Girls basketball/wrestling schedule changes

The EAHS girls basketball team wraps up its season tonight at 8 p.m. against Steelton-Highspire. The girls were originally suppose to close with a game against Lower Dauphin on Feb. 5, but that game has been dropped. My guess is that LD made the playoffs and would not be able to play E-town because they would have played too many games then. And Steel High was available, just not on Feb. 5, so the game was moved to tonight.

It's been a season of learning for the Baby Bears. They've won just one game so far, and that game back in December. But this is an extremely young team and they'll do nothing but get better. If you've seen them play, you've seen how much energy and passion they play with even when things aren't going their way. They're getting their feet wet and learning the varsity game and when they do, look out, because they'll never stop playing hard.

Also, just a reminder, the wrestling match originally scheduled for tonight at Carlisle has been moved to Tuesday night, Feb. 5, at Carlisle at 7 p.m. Also, the Feb. 2 match against Lancaster Catholic was moved to Feb. 8. The JV will start at 6:30, the varsity at 7:30 p.m.

Boys Basketball L-L Tournament bracket, dates, times and places

Now that the drama over whether or not the Bears will be in the L-L Playoffs is over, we can move forward and look at who they will be playing and when.

Here's the way the bracket shapes up:

McCaskey (19-4 overall, 16-0 league) vs. Manheim Central (15-8, 11-5)
Columbia (21-2, 15-1)/Lancaster Catholic (17-6, 15-1) vs. E-town (14-9, 9-7)
(the winner of this game gets the winner of McCaskey/Central)

Conestoga Valley (14-8, 10-6) vs. Columbia/Lancaster Catholic
Lebanon (15-7, 12-4) vs. Hempfield (17-6, 13-3)
(The winner of this game gets the winner of CV and Columbia/Catholic.

• Columbia and Lancaster Catholic will play a one-game playoff to determine the Section 4 champion on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Penn Manor.
Here are the different scenarios for who, when and where E-town will play its first round game.
1. The Bears will play on Tuesday night at Conestoga Valley, regardless of who wins the Columbia/Catholic game.
2. If Columbia wins, E-town will play Columbia at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Conestoga Valley.
3. If Catholic wins, E-town will play Catholic at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Conestoga Valley.
4. E-town will be the away team either way on Tuesday night.

• Now for the L-L semifinals. If E-town wins on Tuesday, here's what would happen.
1. They would play on Thursday night at 7 p.m. at Lampeter-Strasburg against the winner of the McCaskey/Central game.

• The League finals will be held on Saturday, Feb. 9 at Manheim Township High School at 2 p.m.
(note: if it snows on Friday and the league is forced to cancel the girls championship, the girls game would be moved to Saturday at 11 a.m. and the boys game would start at 3 p.m., still at Manheim Township).

• Tickets will be sold at the door ONLY. Prices are $5 for adults and $3 for students. No L-L passes will be accepted, so get there early.

There you have it. If you need clarification, feel free to comment or email me at sports.etown@gmail.com and I will do my best to clear up any confusion.

Bears Hoops: They're In

Just got word from far off Ephrata ... The Bears beat the Mounts tonight and are in the Lancaster-Lebanon League playoffs.

E-town was down six at the half and came out in the second half and had an 18-point lead with a few minutes left, before winning by double digits.

You just can't say enough about what this team has been able to do to put itself in this position. These players were all new to the varsity level last year and suffered through a tough season last year. But they came back this year confident and more seasoned. And they learned a new system brought on by a coaching change, and they absolutely pulled it off. It's been awesome seeing this group grow over the past two years and now they're winners of eight in a row and they're in the league playoffs. And I'm guessing there isn't one team that would be thrilled to see them on their schedule.

As much as the players deserve the credit for this, a lot of it has to go to the coaching staff. Kevin Dolan and company did a phenomenal job putting these kids in a system set up for them to succeed and they did just a great job with them throughout. And the players bought in to what they were teaching and put it together with a phenomenal run to close the season.

Congrats to the Bears on a job well done. I'll know more about the brackets tomorrow and will post it in the morning.

Good night E-town. Cheers.

One last update

OK, for those of you about to head to Ephrata for the Bears' big game tonight, here's what can happen.

1. E-town wins and they are in, no matter what.

2. If CV and E-town both win, CV is the section champ and E-town is the runner up and will play the Section 4 champ.

3. If E-town loses and Cocalico wins, E-town is out.

4. If E-town and Cocalico both lose, the Bears would still be in based on E-town's better overall record.

5. If CV loses and E-town wins, CV and E-town would have a one game playoff for the Section Title.

6. If CV loses and E-town and Cocalico win, CV would play Cocalico in a one-game playoff. The winner of that would play E-town for the Section title. (Keep in mind that CV is playing Garden Spot, who has just one win so far this season. Needless to say, it would be a major upset for them to lose.)

As for who they would play, it comes down to Columbia and Lancaster Catholic. Right now, Columbia and Catholic are tied atop Section 4 with one game to play.

1. If both win tonight, they would have a one game playoff to determine the Section 4 champ.
2. If one wins and the other loses, the winner would be Section 4 champ.
3. IF both lose, there would be a one game playoff.

Once again: Section 2 champ plays Section 4 runner up and Section 2 runner up plays Section 4 champ in the first round.

UPDATE: Boys Hoops playoff scenarios

Big win last night for the Bears, pulling together late and defeating Solanco 64-59. In the other game of importance in Section Two, CV beat Cocalico rather handily, 56-43.

So here are the updated standings in Section Two:

CV...................9-6
E-town............8-7
Cocalico..........8-7
Ephrata...........6-9
Solanco...........5-10
Garden Spot....1-14

The season wraps up on Wednesday with CV playing Garden Spot, E-town playing Ephrata and Cocalico facing off with Solanco.

