MN @ 6H) 2 J) y | ie @ NS ha. 4 The Dallas Post Section 2 ~~ . or ® pl / } y From the pressbox by Dave Konopki Players lose in Dallas ‘coaching controversy Controversy has reared its ugly head involving an athletic coach in the Dallas School District, specifically girls’ basketball head coach Tom Kilduff. A letter signed by 14 parents of girls in the program, was sent to Dallas school board president Jack Cleary on January 14. The parents voiced concerns over Kilduff's treatment of several players and his coaching ability in general. Copies of the letter were sent to superintendent os schools Gerald Wycallis, principal Frank Galicki, athletic director Bob Cicon and Kilduff. : According to one of the parents, who asked not to be identified, eight girls have quit the basketball team, most of those being juniors and seniors. The parents stated in the letter that the program is in “disarray” because Kilduff has allegedly “ignored” the upperclassmen in lieu of playing younger players and building for the future. Kilduff did not return any phone calls. The school board met in closed session last Saturday to discuss the matter and many of the parents attended Monday night's monthly board meeting looking for answers to their questions. “This is a personnel matter and we would feel very uncomfort- able talking about it in public,” said board vice-president Ellen Nagy at Monday night's meeting. “We are in receipt of the letter and will respond to it in the near future.” It must be pointed out that the Dallas Post, along with the two Wilkes-Barre daily newspapers, also received phone calls from parents in support of Kilduff. Parents who say the coach has been more than fair to all the players during the season. Regardless, the biggest losers in this situation are the players themselves, the ones who left the team and the ones who remain. They are being denied a chance to enjoy themselves while partici- pating in a sport. Remember, these are the same girls that went through quite an ordeal last year when their former coach was fired. Now this. ; There is no reason to believe that the school board will not respond to this matter in a prudent and timely matter. Let's hope so. That way, these girls can get back to doing what they love - playing basketball. To be continued.... Speaking of coaches, Lake-Lehman soccer coach Bill Tooley resigned from that position last week. Tooley, along with All- America and Duke University-bound Brian Kelly, led the Black Knights to consecutive District 2 titles. Tooley has accepted a job in Atlantic City and the soccer job should be posted within the next month. ; Dallas's Dave Puz is about to find himself in some very elite company this week. According to Mountaineer head basketball coach Paul Brown, the senior co-captain needs less than 10 points to reach the 1,000-point total for his career. Puz is widely known throughout the Wyoming Valley Conference basketball circles for playing much bigger than his 6-1 frame. Puz led the Mounts in both scoring nd rebounding in the first half of the season. He should reach the milestone during Friday night's home contest against Hanover Area. TIP-INS: Had the opportunity to see Pennsylvania's newest high school wrestling rule in effect last Saturday night during Dallas’s 51-15 loss to unbeaten Wyoming Valley West. Unlike previous years when three one-minute overtimes were used to break a tie, the PIAA instituted a sudden-death scoring system. The first wrestler to score in the overtime, wins. The new rule adds excitement and forces the wrestlers to be more aggressive...It's been a long time since I've seen a high school basketball player control a game like Wyoming Seminary's Aaron Norakus did for the first 11 minutes against Lake-Lehman last Tuesday night. The 6-5 senior hit his first five shots from the floor and scored 18 points in the game's first 11 minutes. He hit nine of his first 11 shots and, including a three-pointer...Back Mountain Baseball, Inc. recently held their second registration for the 1993 season. More than 800 boys and girls have registered so far...Is it me, or does it seem like they play soccer year-round in the Back Mountain? Spring soccer. Fall soccer. Travel soccer. Indoor soccer. There's no doubt the sport has grown in numbers and popularity over the past decade. Let's just hope the kids don't burn themselves out too early...The two Back Mountain high school athletic teams have picked up where they left off in the fall. Dallas and Lake-Lehman combined to either win a championship or advance to the title game in football, field hockey, soccer and girl's volleyball during the fall. This winter, both boys’ basketball teams are in contention for the . league title. The Lake-Lehman wrestling team is undefeated. And the Lake-Lehman girl's basketball team is in the thick of the playoff race (see related story)...Speaking of wrestling, this Satur- day's showdown between Lake-Lehman and Wyoming Valley West should be a classic. Under the direction of co-coaches Phil Lipski and Tom Williams, the Black Knights have won three consecutive WVC titles. Saturday's meet should provide the WVC West Divi- sion champion. Dallas rec b'ball results By DAVE KONOPKI Sports Correspondent Trivia time. Quickly now. Why is Joe Mar- tini smiling? A) Carl Lewis never sang before one of his games. B) He never met Amy Fisher. C) His team is in contention for the second half title. Answer: C. Actually the Lake-Lehman girls’ basketball coach has a number of reasons to smile and feel confi- dent about his team’s chances in the second half. First, the Black Knights con- trol their own destiny. If they win the remainder of their games, they're the second half