0) Sunday, October 2, 2005 | © Samarah LaFoca of Fran- a T= Tame Tue POST PAGE 7 PHOTOS FOR THE POST/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK From left, Emily Banas, Shane Stark, Michael Gist and Amy Heindel get off to a good start during the junior high cross country meet between Lake- Lehman and Bishop O'Reilly. klin Township, an eighth grade student at Gate of Heaven School, competes for Bishop O'Reilly. meet was postponed. Dallas, on course for battle T Lake-Lehman junior high cross country team ran its -L. way to a 25-30 win against Bishop O'Reilly earlier this week in a Wyoming Valley Conference junior high meet. The win was expected to set up a showdown against Back Mountain rival Dallas on Thursday afternoon, but the The Dallas Middle School cross country team shut out Wyoming Seminary earlier in the week to raise its record to 4-0. With 45 runners, Dallas has the largest team in the WVC. The ‘Mountaineer boys recently finished second out of 34 teams at the Lackawanna County Commissioners Cross Country Invitational at McDade Park in Scranton. The team was led by Kyle Piazza’s sixth-place finish, as he covered the 1.86-mile course in 10 minutes, 26 seconds. He was followed by Jim Brown’s ninth place, Chris Dailey’s 25th place finish and Griff Adams’ 27th-place showing. For the girls, Stephanie Strasser took first place by winning the girls race in 11 minutes, 20 seconds. Strasser defeated the second-place runner by nearly 50 yards to lift the Lady Mounts to a fifth place overall finish. Rounding out the top five for the Dallas girls were Megan Gallis, Taylor Dougherty, Rachel Buckman and Sarah Gallis. ~ Jackson, Mountaineers sacked By DAVE KONOPKI Post Editor & DALLAS TWP. — As a former Dallas High School quarterback, Ted Jackson Jr. knows what it feels like to get hit from the blind side. Now, as the school’s boys basketball head coach, Jackson recently received another devastating blow he never saw coming. Two players who were expected to play key roles in a possible Wyoming Valley Conference Division II or District 2 Class 2A championship recently had their transfers to other WVC schools up- held during a District 2 committee hear- ing. The transfers of 6-foot-9 senior center Robbie Myers to Crestwood and 6-1 ju- nior guard Ryan Nemetz to Bishop Ho- ban dealt a severe blow to a team that was expecting to return almost all of its players from an 18-7 team a year ago. Myers would have entered his fourth year as a starter for the Mountaineers, while Nemetz would have been a starter for the second consecutive year. Both players have been selected to the WVC coaches all-star teams in the past. “I didn’t know anything about the transfers until Jack (athletic director Wolensky) told me the school received paperwork requesting the transfers,” said Jackson, who will enter his second year as head coach when the season be- gins next month. “Tin still confused. I was never approached by either player or their parents. Our kids are crushed. Theyre confused.” The transfer by Nemetz was especial- ly painful because his father, Rich, was Jackson's assistant coach. “(Rich Nemetz) said nothing to me about Ryan transferring, not a word,” said Jackson. “I trusted him. He was part of our program. I've always treated him and Ryan with nothing but re- spect.” Miers is expected to be one of the pre- by transfers of Myers, Nemetz Former Dallas basketball player Robbie Myers waits for the results of his transfer hearing. A District 2 commit- tee approved the 6-foot-9 senior's transfer to Crest- wood. TIMES LEADER STAFF PHOTO/FRED ADAMS mier inside players in the WVC this sea- son. He averaged approximately 20 points a game during his freshman and sophomore seasons, and almost 11 last year. The small Division I college recruit is also an outstanding rebounder and shot blocker. Nemetz averaged 10.8 points a game last year. “I think it hurts us even more on the defensive end,” Jackson said. “Having a guy like Robbie inside was a luxury. He’s a defensive force and a great rebounder. Ryan was dife of the best defensive play- ers in our division last year. (The trans- fers) are definitely going to have an im- pact on how we do things.” But losing two players — no matter how valuable — isn’t going to break the program, says Jackson. “We need to move on,” he said. “The players and I talked about it, but we're not going to dwell on it. Are we going to win as many games without those two guys? We'll