Barring a miracle upset, CV will win the Section Two title and will probably play Lancaster Catholic (section 4 runner up) in the first round of the playoffs. Now, if Garden Spot does find a way to beat CV, there's a bunch of different things that could happen. More on that in a minute.

Listen closely: if E-town wins on Wednesday, they are in the playoffs. Doesn't matter what Cocalico does. If the Bears win, THEY ARE IN. They might not win the section (again, Garden Spot would have to beat CV), but they will be in the playoffs if they win. And if they earn the No. 2 seed from Section Two, they will likely match up with Columbia, who is having an outstanding season. If the Bears lose and Cocalico wins, the Eagles are in and E-town is out.

Now, if CV loses and E-town and Cocalico both win, it gets confusing and, to be honest, I'm not sure if I have it all figured out. That would put all three teams at 9-7. The first tiebreaker would be head to head results and all three teams went 1-1 against each other. Then you would have to go to section record, and E-town would have the edge there at 8-2 with Cocalico and CV being 7-3. My guess is that CV and Cocalico would have to play each other, with the winner earning the right to play E-town for the section title. But we'll cross that bridge if we get there.

My guess is that CV wins the section, and E-town beats Ephrata to get in to the league playoffs. I honestly think that Solanco will beat Cocalico Wednesday to knock the Eagles out.

Just my take, but we'll know for sure on Wednesday.

Hoops showdowns tonight

There are two big games in Section Two tonight that will go a long way in deciding which two teams from the section get into the L-L Playoffs.

Here are the standings as of today:

Conestoga Valley......8-6
Cocalico....................8-6
E-town......................7-7
Solanco.....................5-9
Ephrata.....................5-9
Garden Spot..............1-13

Tonight, Cocalico hosts CV in a game that will, essentially, decide the Section Two title. But the Bears host Solanco tonight and, if they win, would be tied with the loser of the CV/Cocalico game for the final Section Two berth. Now here's where it gets interesting. The Bears would be tied with the CV/Cocalico loser (if they beat Solanco of course) for that second spot, but the tiebreaker would go to section record, in which case E-town would be 7-2 and the CV/Cocalico loser would be 6-3, thus giving the Bears the inside track.

After tonight, E-town wraps up the regular season by travelling to Ephrata on Wednesdsay.
CV hosts Garden Spot and Cocalico hosts Solanco.

So to get right to the point, here's what I'm saying. The way I have it figured out is simple: if E-town wins its final two games, it will make the league playoffs. Period. If the Bears drop one of those two, they will need a lot of help to get in. But they control their own destiny. Win and they're in.

Should be a good one tonight in Daubert Gym, I'll be there.

Wrestling: District 3 team tournament brackets

The District 3 wrestling team tournament brackets are now available at the district's Web site (http://district3.piaa.org). But I have them here for you to save you a click over to there. E-town drew the No. 12 seed (surprising to me... I thought they'd be higher). But they begin things by facing an L-L rival, Warwick. Should be a great match. The winner of the E-town-Warwick matchup will get the winner of No. 4 Big Spring vs. No. 13 Hempfield.

The first round begins at 7 p.m. on Tuesday night (Jan. 29), at the higher seed's school. The quarterfinals will be on Thursday, Jan. 31, at 7 p.m. and will again be at the higher seed's school. The semifinals and finals will be on Saturday, Feb. 2 at Milton Hershey's Spartan Center. The AAA semis are at 2 p.m. and the finals are at 6:30 p.m.

Here's the Round One Bracket, with team seed and record in parentheses:

1. Central Dauphin (13-1) vs. 16. Reading (13-9).
8. Red Lion (17-2) vs. 9. Carlisle (12-4)

5. Warwick (8-0) vs. 12. Elizabethtown (13-3)
4. Big Spring (10-2) vs. 13. Hempfield (16-2)

3. Lower Dauphin (13-2) vs. 14. Dallastown (7-5)
6. Cumberland Valley (12-4) vs. 11. Wilson (16-3)

7. Cedar Cliff (14-3) vs. 10. South Western (8-2)
2. Spring Grove (13-1) vs. 15. Conestoga Valley (12-5).

The winners of the matches that are grouped together will wrestle each other in the next round (ex. the CD/Reading winner wrestles the Red Lion/Carlisle winner, etc, etc.)

So there you have it kids. Enjoy.

Magical ride continues

(Photo by Chris Bradley).

The Elizabethtown wrestling team's dream season continued last night, as the Bears stormed from behind to beat Lampeter-Strasburg and capture their second straight Section Two championship. The win came less than a week after E-town won its first-ever Lancaster-Lebanon League team championship, marking the first time in school history that the team had won league and section titles in the same year.

The atmosphere at last night's match was probably the most electric out of any E-town wrestling match I've ever attended. The fans were absolutely fantastic (with the exception of the guy in the front row who was screaming at L-S' coach to sit down. There was really no need for that, the guy was just arguing for his wrestler. Coaches do that all the time and there's nothing wrong with it. The fan should've kept his focus where it belonged – on the mat. Let the coach do his job). OK, now that I'm down from my soapbox...seriously, the crowd was awesome, and believe me, the wrestlers noticed. After the match, I interviewed Adam Zellman, Shane Rosenberry and Sean McMullen (who is pictured above, by the way), and when I asked each of them about the crowd support, they couldn't help but smile. Great job by the E-town fans.

And you can't say enough about the resolve of this E-town group. The Bears were in a 23-4 hole at one point before Zellman jumpstarted them with a pin at 160. McMullen was completely dominant, getting to wrestle closer to his actual weight at 189 and earning a pin in 20 seconds. Rosenberry bumped up to 215 and was noticeably smaller than L-S' Chris Eldredge, but he wrestled with the energy and passion that he has all season and got a pin.

