Bears get back on track against Mifflin

The EAHS boys basketball team hasn't had to bounce back from a loss very often this year. And doing that in the regular season is always tough. Doing it in a must-win situation after losing the league title game in overtime is even tougher. But that's exactly what the Bears did last night, beating Governor Mifflin 67-57 in the first round of the District Three Quad-A playoffs.

In the first quarter, it looked as if last Friday's loss was a distant memory for the Bears. They came out blazing from 3-point range and playing fantastic defense. With 5:09 left in the first quarter, E-town held a 5-4 lead, and then went on a 14-0 run over the next four minutes to lead 19-4. During that run, 12 of E-town's points came on 3-pointers (one each by Chad Styer and Quinn Cozzens and two by Andrew Placeres). And Jeremi Jones capped the quarter with the Bears' sixth trey of the period with six seconds left to put E-town up 22-6 after one.

In the second quarter, though, Mifflin began to close the gap, behind super quick guard Justin Rodriguez. Rodriguez scored his teams final 10 points of the half and the last eight points overall, as the Mustangs trimmed the E-town lead to five (32-27) at halftime.

But E-town just kept coming, and began to pull away in the third. The Bears again picked up the defensive pressure and forced seven Mifflin turnovers in the third en route to outscoring the Mustangs 20-7 in the quarter.

Credit to Mifflin, they never gave up and continued to battle in the fourth, but E-town was just too much. As they have been all season, E-town was led by Cozzens, Styer, Placeres, Jones, Kyle McNeil and Bradley Garber. E-town's top six shared the ball well, and are just so comfortable together that they almost make it look easy at times.

And for the second straight year, they will be playing at the Giant Center with a chance to clinch a state playoff berth. They will take on No. 6 CD East on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. East beat E-town earlier this season. We'll have a full preview of the game in the morning, once I finish digging up some more information on them.

Here are the Bears' stat lines from Wednesday night. Fantastic game by Cozzens, by the way.

Quinn Cozzens – 16 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals.
Chad Styer – 16 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists.
Kyle McNeil – 10 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal.
Andrew Placeres – 8 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal.
Bradley Garber – 6 points, 1 rebound, 1 block, 2 steals.
Jordan Hoover – 6 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal.
Jeremi Jones – 5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist.

District Three Triple A Wrestling Brackets

Here's a look at the District Three Class AAA brackets for the tournament, which begins tomorrow at Hersheypark Arena. For the full brackets, please click here.

Before we get started, here is a schedule for the weekend. I'll give you the Double A and Triple A schedules. Remember though, E-town is Triple A, so don't show up during the Double A times and expect to see an E-town wrestler.

Friday, Feb. 20:
Class AA
Championship I: 10 to 11:30 a.m.
Championship II: 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
Consolation I: 12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Class AAA
Championship I: 4 to 6:30 p.m.
Consolation I: 6:30 to 9:15 p.m.
Championship II: 6:30 to 9:15 p.m.
Consolation II: 9:15 to 10:30 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 21
Class AA
Championship III: 9 to 11 a.m.
Consolation II: 9 to 11 a.m.
Consolation III/5th place: 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

Class AAA
Championship III: 1 to 3 p.m.
Consolation III: 1 to 3 p.m.
Consolation IV: 3 to 3:45 p.m.

Class AA and AAA
Consolation Finals: 5 to 6:15 p.m.
Parade of Champions: 6:15 to 6:30 p.m.
Championship Finals: 6:30 to 9:15 p.m.

OK, now let's look at the brackets for each of E-town's six district qualifiers.

103 – Matt Hoover (32-4)

First round bout: vs. Nate Williams, freshman, Dover (23-5). Williams is the second seed from Section 5.
From there: If Hoover beats Williams, he'll likely get Section Two top seed Shyheim Brown (37-5), of Central Dauphin.

112 – Calvin Anderton (25-6)

First Round bout: Kevin Gooding, sophomore, Central Daupin (30-8). Gooding is the top seed from Section Two.
From there: Anderton faces a tall order against Gooding in the first round, but should he pull an upset, he'll get the winner between Ephrata's Austin Wealand (14-16) and Central York's Andrew Wesner (18-10).

125 – Jeremy Rivera (32-6)

First Round Bout: vs. Jonathan Childress, senior, Dallastown (26-3). Childress is the top seed from Section 5.
From There: First things first, Rivera needs to get by Childress, a section champ. But if he's able to do that, he'll get the winner of Bobby Manning, West Perry (28-8) and Taylor Stuart, Lower Dauphin (25-9).

