We're now less than 48 hours from the opening whistle of the 2018 high school football season. Despite all the rain over the late spring and summer, Friday night's forecast as of now is for near-perfect weather, which is also a welcome sign.
And there's plenty of intrigue around my coverage area for the Bedford Gazette. By the way, the Gazette's annual preview insert comes out on Friday (I didn't do much for the issue, so forward any comments/concerns to others not named Ryan Spring, LOL).
Here's some of the top storylines in my opinion:
Chestnut Ridge to the Laurel Highlands
The Lions, who have been very good of late, find themselves back in a league this fall as a full member of the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference. They will have a lot of new faces in the skill positions, and their development will be key. I've heard some people saying that Ridge will struggle in the LHAC, but to that point, I'll make two counterpoints.
First, I would argue that Chestnut Ridge's independent scheduling over the past decade has been just as rigorous as any league team. The Lions have faced opponents such as Berks Catholic, Fort Hill and Allegany from Maryland, Musselman from West Virginia, plus more regional powers like Berlin, Portage, Tyrone and others.
Second, in the 10 seasons against many of those above, Chestnut Ridge has had only one losing season, and that was 5-6 in 2009.
Sure, like mentioned above, Max Shoemaker will have a lot of new people on his first string offense and defense, but it is one of the stronger football programs from top to bottom around right now. The Lions draw one of the LHAC favorites, Forest Hills, right out of the box on Friday night in Sidman, and while I'm not sure they could pull out an upset in that one, I wouldn't sleep on them over the rest of the fall.
Rest of the LHAC
Bedford, my other team in the league, has had a couple down years of late, but I expect the Bisons to be better. That said, I think they're still a year or two away from contending. They do avoid Bishop Guilfoyle on the schedule this season, which helps.
It appears as if Forest Hills and Bishop Guilfoyle are the preseason favorites, while it could be a battle between several teams for the next slot or two.
New Coaches
There's two new head coaches in my area, and they'll face each other in two days as Claysburg-Kimmel visits Tussey Mountain.
After winning its first playoff game in nearly 30 years, the Bulldogs gave the reigns to Matt Bilchak, who is the head man for the first time anywhere. He was an assistant to Dan Foor previously. Bilchak has a nice nucleus of starters back and expectations are up in CK country.
Meanwhile, the Titans went with Anthony Sottasante, who previously coached at Columbia in District 3.
Tussey Mountain has only three wins in the past two years, but rumors are a scrimmage this past weekend with perennial WestPAC power Portage went better than expected. A scrimmage is a scrimmage, so I don't know what can be taken out of it. But it's at the very least some positive vibes for the Titan faithful.
Inter-County Glory
It's a broken record, but it seems again like the road to an ICC title goes through Bellwood-Antis. Despite the fact that legendary coach John Hayes retired, the Blue Devils should be strong again, as assistant Nick Lovrich moved up to Hayes' spot.
The contenders could include Juniata Valley, Claysburg, and Southern Huntingdon.
Northern Bedford isn't getting a lot of press, but that's probably how Black Panthers' coach Garry Black likes it, coming off a district championship in 2017. Like Chestnut Ridge, Black will have a lot of skill position changes from a year ago. Central and Southern Huntingdon in the first two weeks will be challenges, but could also pave the way for success later on in the season. By the way, the Southern Huntingdon game is on a Thursday if you saw that and thought it was a misprint. The game is at Southern next Thursday, August 30.
Wednesday, August 22, 2018
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
Cassidy back in Bedford colors
With two promising years left as a varsity wrestler, Kaden Cassidy is returning to his roots as a member of Bedford's team.
A former junior wrestling standout in the Bison program, Cassidy was a PIAA third-place finisher at 106 pounds for Bishop McCort as a freshman. Last season at Chestnut Ridge, Cassidy began on a high note by winning the King of the Mountain Tournament, but missed the rest of the season due to injuries.
Cassidy won a Pennsylvania Junior Wrestling (PJW) state title in 2016 for Bedford, and will certainly be a nice building block for new Bisons' coach Joel Easter.