Also, Alex Kirchner did an amazing job to beat Teddy Force in triple OT. The crowd was going BESERK on that one. What a fun match to watch. If they were at their natural weights, I'd bet that Rosie, McMullen and Kirchner would all be 189 pounders, and darn good ones at that. But it just shows the unselfishness of this group that they are willing to wrestle wherever they are needed and give the coaching staff and their teammates 100 percent for every single match, no matter how much weight they are giving up.

Congratulations to the Bears, who will have to wait until Sunday for District Three to announce the team tournament brackets. I'll try and post them as soon as I get them, but you can visit the district's web site for yourself if you choose. Just follow the link on the right hand side of this page.

This and That

Hello everyone. This morning, there's certainly been a lot going on in the past two days or so in the world of sports – both in E-town and on the national stage. I need a space to give updates, state my opinions and, occasionally, vent. That's what "This and That" is all about. By the way, I have yet to come up with a better name for this portion of the ol' blog. Just one of those things I guess. One day, while I'm in the shower or playing Xbox, it'll hit me. And then I'll forget it.

OK, moving on. Here's some news about the E-town sports scene:
EAHS Boys Basketball:
Boy oh boy, these Bears continue to surprise me. Well, not really that it's surprising that they are in the hunt for league and district playoffs...maybe I should use "impress." Yeah, that sounds better. E-town won its fifth straight game last night, beating a pretty good Cumberland Valley team by five points. Here's a little tidbit for you: the Bears are in the midst of a five-game winning streak – they won four games all of last season. Hmm....I'd say that's improvement.

Quinn Cozzens paced E-town with 24 points, including three 3-pointers. Cozzens has had an excellent season so far, but it just seems like this team fits together like jigsaw puzzle. Every player is a piece and when they're all on the same page, they all bring something to the table that makes the team that much more successful. When Cozzens and Chad Styer are open outside and nailing threes or long jumpers, it's usually because big men Nate Koach and Kyle McNeil are either commanding extra attention inside or setting great screens. And once the outside shooters get hot and drawing defenses out to them, Koach and McNeil have a field day in the paint. Add that to Jordan Hallman's emergence as a steady point guard and you can see whey they've reached 11 wins already. And they have depth: Nate McCurdy, Mike O'Shea and Brad Garber can all come off the bench and contribute. Anyone who has ever been around organized basketball at any level will tell you how important that is to the success of a team

They feed off of each other, with each player doing his part, and it's working. The Bears got away from that a little bit in the first half on Tuesday night against Conestoga Valley, but they responded by executing the gameplan in the second half, and you could see the difference. Now they have to sustain it. That's the key. They haven't clinched anything yet. Sure, they're close to league and district playoff berths (that Cumberland Valley last night was a major boost for their district status), but they don't have them yet. And they know it. This team has an excellent attitude and they all have good heads on their shoulders, so they know what's left for them to do. We'll know a lot more after their next two games: Friday vs. Garden Spot and Monday vs. Solanco.

Whew, that was a mouth full....

PGA Golf
Call me crazy, but I love watching the PGA. Love it. And I couldn't be more excited that my man Tiger's playing this week. I also love that Tiger's now talking a little bit of trash to the field, saying yesterday that the Grand Slam (winning all four majors in the same year) is "easily within reach." Remember, this has never been done before in the history of golf. I've followed Tiger's career intently since he first came onto the scene. Hey, I was in high school and just getting into golf and he was young and full of energy. Who else was I going to become a fan of, Ben Crenshaw? I'll admit that after his dominating performance at the 97 Masters, I was pumped, but I never imagined what kind of golfer he would become over the next 10 years or so. You can't help but be impressed by what he's done. But Tiger has never been one to say much about how great he really is. that's why his statement yesterday was great in my opinion. He basically told the world's best golfers, "you guys are good, but I'm better. You can't beat me and there's really nothing you can do about it." good times.

NFL
Forget the Super Bowl for a minute, I need to vent about my team, the Washington Redskins. Joe Gibbs retired a few weeks ago, leading everyone to believe that owner Dan Snyder would hire defensive coordinator (well, he's actually associate head coach - defense, but the Skins' ridiculous titles for their coaches is another post in itself) Gregg Williams to replace him as HC. He was hand-picked by Gibbs (a man who has more power in our nation's capitol than that Bush fella) to be the heir apparent. He was groomed for four years. He had plenty of players publically declaring that he should be the next head coach. So what does Snyder do? Basically he's overlooking him and is likely going to hire Jim Fassel. JIM FASSEL. Whaaaat? Not only that, but he's going to replace offensive guru Al Saunders (whose 700 page playbook was FINALLY being mastered by Jason Campbell and the Redskin offense after two years) and will likely need a new defensive guy after he passes Williams over for the promotion. Snyder, that sniveling weasel, sat there at the Gibbs press conference and preached continuity, and continuing what the team has been building on, and now he's going to overhaul THE ENTIRE COACHING STAFF? Baffling.

Now that my blood is boiling, I'd better end this post and go eat some lunch.

Cheers.

Cassebaum up for Hall of Fame

I was just checking out my man Barry Ford's Columbia sports blog, Tide Talk, (which is fantastic by the way. Barry's very much in the know about the local sports scene. Check it out over at http://www3.allaroundphilly.com/blogs/chronicleledger/tidetalk/blog.html. Sorry I don't know how to make a direct link. I don't know much, and HTML code is among those things). Anyway, Barry is a member of the Susquehanna Valley Chapter of the PA Sports Hall of Fame and posted this year's ballot.

