've ever had since I have been here. It should help us. We'll have no walk overs,” the coach said. The Knights have a tough be- ginning of the season but if the core seven players that Martini is relying on develop enough and peak | at the right time of the season they could very well be in the playoffs this year. A “We have to come out fast for early success in league play this year. It is going to be tough,” said Martini. 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