Cassidy and his family moved back into the Bedford Area School District over the summer. The transfer between the two county schools was approved at the recent District 5 meeting, and the new PIAA rules regarding transfers sitting out postseason events do not apply in this case, as Cassidy's move was prior to the state's August 6 deadline.
A former junior wrestling standout in the Bison program, Cassidy was a PIAA third-place finisher at 106 pounds for Bishop McCort as a freshman. Last season at Chestnut Ridge, Cassidy began on a high note by winning the King of the Mountain Tournament, but missed the rest of the season due to injuries.
Cassidy won a Pennsylvania Junior Wrestling (PJW) state title in 2016 for Bedford, and will certainly be a nice building block for new Bisons' coach Joel Easter.
Cassidy and his family moved back into the Bedford Area School District over the summer. The transfer between the two county schools was approved at the recent District 5 meeting, and the new PIAA rules regarding transfers sitting out postseason events do not apply in this case, as Cassidy's move was prior to the state's August 6 deadline.
Wednesday, July 18, 2018
PIAA's new transfer rules — Are they enough?
It's no secret that the PIAA has been under a lot of scrutiny for some time regarding the issue of competitive balance between public and private, or non-boundary, schools.
Earlier today, the state's athletic association Board of Directors broke its protocol to enact new transfer rules which take effect on August 6, one week before official practices for the fall sports season begin.
Here's a quick breakdown:
1) If any student athlete in 10th, 11th, or 12th grade decides to transfer to another school, he or she is permitted to compete in regular season competition, but will be banned from all postseason play in any sport that they competed at the year before at the previous school.
2) The board also approved a new competitive balance formula, based on postseason success and number of transfers. Schools will receive points for certain advancement in PIAA playoff brackets, and those points along with a given number of transfers over a two-year period will require a move up in classification. The numbers will be used to determine 2020-21 classifications. Keep in mind that this formula is only being used for two sports — football and basketball.
This is the biggest step that the PIAA has made in regards to trying to "level the playing field." And I do think the Board of Directors deserves credit for tightening up the transfer rules, and for suspending its protocol to enact the first measure as early as this year.
That said, it's not near a total fix of the issues regarding public vs. private. While I did not speak with anyone on the record about the PIAA's new rules, I gather that many public districts will see this as a band-aid type of measure that won't produce their desired long-term solutions.
Next Tuesday, superintendents and other administrators from over 100 public school districts are expected to be in attendance at a meeting set up in State College. The public vs. private debate is at the heart of the matter, and who knows where it leads.
It should be noted that many of the schools named on a list of probable attendees (published Tuesday on pennlive.com) are from the central and western parts of the state. A number of administrators from schools in the east, notably Districts 3 and 11, have already been quoted as saying that they would not attend next week's gathering.
In the past 10 years, the non-boundary schools have won 64 percent of team championships in boys basketball and 59 percent in girls basketball, with football basically at a 50-50 split between public and private programs.
While those numbers might not be as high as thought by some on the outside, it's a rallying call by many public districts to at least get together and discuss options, with the list of meeting attendees rising drastically since such a meeting was proposed.
The Centre Daily Times reported that the Bellefonte school board, at its meeting last night, passed a resolution calling on the PIAA to consider separating public and private postseason competition. The resolution says that the state should put public schools in four classes (A, 2A, 3A, 4A) with private schools in two classes (5A, 6A).
At the very least from the public school angle, the time for complaints seems over and a call to action is imminent.
Will it eventually mean separate playoffs? Will it mean schools leaving the PIAA and creating a new governing body for state athletics?
Obviously, I can't answer that. But what I can say is this topic is as hot as hype is for the upcoming sports season itself.
Earlier today, the state's athletic association Board of Directors broke its protocol to enact new transfer rules which take effect on August 6, one week before official practices for the fall sports season begin.
Here's a quick breakdown:
1) If any student athlete in 10th, 11th, or 12th grade decides to transfer to another school, he or she is permitted to compete in regular season competition, but will be banned from all postseason play in any sport that they competed at the year before at the previous school.
2) The board also approved a new competitive balance formula, based on postseason success and number of transfers. Schools will receive points for certain advancement in PIAA playoff brackets, and those points along with a given number of transfers over a two-year period will require a move up in classification. The numbers will be used to determine 2020-21 classifications. Keep in mind that this formula is only being used for two sports — football and basketball.
This is the biggest step that the PIAA has made in regards to trying to "level the playing field." And I do think the Board of Directors deserves credit for tightening up the transfer rules, and for suspending its protocol to enact the first measure as early as this year.
That said, it's not near a total fix of the issues regarding public vs. private. While I did not speak with anyone on the record about the PIAA's new rules, I gather that many public districts will see this as a band-aid type of measure that won't produce their desired long-term solutions.
Next Tuesday, superintendents and other administrators from over 100 public school districts are expected to be in attendance at a meeting set up in State College. The public vs. private debate is at the heart of the matter, and who knows where it leads.
It should be noted that many of the schools named on a list of probable attendees (published Tuesday on pennlive.com) are from the central and western parts of the state. A number of administrators from schools in the east, notably Districts 3 and 11, have already been quoted as saying that they would not attend next week's gathering.
In the past 10 years, the non-boundary schools have won 64 percent of team championships in boys basketball and 59 percent in girls basketball, with football basically at a 50-50 split between public and private programs.
While those numbers might not be as high as thought by some on the outside, it's a rallying call by many public districts to at least get together and discuss options, with the list of meeting attendees rising drastically since such a meeting was proposed.
The Centre Daily Times reported that the Bellefonte school board, at its meeting last night, passed a resolution calling on the PIAA to consider separating public and private postseason competition. The resolution says that the state should put public schools in four classes (A, 2A, 3A, 4A) with private schools in two classes (5A, 6A).
At the very least from the public school angle, the time for complaints seems over and a call to action is imminent.
Will it eventually mean separate playoffs? Will it mean schools leaving the PIAA and creating a new governing body for state athletics?
Obviously, I can't answer that. But what I can say is this topic is as hot as hype is for the upcoming sports season itself.
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
Cambria County Legion Playoff Preview
The 2018 Cambria County American Legion league playoffs begin on Thursday with a pair of best-of-three semifinal series. Bedford is the top seed and will host fourth seed Somerset in Game 1, while the other matchup features second seed Claysburg hosting third seed St. Michael.
The winners of the semifinal series' will play one nine-inning game at the higher seed to determine the CCAL champion. Both finalists advance to the Region 7 Tournament, which begins on Friday, July 20. Hempfield East is the regional host this year and games will be played at Hempfield Area High School.
Below is a closer look at the Cambria league tournament:
1. Bedford (21-3) vs 4. Somerset (14-9)
Game 1 - Thursday at Bedford, 5:30 p.m.
Game 2 - Friday at Somerset, 5:30 p.m.
Game 3 (x) - Saturday at Bedford, TBA
x - if necessary
Notes: Bedford won all three regular season meetings with Somerset this season. All three of Bedford's losses were by one run. Bedford has advanced to the regional tournament the past two years and three of four heading into 2018. Somerset's last appearance at Region 7 was in 2013, when Post 181 hosted that event.
2. Claysburg (20-4) vs 3. St. Michael (19-5)
Game 1 - Thursday at Claysburg, 5:30 p.m.
Game 2 - Friday at St. Michael, 5:30 p.m.
Game 3 (x) - Saturday at Claysburg, TBA
x - if necessary
Notes: St. Michael, which had a chance to be a higher seed and thus have home field advantage before losses to Bedford and Lilly this past Sunday, won two of three games against Claysburg this summer. Claysburg's four defeats in the league's regular season were by six runs in total. Claysburg is looking for its fifth straight trip to the Region 7 Tournament, while St. Michael most recently made it in 2015.
The winners of the semifinal series' will play one nine-inning game at the higher seed to determine the CCAL champion. Both finalists advance to the Region 7 Tournament, which begins on Friday, July 20. Hempfield East is the regional host this year and games will be played at Hempfield Area High School.
Below is a closer look at the Cambria league tournament:
1. Bedford (21-3) vs 4. Somerset (14-9)
Game 1 - Thursday at Bedford, 5:30 p.m.
Game 2 - Friday at Somerset, 5:30 p.m.
Game 3 (x) - Saturday at Bedford, TBA
x - if necessary
Notes: Bedford won all three regular season meetings with Somerset this season. All three of Bedford's losses were by one run. Bedford has advanced to the regional tournament the past two years and three of four heading into 2018. Somerset's last appearance at Region 7 was in 2013, when Post 181 hosted that event.
2. Claysburg (20-4) vs 3. St. Michael (19-5)
Game 1 - Thursday at Claysburg, 5:30 p.m.
Game 2 - Friday at St. Michael, 5:30 p.m.
Game 3 (x) - Saturday at Claysburg, TBA
x - if necessary
Notes: St. Michael, which had a chance to be a higher seed and thus have home field advantage before losses to Bedford and Lilly this past Sunday, won two of three games against Claysburg this summer. Claysburg's four defeats in the league's regular season were by six runs in total. Claysburg is looking for its fifth straight trip to the Region 7 Tournament, while St. Michael most recently made it in 2015.
Sunday, July 8, 2018
Remembering Tom Waltman
Small school districts like the ones I live in and around tend to have someone like Tom Waltman.
Everett certainly did with Waltman himself, who unexpectedly passed away on Friday at the age of 54. A health and physical education teacher at Everett, Tom also coached for many years, most notably in football.
I heard about Tom’s passing on Friday afternoon, and after Jeff Maurer’s death on Monday, it’s another person I consider a friend that I won’t get to see once the high school sports season begins, and my heart goes out to Tom’s family and the Everett Area School District.
I can remember meeting Tom for the first time in Everett’s parking lot in the summer of 2006. I believe it was photo day for the football team as the season was fast approaching. The next time I saw him was probably three weeks or so later at a soccer game, and as I entered the stadium, Tom came up to me and said (12 years ago, so probably not verbatim here) “Hi Ryan, how are you?”
Honestly, I would have expected just a “ Hi” or “Hey, you’re the new guy at the Gazette, right?”
I know that seems so trivial to most, but it meant a lot that it seemed so personal from him, and though I can’t remember most things I did an hour ago or a day ago, I’ll think of that time when I think of Tom.
One other thing about Tom was his interviews. Whether it was a game story, preseason talk, or postseason awards, he was great with information. I’d ask about half a question and he’d start chiming in with his thoughts. And it wasn’t done in a negative way like he was trying to control the interview. I think he was just happy and excited to discuss whatever the topic was. Win or lose, he was always upbeat, had a smile on his face, and had something positive to say.
Even after he wasn’t the varsity coach anymore, Tom stayed very active around Everett sports. I’d reason that nine times out of ten when I was at a Warriors’ basketball game, or a soccer or volleyball match, there was Tom, sitting in the front row supporting the kids he knew and loved.
And every chance I had, I would at least say “hello”, because out of the so many great people I met in my decade-plus around this area’s local sports scene, Tom Waltman ranks in the top of my list.
Like I said with Jeff in my last blog post, I’m saddened that I won’t get to chat with Tom at an event this fall, but I know that my life is better just for knowing him the little bit that I did.
Everett certainly did with Waltman himself, who unexpectedly passed away on Friday at the age of 54. A health and physical education teacher at Everett, Tom also coached for many years, most notably in football.
I heard about Tom’s passing on Friday afternoon, and after Jeff Maurer’s death on Monday, it’s another person I consider a friend that I won’t get to see once the high school sports season begins, and my heart goes out to Tom’s family and the Everett Area School District.
I can remember meeting Tom for the first time in Everett’s parking lot in the summer of 2006. I believe it was photo day for the football team as the season was fast approaching. The next time I saw him was probably three weeks or so later at a soccer game, and as I entered the stadium, Tom came up to me and said (12 years ago, so probably not verbatim here) “Hi Ryan, how are you?”
