I ee E SUNDAY, APRIL 28, 2013 Tue DALLAS POST T PAGE 9 Defensive line and quarterback are two position groups that appear promising in recruiting. By TOM ROBINSON For The Dallas Post Mark Ross has at least two reasons to believe de- fensive line play will be improved when Misericordia University enters its second season of football in the at] fall. Ross pointed out the defensive line as one of two position groups that appear promising in recruiting and also likes progress that he sees from the return- ing group in spring practices. The National Collegiate Athletic Association al- lows Division III football programs 16 days of spring practice, but Ross said it is not in the format of what people might see on television with Division I teams. “It’s more individual emphasis and technique,” the Cougars head coach said. “We're not allowed to use pads.” )rmer Dallas High School coach Ted Jackson, a part-time member of the Misericordia coaching staff, has worked with defensive linemen this spring after dealing with inside linebackers last season. “He’s raised the skill level and technique of our defensive linemen,” Ross said of Jackson, who was recently selected for induction in the Pennsylvania State Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Jackson, who went 227-79-3 and won a state title in 27 years at Dallas, will be honored June 15 in Har- risburg as part of ceremonies in conjunction with the Big 33 Football Classic. Sports ee MU grid coach: Defensive line play will improve Ross said it was too early to talk specifically about individual recruits, but he did say that defensive line and quarterback were the two areas where the pro- gram made important progress in terms of depth. “The majority of our recruiting for this year is done, although at our level, and particularly this year, there are still a number of potential candidates we are working with at this point,” Ross said. “There are some position groups that we felt like, going in, we needed to improve our depth. “Quarterback was one of them. At the end of the year, we had only two.” The Cougars were shut out five times, including three of their final four games, while going 0-10 in their debut season. The 2012 team was put together for the first time and built from a two-person recruiting effort the year before. With his staff complete, Ross was one of five coaches able to work on recruiting this spring. “We have a better handle on the kids coming in,” Ross said. “There’s not as much guesswork. “With some of the kids we brought in last year, once we saw what they could do, we had to put them in other spots.” The first Misericordia team included just one play- er from each of the two Back Mountain high schools. It did, however, get significant contributions from those two. Lake-Lehman graduate Cody Lamoureux led the team in rushing while Dallas graduate Paul Brace was the leading receiver. Ross said Brace does not plan to return next sea- son, but Lamoureux will be back. Lamoureux, who ran for 339 yards on 103 carries, Misericordia University football coach Mark Ross said defensive line and quarterback are two areas where the program has made important progress in terms of depth. was one of the players who served as the single run- ning back in the pistol formation the Cougars often employed. Misericordia ran most of its attack from shot gun formation with either one tight end and three wide receivers or two tight ends and two wide receivers. Ross said the team is experimenting with a few “schematic issues” within its offense, but the general approach is likely to remain the same. SPORTS BRIEFS VOLPETTI HONORED Gabrielle Volpetti, of Volpetti School. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Volpetti of Wyoming. SOFTBALL CLINIC The Dallas High School softball team will hold Ses- sion 3 of its developmental clinic series from noon to 2 p.m. today, April 28 at the Back Mountain Little League Field. This clinic will cover a brief review of Session’s 1 and 2, moderate to advance hitting techniques, position specific defensive drills and unication drills. @- more information, ootact Brent Berger at 793-1126, or Bill Kern at 498-5991, or email dal- lashighsoftball@gmail.com. In case of rain, the clinic will be held at the Dallas High School gym. field. goal. LL gets lacrosse win The Lake-Lehman High School girls lacrosse team trounced Pittston Area, 14-4, on April 19 at the Patriots’ home ABOVE: Emily Galasso controls the ball on her way to scoring a goal for Lake-Lehman. AT RIGHT: Lake Lehman's Hannah Stull (No. 20) intercepts a pass near the Pittston Area TONY CALLAIO PHOTOS/ FOR THE DALLAS POST CAR WASH/ BAKE SALE The Dallas Mountain- eers High School Baseball Booster Club will sponsor a car wash and bake sale from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sun- day, May 5 at Newell Fuel. Members of the high school baseball team will be on hand to wash cars and an array of baked goods will be sold. All proceeds will go to support the Dallas School District baseball program. Car wash tickets are $5. RAIDERS EGISTRATION Q: Kingston Township ders will hold registra- tion for mini football and cheerleading from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May 18 at the Kingston Township Munici- pal Building, 180 E. Center St., Shavertown. Parents should bring the child’s birth certificate, two proofs of residency and a photo of the child. Registration fees are $50 for cheerleading and $60 for football with a $10 sibling discount. RSA team ns Binghamton Run & Can AU The Rock Solid ninth-grade boys AAU team defeated the RAP All Stars, 49-43, in the championship game of the Binghamton Run & Gun AAU Tourney held recently in Binghamton, NY. The Rock Solid team also defeated the BC Bolts, Status Pros and ST Rage teams on their way to the championship. From left, seated, are Tanner Gattuso, Ray Ostroski, Spencer Bowanko and Connor Keenan. Standing, Kyle Gainard, assistant coach; Adam Niznik, Sukmail Mathon, Matt Andrews, Josh Malkemes and Nate Francis, head coach. Rock Solid plays out of the Rock Rec Center in Shavertown. Lady Bandits compete In tournament The Back Mountain Bandits girls U13 Lacrosse team played in the Del- aware Valley Tournament on April 14 at Warrior’s middle school in Ding- mans Ferry. The local girls were able to secure wins in three out of the four games. Scoring for the Bandits included eight goals for Christiana Leu, six for Jackie Kalinosky, six for Mikella Monoco, five for Lauren Delamater, five for Kate Roberts, three for Mor- gan Critchosin, two for Gabby Kroch- ta, two for Samantha Aben. The mid-fielders and attacks did a great job moving the ball, thanks to the efforts of Mackenzie Lasinski, Faith Butler, Rylee Critchosin, Sa- mantha Sutton and Margaret Mihal- ick. Goalie Emily Driscoll came under fire. Her countless saves and strong defensive efforts of Chloe-Lyn Os- borne, Caylin Patta and Olivia Za- blocky allowed the Bandits to steal victory. Black Knights second in lacrosse league By TOM ROBINSON For The Dallas Post Lake-Lehman’s defense is young, but still relatively experienced in terms of the first-year Wyoming Val- ley Conference boys lacrosse league. The performance of that experi- enced group has allowed the Black Knights to move into second place out of seven teams. “Our defense is very good,” said T.J. Labar, a sophomore at Penn State/Wilkes-Barre who moved up from assistant to head coach after one non-league game this spring. Labar played on the first Lake- Lehman team two years ago. The WVC includes two programs still in their first year and the Black Knights have managed to shut out those teams in all three meetings. Lake-Lehman defeated North Po- cono, 13-0, in the conference open- er and, 6-0, Tuesday night. It also blanked Scranton Prep, 6-0 “Our defense is strong so we're emphasizing defense,” Labar said. “We're improving on offense. “As long as we can hold the ball, we should be able to keep improving.” Lake-Lehman is 5-3 in conference play with the help of sophomore goalie Jake Yaple, sophomore defend- er Phil Hettes and junior defender Justin Winters, who are all returning starters. Sophomore Dave Kessner played in the shutout of Scranton Prep, but has been sidelined by an injury. Se- nior Hunter Hackling has taken over on defense in Kessner’s absence. Labar said Yaple, who came up through the Back Mountain Bandits program and has played the sport for 10 years, is one of the best goalies in the league. “He’s very athletic,” Labar said. “He’s quick to react and he knows how to keep himself inside the cage and how to read shooters. “He does a good job, even on close shots, of confusing the shooters.” Yaple is just one example of how Lake-Lehman benefits from expe- rience in a sport still largely in its growth stage in northeastern Penn- sylvania. “Most of the kids have played for the Back Mountain Bandits and now Lehman has its own junior high team,” Labar said. “We're an up-and- coming team. “l was expecting that we could have this kind of season.” Lake-Lehman trails only unbeaten Delaware Valley in the WVC stand- ings. They have the only two winning records while Dallas is in third place with a .500 record.
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