The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Thursday, February 14, 2002 THE DALLAS POST John Simonitis, center, signed his letter of intent, flanked by his par- ents, Debbie and John Simonitis Sr. Standing, from left: Ted Jack- son, Dallas football coach; Jack Wolensky, Dallas high School ath- letic director. McCafferty, Boris win "Killer Bees awards BY TIMOTHY J. RAUB Post Staff her class at Lake-Lehman, en- joyed her recognition for her work both in the classroom and on the athletic field. “I feel really grateful that I won this award,” said Boris. “I knew the other girls were great student-athletes, so I am just really happy.” Boris joins a list of recipients dominated by Back Mountain student-athletes since its incep- tion in 1996, including: Debbie White (1996, Lake-Lehman), Stephanie Potisek (1998, Dallas) and Sarah Davis (Lake-Lehman, 2000). High school seniors from Wyoming Valley Conference schools who have an “A” average and a letter in a varsity sport were eligible for the award. A se- lection committee of club mem- bers chose the winners for the student-athlete awards. Wyoming Seminary’s state championship field hockey team was also given special recogni- tion from the Killer Bees for their accomplishments this sea- son. WILKES-BARRE — Former Dallas High School soccer coach John McCafferty and Lake- Lehman field hockey standout Lindsay Boris left the Killer Bees Athletic Club Banquet a little heavier. But not because of the food. McCafferty was honored by the club with the Eddie White Pioneer Award for the promotion of area sports, for his role in es- tablishing one of the area’s first high school soccer programs at S Dallas, in 1981. “I am thrilled that the Killer Bees recognized me,” said Mc- Cafferty. “When 1 first started (coaching), soccer was not very popular in the area, but I loved & doing what I did, so I just did i’ McCafferty joins the late Jerry Stinson, former athletic director at Dallas on the list of recipi- ents. : Boris is an all-state field hock- ®- player who ranks second in GR 7 CLARK VAN ORDEN/FOR THE DALLAS POST Riley is new Northeast Region ® Game Commissioner John J. Riley of Pocono Township, Monroe County, was sworn in as a member of the Board of Pennsylvania Game Commissioners on Friday at the Game Commission Northeast Region Office in Dallas Township. Former Gov. Tom Ridge nominated Riley for the seat on Sept. 25. The eight counties in the Northeast Region that Riley will serve are Luzerne, Lackawanna, Carbon, Pike, Monroe, Susque- hanna, Wayne and Wyoming. Commissioners serve eight-year terms @ without compensation. Because Riley is assuming a vacant seat, his term will end in June 2006. Harveys Lake Little League registration The Final Registration date for the 2002 Harveys Lake Little League season will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb- ruary 23, at the Harveys Lake Recreation Building. Children ages 5 to 16 that live in Harveys Lake Borough and Lake Township are eligible to register to play baseball or softball. The registration fee is $30 per child or $40 per household. Parent or guardian must have photocopy of every player's birth certificate 0. the time of registration and insurance information. For more information, call the Harveys Lake Little League at 639- 1988. Pocono Pee Wees win one; tie one The Pocono Pirates Pee Wee A ice hockey team played to a win and a tie this past weekend in Delaware Valley Hockey League Ac- tion. Ricky Rose scored a goal, and Drew Slocum, both of Shavertown. Slocum stopped 17 shots in the Pee Wee Pirates’ 3-3 tie with Valley Forge. Eric Wroblewski of Shavertown and Rose each had assists in the Pee Wee Pirates’ 7-0 victory over the PA Predators. Slocum had 10 saves in the winning effort. Seniors make college commitments BY TIMOTHY J. RAUB Post Staff DALLAS TWP. — After a lengthy decision process, Dallas football standouts Chuck Suppon and John Simonitis have signed for- mal letters of intent to continue their acade- mic and athletic careers on the collegiate = level. Simonitis will be headed to the University of Pittsburgh this fall, while Suppon signed his official letter of intent to play for James Madison University February 6 at Dallas High School. “It feels great (to sign my letter of intent),” said Suppon. “It has been really stressful for a year to get where I feel comfortable.” Suppon, a four-year starter for the Moun- taineers at quarterback, gave a verbal com- mitment to play for the Dukes two weeks “.. Pittsburgh is definitely fhe e place for me.” John Simonitis Dallas senior earlier. James Madison was his first official college visit, and the support of Dukes head coach Mickey Matthews helped the former Mountaineer standout make his decision. “I didn’t know if because it was my first of- ficial visit, that’s where I wanted to go,” Suppon. “I met with (Matthews) a bunch of times and he showed a lot of interest in me.” Matthews, who has put together a 14-9 record in two seasons with the NCAA Divi- sion I-AA Dukes, said he recruited Suppon for his athletic ability; and likes to recruit quarterbacks who can play other positions. “Wherever I have coached, both at Mar- shall and Georgia, we have tried to recruit the best athletic quarterbacks we could find,” said Matthews. size and athletic ability, he could play a lot of different positions for us.” “Because of Chuck's Suppon comes to the Dukes along with said monitis. POST PHOTO/JIM PHILLIPS Shannon Thomas (3) fends off a Nanticoke defender in Dallas’s 53-50 win over the Trojans on Febru- ary 11 at Dallas High School. The win put the Mountaineers in a two-way tie for first-place in the WVC Division II second half play-off race with Wyoming Area. Lackawanna Junior College running back Mike Kitchen, who will have two years of eli- gibility with the team. The decision was a lot easier for Simonitis, who gave his verbal commitment to play for the Panthers in early August. “It was a lot of pressure on me to decide where I wanted to go to college,” “But Pittsburgh is definitely the place for me.” said Si- See COLLEGE, pg 12 Dallas girls tie for 2nd half crown A They'll meet Wyoming Area in tiebreaker By JOHN ERZAR Special to The Dallas Post DALLAS TWP. — The young Dallas girls basketball team hasn't experienced playoff bas- ketball yet, but Monday night felt like a dress rehearsal. The Mountaineers saw a dou- ble-figure lead evaporate. They needed a couple clutch free throws from Ashleigh King with 13 seconds remaining. And, fi- nally, they had to watch a three- pointer miss the mark to hang on for a 53-50 victory over Nan- ticoke Area in a Wyoming Valley Conference Division II game. “They gave us the game we wanted,” said Dallas sophomore Rosalyn Wentko, who scored a game-high 17 points and divert- ed Nanticoke’s final three-point shot slightly by barely getting a hand on the ball. “They gave it all to us, and it helped us a lot.” Dallas (6-2 Div. II, 21-3 over- all) tied Wyoming Area for the See DALLAS, pg 13 From the bullpen Timothy J. Raub Andrew George is happy he was offered a scholarship to play soccer at the 22nd-ranked school in the country. But he is even more grateful he is alive. The Dallas High School senior soccer standout has overcome a major head injury — which could have ended his playing ca- reer — to become one of the top players in the Wyoming Valley Conference, state and country. Two years ago, George was in- volved in an auto accident which Soccer standout conquered adversity left him with serious trauma to the head, and numerous other injuries which put his playing career in jeopardy. “I was lucky to live,” said George. “(The doctors) weren't even sure if I was going to be able to play again.” But through the support of family, friends and coaches, and the self-determination of a mil- lion men, George made a full re- covery and even signed an offi- cial letter of intent to play colle- giate soccer for Cornell Universi- ty, one of the top Division I soc- cer programs in the country. “When I found out I got in (to Cornell), it was definitely one of the best feelings I ever had,” said George. “A lot of hard work, especially after my accident has made it all worth while.” George has recovered fully from his injuries, and has been a key part of Dallas’s three straight trips to the PIAA Class 2A state soccer tournament. “Andrew has been a very im- portant player on this team, ”said Dallas head soccer coach Chris Scharff. “A lot of time and effort went into putting Andrew where he is today, and for him, now it has all paid off.” George, who also carries a 3.2 GPA, was named Wyoming Val- ley Conference Class 2A Division MVP, PIAA All-State and was just recently named to the 2001 Regional All-American team — not bad for a kid who was not given much of a chance to even step on a soccer field again. “I am proud of myself for com- ing through my accident,” said George. “It has made me a better person and player.” George will major in hotel and restaurant management, some- thing he said made Cornell such a great fit for him. “It has always been an interest of mine to go into hotel and restaurant management,” said George. “Both of my parents went to Cornell for the same thing, and many of my relatives are in the restaurant business. “Andrew has been able to face adversity, and look it in the face,” said Scharff. “He has a de- ‘sire to succeed, and is not will- ing to quit.” And he shouldn't either. McCafferty’'s Honor: Former Dallas soccer coach John McCafferty’s honor by the Killer Bees Athletic Club, recog- nizing him for his efforts in starting one of the first high soc- cer programs in the area, See BULLPEN, pg 12 Lake-Lehman’s Baranowski elected to volleyball coaches hall of fame Lake-Lehman boys volleyball coach John Baranowski was recently inducted into the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coach- es Association's Hall of Fame. Baranowski was inducted during a luncheon at State Col- lege High School. Three others also were chosen: Souderton High coach Will Lapp, Slippery Rock University coach Laurie Lokash and Cedar Crest Col- lege coach Dave Stever. Baranowski is the only boys coach in Lake-Lehman history. He began his coaching career in 1976, and has a 318-17 record in Wyoming Valley Con- ference and District 2 matches. His teams have been undefeat- ed WVC champions 19 times, won 16 District 2 titles, quali- fied for the state tournament 20 times and made the state quarterfinals on four occasions. A founding member of the PVCA, Baranowski served as the association’s district repre- sentative, representative coun- sel and/or boys vice president for more than 12 years. He also has been involved with the PVCA State All-Star Match as coach, site coordinator or chairperson on numerous occa- sions. Baranowski's other accom- plishments include: Keystone State Games Pocono Region coach; USA or AAU volleyball coach; volleyball camp instruc- tor at Penn State Wilkes-Barre; and player and organizer of area recreational leagues. He recently became a PIAA and Nagws volleyball official and has four sons still involved in the sport at various levels.
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