Honestly, I would have expected just a “ Hi” or “Hey, you’re the new guy at the Gazette, right?”
I know that seems so trivial to most, but it meant a lot that it seemed so personal from him, and though I can’t remember most things I did an hour ago or a day ago, I’ll think of that time when I think of Tom.
One other thing about Tom was his interviews. Whether it was a game story, preseason talk, or postseason awards, he was great with information. I’d ask about half a question and he’d start chiming in with his thoughts. And it wasn’t done in a negative way like he was trying to control the interview. I think he was just happy and excited to discuss whatever the topic was. Win or lose, he was always upbeat, had a smile on his face, and had something positive to say.
Even after he wasn’t the varsity coach anymore, Tom stayed very active around Everett sports. I’d reason that nine times out of ten when I was at a Warriors’ basketball game, or a soccer or volleyball match, there was Tom, sitting in the front row supporting the kids he knew and loved.
And every chance I had, I would at least say “hello”, because out of the so many great people I met in my decade-plus around this area’s local sports scene, Tom Waltman ranks in the top of my list.
Like I said with Jeff in my last blog post, I’m saddened that I won’t get to chat with Tom at an event this fall, but I know that my life is better just for knowing him the little bit that I did.
Thursday, July 5, 2018
Remembering Jeff Maurer
Monday was officially my first day back in a full-time role at the Bedford Gazette, but it became bittersweet as I heard late in the evening that we had all lost a friend in the local sports business - Jeff Maurer, the sports editor at the Somerset Daily American.
Jeff passed away at the too young age of 39, and with myself being just a little older, it's another reminder of how much I know I take for granted every day without knowing what lies ahead.
Jeff and I got to know each other through our mutual coverage of high school wrestling, mostly when it came to the postseason events. We would often swap team scores and individual results with each other to make sure we had it right for our respective newspapers. And we would at times be called upon by the other to cover a match, or a football game, or whatever else was needed. In 2009, Jeff asked me to help the Daily American with its first two days of coverage of the state wrestling tournament, which is where I first enjoyed talking with, and interviewing the late Nick Roberts.
One of the things I thought most about Jeff was his quiet, unassuming demeanor. In that way, I'm cut from quite the same cloth. And in social media postings and such throughout the past few days, almost everyone has mentioned his quiet professional personality in their reflective thoughts.
My last interaction with Jeff came in early February at the District 5 Duals. I was there covering the matches for the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat. Jeff and I sat next to each other at the media table, again trading some scoring back and forth as we always had. One of his first comments to me was asking how my son was doing, and that always means so much to me coming from colleagues.
Also in those postings I've seen, you can tell from people who know Jeff a lot better than I did that he truly cared about the people he worked with and was friends with.
Jeff would have certainly been one of the fellow journalists I would have interacted with during this upcoming high school season. I'm saddened that I can't sit next to him at these events anymore, but I'm thankful that I knew him.
Jeff passed away at the too young age of 39, and with myself being just a little older, it's another reminder of how much I know I take for granted every day without knowing what lies ahead.
Jeff and I got to know each other through our mutual coverage of high school wrestling, mostly when it came to the postseason events. We would often swap team scores and individual results with each other to make sure we had it right for our respective newspapers. And we would at times be called upon by the other to cover a match, or a football game, or whatever else was needed. In 2009, Jeff asked me to help the Daily American with its first two days of coverage of the state wrestling tournament, which is where I first enjoyed talking with, and interviewing the late Nick Roberts.
One of the things I thought most about Jeff was his quiet, unassuming demeanor. In that way, I'm cut from quite the same cloth. And in social media postings and such throughout the past few days, almost everyone has mentioned his quiet professional personality in their reflective thoughts.
My last interaction with Jeff came in early February at the District 5 Duals. I was there covering the matches for the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat. Jeff and I sat next to each other at the media table, again trading some scoring back and forth as we always had. One of his first comments to me was asking how my son was doing, and that always means so much to me coming from colleagues.
Also in those postings I've seen, you can tell from people who know Jeff a lot better than I did that he truly cared about the people he worked with and was friends with.