160 – Adam Zellman (34-7)

First Round bout: vs. Luke Etter, senior, Big Spring (27-10). Etter is the second seed from Section 1.
From there: Should Zellman get past Etter, he'll likely get Section 2 top seed Kenny Courts (36-3), of Central Dauphin.

189 – Shane Rosenberry (33-5)

First Round bout: Matt Zdradzinski, junior, CD East (8-6). Zdradzinski is the fourth seed from Section Two. Rosenberry is the No. 2 overall seed in the bracket.
From there: With a first round win, Rosenberry would get the winner of South Western's Drew Sneeringer (26-9) and Wilson's Chris Spayd (6-3). Rosenberry is looking to return to the state tournament for the second straight year.

285 – Alex Kirchner (28-8)

First Round bout: Right off the bat, Kircher will have to deal with Section 5 top seed Keith Dahlheimer, a senior from Red Lion with a 31-4 record.
From there: Should Kirchner upset Dahlheimer, he'll get the winner between Elco's Nate Bicher (33-7) and Cedar Cliff's Ryan Collins (26-8).

Advanced tickets for district basketball playoffs

Elizabethtown Area High School will be selling tickets in the school office today and tomorrow for Saturday's E-town/CD East District Three Quad-A semifinal matchup. The game is at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Giant Center in Hershey.

Tickets are for sale in the main office of the high school during school hours (about 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.).

Of course, you can get tickets at the Giant Center if you wish, but if you don't want to wait in line at the ticket booth, head over to the high school and pick some up.

Back later with a preview of the game, a recap of E-town's win over Governor Mifflin last night, and also a look at the District Three wrestling tournament.

LIVE BLOG: District Three Section Three sectional wrestling

E-town falls to CV in league finals•

Wow...what a basketball game. Tonight's atmosphere was nothing short of electric and the L-L League championship game sure didn't disappoint. Unfortunately for the Bears, they finished with silver medals around their necks instead of golds.

CV became perhaps the most unlikely L-L League champion (although I'm sure they don't think so) in history as they beat the Bears by two in overtime.

I'll have much more on this game, later, but wanted to check in now with a few thoughts.

• E-town didn't play particularly well in the second and third quarters, and some of that may be because of CV's stellar defense, but you have to give the Bears credit. They were down by 11 points in the fourth quarter and fought back to force overtime.

• Jeremi Jones sank a three pointer with 1 second left in regulation to force OT. Jones' shot was absolutely fantastic, but Quinn Cozzens' pure hustle on that play made it happen. There's a reason No. 1 is the captain of this team, and he showed his moxie down the stretch tonight.

• I still don't know how Cozzens' put back at the end of OT didn't drop. Fantastic effort by him, just a little bit of bad luck.

• CV definitely earned this league title, going through Hempfield and E-town to get it. That said, and I know it doesn't feel good for the E-town players and coaches right now, but the Bears have no reason to hang their heads. It takes a lot to come back from an 11-point fourth quarter deficit to force OT. But the key is that the Bears must remember that they have a lot of basketball to play. Sure, they missed out on one of their goals, but there is still a state playoff berth out there for them to get.

• By the way, Governor Mifflin beat Cocalico in the play-in round, so E-town will play Mifflin in the first round of districts on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Steel High. A preview of that game will be up early next week.

• Once again, GREAT atmosphere tonight. Both teams made huge plays down the stretch and both student sections were creative and great. Very cool game to see in person.

OK, that's all for tonight, but check back later this weekend for more on this game, and don't forget to check in tomorrow for a live blog from the wrestling sectional tournament.

And then there were two: L-L Final preview

(E-town fans were giving it to CV star Jeremy Skoloda in the last meeting, and he took it with a smile.)

Tonight's the night. E-town. CV. Lancaster-Lebanon League finals. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. at Manheim Township tonight, and it should be a great game. Story lines are plentiful for this game, so let's take a look at them.

THE GAME: Elizabethtown Bears (22-2 overall, Section Two champions) vs. Conestoga Valley Buckskins (16-7 overall, Section Two runner-up). 7 p.m., Manheim Township.

Playoff Journeys:
E-town: The Bears started the league playoffs with a 63-51 win over L-S. In the semifinals, they won their 10th straight game by beating Lancaster Catholic 76-61 behind a 17-for-21 shooting performance in the second half.
CV: The Bucks took it to Cocalico in the first round, winning 63-42. In the semis, they upset Hempfield, which hadn't lost a league game all year, 51-45.

Quotable:
"They know us and we know them. An all Section Two final is kind of nice, but I'm sure it's going to be a dog fight. They're a great team, well coached, and I'm sure it's going to be a fun night." – E-town head coach Kevin Dolan.

"We've got to keep doing what we've done all year. We've got to shut down the players we need to shut down, play team defense, box out and sprint in transition and that will create our offense for itself." – E-town senior forward Chad Styer.

Top Scorers:
E-town:
Kyle McNeil, 13.3 points per game; 18 ppg in playoffs; 9 ppg against CV this year.
Chad Styer, 12.1 ppg; 15.5 ppg in playoffs; 10 ppg against CV this year.
Quinn Cozzens, 11.7 ppg; 8.5 ppg in playoffs; 8.5 ppg against CV this year.
Jeremi Jones, 11.7 ppg; 11.5 ppg in playoffs; 9.5 ppg against CV this year.
Andrew Placeres, 8.9 ppg; 8.5 ppg in playoffs; 7.5 ppg against CV this year.
Bradley Garber, 5.8 ppg; 6.5 ppg in playoffs; 4.5 ppg against CV this year.

CV:
Jeremy Skoloda: 18.9 ppg; 16 ppg in playoffs; 15.5 ppg against E-town this year.
Jae Pugh: 9.7 ppg; 14 ppg in playoffs; 0 ppg against E-town this year.
Joel Lapp: 7.6 ppg; 5 ppg in playoffs; 7 ppg aginst E-town this year.
Josh Cody: 6.4 ppg; 8 ppg in playoffs; 1 ppg against E-town this year.
Leonard Williams: 5.2 ppg; 4.5 ppg in playoffs; 7.5 ppg against E-town this year.

Team Stats:
E-town:
Points per game: 70.3 (69.5 in playoffs, 51 vs. CV).
Points allowed per game: 55.4 (56 in playoffs, 44 vs. CV).

CV:
Points per game: 55.7 (57 in playoffs, 44 vs. E-town).
Points allowed per game: 48.2 (43.5 in playoffs, 51 vs. E-town).

Prior meetings this year:
E-town 45 - CV 44
In their first meeting this season, E-town escaped CV with a one-point win on Dec. 23. With the score tied at 44-44, Placeres was fouled with no time remaining. He sank his first free throw attempt to give the Bears the win. CV played this game without Pugh and were led by 17 points from Skoloda. McNeil led E-town with 12 points.

E-town 57 - CV 44
One month later, on Jan. 23, E-town and CV met again, this time in E-town. The Bears got 14 points from Jones and 13 each from Styer and Cozzens as they cruised past the Bucks, clinching at least a tie of the Section Two title. Skoloda was held scoreless for the first three quarters of this game, but finished with 14 points, all coming in the fourth quarter. Pugh played this time around, but was held scoreless by McNeil.

Matchups to watch:
(Kyle McNeil, left, and Jae Pugh, right, will be battling in the paint tonight.)

Jeremy Skoloda vs. Bradley Garber
Skoloda is arguably the best player in the league. He was fourth in the league in scoring and has hit 61 3-pointers this year. The last time these two teams met, Garber was put on Skoloda, and hounded him all night, holding him scoreless for three quarters. That matchup will likely be the same tonight, but it will be interesting to see what CV learned from the film of that game. E-town likely won't be able to hold Skoloda scoreless for three quarters again, but where ever he goes, Garber will be there with a hand in his face. This is probably the most important defensive matchup for the Bears. They can't let Skoloda get hot and start hitting from the outside. To stop him, Garber (and Jeremi Jones) will have to fight through a ton of screens.

Jae Pugh vs. Kyle McNeil
Pugh, CV's 6-6 x-factor, has been marvelous in the playoffs, scoring 13 in the first round against Cocalico and following that up with a 15 point, 11 rebound night against Hempfield on Wednesday. But he has yet to score a point against E-town this season. As I said earlier, he missed the first matchup, but was a non-factor offensively in the second with McNeil locking him down. Pugh does have a few inches on McNeil, and he'll score more tonight, but if McNeil can take away CV's best inside threat, they'll have to rely much more on the outside game. On the other end of the court, E-town will need McNeil to establish himself against the bigger Pugh, but if he can't get it going offensively, the Bears have more players capable of picking up any slack.

Game thoughts:
This one should be a dandy. CV is riding very high right now after upending Hempfield on Wednesday, but the Bears will be ready. E-town has the confidence of beating CV twice this year already. But it wasn't easy either time. CV plays outstanding defense, and held E-town to nearly 20 points below its season average. And CV held the Bears to their lowest scoring output of the season (45) in their first meeting. That said, CV has only managed 44 points both times out against the Bears this year.

E-town is coming off of, arguably, its most efficient shooting night of the season. Everyone knows E-town's offensive game is to get out and run, and when the Bears do that, they're tough to stop.

What makes E-town so good is the fact that it has so many players with scoring ability. Six of E-town's guys can go for double digits on any night, and five of them got there on Wednesday night. They have so many weapons that it's almost impossible to focus on shutting down one player. If CV focuses its energy on stopping Jones or Cozzens or Styer or Placeres or McNeil or Garber, one (or four) of the others will kill them. Conversely, E-town knows it needs to stop Skoloda first and foremost, and dare the rest of the Buckskins to beat them.

Both teams are playing at an extremely high level right now, and we'll see tonight who comes out and doesn't let the nerves of playing in the league championship game get to them.

They say it's tough to beat a team three times in one season, but I just think E-town has too many weapons for the Bucks to keep up with.

PREDICTION: E-town by 8.

EAHS football coaching update

I grabbed a few minutes with EAHS Athletic Director Shane Piper prior to Wednesday's boys basketball game, and he gave me a quick update on the district's search for a new head football coach.

Piper said the district has gone through the first round of interviewing candidates and has narrowed it down to its finalists. No word on who those finalists are or how many of them there are.

In the next week or so, the next round of interviewing will be done with the finalists, and Piper hopes to have a new head coach recommended to the school board at its March meeting.

Looks like they are entering the home stretch of finding a candidate. Of course, when I hear anything else, I'll keep you all updated.

Wrestling Sectional Brackets (PART TWO)

Before we get into the rest of the brackets for Saturday's sectional tourney at Hempfield, I just wanted to thank you all again for checking out my little slice of the Internet. We're now over 15,000 hits and that is really cool.

Also, don't forget, I'm going to be doing a LIVE BLOG from Hempfield for tomorrow's sectional tournament. I spoke to a few people and I think I'll be able to get a wireless connection without much trouble (thanks, CB), so tell your friends. And join me tomorrow from Hempfield.

Here are the remaining seven weight brackets. For part one of this preview, click here.

145 pounds:
(E-town's Jared Danneker is the No. 7 seed at 152.)
First Round:
No. 8 Josh Forren, Sol, vs. No. 9 Jeremy Gall, Don.
No. 5 Kevin Kann, PM, vs. No. 12 Hans Nelson, JPM.
No. 4 Ross Stockdale, War, vs. No. 13 Tyler Reichenbach, L-S.
No. 6 Lucas Bragg, CV, vs. No. 11 Nate Enck, MC.
No. 7 Jared Danneker, E-town, vs. No. 10 Ziegler Holden, Leb.
Wrestlers with byes: No. 1 Dan Bennett, Hemp; No. 2 Luke Sims, MT; No. 3 Noah Gerdes, CC.
Quarterfinals:
Bennett vs. Gall/Forren winner.
Kann/Nelson winner vs. Stockdale/Reichenbach winner.
Gerdes vs. Enck/Bragg winner.
Sims vs. Danneker/Holden winner.
Analysis: This is one of the fullest brackets in the tournament. Bennett and Sims should meet in the finals of this one, but third place could get interesting. Danneker showed in leagues that he can get hot and make a run, but Gerdes and Stockdale will make that awfully tough on him.

152 pounds:
(E-town's Zach Myers is the No. 10 seed at 152.)
First Round:
No. 8 Dillian Enck, MC, vs. No. 9 Brad Cwienk, Sol.
No. 6 Justin Bollman, JPM, vs. No. 11 Sam Zegley, PM.
No. 7 Kirby Kinderwater, MT, vs. No. 10 Zach Myers, E-town.
Wrestlers with byes: No. 1 Brent Balmer, CC; No. 2 Jordan Miller, Hemp; No. 3 Nate Fowler, L-S; No. 4 Jamie Mellinger; No. 5 Pavlik Teleguz.
Quarterfinals:
Balmer vs. Enck/Cwienk winner.
Mellinger vs. Teleguz.
Fowler vs. Bollman/Zegley winner.
Miller vs. Kinderwater/Myers winner.
Analysis: Miller wrestled at 160 in leagues and did very well. I think he is going to win this bracket. He should be Balmer in the finals. The third spot will likely be either Fowler or Mellinger.

160 pounds:
(E-town's Adam Zellman is the No. 2 seed at 160.)
First Round:
No. 8 Ronnie Gant, JPM, vs. No. 9 Arias Pappas, Don.
No. 5 Kyle Kinderwater, MT, vs. No. 12 Josiah Borden, CV.
No. 4 Ben Kramer, Hemp, vs. No. 13 Antonio Molica, Leb.
No. 6 David Fair, MC, vs. No. 11 Russell Deaven, CC.
No. 7 Tyler Geiniec, PM, vs. No. 10 Josiah Deibler, Sol.
Wrestlers with byes: No. 1 Eric Resch, War; No. 2 Adam Zellman, E-town; No. 3 Zach Kinert, L-S.
Quarterfinals:
Resch vs. Gant/Pappas winner.
Kinderwater/Borden winner vs. Kramer/Molica winner.
Kinert vs. Fair/Deaven winner.
Zellman vs. Geinec/Deibler winner.
Analysis: This is Resch's bracket to lose. He was impressive at leagues and is the favorite to win this one as well. With Miller down at 152, Zellman should have a good path to the finals, where Resch should be waiting. Kinert, Kramer and Kinderwater will likely battle for that third spot.

171 pounds:
(E-town's David Kennedy is the No. 6 seed at 171.)
First Round:
No. 8 Seth Schmalholfer, PM, vs. No. 9 Cameron Burke, Leb.
No. 5 Tyler Arkatin, Sol, vs. No. 12 Scott Landis, War.
No. 6 David Kennedy, E-town, vs. No. 11 Alex Cintron, L-S.
No. 7 Ben Enck, MT, vs. No. 10 Troy Sauger, MC.
Wrestlers with byes: No. 1 Mike Dodds, CV; No. 2 Neal Sweigart, Don; No. 3 Will Morant, JPM; No. 4 Andrew Kulp, Hemp.
Quarterfinals:
Dodds vs. Schmalhofer/Burke winner.
Kulp vs. Arkatin/Landis winner.
Morant vs. Kennedy/Cintron winner.
Sweigart vs. Enck/Sauger winner.
Analysis: This is another tough one to predict. Dodds is the top seed and should get to the finals, unless Kulp can upend him in the semis, which is possible. The bottom half of the bracket should come down to Sweigart, Morant or Kennedy. I think anything could happen here. Don't be surprised if one of the lower seeds (5 or below) are one of the three to advance.

189 pounds:
(E-town's Shane Rosenberry is the No. 1 seed at 189.)
First Round:
No. 8 Chris Ahnert, Leb., vs. No. 9 Delis Kruup, CV.
No. 6 Jordan Elvey, Sol, vs. No. 11 Alex Egner, L-S.
No. 7 Nate Nelson, JPM, vs. No. 10 Brandon Harvey, PM.
Wrestlers with byes: No. 1 Shane Rosenberry, E-town; No. 2 Austin Schultz, MT; No. 3 Evan Marin, Hemp; No. 4 Sterling Goshea, Don; No. 5 Bryan McCall, War.
Quarterfinals:
Rosenberry vs. Ahnert/Kruup winner.
Goshea vs. McCall.
Marin vs. Elvey/Egner winner.
Shultz vs. Nelson/Harvey winner.
Analysis: Rosenberry was dominant in leagues, pinning his way to a gold medal. He should repeat that performance and take this bracket by storm once again. Schultz, Marin, Goshea and McCall could all compete for the other two spots.

215 pounds:
(E-town's Sean Heming is the No. 6 seed at 215.)
First Round:
No. 8 Tim Latham, Sol, vs. No. 9 Dan Tyson, MT.
No. 7 Peter Schooling, PM, vs. No. 10 Greg Halter, L-S.
Wrestlers with byes: No. 1 Antonio Giorgio, War; No. 2 John Fair, MC; No. 3 Nate Kulp, Hemp; No. 4 Jay Morant, JPM; No. 5 Dan Tonzola, CV; No. 6 Sean Heming, E-town.
Quarterfinals:
Giorgio vs. Latham/Tyson winner.
Morant vs. Tonzola.
Kulp vs. Heming.
Fair vs. Schooling/Halter winner.
Analysis: OK, we all know that Giorgio is going to win this bracket, barring injury or huge upset. Kulp could meet Giorgio in the finals, but the final two spots will likely come down to Kulp, Fair and Morant.

285 pounds:
(E-town's Alex Kirchner is the No. 1 seed at 285.)
First Round:
No. 8 John Martin, Sol, vs. No. 9 Evan Singleton, PM.
No. 5 Matt Ruhl, Hemp, vs. No. 12 Jordan Ashby, MC.
No. 6 Teddy Force, L-S, vs. No. 11 Nick Gerdes, CC.
No. 7 Dominique Smith, JPM, vs. No. 10 John Devenney, War.
Wrestlers with byes: No. 1 Alex Kirchner, E-town; No. 2 Cole Dillman, CV; No. 3 Cutter Recher, MT; No. 4 Charles Lee, Leb.
Quarterfinals:
Kirchner vs. Martin/Singleton winner.
Lee vs. Ruhl/Ashby winner.
Recher vs. Gerdes/Force winner.
Dillman vs. Smith/Devenney winner.
Analysis: After a great overtime match in the L-L finals, Kirchner and Dillman are the top two seeds. Kirchner has earned the title of wrestler to beat in this bracket and he should be moving on to districts. Dillman could meet him again in the finals, but don't count out Township's Recher. I think he could make some noise here.

OK, there you have it. Enjoy the tournament tomorrow (start time of 8:30 a.m.) and, don't forget, if you can't make it, check here for a live blog (as long as I can get wireless access).

E-town rolls past Catholic and into league finals

Last night in Hempfield, E-town showed its wide arsenal of skills as the Bears combined stellar 3-point shooting in the first half with deadly accuracy in the second half in a 76-61 win over Lancaster Catholic in the Lancaster-Lebanon League semifinals. The win puts E-town (22-2) in the league finals for the first time since 1977 where the Bears will face section rival Conestoga Valley, which upset Hempfield 51-45 in the other semifinal last night.

"It feels awful good. These guys have worked so hard since seventh and eighth grade to get to this point," said E-town head coach Kevin Dolan.

"I can't even put this into words right now," said senior Chad Styer, who had 15 points, including four 3-pointers. "We've been working so hard in practice every day and preparing and it's definitely paying off. Our first goal was a section title this year, but to be able to come out and compete for a league championship is just that much better."

In the quarterfinals against Lampeter-Strasburg, the Pioneers did a good job of slowing E-town's offense down and, as a result, hung around for most of the game. Catholic, on the other hand, decided to try and run with the Bears and dictate the pace of the game. And that strategy may have worked if the Bears decided to miss shots. They didn't. E-town hit five 3-pointers in the first quarter and seven of their first nine treys in the first half, but Catholic hung around and trailed by only five at halftime.

Despite his team's success from behind the arc in the first half, Dolan decided to change strategy in the second half and start running more and working the ball inside. The Bears, as they have all season, responded to their coach's strategy by playing a near flawless second half offensively. E-town used fantastic ball movement and decision making and show 17-for-21 from the field in the second half and just outgunning Catholic.

"We hit seven threes in the first half and we just didn't think we could continue to shoot at that pace," Dolan said. "In the second half, we had a lot better shot selections and we worked the ball a lot better."

E-town leading scorer Kyle McNeil was held scoreless in the first half as the Bears put on their shooting display, but E-town's big man was a force in the second half, scoring all 14 of his points. For the first four minutes of the third quarter, Catholic kept the deficit at five or six for the most part, but eventually E-town's transition game took over. The Bears ended the quarter on an 8-2 run and led 55-44 heading into the fourth quarter.

It was more of the same in the fourth, as E-town scored 21 in the quarter, mixed in an 8-0 run and pulled away. Six E-town players had at least two assists, highlighted by point guard Andrew Placeres' 10 dimes (just two turnovers). When E-town was out on transition, Placeres and company always found the open man in the second half, and it resulted in another double digit win.

"That's us. We share the basketball and we're very unselfish," Dolan said. "Toward the end, we had people cutting to the basket and everyone was throwing the ball to everyone. And that's our hallmark. We get running like that and when we're efficient like that, we're tough to stop."

"Being able to get out in transition, we create a lot of shots for ourselves," said Styer.

Catholic had a tough time stopping everyone in blue and white last night. E-town had five players in double figures and one more with eight points. Jeremi Jones led the way with 16 points, Styer added 15, McNeil 14, Bradley Garber 11, Placeres 10 and Quinn Cozzens 8. E-town attacked the Catholic defense from all angles, and the Crusaders simply couldn't keep up.

Dolan said he felt like his team did a better job on rebounding last night than they did against L-S on Monday, but added that there is still some work to do.

"I'm still not totally happy with our defensive performance, but we did a nice job for the most part," he said. "I think we crashed the boards better than we were before, but we're not boxing out well."

The loss snapped Catholic's 13-game winning streak and marked the second time this season E-town has beaten the Crusaders handily. E-town won by 20 earlier in the year, but weren't looking past Catholic because of that.

"Last game, we had the matchups and everything, but this game was more about us," Styer said. "We knew what we had to do in leagues. We knew we had to come out and play defense and run transition and I thought we did that well."

The Bears weren't fazed by Catholic's recent winning streak, especially since they have a pretty good one going themselves.

"Everyone talks about how hot they are, and they are, and they're a great team, and that they've won 13 in a row, but we've won nine in a row and 13 of 14," he said.

For much of the regular season, the prevailing thought around the league was the Hempfield, Penn Manor and E-town were the best three teams in the league and that two of them would meet in the league finals. But Penn Manor lost in the quarterfinals and Hempfield was beaten last night, leaving E-town as the last of the big three standing. Styer said that the Bears haven't burdened themselves with the expectations of being one of the best team. Instead, they've focused on what they need to do each game, and it's resulted in a trip to the league finals.

"We knew what we had to do," he said. "We felt all year that we weren't getting respect and coming into leagues we knew that we had to play every team to the best of our ability to be able to show people who we are and that we deserve respect."

The final roadblock standing in E-town's way of a league title is a familiar one – Conestoga Valley. The Section Two runner-up Buckskins earned their spot in the title game by handing Hempfield its first league loss of the season. The Bucks and Bears will tip off at 7 p.m. in Manheim Township tomorrow night.

Check back tomorrow morning for a preview of that matchup.

Wrestling Sectional Brackets (PART ONE)

On Saturday, the EAHS wrestling team will travel to Hempfield for its sectional tournament to determine who will be advancing to Hersheypark Arena next weekend for the District Three tournament.

Let's take a look at the brackets by weight. Today we'll do 103-140 pounds and we'll finish tomorrow with 145-285 pounds.

103 pounds:
(Matt Hoover is the No. 2 seed at 103.)
First Round:
No. 9 Nathan Noyes, CV, vs. No. 8 Andres Gutierrez, JPM
No. 7 Hans Herr, Sol, vs. No. 10 Corey Swartzentruyer, PM
Wrestlers with byes: No. 1 Austin Miller, Hemp; No. 2. Matt Hoover, E-town; No. 3. Dylan Pallas, MC; No. 4 Corey Aspril, L-S; No. 5 Caleb Osisek, Don; No. 6 Sean Hughes, CC.
Quarterfinals:
Miller, Hemp, vs. Noyes/Gutierrez winner.
Osisek, Don, vs. Aspril, L-S.
Pallas, MC, vs. Hughes, CC.
Hoover, E-town vs. Herr/Swartzentruyer winner.
Analysis: This bracket could shape up to be a rematch of the L-L Tournament finals of Miller and Hoover, where Miller won 7-2.

112 pounds:
(E-town's Calvin Anderton is the No. 5 seed at 112).
Quarterfinals:
No. 1 Lexis Ortiz, JPM, vs. No. 8 Mike Good, L-S
No. 5 Calvin Anderton, E-town, vs. No. 4 Brooks Kenderdine, MT
No. 3 Wink Charles, Sol, vs. No. 6 Brett Pallas, CC
No. 7 Terry Tirko, Don, vs. No. 2 Dakota Minnich, Hemp
Analysis: This is Ortiz' bracket to lose. I don't think anyone will be able to beat him on Saturday. That said, Anderton stands a very good chance at making districts. If he wins in the quarterfinals, he'll get Ortiz in the semis.

119 pounds:

(E-town's Owen Bradley is the No. 5 seed at 119.)
First Round:
No. 9 Will Farr, Don, vs. No. 8 Tyler Martin, CV.
No. 5 Owen Bradley, E-town, vs. No. 12 Spencer Haldeman, L-S.
No. 6 Jose Castro, MT, vs. No. 11 Chevy Houser, CC.
No. 7 Joe Buckwalter, MC, vs. No. 10 Ian Houck, Leb.
Wrestlers with byes: No. 1 Bobby Rehm, PM; No. 2 Alex Fisher, Sol; No. 3 Josh Rosario, JPM; No. 4 Cody Shoenberger, War.
Quarterfinals:
No. 1 Rehm, PM, vs. Farr/Martin winner.
No. 4 Shoenberger, War, vs. Bradley/Haldeman winner.
No. 3 Rosario, JPM, vs. Castro/Houser winner.
No. 2 Fisher, Sol, vs. Houck/Buckwalter winner.
Analysis: Rehm earned OW at the L-L Tournament last month, but I think Fisher will win this bracket. Bradley wrestled at 112 at leagues, but has bumped up to 119. He's got a pretty good bracket through the semis, and stands an excellent chance at advancing. He seems more comfortable and natural wrestling at 119, so watch for him to do well.

