CMYK
THE TIMES LEADER
SPORTS
P I A A B OYS BAS K E T BA L L
PIAA CLASS 3A WRESTLING
SECTION
timesleader.com
SUNDAY, MARCH 13, 2011
SILVER LINING
PAUL SOKOLOSKI
Coughlin’s Popple finishes second
OPINION
Man in middle has the Royals thinking big
NIKO J. KALLIANIOTIS/FOR THE TIMES LEADER
Keyton Winder, who led Meyers with 14 points, gets ready to put up a shot against Central Columbia’s Cody Klinger.
T
Mohawks shooters on target After District 2 title game defeat, Meyers picks it up offensively in its PIAA Class 2A opener. By JOHN ERZAR jerzar@timesleader.com
EXETER – A one-point lead after the initial eight minutes doesn’t sound too comforting. But for the Meyers Mohawks it was Saturday afternoon because it meant the offense was back on track. Meyers connected MEYERS on half its shots in the first quarter, including three from threeC. COLUMBIA point range, as the Mohawks went on to defeat Central Columbia 51-38 in a PIAA Class 2A firstround boys basketball game at Wyoming Area High School. District 2 runner-up Meyers (24-2) will play District 12 champion Imhotep Charter (27-3) on Wednesday at a site and time to be announced. Imhotep is ranked 25th in the nation by USA Today and defeated District 3 third seed Wyomissing 78-36. Keyton Winder paced Meyers with 14 points. Ross Lavan added 13 and Ryan Krawczeniuk scored 10, including 6-for-6 from the foul line in the second half that allowed the Mohawks to maintain a modest lead. District 4 runner-up Central Columbia ended its season at 17-10 by losing two consecutive games for only the second time this season. The Mohawks entered the game after a troublesome second half in the D2 championship game against Riverside a week earlier. They shot just 5of-21 (24 percent) in the final two quarters of that game. Moreover, they
51
38
FRANK DIMON/SPECIAL TO THE TIMES LEADER
Coughlin’s Josh Popple, rear, controls Matt McCutcheon of Kiski Area during the 189-pound semifinals of the PIAA Class 3A tournament. Popple won a 7-2 decision before losing by fall in the finals to Central Dauphin’s Kenny Courts.
C. Dauphin senior foils state title bid again By DAVE ROSENGRANT drosengrant@timesleader.com
HERSHEY – For the second consecutive season, Josh Popple saw his quest for a state gold medal end at the hands of Kenny Courts. Popple, a Coughlin 189-pounder, lost to the Central Dauphin senior via fall in 38 seconds Saturday night in the finals of the PIAA Class 3A Championships. Despite his first loss of the season, Popple became the first state finalist for the Crusaders since 1975 when Bill Pfeffer reached the gold medal match. He was also just the third wrestler in school history to get to the final match, joining Chuck Chulada, who accomplished the feat in 1968. And, Popple might have lost, but he was beat by the
INSIDE: Hoffman, Pasone medal, Page 13C
in the 171 quarterfinal round. Instead, Popple settled for improving on his fourth-place finish in 2010 with a silver medal in 2011. “When I lost last year that demoralized me,” Popple said Saturday morning after defeating Kiski Area’s Matt McCutcheon, 7-2, to advance to state finals to face Courts. “That was only the second time in my career I’ve ever been pinned so I wasn’t too happy about it and the revenge I have built up inside me I can’t wait to let it out on him.” Popple was devastated after the loss Saturday night as well and politely declined comment. Popple’s loss in the finals ends an
defending state champion. He ends his stellar career with a 132-29 mark, the most wins in school history. “I started off with a fireman’s (carry) and took him straight to his back,” Courts said. “I did that the previous year (at 171 pounds) and I pinned him. I knew that was going to work again so I was just patient. I didn’t really dive in for any shots. I knew he was going to try to slow me down so I just waited for the opportunity and it opened up. ” Popple wanted to become the first state champion in school history and wanted to exact revenge on Courts, who pinned him in 28 seconds last year See POPPLE, Page 13C
P E N N S TAT E F O O T B A L L
The quarterbacks
Springing into another controversy Editor’s note: This is the first of a four-part series previewing Penn State spring practice, which opens Wednesday. Today’s installment looks at the Nittany Lions’ complex quarterback situation. Tomorrow: Running backs and receivers.
See MOHAWKS , Page 9C
on the roster, all four signal- A T A G L A N C E callers from last season have reQUARTERBACKS Yes, let’s get this out of the turned. No. Player Cl./El. For now. way first. Penn State is looking 11 Matt McGloin Sr./Jr. at another main course of quar1 Rob Bolden So./So. terback controversy with an ex- The enigma 13 Paul Jones So./Fr. Jr./Jr. The latest news comes from 12 Kevin Newsome tra two helpings of transfer rumors as spring practice opens the mouth of Rob Bolden himself in the past week, as the risWednesday. Bolden, who was set to transThough it was looking as if ing sophomore spoke to reportthe Nittany Lions might start ers at a charity event at Da- fer following the Outback Bowl spring ball with just two schol- mon’s outside of State College in late February. arship quarterbacks See QBS , Page 4C By DEREK LEVARSE dlevarse@timesleader.com
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
PIAA GIRLS BASKETBALL
Francisco’s 3-pointer big for Holy Redeemer By ADAM MICHAEL For The Times Leader
C
Penn State forward Jeff Brooks
By CLIFF BRUNT AP Sports Writer
37
the way it came off my HOLY hand. This is a REDEEMER great win coming off the loss to West Scranton.” The win advances GETTYSBURG the Royals (18-7) to the second round for the first time since 2008. They will play District 12 champion Archbishop Wood on Wednesday at a site and time to be determined. Francisco scored a game-high 18, with six of her teammates contributing no more than four points apiece. Holy Redeemer coach Rich Nemetz said he never lost confidence in his team’s highest scorer throughout the
HANOVER — Mired in an 0-for-8 shooting slump, one of the smallest players on the court came up with the biggest shot of the season for the Holy Redeemer girls basketball team Saturday. With 44 seconds to go and the game tied, Olivia Francisco rolled to her left off a screen at the top of the three-point line. Fading away as she released, the senior guard watched with confidence as the last go-ahead bucket fell for a 37-33 victory over Gettysburg (23-5) in a PIAA Class 3A first-round game at South Western High School. “I knew one would fall eventually and it turned out to be a three-point lead,” Francisco said. “The left is my strong side. That one I knew was going to go in See REDEEMER , Page 9C
Lions advance to title game 61
INDIANAPOLIS — Talor PENN STATE Battle has received numerous awards and set plenty of records during his career at Penn State. MICHIGAN Finally, the senior will have a STATE chance to do what he considers most important — win a championship. UP NEXT Battle scored 17 of his 25 points in Big Ten the second half to help Penn State Championship defeat Michigan State 61-48 in the Penn State Big Ten tournament semifinals on vs. Saturday and advance to the final for Ohio State the first time. Penn State will play 3:30 p.m. Today No. 1-ranked and top-seeded Ohio TV: CBS State today for an automatic NCAA tournament berth.
48
33
AP PHOTO
See PSU, Page 6C
he 2,000th point in the illustrious high school basketball career of Pete Alexis came the way so many of his other baskets have. He hoisted his imposing 6-foot-11 frame up to the rim, just in time to tip in a missed drive by one of his Holy Redeemer teammates on Friday. Once again Alexis was there, as an ever-present security blanket for the Royals. They are riding their big man into the second round of the PIAA Class 3A playoffs this week, because Alexis keeps reaffirming their belief they can play with anyone in the state of Pennsylvania. And not just because he’s heading to Penn State. “You never get stuck,” Redeemer guard Tim Lambert said. “You can always throw up a pass for him. He gets so many offensive rebounds. It’s a great thing to have Pete Alexis on our team.” It is more about what Alexis does to the other team that makes him so valuable. Against West Scranton in the District 2 championship last week, Alexis swatted away a handful of early drives into the paint. And pretty soon the Invaders didn’t even bother testing the inside anymore. “It’s definitely a big help being 6-11,” said Alexis, a senior whose size and skill earned him a scholarship to Penn State. Danville at least tried to challenge Alexis in Friday’s state opener, but the Ironmen did it with an array of fallaway jumpers, reverse layup attempts and other abnormal shots that took extra effort. “We don’t have people walking around Danville that tall,” Danville coach Lenny Smith said, explaining it was hard to prepare for facing Alexis. “And he’s not out there standing around.” Smith talked about how the Royals captured a 60-55 victory by keeping his team at arm’s length. That distance looks like miles when those arms belong to Alexis. “You’re trying to make a good move, and he just comes in and blocks your shot,” said Royals guard Austin Carr. “It’s frustrating.” Carr hasn’t had to deal with such despair, but said he notices it from opponents who have to create new paths to the basket. “I could see that,” Carr said. “Even though I don’t like to get beat (on defense), if I do, I know he’s inside ready to block a shot.” The shots weren’t falling for Alexis, who didn’t play one of his greatest games on Friday. But his performance was far from weak. Alexis pulled down about a dozen rebounds, changed Danville’s shots and finished with 20 points – a third of the total for the Royals – on a night he was actually cold from the floor. “One thing Peter does, he rebounds,” Redeemer coach Mark Belenski said. “People don’t realize, he has over 1,100 rebounds in his career to go along with 2,000 points.” That doesn’t happen by accident, because being big on a basketball court doesn’t automatically make you a big force. “He works really hard,” Belenski said. “Being a student of the game has really helped him.” It’s helped Alexis hit 2,000 career points – which happens around here about once a decade or so. “A huge milestone,” Alexis called it. “I give it all to my teammates, they have a great way of getting me the ball.” They know their big guy has a way of elevating it toward the sky, right along with the hopes of the Royals.
Paul Sokoloski is a Times Leader sports columnist. You may reach him at 970-7109 or e-mail him at psokoloski@timesleader.com.