Jeff would have certainly been one of the fellow journalists I would have interacted with during this upcoming high school season. I'm saddened that I can't sit next to him at these events anymore, but I'm thankful that I knew him.
Monday, July 2, 2018
Back to the Sports Business
When I left the Bedford Gazette's sports editor post late in 2016, I wrote in my farewell column in the paper that local sports were in my blood for good, and I knew I wouldn't ever go very far from them.
And here we are a year and a half later, and you'll soon be seeing my name back in the pages of the Gazette, as I have decided to return full-time to the sports desk. I will not be the sports editor, as that title still holds with Codi Weyant, who replaced me in that role when I departed. That's exactly the way it should be, and frankly was one of my stipulations upon a potential return. Codi and I had a great working relationship in the five-plus years before, and she's done a great job as the editor.
I didn't return to step on anyone's toes. Aside from my faith and family, this industry has brought me my greatest passion, and I am delighted to get back to hanging out on the fields of play around Bedford County and beyond. Plain and simple, that's why I'm here writing this tonight.
Do I regret leaving on December 16, 2016?
Absolutely not.
I wanted to challenge myself and step outside of my comfort zone, and I'm so glad that I did. It was only a year and a half, but I learned a lot about myself in that time, things that I believe I can use in a return to journalism.
It was also great to be able to take my son, who is now four years old, to some games and just sit and watch. He's becoming a fan of certain sports himself, and he and I cherished those moments and will surely do so in the future as well. And to see it from the perspective of not having to hold a pen and paper and take down a lot of information was also quite valuable in my opinion.
As for this blog, I began it several years ago with the hope of adding more content across all sports to what I was already doing at the Gazette. That happened but just for a short while as it eventually boiled down to mainly the wrestling season. That was in part because of my duties at the paper as sports editor, so without that responsibility now, it may lead to more opportunities online here to focus on other things. And I already have some ideas, but I'll have to see how it plays out with the work that pays my bills. As much as I would still rather have a print copy of a newspaper in my hand, the digital age of information keeps going and keeps growing, so my hope is to bring you more on that end.
Again, I'm glad to be back, and thankful to Bedford Gazette publisher Joe Beegle for affording me the opportunity. Let the games begin!
And here we are a year and a half later, and you'll soon be seeing my name back in the pages of the Gazette, as I have decided to return full-time to the sports desk. I will not be the sports editor, as that title still holds with Codi Weyant, who replaced me in that role when I departed. That's exactly the way it should be, and frankly was one of my stipulations upon a potential return. Codi and I had a great working relationship in the five-plus years before, and she's done a great job as the editor.
I didn't return to step on anyone's toes. Aside from my faith and family, this industry has brought me my greatest passion, and I am delighted to get back to hanging out on the fields of play around Bedford County and beyond. Plain and simple, that's why I'm here writing this tonight.
Do I regret leaving on December 16, 2016?
Absolutely not.
I wanted to challenge myself and step outside of my comfort zone, and I'm so glad that I did. It was only a year and a half, but I learned a lot about myself in that time, things that I believe I can use in a return to journalism.
It was also great to be able to take my son, who is now four years old, to some games and just sit and watch. He's becoming a fan of certain sports himself, and he and I cherished those moments and will surely do so in the future as well. And to see it from the perspective of not having to hold a pen and paper and take down a lot of information was also quite valuable in my opinion.
As for this blog, I began it several years ago with the hope of adding more content across all sports to what I was already doing at the Gazette. That happened but just for a short while as it eventually boiled down to mainly the wrestling season. That was in part because of my duties at the paper as sports editor, so without that responsibility now, it may lead to more opportunities online here to focus on other things. And I already have some ideas, but I'll have to see how it plays out with the work that pays my bills. As much as I would still rather have a print copy of a newspaper in my hand, the digital age of information keeps going and keeps growing, so my hope is to bring you more on that end.
Again, I'm glad to be back, and thankful to Bedford Gazette publisher Joe Beegle for affording me the opportunity. Let the games begin!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)