http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/
FROM KEITH GROLLER
The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, that time-honored phrase from the Wide World of Sports opening on ABC, was never more evident than on Friday night at Whitehall because there was a huge range of emotions following Parkland's impressive 27-10 win in the District 4A semifinals.
A couple of thoughts:
(1) Parkland (featuring Kareem Williams leaping for some of his 227 yards in photo at right) was quite thrilled to have vanquished its rivals from a few miles to the east and seemed to have a very spirited postgame celebration. Why not? The Trojans were impressive in every facet over the game's final 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, the pain was also evident for the Zephyrs, who had a terrific 10-win season come to an end. It always hurts more when it comes to an end against Parkland. You sense that since Parkland began its growth spurt about 20 or so years ago, Whitehall always feels as though it's in Parkland's shadow.
Zephyrs will point out with pride, however, that Parkland's enrollment is more than twice that of Whitehall's (1288 to 540 for boys) and yet the Zephs usually find a way to compete in most sports.
(2) Everyone has tremendous respect for Whitehall's Ryan Bonshak, who was named the LVC's co-defensive MVP earlier on Friday.
The only Parkland coach I talked to after the game was receivers coach and offensive consultant Frank Lane and he had nothing but tremendous praise for Bonshak.
"I wish I could have a Bonshak," Lane said. "When I played at Easton, there was a Bonshak at Whitehall. Every decade, there's a Bonshak here. That kid is unbelievable. [Saquon] Barkley's great. [Fouad] Haddad is great, and they have a great coaching staff at Whitehall. I have a lot of respect for them. We're very fortunate to win this one."
(3) It's amazing that as much as football has evolved and offenses have become so sophisticated with the spread, and read-option and the pistol and so on -- a good offensive line and a good running back can dominate a football game and that's what Parkland's offense did tonight. The Trojans took the game over. Parkland's defense was pretty darned good, too.
While Kareem Williams had the big night and couldn't be stopped in the second half, it was the Parkland offensive line featuring David Barber, Mike Aboulhouda, Omar Haddad, Dominic Rossetti and Josh Walmer, plus tight end Nezar Haddad, who controlled the trenches, and thus, the game.
"Those kids deserve all the credit along with the guy who coaches them, Paul Hagadus," Lane said.
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Now, on to the basketball notes.
I heard tonight from that RCN-4's Gary Laubach that former Notre Dame standout player Tyler Kohl has enrolled at Dieruff.
If that is true, that has a major impact on the upcoming Lehigh Valley Conference season. And that's because Kohl, who was one of the best players in the Colonial League two years ago as a freshman, can play.
He is 6-foot-5 with the ability to dominate inside and sweep the boards.
He would be a huge addition to a very quick Dieruff team that advanced to the Stellar Summer League finals in August.
Kohl, who is related to former Dieruff star Anthony Ross, spent the first part of last year at the Perkiomen School and ended up at Trenton Central Academy. He had 26 points and 13 rebounds in a win over highly-touted Trenton last last season.
We won't know for sure his status until the season begins -- practice begins Monday. But his addition to Dieruff would add to the intrigue of a much anticipated season.
And, also, longtime area girls basketball guru Willy Frantz has a new job as the head coach at Weatherly.
But evidently, it came with a smidge of controversy. Here's a link to the story that ran on the Hazleton Standard-Speaker's website.
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