Freedom, Emmaus and Ashley Williams were impressive on Tuesday night

FROM KEITH GROLLER

The Lehigh Valley Conference boys semifinals are now in the books and frankly, we have the championship matchup we thought we'd have before the start of the season -- Emmaus vs. Freedom.

Coming out of the summer we thought it would be these two teams and it is.

Both were impressive defensively on Tuesday, and both did the job on the boards, but at the same time Parkland and Easton both really struggled with their long-range shooting. Some of it could be attributed to good defense, but not all.

The Trojans were 1-for-12 from 3-point range and the Red Rovers were 2-for-22. Brutal.

Friday night's game should be a dandy. You've got two very balanced teams filled with guys capable of coming out of nowhere and having a big night as Freedom's Nyreef Jackson (16 points) had against Parkland or Emmaus' Steve Bitto (15 points) against Easton.

Emmaus won the previous matchup 48-43 at Freedom on Jan. 31 in a very good game. Greg Bobal (seen below taking a shot in that game), who sat out most of the first half in that one with two fouls, had a superb performance for Emmaus down the stretch.
Who will be the hero this time?

Green Hornets coach Steve Yoder is already calling on the school's student body to rally around his team because he knows that Freedom will come to Allen in large numbers as they have all season and could get Sewards Gym rocking.

People ask me all of the time about the Kegger Awards and who's going to win this or that.

Well, the only award that is pretty much decided this season is Freedom winning the "Best Student Fan" section. I don't know if they're really the "Riot Squad" or the "Freedom Family." (Seen below), All I know is that they have really made an impact on this season. If every school had a student section like Freedom's, we'd have a lot of excitement and fun in these gyms all winter. Well, let's just say more fun.

They even had the Parkland students imitating them tonight when the Trojans tried to do the Moses parting the Red Sea schtick. Imitation, as they say, is the highest form of flattery and by doing that Parkland paid Freedom's section a large compliment.

And one more award may have been won tonight.

Ashley Williams, a second-grader from Union Terrace Elementary School in Allentown, who was barely as tall as the scorer's table, delivered a tremendous version of The Star Spangled Banner. This young lady can't be more than eight years old, but even in front of probably 2,000 people and TV cameras, she showed no fear and delivered one of the best national anthems I've heard all year.

I wonder if we'll hear an encore on Friday night?

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