have to wait and see. But I'd much rather go with kids who are going to be loyal to the program.” Sports Week Offensive line paves way for Dallas win The Dallas Junior Mounts B team continued its perfect season, raising its record to 6-0 with a 35-6 win against Forty Fort last weekend in the Wyoming Valley West Junior Football and Cheerleading Conference. B DIVISION The offensive line of David Gallagher, Logan Bullock, Nick Kon, Jeremy Geisinger, Chase Benson and Jacob Titus paved the way for more than 250 rushing yards by Brett Wanek, Ryan Hanson, Jordan Visneski, E.J. Costantino, Gar- rett Artsma, Eric Anderson and Shane Jacobson. Wanek and Hanson each scored two touch- downs and Billy Dixon completed a 20 yard pass to Alex Barilla another score. Artsma and Cos- tantino ran for two-points conversions, while Brian Stepniak kicked an extra point. The Dallas defense led by linemen Nate Vario, Ryan DeRemer and Donnie Behm, and defensive backs Patrick Condo and J.J. McGovern kept Forty Fort scoreless until the fourth quarter. C DIVISION Ryan Zapoticky scored two touchdowns and recorded two interceptions as Dallas posted a 14-6 win against Forty Fort. Zapoticky set up his own 32-yard touchdown run by returning an in- terception 20 yards to give Dallas a 6-0 halftime lead. In the third quarter, Zapoticky rushed for a 45- yard touchdown and quarterback Johnny Hutch- ins used a quarterback sneak for the two-point conversion. Mark Michno provided much-need offense with several key rushes and pass recep- tions, while lineman Michael Harrison did an ex- cellent job of opening up the holes. The Dallas defense was lead by Michno, Mitchell Benson and Cody Long as it held Forty Fort to only one touchdown. D DIVISION The Dallas Junior Mounts D team suffered an 18-6 loss against Forty Fort last weekend. The lone touchdown for Dallas was scored by Cole Dixon on a 65-yard run late in the fourth quarter. The Junior Mount defense was led by the line play be Matt Harrison, Jackson Shaffer, and Jus- tin Hutchins. Jacob Corey, Paul Zablotney, Dyl- lan Kobal, Daniel Schnable, Stone Manello, Eric George, Owen Morgan, Connor Phillips and Ryan Phillips also played well. KT Raiders defense too good for Plymouth The Kingston Township Raiders youth football program won three of four games last weekend against Plymouth last weekend in the Wyoming Valley West Youth Football and Cheerleading Con- ference. The C team improved to 6-0, while the D team raised its record to 50-1. The B team also won to increase its mark to 4-2. The A team was the only squad to suffer a loss, a 20-6 setback against the Shawnee Indians. B DIVISION Five different Raiders scored in a 34-0 pounding of the Shawnee Indians. Neil Shaver scored on an interception return, while David Gawlas, Jim Roc- cograndi, Chris Roccograndi and Chris Ostrum each reached the endzone on a touchdown runs. The Raiders also added two 2-point conversions. C DIVISION The Raiders cruised to a 40-0 win against Ply- mouth at Mountaineer Stadium to remain in sole possession of first place. Corey Patrick got the scoring started with a 45- yard touchdown run on the first play from scrim- mage and added a 54-yard touchdown on the next possession. Jacob Rome, Robert Wargo and Chris Knecht added touchdown runs of 42, 57 and 36 yards, respectively, as the Raiders amassed 325 yards on the ground. Josh Weaver and Kyle Kotul- ski added two-point conversion runs. Defensively, the Raiders were led by Domenic Oliveri and Weaver who controlled the middle of the field all afternoon. Kevin Lazarowicz and Joe Stier added two sacks apiece while Jesse Shaffer returned an interception 74 yards to for a touch down. Lazarowicz and Stier were named defensive Players of the Game while Rome and Wargo were named offensive Players of the Game. D DIVISION Led by the offensive and defensive line play of Mitch Kelly, Ray Anthony Ostroski, Jason Ander- son, Nick Mathers, Rick Morgan, Michael Golden and Mason Dumond, the Raiders posted a 22-0 win against Plymouth. Brett Storrs scored on a 60-yard run on the first play of the game with Tanner Gattuso adding the two-point conversion. Gattuso added a 35-yard touchdown run and David Edwards blasted up the middle for the two-point conversion run. Peter Capitano closed out the scoring on a 12-yard run. Kyle Piskorik recovered a fumble during Ply- mouth’s last offensive possession to preserve the shutout. wr
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers