The battle of David versus Goliath took place at Norristown Area High School Saturday, March 13.
Goliath prevailed.
After sneaking into the PIAA State tournament, Penn Manor’s basketball team entered the playoff immediately met by the paramount Penn Wood Patriots.
The Pats beat the Comets last year in the first round of states by four en route to a state championship title.
They were hungry for another.
Manor flooded the first quarter with three pointers ending the period with a 27-18 lead over Penn Wood.
The Patriots didn’t seem too concerned.
The second quarter was a different story as Penn Wood’s lightning quick 2-3 defense shut down the Comets to a dismal five second-quarter points.
With Manor focused on shutting down dominating 6-9 big man, Shawn Oakman, and swingman, Aaron Brown, senior guard, Tyree Johnson, took over.
Johnson dumped 26 first half points on the Comets, and the 2009 champs went into the locker room with a 43-32 lead at halftime.
The Patriots continued their authority over the smaller Comet lineup in the second half.
The Comets struggled to slow down the commanding inside game of Penn Wood in the second half, and quickly found themselves in foul trouble.
Frustration carried on throughout the second half for Charlie Detz’s Comets, as their first quarter stand out seemed petty in a 76-57 loss to Penn Wood.
Patrick Welsh led all Penn Manor scorers with 14 points. Senior guard, Jon Brooks, added another 8 points.
Detz will expect for his underclassman to step up next year to replace this heavily successful senior lineup as Penn Manor looks to continue their dominant reputation in the Lancaster Lebanon league.
It was a day to remember in the Big East tournament when both Syracuse and Villanova ended up losing. Not that they need an automatic bid because they are locks to get in as an at-large teams.
Syracuse was upset by Georgetown in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament. It was a back and forth game with Cuse leading by 9 at one point but that lead soon evaporated when Georgetown-led Chris Wright, who scored 27 points and had 6 boards and 6 dimes. The Orange was led by Wes Johnson who scored 24 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. Orange senior center Arinze onuaku, who fell to the floor with about 5 minutes remaining in the second half, has a knee strain. The Orange lost 84 to 91. Georgetown will face off against Marquette in the semis tonight at 7 p.m.
Nova was upset by Marquette in another quarterfinal game in the Big East tournament. The Golden Eagles in the Big East this year have been in 13 games decided by 4 points or less. Eagles senior forward Lazar Hayward hit a 3-pointer with about 2 minutes remaining to give the Eagles the lead that they never surrendered. Hayward ended the game with 20 points and 7 rebounds. Nova guard Corey Stokes had 22 points and 5 boards. The Eagles won 76 to 80.
Everyone in Madison Square Garden and maybe even New York knew who was going to receive the ball on the inbound with 3.1 seconds remaining. The Mountaineer’s senior forward Da’Sean Butler got the inbound and shot with the buzzer sounding. The ball banked off the backboard and in to give West Virginia a win. He still found a way to get open and stepped up to win the game over Cincinnati. Butler ended the game with 15 points. West Virginia held the lead for most of the game but held off a late surge to win, 51 to 53.
In a game were the Irish held the lead for most of the game, Brad Wanamaker scored 16 points in the loss to Notre Dame. The Irish held on late to face the Mountaineers in the semis tonight at 9pm.
The championship will be decided this weekend. Watch selection Sunday to see what seed each team is and then fill out some brackets. But get ready for some upsets, disappointments and a Cinderella story or two and for only one team will cut down the nets.
Bobby Rehm will look to get another shot at states next year
Unfortunately the saying, “all good things must come to an end” was proven true for Penn Manor wrestler Bobby Rehm.
Rehm entered the PIAA state tournament after winning his second straight section title in the AAA class with a 36-4 record.
The junior was defeated in the first round of states on Thursday, March 11 to Bethel Park’s sophomore, Dylan Morgan who had a 23-1 record entering the tournament.
Rehm, who was in the 125 weight class, was defeated 5-4 after he was tilted in the third period ultimately causing his defeat.
Being only a junior, Rehm will continue his dominance next year in the LL league in his quest for another run at states.
Welcome to the third edition of PM Nation by Cody Straub and Taylor Groff. This week’s column is about what arguably the best college football player, Tim Tebow, will do in the National Football League.
Cody Straub: Tim Tebow will have a successful NFL career because of his passion and love for the game of football. I am making a bold prediction that if Tebow is drafted by the right team, he will win rookie of the year playing in his own wildcat offense.