One name that stuck out to me was Jack Cassebaum, former EAHS head football coach. If you're reading this blog, I'm guessing you all know who Jack is. But if you don't, I can tell you that he was a fantastic coach and an even better human being. Jack cares very much about the young athletes in this community and you'll still see him at football and basketball games. I've gotten to know Coach over the past few years, and I hope he gets in. He deserves it.

For the rest of the ballot, check out Tide Talk. Here's the URL again:

http://www3.allaroundphilly.com/blogs/chronicleledger/tidetalk/blog.html

Here they come...

Wanted to post something quickly for you tonight. Just got back from a very loud Daubert Gymnasium, where the E-town boys basketball team pulled out a HUGE win tonight over Conestoga Valley. CV had a two game lead over the Bears in Section Two going into tonight, and that win puts E-town in a tie for second place and just a game out of first with just a couple of section games left.

Chad Styer was huge tonight for the Bears, making big shot after big shot to bring E-town back for the win. Tonight reminded me what is fun and great about high school hoops. Two good teams in a dogfight, matching each other every time down the court. Mix in a few big 3's, a clutch steal by Jordan Hallman, and a great student section and this one was an instant classic.

E-town didn't have its best stuff tonight offensively, and they know it, but they proved that they can win (and beat a good team) when they don't necessarily have their A game. And that, lads and lasses, is what separates playoff-caliber teams from mediocre ones.

That much I know – and knowing is half the battle. GI Joe will never steer you wrong.

Movin' on up

With all of the wrestling stuff happening over the weekend, I may have overlooked the huge win the EAHS boys basketball team earned on Friday night, beating Cocalico 62-48.

The loss knocked the Eagles (6-6 league) out of first place and pulled the Bears (5-7 league) into a tie for third place and just a game out of second. A matchup with first place Conestoga Valley (7-5) looms tomorrow night for the Bears. A win there would put them in second place in the section, which would be huge for their playoff hopes.

I'll be there tomorrow night in Daubert Gym for the big game.

Wrestling match change

Just got a fax from EAHS. E-town's scheduled wrestling match with Lancaster Catholic has been moved from Feb. 2 to Feb. 8. The JV will begin at 6:30 p.m. and the varsity will start at 7:30 p.m.

Breaking news....Bears win Leagues

Just got back from Manheim Township, where the E-town Bears won the Lancaster-Lebanon League tournament, beating out Hempfield and Warwick for the team crown.

It is the first time in the 14-year history of the tournament that E-town has been crowned the team champ. Blake Rosenberger was E-town's only individual champion, winning the 145-pound weight class.

I'll have plenty more on this Monday, just wanted to post a quick update for all of those who were curious and didn't make it to Neffsville tonight.

Congrats to head coach Mike Sernoffsky and the rest of the Bears. Job well done.


On a side note, my Maryland Terps went to North Carolina this afternoon and walked out with a shocking win over the No. 1 and previously unbeaten Tar Heels in college basketball. That's what I'm talking about Terps. Fear the turtle, baby. Fear. The. Turtle.

That's all for tonight, E-town, until Monday, enjoy the NFL games tomorrow and, as always, stay classy.

Cheers.

L-L Tournament matchups

OK, here's the skinny on the league wrestling tournament today:
The first round begins at 4 p.m. at Manheim Township. Today, the wrestling will include pigtails, the first round, quarterfinals and the first round of consolations.

Action picks back up tomorrow at 10 a.m. with more consolations. Semifinals are scheduled to kick off at 11:30 a.m. And the fifth, third and first-place bouts will all take place following the L-L Hall of Fame inductions at 4;30 p.m. Personally, I think it's an awful idea to run the 1st, 3rd and 5th place bouts simultaneously. Not only because it makes it more difficult for me to cover, but because it takes away from the kids – and that's the most important thing. The championship matches should be the ONLY matches happening in the gym when they are up. Those kids earned it. From what I understand, this was Township's decision (that's not confirmed, just hearsay). If that's the case, I feel like they are making a mistake.

Anyway, onto the first round matchups. Forgive me if I don't know the first name of an E-town opponent. All I was given was last names and I don't know all of the other wrestlers' first names.

103 – Matt Hoover, E-town, (18-4, 3 pins) vs. the winner of the May, Cocalico, and O'Malley, Garden Spot.
* The favorite in this bracket has to be Ortiz from McCaskey. I've seen him for a couple years now, and he's going to be tough to beat. Hoover's only a freshman though, so this will be a good measuring stick for him.
112 – Calvin Anderton, E-town, (20-4, 4 pins) vs. Sullivan, Solanco.
* Anderton has had a great season, but the Stoltz kids from Township is really good. Calvin could open some eyes though.
119 – Antonio Rodriguez, E-town, (7-15, 1 pin) vs. Quinn, Warwick.
* This is a pigtail matchup. The winner of this bout gets second-seeded Aspril, of L-S.
125 – Kyle Morrow, E-town, (5-16) vs. Evan, Ephrata.
* Another pigtail matchup. The winner here gets the top seed, Warwick's Pearsall.
130 – Chapis, Warwick, vs. Justin Lewis, E-town (10-6, 3 pins).
* Lewis is a scrappy wrestler with a pretty decent record, but I'm predicting Donegal's Grove wins this bracket. Just a hunch.
135 – Oliver Thayer, E-town, (21-2, 2 pins) vs. the winner of Wager, Manheim Twp, and Webber, Cocalico.
* The Big O is the top seed in this bracket. He hasn't lost a dual meet match, but has 2 losses in tournaments. I expect him to be wrestling in the finals.
140 – Robby Townsley, E-town, (6-6, 2 pins), vs. Hamid, CV.
* I'd be shocked if Garden Spot's Aaron Yohn didn't win this bracket. The kid is very good. Townsley could surprise a few people and place high in this bracket, though.
145 – Blake Rosenberger, E-town (21-2, 3 pins), vs. the winner of Haitos, Lebanon and Ki. Kinderwater, Manheim Twp.
* Blake's the top seed here. He is one of the best wrestlers (arguably the best) on a very strong E-town team. Expect him to be in the finals.
152 – Zach Myers, E-town, (1-5) vs. Weatherholtz, Elco.
* Pigtail matchup here. The winner gets Graeff, of L-S. This is usually Zac Distasio's weight class, but he's not in the tournament. Haven't gotten word yet if it is an injury, or what is happening with Zac, but Myers, a sophomore, will be E-town's 152 pounder.
160 – Adam Zellman, E-town, (18-5, 5 pins), vs. Gieniec, PM and Belousov, Ephrata winner.
* Zellman has pretty quietly put together an outstanding campaign this year. He could finish very high in this bracket, but I like Sweigart from Donegal. That kid is so tall for a 160 pounder that he has a definite advantage.
171 – Travis Lever, E-town, (21-2, 4 pins), vs. winner of Fowler, L-S, and Hinerman, GS.
* Travis is the 2-seed in this bracket (Ephrata's Blake Crowther is the top seed). If he can get to the finals against Crowther, it will be a fantastic matchup.
189 – Shane Rosenberry, E-town (21-1, 7 pins) vs. winner of Ueberroth, Cocalico and Felus, Columbia.
* Rosie is the 2 seed in this bracket. The Giorgio kid from Warwick is an absolute beast and the top seed. Should Shane make the finals (and he should), he'll have his hands full with him.
215 – Sean McMullen, E-town, (13-5, 4 pins) vs. winner of Stuckey, Cedar Crest and Torres, McCaskey.
* The obvious favorite here is Central's Jordan Enck (who I believe will be a state champion this year). McMullen is giving up weight to almost everyone, but he has the ability and strength to get far.
285 – Alex Kirchner, E-town, (15-9, 2 pins) vs. Force, L-S.
* Kirchner is another kid giving up a lot of weight in this class. But he's strong and he's quick, and that could propel him to a top-five finish.

There you have it. Enjoy the tournament.

In the Driver's Seat

Well, well, well, I certainly didn't see this one coming. Manheim Central beat Lampeter-Strasburg (we're talking about wrestling by the way) last night and put the Bears (6-0 leage, 12-3 overall) in sole possession of first place in Section Two. L-S drops into a second place tie with CV and Central is still hanging around.

Next Thursday's matchup with L-S is still huge for E-town, but at least the Bears know now that they control their own destiny. Heck, they clinched at least a tie for the section title with a win over Garden Spot last night coupled with the L-S loss. Beat the Pioneers next Thursday, and they'll repeat as section champs.

But first things first, the Bears need to take care of business tomorrow and Saturday at the L-L League Tournament. Last year, they had a great outing, finishing fourth. I think they are up there with Warwick and Hempfield in terms of the teams to beat this year. Warwick is very, very tough, as is Hempfield, but the winner of the tournament should be one of those three schools, and there's no reason to think that the Bears can't take the whole enchilada. Time will tell, I suppose.

I'm trying to get my paws on the first round matchups of tomorrow's tournament. When I do, I'll post them along with any insight I have.

Bears roll

I was in Daubert Gymnasium to watch E-town take on Penn Manor last night and, once again, walked out of the gym wondering how in the heck E-town isn't leading Section Two. Granted, I haven't seen every team in Section Two play yet, but I've seen E-town enough times to know that they can play with anybody in the section, and certainly can beat all five other teams.

They really are a fun team to watch run and up down the court, mainly because of the athleticism that oozes from them. Just one schlub's opinion, but if I were the rest of Section Two, I'd be wary of these Bears.

Here are the standings as of today:
Cocalico....................6-5
Conestoga Valley.......6-5
Ephrata.....................4-6
E-town......................4-7
Solanco.....................4-7
Garden Spot..............1-10

As insane as it may seem, this thing is still very, very much up in the air....sort of reminds me of the last three NFC playoff berths in November and December. Anything can happen, mainly because there are still five more section games to play. Remember, the top two teams in the section make the playoffs, so the Bears will likely need some help from other teams, even if they go 5-0 against the section this time around. But trust me, I've seen crazier things happen.

For E-town, though, they have to be looking at Friday as a must win. They travel to Cocalico to face the Eagles and have to still be bitter about that 39-38 loss they suffered to Cocalico earlier in the year. The bottom line is that everything is still up in the air right now, which means the Bears aren't out of it yet. Should be a fun finishing stretch here.

L-L Tourney wrestling times

Just got confirmation of the L-L Tournament wrestling times this weekend from EASD athletic director Shane Piper.

Wrestling begins on Friday, Jan. 18 at 4 p.m.
Saturday's bouts will begin at 10 a.m. with the championship matches scheduled to get underway at 5 p.m.

Again, the tournament is at Manheim Township High School. Here are directions from E-town:
• Take 283 East to the Route 722 exit.
• At top of exit ramp, turn left.
• Follow 722 to the Route 501 intersection.
• At intersection, turn left onto 501.
• Take first right onto school campus.

If anyone knows an easier way, feel free to post it in the comments.

This and That

Well, what a weekend it was. Four good football games, a memorable press conference (much more on this later), and one of the worst commercials two professional athletes have every agreed to be in. Oh, and there was plenty of E-town sports action as well. And since this is an E-town sports blog, we'll start with that.

Not a great Friday night for the EAHS boys basketball team. The Bears managed just 29 points (including two in the fourth quarter) and were blown out of the gym by Hempfield 53-29. They fell to 3-7 in league play, one game behind Solanco and Ephrata for third place in Section two, and two games behind CV for second place. There is still time for them to make a move, but E-town certainly can't afford another performance like the one it had on Friday night.