champi- ons. It's as simple as that. Secondly, the Black Knights play their biggest games of the second half in the friendly con- fines of their own gymnasium. A place they haven't lost all season. Finally, they've already jumped out to a 3-0 start this half. “I think we're playing the best basketball we've played all sea- son,” said Martini, whose squad finished with a 5-3 record in the first half, one game behind cham- pion GAR. “We felt coming into the season that we were as good as any team in the league. We really didn’t play that good on the road in the first half.” The Black Knights lost to Bishop O'Reilly, GAR and North- west on the road in the first half. They will not have to face O'Reilly or Northwest in the second half (crossover games) and will face the Lady Grenadiers at home. Lake-Lehman is led offensively by Cherub Honeywell, who aver- ages just over 14 points per con- test. She also has been a work- horse at the foul line, shooting 130 shots from the charity stripe and converting on more than 70 percent. “She's one of the leaders on the team,” said Martini, of Honeywell. - “She can shoot, drive to the bas- ket and hit the three (pointer). We try to get the ball to her.” The guard duties are handled by a trio of Black Knights, seniors Dyan Dymond and Johanna Miller and junior Heather Gray. “Dyanreally starts the offense,” said Martini of his point guard. Lake-Lehman, Valley West meet for mat crown By DAVE KONOPKI Sports Correspondent This is starting to become an anymidl Titual, "> = an For the seventh consecutive year the Lake-Lehman and Wyo- ming Valley West wrestling teams will take to the mat with much more than pride on the line. The two teams combined to win the past six Wyoming Valley Conference wrestling titles, Val- ley West in 1987, '88 and '89 and the Black Knights in 1990, '91 and "92. The two squads will square off : this Saturday night at the Black Knight gym, and for the seventh consecutive season, a conference title will most likely be decided. But unlike the past three years, the Black Knights will enter the meet as the underdog. “They're obviously the favor- ite,” said Lehman co-coach Tom Williams, of the Spartans, who will enter the meet with an overall record of 13-0. “They're the best team in the league. Nobody has really even come close to them. “The last three years a lot of people placed some pretty high expectations on us,” said Williams, who has been the Black Knight .co-coach with Phil Lipski for the past three years. “There is a lot less pressure on us this year. Now, Valley West has to handle the pressure. It's a lot easier to coach this way.” ‘Williams and Lipski have done a tremendous job just getting the Black Knights in position to win the title. They lost stanidout Char- lie Jacoby to an injury and then had to withstand a rash of other injuries and sickness. “If anyone had told me before the season that we'd be in this position 1 never would have be- lieved them,” said Williams. “We're just tickled to death to be in this position. We have nothing tolose.” Wrestling year after year for the conference title has helped de- velop a respectful rivalry between the two teams. “It's been kind of fun,” said Valley West head coach Steve Gavrish. “The kids start to wrestle each other in the junior high and they continue through high school. Those guys (Williams and Lipski) have done a great job. We've had some pretty good battles.” Including last year’s which was won by the Black Knights by a single point. “That's what we'll remember,” said Gavrish. “That was a very tough loss. But we really don’t need any added incentive. We try to prepare our kids to get better as the season goes on.” The Spartans bring a pair of state finalists from last year into the meet. John Krokowski and John Brennan each won their district titles last season and advanced to the state final. Krokowksi is 18-1 overall this Casey's stunned regular sea- son champ the Greyhounds 75- 72 in opening round playoff ac- tion in the Dallas Adult Basket- ball League. Casey's which won only one game all season trailed by as many as 10 points, in the first half be- fore mounting a comeback. Pat Flaherty led the winners with 27 ‘points including some clutch foul shooting down the stretch. Mike Tubberty added 15 and played a strong floor game. Rick Coslett had 23 for the Greyhounds and Rick Crocker added 18. The Greyhounds who lost only one regular season game ‘are now eliminated from the play- offs, Casey's advances to the semi- finals. ' Humphrey's used their usual balanced attack in dumping . Hozey's Town Tavern 64-41. Frank ‘Debona had 19, Nafty Hage 17, Mike Hosey 12 and Jim Jaster 10 ‘for the winners. = £0 Jim Seamon had 20 for Hozey's. Humphrey's by virtue of having the league's best record, now receives a bye to the playoff finals on February 21. Hozey's is elimi- nated from further play. The Fieldhouse showed some awesome firepower and blasted The Lion Inc. 96-74 in game three. Joe Darling had a season high 39 " points including 25 in the first half to put the game out of reach. Lou Woychick added 14 and Mark Millington 12. Charlie Lamoreaux and Bill Cuffeach had 19 for The Lion and Tony Welgosh added 17. The Lion is now eliminated while The Field- house advances to the semi-fi- nals. Playoff schedule Feb. 14, 12:00 - League Semi- Final, Casey's vs. The Fieldhouse. Feb. 21, 12:00 - Championship Game, Humphrey's vs. Casey's/ Fieldhouse winner. Edwards family takes ski medals The Edwards family of Dallas, headed by Mr. and Mrs. Harry R. Edwards (Bucky and Jean), recently had a family ski reunion in Winterpark, CO. Of the 12 family members, eight were awarded Nastar medals with Bucky Edwards, who is 70 years old, capturing a Gold medal. Nastar, which stands for National Standard Race and began in the 1960's, is devised of a series of gates where the skiier can race for a Gold, Silver or Bronze medal based on age and sex and compared to the time of the U.S. Ski Team. Shown in the photo from left to right are: first row, Thomas Tardif, Meredith Edwards, Gold medal; Second row, Pat Edwards, Bronze medal; Carolyn Edwards-Tardif, Bronze medal; Erin Edwards, Gold medal; Jean Edwards, Brendt Edwards, Eric Edwards, Silver medal. Third row, Ralph Edwards, Silver medal; op Tardif, Bronze medal; Bucky Edwards, Gold medal, and Rick - Edwards. ln Sports\Week Lehman girls vie for league lead “She understands the game and does other things besides scoring. She is adynamite defensive player. “Heather has done a good job for us this season,” Martini con- tinued. “She has a game-high of 27 points this season and does a good job on defense.” Miller has been a spark plug, of sorts, for the Black Knights, shuf- fling her schedule between the basketball court and the music room. “Johannais a super musician,” said Martini of Miller. “We can't deny here a chance to use that ability. But when she does play for us she give us 120 percent. She’s fast, jumps well and plays good defense. She gives our team a nice blend.” Martini, who rotates six play- ers in the starting lineup, also has received some steady play from junior Debbie Coslett and sopho- more Amy Rogers. “Debbie is one of the best shoot- ers on the team,” Martini stated. “She's a very unselfish player. She passes up on at least seven or eight open shots per game. Some- times I wish she'd just take the shot. “Amy is a super jumper and is TOUGH COMPETITOR - Lake-Lehman's Jason McDade, wres- Hl Calendar HM Classified HB School very good around the basket,” Martini said of his 5-7 sopho- more. “She handles the ball very well. She's going to be a very good player.” The Black Knights suffered a big loss early in the pre-season, losing rotating - starter Jessica Hynick to illness. Hynick suffered a bad reaction to the flu and pneumonia and is not expected to oo play again this season. : “Our numbers are down a little" bit,” said Martini, who noted that this is his smallest Lehman team since the early 1980s. “It can really limit what you can do. We can't press the entire game so we have to pick our spots. It's also tough to go man-to-man for four quarters with only six players. But the girls’ attitude has been: super. They're great kids.” According to Martini, the game plan for the remainder of the. season is simple. - “We just have to take one game - at a time,” said Martini, who is assisted by Richard Morgan. “As long as we keep winning, it will come down to the end. Our des- tiny is in our own hands. I think it's better that way.” tling at 125 pounds, has been one of the Black Knights' strongest performers this season. THE MATCHUPS Page 11 season while Brennan is 18-2. Unfortunately for the Black Knights, they both wrestle in the lower weights, Lehman's strength this season. : “I think that we match up pretty well with them,” added Gavrish. “Lehman is very strong in the lower weights and that is where we have two of our best wrestlers. The middle weights are a toss-up and I think we have to be favored in the upper weights.” The Black Knights counter with three returning district champi- ons in Rick Finnegan (103), Jason McDade (125) and Mike Stuart (130). Lehman's top first six wres- tlers have combined to post an Sports Calendar BOYS’ BASKETBALL Friday, Feb. 12, Lake-Lehman at Wyoming Area, 8:00 p.m. at Dallas 8:00, p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16, Hanover Area at Lake-Lehman, 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16, Meyers at Dallas 8:00, p.m. GIRLS' BASKETBALL Thursday, Feb. 11, Wyoming Area at Lake-Lehman, 7:45 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11, Dallas at Hanover Area, 8:00 p.m. Monday, Feb. 15, Lake- Lehman at Hanover Area, 7:45 p.m Monday, Feb. 15, Dallas at Meyers, 8:00 p.m. VARSITY WRESTLING Wednesday, Feb. 10, Cough- lin at Lake-Lehman, 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 10, Nantcoke at Dallas, 7:00 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13, Wyoming Valley West at Lake-Lehman 7:00 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13, Dallas at Tunkhannock, 7:00 p.m. Friday, Feb. 12, Hanover Area | impressive 94-23 overall record this season. ; “We're a lot better team than we were in the beginning of the sea- son,” said Williams. “We have had a lot of wrestlers. We have 27 kids on this team and they have all helped us out. We would not have the same flexability without them.” To those who haven't got enough of these two teams meet- ing for league honors, here's one word of advice: Look out. This is just the beginning. Despite the successes of both programs, they are relatively young. Only seven of the 26 wres- tlers who will take the mat are seniors. 10 are juniors, seven are sophomores and there are a pair of freshman. Looks like they'll be doing this for years to come. Wrestlers place at Benton tournament The Back Mountain Wrestling Club recently attended the Benton Tournament. The following boys placed: Louis Spurlin midget 60 Ib. second place, Rich Harris junior 70 Ib. fourth place, Nick Raczkowski junior 70 Ib. third place. Tony Vanscoy midget 80 Ib. fourth place, Lloyd Droppers midget heavy weight second place, Steven Arnold midget heavy weight third place, Zack Ragukas bantam heavy weight third place. Absent from photo were Andrew Shaw bantam 45 Ib. third place, Mark Shaw 50 Ib. fourth place. : MORE SPORTS ON PG. 11
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