Category: Sports

By Jay Jackson –

The spring lacrosse season is fast approaching and the Comets are looking to make some noise in the section and league. The boys lacrosse players are itching to show what they can do in what is considered a fairly tough league.

“We are going to have a lot of potential,” said senior crease attackman Mitch Domin. “We really could be go. I am pumped for the season.”

The Comets lost some key pieces from last year, however they still have a solid foundation with talented returning players.  Key players this year include Alex Cummins, David Mohimani on defense, and Harrison Manning, Alex Kirk, and Brady Charles playing attack.

“Our defense will be rock solid,” said senior laxer Alex Cummins who is going to Flordia Tech next year to play college lacrosse. “I think it is our strength but I might be a little biased because I play defense, but we will be tough.”

Cummins added, “With our defense playing well, we can play with anyone.”

Penn Manor’s defense is almost completely back this season after the shut-down defense of Jaquan Presbery. Attack and midfield which lost some talented but they comets are reloading and not rebuilding.

“We lost some really good players and a lot of people need to step up but we will be fine,” said Domin.

They are coming into the season with high hopes.

” We will definitely be able to contend,” said first year varsity player Ian Martzall.

” Any team could be good. The section is pretty up in the air at this point,” Domin said as he started pondering about the up coming season.

“We can win it this year,” said Eric Schlotzhauer a Penn Manor lacrosse player, “I am really looking forward to see how everything shakes out my senior season.”

Penn Manor will look to run with the best teams. The lacrosse team has been described as “pure speed” by some.

“Our strength is no doubt our athleticism. We are fast and if we get our fundamentals down then we can be a dominant presence in the league this year,” said Domin.

The comets first game will be at Hempfield at 4:15. This is starting the season out with a bang playing against their section rivals and they look to start their season on the right foot. However lacrosse players are begging for a better student section during the games this year.

“With some student support, the lacrosse team should be a force, but we need as many people as possible to come out and support,”said Domin.

“Last year the student support was really weak. This year it has to be different,” explained Martzall.

Penn Manor lacrosse wants to make some noise this year and win the section. It won’t be easy but it seems that comets are hungry to see what is to come. They are up to the challenge.

“We can definitely win it (section) this year,” said Martzall, “You better believe that we are going to kick some butt this season.”

 

 

By Ryan Flexman –

Penn Manor Junior, Harrison Schettler has suffered multiple seizures… a day.

Schettler was diagnosed with epilepsy, but that did not stop him from playing school sports, including track and field. Even though this puts him at more of a risk, it’s not stopping him.

Schettler is ranked first in the mile for track and field in the league, and broke a school record in cross country this past fall. Many say this is impressive, without even knowing what he has been through.

Schettler said he started having mini seizures in eighth grade, and was told by his doctor that he had a disorder called epilepsy.

His doctor told him at that time that epilepsy was a disorder due to his growth spurt, causing him to suffer five to eight seizures daily.

“At first I didn’t know what to think,” Schettler said. “I was scared and nervous to find out what this meant was going to happen.”

Doctors told him a week later that he may not be able to walk ever again.

Schettler said this was the hardest part of all. He said he has always wanted to be a long distance runner and being told it was questionable for him to even walk again was really tough for him to accept.

“My parents were obviously freaked out, but didn’t want to show it to me because they didn’t want me to be more scared than I already was,” he said.

“I was in the hospital for around two weeks when I first learned about my epilepsy,” said Schettler, “and I honestly cannot remember even one of those 14 days because of all of the different medications that they had me on.”

Schettler also said, “I don’t want people to treat me different from knowing this now, it’s over with and gone.”

About one year later, Schettler said he was officially in the clear and done with the seizures and epilepsy in general.

Schettler is a six-foot, lanky kid with messy brown hair. With his long legs, he looks like he was born to run.

“Now that that is over, I realize that I am actually glad I went through that,” Schettler recalled. “It taught me that at any given time, anything can go wrong in any way and there is no way of predicting it. Therefore I live every day like its my last, and don’t take anything for granted.”

By Jordan Rineer –

When you look at Zac Burke, you don’t think he’s a baseball player. Standing at six-foot-two and weighing 170 pounds, baseball is not the first thing that comes to mind.

Although baseball players are not usually as tall and lanky as Burke, it hasn’t stopped Division I schools from taking a closer look at his abilities.

“The size of me didn’t fit into football or basketball well enough so I decided to pursue pitching as my primary position where tall lanky athletes compete best,” Burke said.

College recruiters couldn’t agree more.

“I currently have a relationship with recruiting coordinators from Radford, Kent State, Virginia, Louisville and Miami,” Burke said.

Burke used to be a three-sport athlete but he’s concentrating all his talents into the Penn Manor baseball team.

Burke’s playing in the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 for Penn Manor. His summer team is called  EvoShield Canes. They play at colleges all the way down the East Coast.

Playing in so many venues allows coaches from major schools to keep tabs on Burke as a possible recruit.

“Miami is my clear favorite, they recently invited me down for a three-game series as a recruit visit,” Burke said.

Burke believes he gets looked at most by scouts when he is on the mound and in control.

Even though Burke can play many positions on the field, he has one favorite.

“Pitcher because the game is run at the tempo I set it as, all eyes are on me when I’m on the mound,” Burke said.

Burke is committed. He wants to prove people wrong when they tell him to play a different sport.

“Off season I play about every other day, in season it is every single day for a couple of months. When you want to move on to the next level, you got to keep pushing,” Burke said.

“Sometimes my elbow or shoulder gets sore from pitching and I have to take it easy.  I feel as if I could never take a break from the game though,” said Burke.

Relaxing is a good feeling  for Burke but when it comes down to it he would be rather be playing baseball than playing video games or other relaxing pasttimes that many teens do, said Burke.

“When I play baseball, it is my escape from reality, nothing else matters except for those seven innings of ball,” said Burke.

Burke is hoping to continue his baseball career in college and maybe even in the pros one day.

With the college recruiters watching, Burke believes it could happen.

 

 

 

 

 

By Jay Jackson –

They feel the tension building the longer into the perfect game they go. One after another, all ten pins fall until the last frame. The pressure is on and the nerves are tense except for one Penn Manor bowler.

“I really wasn’t that nervous,” said Penn Manor bowler Cody Simet. “You don’t really think about it.”

Simet had confidence going into the match.

“He called it before the match, ” said Tyler Bitts senior bowler.

“Before the match I told someone leaving the alley that he was going to miss my 300,” Simet said.

Two Penn Manor bowlers bowled a perfect which is quite a feat unheard of within a week. You need twelve spot-on  strikes in a row to get a perfect game. It is easier said then done.

“It felt amazing but also a little nervous at the same time,” said senior bowler Brendon Yarnell.

“After I did it, I just came back and everybody was surrounding me,” said Simet, ” I was so excited and realized that I did it. There are a lot of good bowlers and we are really close with our averages.”

Penn Manor is a bowling power house. Last year, Penn Manor bowler Coty Johnson won states and now Yarnell and Simet are filling his sizable shoes quite well.

“[Yarnell] is first in the league in average and I think I am either second or third,” said Simet.

Penn Manor has the bowlers, but they also have best coaches around. This gives Penn Manor an edge that is incredibly tough to beat.

“We have the two best coaches that we could possibly have,” Simet said.

Penn Manor bowlers are dominating the league and look to continue there reign this season.

By Jake Shiner –

HBO’s reality show following professional boxing trainer Freddie Roach premiered last Friday.

With an overall solemn tone and lack of narration the show isn’t for everyone but does give a good look into the world of professional boxing.

It begins with a montage of clips of Roach training Amir Khan as a countdown to fight night flashes across the screen. It remains silent except for Roach’s soft-spoken advice and conversations. The events change almost as suddenly as they begin, leaving you in a whirlwind of confusion because there is no direction through subtitles or narration to describe the events.