The E-town wrestling team was solid at this weekend's Central Mountain Duals. The Bears were without a few kids, but they should be healthy entering this weekend's L-L League Tournament at Manheim Township on Friday and Saturday. I haven't nailed down a specific starting time yet, but I'll post it as soon as I know. I'm excited to check out Township's new gym. I've heard it's out of this world. Should be fun.

Congrats go out to Bob Schlosser and Co. for their continued success this season. The E-town College Blue Jays just picked up the program's 900th win and are trucking along with only one loss so far this season. Check out the Chronicle (hopefully this week) for a feature on the team. Keep it up Jays.

Four pretty good games in the NFL this weekend, eh? Things got off to a great start with the Packers-Seahawks game in a blizzard in Green Bay. What an atmosphere. Glad to see Favre in the conference title game, and would love to see him in the Super Bowl. Who wouldn't? You know, besides Giants fans.

Speaking of the G-men, what an upset they pulled over Dallas. Putting my pure disdain for everything Cowboys aside (hey, I'm a Skins fan, it's understandable), I have to admit I didn't think they'd lose that game. Apparently, neither did owner Jerry Jones, who took the liberty of giving his players two extra tickets each for the NFC Championship game, before they even took the field against the Giants. Oops. Tony Romo looked like a guy in his first full year as a starter, and people might want to hold off on their Canton plans for him for a little bit. Oh yeah, and then there was TO crying. Yes, crying. Crying! I couldn't help but laugh at him. I mean, I guess it's good that he cares that much about the team and all ... but crying? Really? Fannnn-tastic.

Jacksonville gave the Pats a little bit of a game, but they are just too good. Simple as that. And then the Jags have the nerve to trash talk Tom Brady AFTER he picked them apart? Baffling.

The Chargers also pulled an upset yesterday, beating Peyton and the Colts. In Indy. Without Tomlinson. With Billy Volek at the helm. With Norv Turner as their coach. Woooow. So does that mean last year was an aberration for Peyton? Does he still not have what it takes in the big games? Hmm....

Ahhh...and then there was the Oreos commercial starring the Manning brothers (I know, shocker). Seriously one of the absolute worst commercials I've ever seen. Is there NOTHING Peyton won't agree to endorse? It's just doubtful to me that you'd see the other "faces" of their respective sports (guys like Jordan, Tom Brady, Sid the Kid, Jeter) be in a commercial like that. Learn how to say no Peyton. Conversely, the Coors Light commerical with Dennis Green just pretty much laughing at everything in the fake press conference is hilarious.

My picks for this weekend: Pats and Pack. Yeah, I know I'm a risk taker.

Crossover games

The Section Two teams matched up with Section One last night (the first of three straight crossover games for the Bears). Here's what went down:
• McCaskey beat up on Cocalico, 73-61. Cocalico is in first place in Section Two and McCaskey is leading Section One. Want proof that the Bears can beat anyone in the section? They hung right with the Tornado, whereas Cocalico was lucky to get within 12. Granted, it's much later in the season and McCaskey is in a groove right now, but still.
• Hempfield blew Conestoga Valley out of the gym, beating them by 25. CV is ahead of the Bears by a game in the section standings (more on those in a minute), and the Bears get Hempfield tomorrow. Should be a good measuring stick to see where they are.
• The team that is tied with Hempfield for second in Section One right now, Cedar Crest, snuck by E-town 64-58 thanks to some good free throw shooting down the stretch by Chris Keith. The Bears played pretty well in this one from what I can gather, but just came up short. But again, they hung right with one of the best teams in Section One, as they've done all season. Something tells me that if they were to play Warwick and Manheim Township again, the outcome might be different.
• Ephrata snuck by Warwick and Solanco beat Manheim Township by 23 (the Streaks only scored 13 points in the first half). Remember, E-town is fresh off blowout wins over Ephrata and Solanco. So you could look at that as the Bears are much better than their record, or that forecasting L-L basketball is crapshoot and anybody can beat anybody on any given night.

Here are the updated Section Two standings after last night's games. Needless to say, the next two games for E-town (@ Hempfield tomorrow, home vs. 4-5 Penn Manor Tuesday) are pretty huge in the grand scheme of things, especially considering they have a showdown with Cocalico next Friday night.

Cocalico............6-3 league 10-6 overall
CV.....................4-5 league 8-7 overall
Ephrata..............4-5 league 5-10 overall
Solanco.............3-6 league 7-8 overall
E-TOWN............3-6 league 6-9 overall
Garden Spot.......1-8 league 1-14 overall

It's pretty safe to say that the Section Two title, with the exception of Garden Spot, is still very much up for grabs. But it's crunch time right now, and it's time to see which of these teams will come through down the stretch. Anything could happen.

Testing the waters

Hello out there. Now that this blog is a tad more established (and that's probably being generous), I figured I'd give something a shot. You see, I'd like for the blog to become interactive with you, and I want to find a way to get more of your thoughts into it.

So I'm proposing a (shameless knockoff of Bill Simmons here) "mailbag" entry once a month – although I will do more if the demand is there. What it would entail is you readers sending me questions, thoughts, comments – really anything you want – via email and I'll print them here (you can submit your email and sign it with an alias, and that's what I'll use if you'd like) and give my response.

If you have a question about sports, a joke about sports, really anything at all about sports (local or national), shoot it to me at sports.etown@gmail.com. I'll compile them and crank out a monthly mailbag column. It could be fun, real fun.

So if there's something you would like to say (remember, you can use an alias here, you don't need to give me your real name. However you sign the email is how I'll print it), shoot it to me and we'll try and get some interaction going here. The only thing I ask is that there be no obscenities. Hey, we're a family blog here at From the Sidelines.

