From Keith Groller
Liberty has a tough schedule this week. We'll know by about 8 p.m. Sunday whether the Hurricanes truly are the top team in the area.
At Emmaus tonight. At Nazareth Friday. At Parkland to play Pocono Mountain West on Sunday.
The weather and the schedule have been brutal and we'll have games on virtually every night left in the regular season from here through Feb. 12.
But here's a snapshot at how it looks right now as we brace for possibly yet another storm and another schedule interruption:
LEHIGH VALLEY CONFERENCE
1. Liberty (12-1, 7-0) ... Ranked No. 1 last week .... Expect a defensive struggle Tuesday night at Emmaus.
2. Allen (10-2, 5-1) ... Ranked No. 2 last week ... Makeup game with Easton set for Thursday night.
3. Nazareth (11-1, 5-1) ... Ranked No. 3 last week ... Justin Pacchioli transferring from Easton to play baseball for the Blue Eagles this spring? That's what some are saying. It's now official: Karl Keglovits won't play this season. And The Weave is predicting a 50-33 win over CCHS tonight.
4. Easton (12-1, 5-1) ... Ranked No. 4 last week ... Have won eight in a row since the loss to Liberty just before Christmas.
5. Emmaus (10-3, 4-3) ... Ranked No. 5 last week... Win over Parkland on Monday night was Hornets' first game in 10 days.
6. Central Catholic (9-6, 4-4) ... Ranked No. 6 last week ... We'll see if the Vikings have what it takes to beat a top-tier team when they travel to Nazareth tonight.
7. Whitehall (5-8, 2-4) ... Ranked No. 7 last week ... Beating Freedom tonight is a must for Zephs if they want to keep district hopes alive.
8. Parkland (6-7, 2-4) ... Ranked No. 8 last week ... Trojans had won four straight before losing to Emmaus on Monday night.
9. Freedom (4-9, 2-4) ... Ranked No. 9 last week ... Patriots still have a shot at districts. Starting tonight (vs. Whitehall), they play four in a row against teams with losing records.
10. Northampton (2-11, 1-5) .... Ranked No. 11 last week .... Get a rankings boost because of the close call against Saucon. Slow start hurt Konkrete Kids against CCHS.
11. Becahi (4-10, 0-7) ... Ranked No. 12 last week ... Even though the Golden Hawks aren't going anywhere, Jake Hungarter makes them worth a look.
12. Dieruff (4-9, 1-4) ... Ranked No. 10 last week ... Maybe the slide will end against Northampton on Weds., weather permitting, of course.
COLONIAL LEAGUE
1. Bangor (14-1, 10-0) ... Ranked No. 1 last week ... I think they will run the table in the Colonial.
2. Wilson (10-4, 7-2) ... Ranked No. 2 last week ... Gave it a great shot at Bangor on Friday.
3. Saucon Valley (9-4, 8-2) ... Ranked No. 4 last week ... If they can't win the league, watch out for Panthers in District 11 3A tourney.
4. Notre Dame (9-5, 6-3)... Ranked No. 3 last week ... Like many others, Crusaders just need to play games to get back on the same page.
5. Northern Lehigh (10-4, 6-3) ... Ranked No. 7 last week ... I know the Bulldogs aren't done this year, but wow, the future sure looks good with Lucas Pierce, Caleb Johnson and Tyler Dibilio around for a few more seasons.
6. Salisbury (9-5, 5-4) ... Ranked No. 5 last week ... To me, the whole gym should be named in Bill Paulik's honor and not just the floor, but it's better than nothing for a guy who represented his school so well for so many years.
7. Palisades (6-7, 3-6) ... Ranked No. 8 last week ... Very happy the Pirates ship will be rebuilt. Parris will likely become school's all-time leading scorer tonight.
8. Southern Lehigh (7-9, 5-5) ... Ranked No. 6 last week ... Good to see assistant Kurt Zellner on Tuesday night. He's truly one of the good guys in local sports and I was thrilled to learn he's healthy again after a health setback last summer. But where the heck was my man, Stan Swartz? Scorekeeper Of The Year award in definite jeopardy.
9. Palmerton (5-8, 3-5) ... Ranked No. 9 last week ... Heard some nice things about new coach Mark Maholick from the Northern Lehigh people on Monday night. With the schedule backed up, it's going to be tough for the Bombers to make progress the rest of the way.
10. Catasauqua (3-11, 2-8) ... Ranked No. 10 last week ... Critics be damned, no one cares more about Catty -- the town, school and athletic program -- than Eric Snyder.
11. Pen Argyl (2-12, 1-8) ... Ranked No. 11 last week ... Green Knights coach Michael Frew doing good work with the Coaches vs. Cancer campaign in the Colonial.
12. Northwestern (1-14, 0-10) ... Ranked No. 12 last week ... Rather than comment on an obviously brutal season, I will just say Dennis Nemes, Jason Zimmerman, Patty Mengel and the Snyder brothers are my favorite all-time Tigers.
MOUNTAIN VALLEY CONFERENCE
1. Pocono Mountain East (9-5, 5-0) ... Ranked No. 2 last week .... Nonleague losses still valuable because the Cardinals are playing good competition.
2. Pocono Mountain West (10-4, 5-1) ... Ranked No. 1 last week ... Looking forward to seeing how the Panthers fare against Liberty on Sunday.
3. Stroudsburg (6-7, 4-2) ... Ranked No. 3 last week ... Improving Mounties might be closing the gap on the Pocono teams.
4. Pleasant Valley (6-7, 3-3) ... Ranked No. 4 last week ... A 32-30 loss to Parkland on Saturday? Not exactly eye candy for the hoop junkie.
5. ES North (7-8, 2-4) ... Ranked No. 5 last week ... Tough overtime loss to PV on Monday night.
6. ES South (3-11, 1-5) ... Ranked No. 6 last week ... Cavs scored 75 points over the last three quarters against Lehighton.
7. Lehighton (1-12, 0-5) .... Ranked No. 7 last week ... Kudos to the Tribe for ending a long losing streak with that win over Catty and getting program's second win in three seasons
On this page I will have all information on sports events from Nazareth High School and all other sports events in the country. I will also have news about myself and other people.
No comments:
Post a Comment