# The two Dallas High School. athletes took different paths to Sunday, February 10, 2013 Tue DALLAS POST PAGE 9 Sports CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Dallas High School tight end standout Jason Simonovich has signed a letter of intent to play foot- ball for the University of Maine, Orono, main campus, earning a full four- year scholarship to the school. From left, seated, are Sarah Simonovich, sister; Terri Simonovich, mother; Jason Simonov- ich and Bernie Simonovich, father. Standing, Jeff Shaffer, Dallas High School principal; Ed Radzinski, assistant football coach; Nancy Roberts, athletic director; Paul DuMond, assistant football coach; Bob Roper, assistant football coach; Bob Zaruta, head football coach; Rich DuMond, assistant foot- Il coach; and Greg Miller, assistant football coach. @ CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Dallas High School field hockey standout Evonna Ackourey has been voted to the National Field Hockey Coaches All-American Hockey Association and earned a four-year scholarship to Quinnipiac University in Connecticut. From left, first row, are Margia Ackourey, mother; Evonna Ackourey and Dan Ackourey, father. Standing, are Amanada Jez, assistant field hockey coach; Kylie Fischer, head field hockey coach; Jeff Shaffer, high school principal; and Nancy Roberts, athletic director. Two Dallas High School athletes are Division [-bound By TOM ROBINSON For The Dallas Post Evonna Ackourey made sure to assess other options, but the field hockey player knew from the start that Quinnipiac University was where she wanted to contin- ue her academic and athletic ca- reers. Jason Simonovich was closing in on a final decision between two other schools when the Universi- ty of Maine entered the mix and persuaded the football player to head there. their final decisions before cele- brating the landing of Division I athletic scholarships with signing ceremonies in the school’s gym- nasium Wednesday afternoon on the first day of the latest NCAA Letter of Intent signing period. “I tried to look everywhere and keep my options open, but it real- ly came down to Quinnipiac was the number-one choice all along,” said Ackourey, who has headed to the Connecticut school for clinics and camps since her sophomore year. “No one else could compare. It was a perfect fit.” Simonovich preferred playing defense in college when the Maine coaches convinced him to consider coming there as an of- fensive recruit at tight end. “A couple of months ago, I was down to Ursinus and Monmouth as my two college choices,” he said. “Then, I got an e-mail from swone of ithe ‘Maine coaches that they were really interested and wanted me to play tight end.” Ackourey is likely to play for- ward in college but both Dallas athletes were attractive to college recruiters because of their versa- tility. “She’s little in size, but she’s quick with her feet and has great "| always wanted to get a scholarship. Probably my sophomore year when | started taking academics very seriously, | realized that | have the size and | think | have the speed and ability to play college ball.” Jason Simonovich DHS football player stick skills,” Dallas coach Kylie Fisher said. “We moved her around to all positions in her four years. “She has an all-around general skill level and she can be a great utility player. They can put her anywhere they need to.” Ackourey generally moved be- tween midfield and forward dur- ing her career at Dallas. She played left midfield much of her senior year, in which she served as the only captain on an 114 team, but moved to the forward line when the Lady Mountaineers needed more scoring punch. Simonovich excelled at tight end and defensive end. He was an all-star in his first season after moving from defensive back and continued to show skills he had used as a wide receiver earlier in his career. “He’s got the physical size and strength,” Dallas coach Bob Zar- uta said of the 6-foot-4, 230-poun- der. “He combines that with agil- ity, speed and versatility. “You can look at what we did with him. He not only played wide receiver. He played tight end. We had him in motion as a lead blocker.” Simonovich finished with 25 catches for 567 yards and eight touchdowns. He also made 24 tackles for losses, including 13 sacks. “Pm going to miss defense a lot,” he said. “It was a lot of fun.” Maine plays on the Football Subdivision Championship level, which was formerly known as Di- vision I-AA. The Black Bears went 4-4 in the Colonial Athletic Association and 5-6 overall. Quarterback Marcus Wasilew- ski, a Mount Carmel graduate, hosted the recruiting visit that convinced Simonovich the school was the right fit for him. “I always wanted to get a schol- arship,” said Simonovich, who plans to study business. “Proba- bly my sophomore year when I started taking academics very se- riously, I realized that I have the size and I think I have the speed and ability to play college ball.” It was a week of accomplish- ments for Ackourey. Before formally accepting her scholarship offer, Ackourey learned she had been named to the National Field Hockey Coach- es Association Academic All- American team. “I felt at home at Quinnipiac,” said Ackourey, who will major in biology. “It had everything that I wanted — the great academics and great athletics.” Ackourey scored five goals and assisted on four others as a senior while earning second-team Class AA all-state honors. Dallas graduate Lauren Zim- niski was a team captain last sea- son as a fifth-year senior, helping Quinnipiac go 5-2 in the North- east Conference and 12-7 overall. LL wrestling streak halted at By TOM ROBINSON For The Dallas Post Lake-Lehman extended its winning streak all the way to 17 before falling, 38-28, to Western Wayne in the District 2 Class AA Dual Meet Wrestling Champion- ships final on Feb. 2 at Pittston Area. The Black Knights reached the district championship match for the second straight year with two comfortable wins on their home mat the night before. The Wyoming Valley Conference Di- vision 2 champions lost to West- ern Wayne in the final for the second straight year. “They have a great team,” Lake-Lehman coach Tom Wil- liams said of the Lackawanna League Division 2 champions. 