Taylor Groff: Not even close, Cody. Tebow seems like he has a lot of love for the game, but I don’t think he is an NFL quarterback. I respect what he did at Florida where he captured two national titles under Urban Meyer. There is just one problem. He seems to have figured out that he needs to change almost every aspect of his game to show NFL scouts he can throw the ball.
CS: Taylor, he is not changing his whole game, he is just tweaking his arm motion to make his release a little quicker. This kid does not accept failure, and doesn’t fail. Everybody is forgetting that he won a Heisman Trophy and two national championships. They think because he is not an “NFL style” quarterback he will not be successful. He is a proven winner at every level of competition he has played at.
Cody Straub Co-editor for PM Nation
TG: When a player has to tweak something a week before the NFL combine that’s not a good sign. He is now taking three and five step drops instead of the shotgun format he ran in Florida.
CS: Taylor, I said the right team, not some idiots who take away his unique style he brings to a team.
TG: His delivery is awful and he takes way too much time to get rid of the ball. You are also right about people forgetting about his Heisman and the two championships because people are more worried about his possible failure in the NFL.
CS: Everybody makes the mistake of writing him off. Coming into college all the scouts were saying he is not a good enough thrower to be a good college quarterback. In his amazing four college career Tebow had 88 passing touchdowns and 9,285 passing yards. Pretty good for a guy whose throwing ability everyone questioned.
TG: I want to clear this up with everyone. I believe that Tim’s college career was probably one of the best in NCAA history. Even though he had a highly successful college career I still believe he is not ready for the NFL. He hasn’t proven to anyone he can throw the ball.
Taylor Groff Co-editor for PM Nation
CS: Obviously you are thinking too hard about how to bash Tebow instead of understanding my point. Tebow succeeds even if nobody else thinks he will.
TG: I have one question to you though, being completely honest, do you think Tim Tebow can throw the ball well enough against NFL defenses?
CS: Yes, Tim Tebow is a good enough passer to go against NFL defenses. With his long throwing motion, he was able to dominate the best defenses in college football. He has already made huge strides in changing his arm motion for a quicker release. No, Taylor he isn’t changing his whole game he is changing his throwing motion a little bit to have more success. I just have one last question for you, how can you or anyone hate Tim Tebow? Is it because he is a great role model or that he has a Heisman and two national championships?
TG: My point is Tim is, without a doubt, a great role model but he will be known as the two-time national title winner and that’s it.
CS: Alright that’s all we got, just remember this column next season when Tebow is dominating the NFL.
TG: I would like to give a shout out to the Uconn Huskies women for breaking the division one record with 72 W’s in a row.
Thursday night’s boys basketball game at Cedar Crest High School was for a spot in states for either Daniel Boone or Penn Manor.
Boone’s senior guard, Tyler Brooks, was shut down scoring only four points all night. His season average is 18.3 points which is second in the Berks conference.
Penn Manor’s Patrick Welsh scored seven first half points leading the Comets to a 13-point lead, late in the second quarter.
Boone ended the half with an eight-point run to cut the deficit within five at half.
The Blazers came within two points of Penn Manor near the end of the third quarter but couldn’t capitalize.
Welsh led all Comet scorers with 16 points. Leron Lee added 14 points and Sam Cornell contributed 11 points.
The Comets will face off against district one champion Penn Wood, Saturday 3:30PM at Norristown high school.
He might be one of the greatest sports figures of all time. He is also someone I cannot stand.
Sid the kid, the next great one or just Sidney Crosby are the names this hockey superstar goes by. Sid the kid applies very well to his personality, but if it weren’t for the catchiness of this nickname, Sid the baby would work a lot better.
As a Flyers fan since I was 7 years old, I was destined to hate the rival team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, which is the team Crosby represents.
Simon Zimmerman has negative feelings towards Sidney Crosby. Photo by Dessie Jackson
I’ve been to plenty of Flyers vs. Penguins games and each one comes with the same repetitive chant in which I joyfully join.
“Crosby sucks! Crosby sucks! Crosby sucks!”
It’s quite funny because even when this all-star is sitting and taking a break on the bench, this chant still roars through the stadium. The crowd and all Flyers’ fans share the same passionate hate I have for Crosby.
Why, you might ask?
Sure, he is extremely successful.
Sure, he has won a Stanley Cup and an Olympic gold at the young age of 22.
Sure, he might be looked at as the next Wayne Gretzky.
But these stats do not take away from the fact that his immature attitude is incredibly annoying and takes away any respect I “could” have for him.
For example, he always throws fits when things don’t go his way. If his team is losing by a lot, bad penalties are called against the team. It’s a little immature for the captain of the team to be doing that.
When he complains on the verge of tears to the refs or slams his stick weakly against the ice like a puny lumberjack, it’s pretty pathetic, but honestly I get a kick out of witnessing it.
A captain of a NHL team should be setting the stage for the rest of the team, not setting a bad example because he gets his panties tied in a bunch.
I never have liked this player and I believe I never will.
I really didn’t expect for a Canadian hero to be such a baby, but hey it’s not my country.
If you’re a comet fan, and you were at the district playoff game Saturday afternoon at the Giant center in Hershey, then you’re very familiar with the “comet call”.
An early lead was grasped by the Knights with a Taylor McDuffie, Mike Uehlein takeover. The comets had a continual ninepoint deficit that was displayed on the score board, 15-6, at the first buzzer.
With a 28-19 lead the Knights ended the half with a flawless offense and a rowdy student section that just wouldn’t quit.
Whatever Coach Charlie Detz said to the players worked. Jon Brooks ended the second quarter with what seemed to be an effortless three pointer. A 12-2 run ended the third and took the score to a nail biting 31-30.
Notorious rivals, the comets were down in the fourth, but with senior Sam Cornell’s three-pointer the gap was closed, 38-38.
Later in the fourth there was another deficit, this time 12 points, with Penn Manor striving to be close with Welsh’s three pointer with a shocking fifteen seconds left, but they kept coming when sophomore Marc Summy threw the rock for another three points with four seconds left to end the score at 54-60, the Black Knights 26th win to remain undefeated.
Cody Straub: Welcome to the second edition to PM Nation. First off I would like to thank John Almanza for drawing the PM Nation logo. This week we will make our predictions for the upcoming Major League Baseball season. We will share who we think will win the CY Young for the American and National League, Most Valuable Player, which two teams will reach the World Series and a sleeper team who could surprise everyone.
PM NATION- is a weekly column written by Taylor Groff and Cody Straub.
Taylor Groff: We will first debate the possible CY Young winners in the AL and NL. My selection for the NL is Tim Lincecum from the San Francisco Giants. I’m telling you this guy is lights out when he is pitching. He already is a two-time CY Young award winner and has a ridiculously low ERA of 2.90. He throws hitters off with his extreme delivery and the velocity on his fastball is off the charts. In the AL I’m predicting Felix Hernandez from the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners have added some key players to the team like Milton Bradley, Chone Figgins and Casey Kotchman. With these additions to the lineup, Felix will be able to go out confidently on the mound with some big bats behind him.
CS: Tim Lincecum is a great pick, expect for the fact the he is killing his arm every time he throws. His body is not meant to withstand a long grueling season year after year and I think this is the year his arm gives in. My pick for the N.L. CY Young is Adam Wainwright. Throughout Wainwright’s career his stats have improved. Last year Wainwright had a 2.63 ERA and 19 wins. With a potent offense in St. Louis Wainwright will not have to bring his best stuff every game to pick up a win. In the American League the CY Young winner will be Zach Grienke. The defending CY Young winner had a league low 2.16 ERA last year. When this guy can win 16 games on arguably the worst team in the league he deserves a lot of credit.
Taylor Groff
TG: For MVP I’m going to have to go with my hometown hero Ryan Howard. When this guy hits a homerun it looks like the ball is going to outer space. He is an incredible player and he has been improving all aspects of his game. His defense is definitely taking a lot of positive steps forward. The only small problem is when you break down his swing, he has a lot of trouble hitting the off speed pitches. He hit .279 with 45 homeruns and 141 RBI’s.
CS: There is no way a guy who doesn’t even hit .280, and basically doesn’t show up until the weather gets warm, can win MVP. My MVP choice is Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins. He batted .365, much better than Howard, 28 homeruns and 96 RBI’s. While his homerun and RBI’s were just average, his power is improving every season and I think he will put up big numbers. Behind the plate catching, Mauer only made three errors compared to Howard’s 14 errors. Taylor, there is no way your “hometown hero” will win the MVP ahead of Mauer when Howard can’t hit a curveball to save his life.
TG: Really? So your telling me that just because Howard hit .280 that he isn’t worthy of an MVP selection. The years he has been in the league he has put up Hall of Fame numbers. Talk to me now.