125 pounds:

(E-town's Jeremy Rivera is the No. 2 seed at 125.)
First round:
No. 8 Justin Emrich, CC, vs. No. 9 Gary Pabon, Hemp.
No. 5 Tyler Funk, PM, vs. No. 12 Eajal Alvarez, L-S.
No. 6 Bryan Knouse, Don, vs. No. 11 Erik Banh, CV.
No. 7 Ian Stoeckl, War, vs. No. 10 Evan Thomas, MT.
Wrestlers with byes: No. 1 Dan Neff, Sol; No. 2 Jeremy Rivera, E-town; No. 3 Devin Anderson, JPM; No. 4 Tyler Griffith, MC.
Quarterfinals:
No. 1 Neff, Sol vs. Pabon/Emrich winner.
No. 4 Griffith, MC, vs. Funk/Alvarez winner.
No. 3 Anderson, JPM, vs. Knouse/Banh winner.
No. 2 Rivera, E-town, vs. Stoeckl/Thomas winner.
Analysis:
Rivera and Neff met in the finals of the L-L tournament, and could be primed for a rematch. Neff gets the nod in this bracket, but Rivera should get through to Hersheypark.

130 pounds:
First Round:
No. 8 Austin Theis, Don, vs. No. 8 Travis Quinn, War.
No. 7 Cody Lloyd, CC, vs. No. 10 Donovan McDonald, MT.
Wrestlers with byes: No. 1 Jordan Stephanchick, Hemp; No. 2 Ian Rineer, PM; No. 3 Joe Welk, Sol; No. 4 Austin Ballantine, JPM; No. 5 Antonio Rodriguez, E-town; No. 6 Adam Mummau, MC.
Quarterfinals:
No. 1 Stephanchick, Hemp. vs. Quinn/Theis winner.
No. 4 Austin Ballantine, JPM, vs. No. 5 Antonio Rodriguez, E-town.
No. 3 Joe Welk, Sol, vs. No. 6 Adam Mummau, MC.
No. 2 Ian Rineer, PM, vs. Lloyd/McDonald winner.
Analysis: I would say the champ of this bracket will be Stephanchick, Rineer or Welk. Don't be surprised if those are the three to advance to districts as well.

135 pounds

(E-town's Troy Ernest is the No. 4 seed at 135.)
First Round:
No. 8 Jared Manley, Hemp, vs. No. 9 Richard Sonnon, CC.
No. 5 Bobby Haldeman, L-S, vs. No. 12 Tai Nguyen, Leb.
No. 6 Brock Snider, Sol, vs. No. 11 Matthew Morgante, MT.
No. 7 Matt Martin, MC, vs. No. 10 Benjy McQuate, CV.
Wrestlers with byes: No. 1 Matt Myers, War; No. 2 Sean Kincade, PM; No. 3 Vince Grove, Don; No. 4 Troy Ernest, E-town.
Quarterfinals:
No. 1 Myers, War, vs. Sonnon/Manley winner.
No. 4 Ernest, E-town, vs. Haldeman/Nguyen winner.
No. 3 Grove, Don, vs. Snider/Morgante winner.
No. 2 Kincade, PM, vs. Martin/McQuate winner.
Analysis: Myers won this weight in leagues and will be the favorite to repeat. Kincade should meet him in the finals, but keep an eye on Solanco's Brock Snider, who could be a dark horse. Should Ernest advance to the semis, he'll likely get Myers.

140 pounds:

(E-town's Justin Lewis is the No. 6 seed at 140.)
First Round:
Just one match, No. 8 Brandon Johnson, Don, vs. No. 9 Hunter Busansky, L-S.
Quarterfinals:
No. 1 Andy Eshleman, PM, vs. Johnson/Busansky winner.
No. 4 Adam Chapis, War, vs. No. 5 Connor Moran, Sol.
No. 3 Shane Wagner, MT, vs. No. 6 Justin Lewis, E-town.
No. 2 Woodie Hermann, Hemp, vs. No. 7 Evan Eshleman, MC.
Analysis: This is a tricky one to predict. If Lewis gets his cradle locked in, he can beat just about anyone, but he'll have a tough go against Wagner in the first round. I like Hermann to win this bracket, but it could realistically be Hermann, Wagner or Eshleman and maybe even Adam Chapis.

Don't forget to check back tomorrow for a look at the remaining seven weights.

LIVE BLOG ALERT: I will be attempting to do a live blog of the sectional tournament on Saturday. You'll be able to follow the live blog right here on this site, so if you can't make the tournament, check it out. Disclaimer: this is all hinging on getting wireless Internet access at Hempfield. I was able to get it at CV for the league tourney, but I'm not 100 percent sure yet if I can get it at Hempfield. But if I can, I will have a live blog.