So what say you readers? Are you up for it? I hope so.

This and that

From time to time here on The Sideline, I'll give you my version of "This and That" (I know, the creative juices must really be flowing today for me to come up with such a captivating name. This is where I'll basically fill you in with more E-town sports happenings than you could possibly fathom (ahem, sarcasm), and even try to throw in a tad bit of wit to keep you entertained along the way. Afterward, picture me screaming at you like Russel Crowe in "Gladiator," "ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED? ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?" Or picture me having my hand blugeoned with a hammer so that I don't type any more lame jokes on this blog. Your choice.

Anywho, E-town, onwards and upwards. Here, lads and lasses, is the very first installment of This and That:

EAHS Wrasslin':

That's Travis Leber, E-town's 171-pounder. Yeah, he's strong.
The Bears continue to impress me, checking in this week with two more section victories following their win at the Donegal Holiday Tourney in late December. E-town beat Manheim Central Thursday and completely dismantled Cocalico Saturday to go to 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the section.

Manheim did give the Bears everything they could handle, however. Oliver Thayer came through in the clutch with a huge tech fall that pretty much clinched it for E-town.

I'll admit that in Maryland (where I'm from for those who didn't know), the sport of wrestling is almost a nonfactor. We had about five kids on my high school varsity team (not kidding) and I never went to one match in my four years there. I'm not knocking the sport, it's just that some sports are bigger than others in different areas of the country. For example, my HS was a huuuuuge basketball school, so they got the lion's share of the attention. So when I moved to Elizabethtown to work here, it took me a little while to learn the sport of wrestling. You can imagine how I felt when I attended my very first wrestling match EVER, and then had to write about it. Bad times. The only wrestling I had ever seen before involved George the Animal Steele and Jake The Snake Roberts. But over the past four years, I've really developed an interest in the sport and am finally starting to understand it a little. I used to wonder how in the world the crowd knew to yell "TWOOOOOOO" at the ref, but I finally know how to tell when a takedown has happened. Hey, I'm learning, and if any of you would like to take some time and explain the intricies of the sport to me, I'm all ears.

Sorry, got a little off track there. Back to the Bears. They continue to wrestle solid up and down the lineup and I think that's what helps them. If they fall behind, they have guys capable of getting big points and bringing them back into the match. Plus I'm a sucker for the Mike Sernoffsky clap. I love the intensity. Love it.

Girls Basketball
For those who don't know, Becca Bigler is one heck of an athlete. I've written about Becca, or "Bigs" as the EAHS announcer calls her, for a couple of years now and she impresses me in every sport. Friday night against Solanco, she was relentless, attacking the boards, playing aggressively and scoring a lot of points. The only downside is that her aggressive play tends to get her in foul trouble. But Mike Pericci's Baby Bears are coming along and are getting better every time they take the court. L-L teams might want to enjoy beating E-town now because it might not last too much longer.

I was a little distracted on Friday night, though, by the pimp suit being sported by Solanco's coach. All white. Yeah, that's right. What a show. Good stuff.

Boys Hoops
Look out, here they come. The Bears have woken up a bit in 08 and have now won three straight, climbing back to within two games of .500. I predicted 12 wins this year for them, and they are at five with 11 games left. I'm standing by my earlier statement that this could be a team that makes a great run for an LL playoff spot in the second half of the year.

Right now, they are a game out of second place, trailing Ephrata and CV by a game. They play Ephrata tonight. I love the athleticism E-town has – Quinn Cozzens, Chad Styer, Nate Koach, Kyle McNeil, Mike O'Shea are all good players. Plus Jordan Hallman has been contributing points, which is huge for E-town. With a little confidence, this team could make some noise. Just one schlub's opinion.

Bowling
Big match today for the Bears, who are sitting at 20-4 overall and 16-4 in league play. they lost a key one to L-S on Friday, but Etown is still in the hunt for the section crown, and they proved last year that they can't be counted out until the last match of the season.

E-town College men's basketball
Well, the Jays finally lost a game this year and are 10-1, which is remarkable. Bob Schlosser and his staff have done a fantastic job so far this season and has the program two wins away from 900. Wow.

I haven't been able to see them yet this year, unfortunately. Still waiting on that scientist to finish my clone so that I can make it to more events to cover. Alas, it's a work in progress.

Playing catch up

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope you all had a safe, enjoyable New Year's Eve and that you are still sticking by your New Year's resolutions (my resolution of eating healthier begins AFTER the NFL playoffs. Sorry, but I just can't enjoy watching my Redskins while munching on carrot sticks. I need some hot wings or chili or something like that. And lots of it).

Now that the holidays are beyond us and everything is running on a much more regulated schedule, especially here in Newspaper Land, let me catch up with how the E-town teams in action over the holiday break fared at their respective holiday tournaments.

WRESTLING

The Bears were in the Donegal Holiday Tournament on Friday and Saturday and looked good, sending eight kids to the finals, winning three individual titles, and winning the team standings.

Shane Rosenberry, above (awesome photo by Chris Bradley), was an absolute monster in this thing. He had five matches total and earned five pins in a TOTAL time of 2:59. I still think he was robbed of OW in the tourney (although Middletown's Chris Kochinsky is a beast), but great effort by Shane at 189 pounds, especially in the finals, where he picked up a pin in less than 30 seconds. Blake Rosenberger wrestled a great match against Aaron Yohn (who is pretty darn good) in the finals and picked up a decision to win the 145 title. And Travis Leber, who is brutally strong and rocks a devastating arm bar, continued his great season by winning the 171 class. Combined, Leber, Roseberry and Rosenberger have a 39-4 combined record. Wow.