17 victories Derek Dragon had pins in all three bouts to lead the Black Knights in the tournament. He put away two opponents in un- der a minute and managed to rally from behind to stop Tho- mas Bogarowski of Hanover Ar- ea in 3:52 at 182 pounds of the semifinal victory over Hanover Area. “As soon as I rolled through, I really felt like I was going to be able to get him,” said Dragon, who posted the pin shortly after a reversal. Austin Harry and Brady But- ler each had two pins-and a for- feit victory. Zeb McMillan went 3-0 with a pin, a major decision and a forfeit. The Black Knights handled Lackawanna Trail, 52-21, in the quarterfinals and Hanover Area, 48-18, in the semifinals on Feb. 1. SPORTS BRIEFS @/. Litle League sign-ups set Harveys Lake Little League will hold its final sign up day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 16 at the Harveys Lake Borough Building. Children between the ages of 5 and 16 who reside with the league’s borders may sign up. They must provide a birth certif- icate at the time of registration. For more information, call league president Mark Wallace at 6904026. Bandits lacrosse team accepting registration Registrations are now being accepted via the web site at www.laxteams.net/bmylax for the Back Mountain Bandits la- crosse team. Boys and girls in grades 1-3 may sign up for intramurals. Boys age groups are U-9, U-11, U-13 & U-15. Girls age groups are third and fourth grade, fifth and sixth grade and seventh and eighth grades. Participants should print the form and mail it, along with appli- cable fee, to BMYL, P.O. Box 1746, Shavertown, PA 18708. Mountaineers cage coach looking ahead Move to Division 1, loss of graduates double blow to Dallas basketball program. By TOM ROBINSON For The Dallas Post Timing was not kind to the Dallas boys basketball team this season. The Mountaineers moved up from Division 2 to Divi- sion 1 as part of Wyoming Valley Conference realign- ment just as graduation forced them to replace the entire starting lineup from a championship team. That combination. has made for a difficult season, but one in which coach Doug Miller has seen the promise of better times ahead. “We are so young this year,” Miller said. “There have been times when we've played our best basketball with four sophomores and a freshman on the court. “That’s a good thing for down the line, but it’s not al- ways the best for right now.” With District 2’s return to open tournaments this year, Dallas moved into playoff ac- tion after completing the reg- ular season Thursday night at Wyoming Valley West. District playoffs will be a new experience for all but leading scorer Matt Ross, the only Mountaineer remaining who appeared in a tourna- ment game last year. “It’s going to be a totally new experience for pretty much the entire team,” Mill- er said. It will also be an important experience if the Mountain- eers eventually make the im- provement their coach antici- pates. “We're talking next year that we’re going to be much more competitive,” he said, “and I think we’re looking two years from now where we really want to compete for league and district titles. “Everything were doing this year, we're trying to help with that.” The Mountaineers entered Friday night just 1-10 in the division and 2-17 overall. Their youngest player, 14- year-old freshman Suk Math- on, played a big role in one of those wins with 12 points and 13 rebounds in a holiday tour- nament game against Wyom- ing Area. “He’s 14 years old and he’s playing against 17 and 18 year olds,” Miller said of the 6- foot-7 center. “That’s a huge maturity and experience dif- ference. “There’s a very high ceiling for his talent.” Mathon leads the team with 7.5 rebounds per game while also averaging 5.5 points. Ross, a sophomore, leads in scoring with 14.5 points. Allen Fell, another sopho- more who has been sidelined by a leg injury, is second in both categories with 8.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. They are three of the rea- sons Miller is hopeful about the future. “We spend a lot of time talking about the future,” Miller said. “Other coaches and people who have been BILL TARUTIS FILE PHOTOS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Sukhmail Mathon, right, drives the baseline as his brother Gur- mail defends during a Dallas boys basketball practice. around the game see that we're making progress and getting better. “We're staying positive and the kids’ attitudes have been very good this year, despite the record. The kids continue to work hard every day.” In the process, they are helping convince their coach that better days remain ahead. Dallas’ Matt Ross practices free throws.
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