CS: That is exactly what I am saying, when Mauer hits .365, Howard DOES NOT deserve to get MVP ahead of him. My World Series prediction is the St. Louis Cardinals over the New York Yankees in six games. The Cardinals have the best rotation in the league with Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, and Joel Pineiro at the top of the rotation. Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday are two MVP candidates in their lineup. My sleeper team who I think will make the playoffs is the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners made the best trade by stealing Cliff Lee from the Phillles. It’s okay Taylor don’t cry. With Felix Hernandez and Lee at the top of the rotation the Mariners will never suffer long losing streaks through the season. Ichiro will lead their line up and continue to hit over .300 like he does every season.
TG: I think that the World Series teams will be the Boston Red Sox and the Philadelphia Phillies. The Sox are led by a strong rotation and trying to fill some holes in the offense. Their rotation with Josh Beckett, John Lackey, John Lestor, Clay Buchholz and Daisuke Matsuzaka will lead the Sox to a World Series berth. The Phillies will surely make it three consecutive appearances to the World Series. My sleeper team is the Colorado Rockies. They have a lot of young talent and their star pitcher, Jeff Francis, is returning from an injury.
CS: That’s all for this edition, except for this shout out to Vernon Macklin for dunking over AJ Ogilvy and making him look like a fool.
Saint Patty’s Day is steadily approaching, Major League baseball is warming up down in Florida, and spring is right around the corner.
But the buzz around Penn Manor during March doesn’t involve wearing shamrocks, following sluggers crack homers, or waiting for that thermometer to reach the fifty-degree mark.
Instead, March Madness fever spreads over the school faster than an ugly rumor.
Selection Sunday is coming up on March 14 where the NCAA college basketball tournament participants will be announced. Students of Penn Manor are preparing their online leagues, scouting different conferences, and even looking for potential “sleeper teams” that could surprise the nation during this frenzied tournament.
Sixty-five Division One college basketball teams will enter the tournament which begins this year on Tuesday, March 16. That number will diminish down to two teams on April 3 when the championship game will be played in Indianapolis.
Syracuse, Kentucky and Kansas will be the top dogs entering the tourney, but senior Wes Rowe says that it is the upsets that make this tournament so fun to watch.
“My team won’t make the tournament, but the excitement and great match ups will still make March Madness the best time of the year,” said senior Billy Scheid.
“March Madness gives well-deserving teams an opportunity to compete at the highest level and believe that their hard work [during the regular season] can be rewarded on the basketball court, and possibly make some history,” said Penn Manor history teacher John Erisman, who is also a huge fan of the tournament.
Among others, Villanova, Duke and Syracuse seem to be the favorite around Penn Manor as the playoff approaches.
But when this anticipated time of the year comes, tension as each student hopes for the best chosen bracket, and roots for their team to go all the way will bring a certain liveliness to Penn Manor that can only be described as March Madness.
USA forward Natalie Darwitz in front of Canada's goalie Kim St. Pierre and defender Carla Macleod. Photo courtesy of islandsportsnews.net
She shoots, she scores! That is her second goal tonight, Marie-Philip Poulin puts Canada up by two late in the first period.
After making it all the way to the gold medal round, team USA lost to team Canada in the Olympics 2-0. Canada came out of it with a gold medal, USA with the silver.
Team USA just could not simply put the puck between the pipes as Canada’s goalie, Shannon Szabados, stopped every shot that came her way. The total shot count of the USA was 28. Canada only got off one more shot with a total of 29 shots on goal.
Although Canada did score two goals, USA’s goalie, Jessie Vetter, can not be blamed. She stopped 27 of Canada’s shots. On top of all that, USA’s offense could not capitalize at all out on the ice. USA had two, 5-on-3 power plays and not one goal to come out of it.
The team’s rivalries began to boil going into the game, and seemed like it became personal out on the ice. There were penalties being called left and right in the first two periods. Canada had a total of 12 penalty minutes and USA with 10.
Even with no penalties being called in the third period, it was just as rough. There were no signs of checking, which is illegal in womens hockey opposed to men, it was still very rough. It looked as though you could have been watching the men, but it just seemed like the referees got tired of blowing their whistles.
In the end it was a fantastic match-up between the two teams. Both teams went undefeated on their way to the medal rounds. USA outscored their opponents 40-to-2 going into the game and Canada outscored their opponents 46-to-2. The game was definitely a game to remember, and a game to talk about until the next time the two teams face off.