Definite props should go to Sean McMullen and Alex Kirchner as well. McMullen was second at 215 and Kirchner was second at 285 despite both obviously giving up tons of weight. I don't know their exact weights, but if either of these kids weigh more than 200 pounds, I'd be amazed. What they are doing this year while wrestling kids much, much heavier than they are is astounding.

While I'm in the mood to give out props, great tournaments by Oliver Thayer, Matty Hoover, Zac Distasio and Kyle Morrow as well. Morrow came out of nowhere to make it to the finals at 125 as a six seed. Great job by him, good for you Kyle.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Break 'em up! Chad Styer, above (photo by Randy Dininni), and the Bears are riding a two game winning streak after beating Garden Spot last night. E-town lost its first game in the West Shore tournament over the break, but rebounded to beat Penn Manor in the consolation game on Friday night and beat Garden Spot by 13 last night, thanks to 12 points from Quinn Cozzens and 11 each from Styer and Jordan Hallman.
E-town is now 4-7 overall and 1-5 in league play, but I'm not giving up on them yet. I really think this is one of the better teams in Section Two and that they can make a late season run at a playoff spot. It's too soon to say if the hole they are in is too big to dig out of, but I know they'll give it one heck of a shot.
We'll know much more about their position this time next week. E-town's next two games (tomorrow and Monday) are against Ephrata and Solanco, both Section Two teams. Two wins there are the Bears are back in this thing.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Becca Bigler, above (photo by Randy DininnI), went beserk on Friday night in the Hershey Holiday Classic and led E-town to its first win of the season. Bigs had 19 points and 20 boards and the Bears whooped Greencastle-Antrim 59-31 in the consolation game of the tournament.
E-town was held to just a point in the second half last night, though, against Garden Spot and lost to the Spartans 28-16. Puzzling.
The Baby Bears are extremely young, so it'll be another year or so before they are in the mix, but the experience they are getting this season is going to be very, very, very valuable.

That's all for now, E-town. I'll be at the wrestling match tonight, the girls basketball game tomorrow night, and the boys basketball game on Monday, so feel free to come over and say hi.

Stay classy Elizabethtown.

Cheers.

Davis is All-State

I'm a little behind posting this, my apologies, but here is the story we ran in the Chronicle on Dec. 20 about Peter Davis being named to the All-State team:

Peter Davis' senior soccer season at Elizabethtown Area High School was certainly one filled with memories.

There were some tough times – like starting out 0-2-1, losing a heartbreaker in double overtime in the Lancaster-Lebaanon League semifinals, losing another tough game in overtime in teh district Three playoffs and battling the entire season despite the Bears being depleted by injuries. But all of those things helped make davis one of the best players in the state of Pennsylvania.

"The big one that sticks out in my mind is losing captain Tyler Aldinger to a broken leg in the preseason," Davis said. "Our team still managed to become even more riddled with injuries. Although these were definitely a setback, they kept me focued on what had to be done this season."

Focused he was.

Despite the rash of injuries that struck the Bears, and defenses keying on Davis every game, he still managed to score 19 goals and dish out 12 assists in 19 games, which led to plenty of good memories.

There was the six-game win streak the Bears embarked on in the middle of the season. There was the three-game winning streak to close the season that clinched them a share of the Section Two crown, and the 2-1 win over Lancaster Mennonite in the L-L playoffs. And through it all, Davis was a constant when it came to terrorizing opposing defenses and goalkeepers.

His hard work was rewarded recently, and he received another good memory to add to his mental scrapbook, when he was named to the Pennsylvania All-State Team as a forward.

"It feels great to be named to the all-state team, especially when there were only three nominations sent out of the entire league," he said. "I know that I really wanted the honor that it was a possibility, but I didn't want to get my hopes up too high just in case it did not happen."

But it happened for Davis, who led the Bears to an 11-win season. Davis has been a key player for the Bears throughout his high school career, but took the next step this year to become a great player, mainly by improving his game from a mental standpoint.

"I really worked hard this year on improving my self discipline and with that, my game has been greatly affected," he said. "My skills have improved little when compared to the progress I have made mentally. Studying and just watching soccer more in-depth has made me a much smarter player."

Davis' improved mental game helpd make him a team leader this season as well – something the Bears certainly needed when it came ot the mountain of adversity the team had to overcome. But Davis stepped up to the challenge and guided his team to a great season, leading by example. He played hard all the time and never gave up, traits that the other players also possessed.

"I've heard a lot of different explanations for our success this season, but I think that it was our determination to make something positive out of all the injuries and mishaps that occurred," he said. "When things don't look like they're going to go your way, you have to do something to make them go your way and that takes a lot of heart and desire. The key in a team sport is working as a team, and the instant that one player pulls himself away from the team, everything falls apart."

In fact, Davis credits his teammates for his success as much as he does himself.

"Being a great player depends almost as much on your teammates as it does on yourself," he said.

When he wasn't busy tearing up soccer fields across the league, Davis was moonlighting as the kicker for the EAHS football team, and developed into a reliable player, connecting on field goals and extra points at a rapid pace for the high-scoring Bears.

Of course, all of that work causes bumps and bruises to build up, but Davis said that the school's trainer, Brandy Sweezy, was there to help him with a "countless number of ankle wraps and bags of ice."

Davis said he also became a better player because of EAHS head coach James Sostack and Celso Torrez, his club team coach. But, above his teammates, coaches and trainer, Davis gave credit to his parents.

"I would most of all like to thank my parnents for the endless support that could not have come from anywhere else," he said.

With his soccer scrapbook filled thanks to his latest accomplishment, Davis now turns his attention to the EAHS swim team, where he is a captain.

Time to fill another scrapbook with memories before moving on to the next challenge.