Gritty Zephyrs get their wish

FROM KEITH GROLLER

First a note ...

I don't usually stray to other fan forums, especially those on other newspaper sites.

But someone brought it to my attention that I was on the receiving end of some shots on another board tonight, and was even named in a topic header.

So, I took a look. And some chided me for my predictions. Fair enough.

I chide myself when I am wrong and I was definitely wrong on Southern Lehigh tonight, but then again, I think most people from this, and other papers, picked Pottsville to win, too.

Guess what? I hope I am wrong on the Pius X and Pen Argyl games Saturday, too, and hope those teams win because those teams are in our coverage area and their opponents are not, and I generally prefer "our" teams to win. Remember, the more our local teams win, the more people will want to read about those teams. It's a win-win.

But on the same board, I also took a hit for us not having an Eastern Conference football preview in the paper on Friday.

Frankly, this does continue to bother me because I get blamed for things that I had nothing to do with. I had no say in the decision not to run an Eastern Conference preview.

Bill Kline is the sports editor. Ernie Long is the assistant sports editor. Those are the people making the decisions on coverage. If you don't like what you see or don't see, tell them. They will answer your questions about coverage. I believe their numbers should be on our website. They are both good at responding to people's criticisms and questions, whether it be by phone or e-mail.

It's not a matter of me passing the buck; it's just simply stating the truth.

****************

Now, on to tonight.

The two LVC football teams I have seen a lot of this season are Easton and Whitehall. And I think they are fairly similar.

Neither plays perfect, pretty football. But they both scrap and fight.

That's what the Zephyrs did tonight against Wyoming Valley West in a 41-27 win.
Every time I see Whitehall it goes through periods of struggle on offense. It doesn't always click. One good drive is followed by two 3-and-outs.

And yet, the Zephs find a way to come through when needed. Same for the defense.

We know they have star power. Eric Fiore (seen at left in a Denise Sanchez photo) and Chris Polony (below right in another Denise Sanchez photo), both have made their share of big plays and had clutch moments tonight.


Defensively, Andrew Harris, Tanner Madouse and Glen Klein, Jr., were terrific against Wyoming Valley West and made several key stops.

Klein, by the way, is having a whale of a good time playing for Whitehall.

Remember, he was part of a program that had lost 29 straight games at Allen before he transferred to Whitehall.

I loathe transfers. I really do. They cause a lot more trouble than they're worth both for the kid and the school, in many cases.

But a divorce caused this transfer and while that hasn't been easy -- no divorce is -- the transfer has worked out well for Klein who is playing terrific football and finally getting a chance to show what he can do. He's an absolute terror on defense.

He will need to play at a very high level again next week. All of the Zephyrs must.

I can tell you that they're fired up for Nazareth. Tyler Artim said something about the Blue Eagles fans really getting on them a few weeks ago when they played. It really bothered him.

I don't know about all of that.

What I do know is that it should be a terrific game next week.

If it were me, however, I wouldn't be so eager to face Chuck Dibilio again. That kid is amazing, just amazing.

I don't know what Whitehall defensive coordinator Mike Yadush can come up with to keep him contained, but as I type this in the wee hours of Saturday morning, I bet he's already getting nightmares from worrying about Dibilio.

Nazareth, Whitehall, Easton, Central Catholic, Liberty and Emmaus were all winners on Friday night in the LVC. The one loser was Parkland, which, of course, played another LVC team.

So, the LVC was 6-1 -- 5-0 against other leagues -- a pretty impressive playoff start for a league that everyone loves to knock and thinks it can knock off.

But in addition to the LVC, kudos to Southern Lehigh for that big win at Pottsville. I am sure that was one heck of a great bus ride back down Routes 61 and 78.

Me and most of my colleagues expect them to lose, and lose big, against Central next week. But that's probably just the way they want it.

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/