The show does however pick up halfway through when some minor narration by Roach is introduced and they focus on his battle with Parkinson’s disease. Although for some reason though they fail to mention his medical situation until the last 6 minutes of the episode which could amount to some confusion for those who are not familiar with Roach.

Freddie Roach boxed professionally in the late 70’s and early 80’s. While a World Championship title is absent from his trophy case he was in contention 3 times during his career. He is most notable for training Manny Pacquiao, the first ever eight-division world champion. Roach continues to fight Parkinson’s disease and doctors say that him continuing an active hands-on approach to training slows the progress of the disease.

The next episode of On Freddie Roach premieres this Friday, January 27 at 9:30 est. on HBO.

 

By David Mohimani –

After the longest lockout in a decade nobody knew what to expect from this NBA season. Something nobody expected was the Philadelphia Seventy Sixers leading the Atlantic Division.

“I was not really expecting this but it’s pretty cool to see our local team finally do well again.” said senior Ian Toomey.

Under second-year head coach Doug Collins the Sixers are boasting an impressive 12-5 record. The Sixers have one of the most balanced scoring attacks in the league – they have seven players averaging double figures lead by their sixth man Lou Williams who is averaging a team high 15.4 points per game(ppg).

The Sixers well-rounded offense has them ranked third in the league with 99.9ppg.

Philly has also been stifling on the defensive end allowing  only 88.8ppg which puts them second in the league. Their defense is lead by one of the most stingy and versatile defenders in the NBA, Andre Igoudala who is averaging two steals per game.

“I’m very excited,” said life-long Sixer fan and Penn Manor senior basketball player Landon Alecxih ” I want to get back to 2000,” referencing the Sixers magical run to the NBA finals.

That year they were led by league MVP Allen Iverson when the Sixers saw their championship dreams extinguished by the Lakers, the second of three straight titles for Los Angeles.

Since then, the Sixers have only advanced past the first round of the playoffs one time. They no longer have a star player like Iverson and have had a plethora of coaches over the last decade.

After all the turmoil and inconsistency they have had at the coaching position it seems they have finally found a good fit with coach Collins.

“Collins man, its coaching. Cheeks( former coach) was garbage same with O’brien(former coach). Finally we got a coach and now we are winning,”said Alecxih.

Collins is clearly the early front runner for coach of the year.

The Sixers may be benefiting from a sub par schedule so far. The only quality team they have beaten is the Atlanta Hawks who are inconsistent at best.They will really be tested with their upcoming schedule, a seven-game stretch beginning Monday where they will face the Magic, Bulls,Heat, Hawks, Lakers, Spurs, and the Clippers.

Philly sports fans are said to be some the most critical in all of sports, in fact some of their fans are not satisfied with their hot start.

“They could be playing a lot better,”said senior Tyler Smith. “They have so much potential and they finally are deciding to use some of it.”

Smith raises a valid point, the Sixers have a talented young nucleus lead by Ohio State standout, Evan Turner, who had a solid rookie season but did not meet the expectations of the second overall pick in the 2010 draft.

Other young players like Spencer Hawes, and Jodie Meeks have stepped up this year, while veteran players like Williams and Igoudala provide experience and leadership.

 

 

 

 

By Iris Santana –

Make a statement about girls’ basketball around a group of guys, and it will be followed by a series of snickers and smart remarks.

Senior Eddie Bley’s remark was typical.

“Girls varsity basketball is the equivalent of the guys middle school basketball,”he said.

But the girls’ basketball team of Penn Manor High School is challenging those stereotypes by all that they’ve accomplished this season.

The Penn Manor girls’ basketball team is currently ranked number two in the section. The girl Comets were led by their starting shooting guard, Alicia Ygarza, who is also their leading scorer and rebounder.

Ygarza, who has a sprained ankle, is looking to get back into action soon.

Elizabeth Kelly, the girls’ basketball assistant coach spoke highly of Ygarza saying, “Hopefully Alicia is back early this week, she brings great things to the floor.”

She also said Ygarza is a great scorer and has perfected her craft in rebounding.

With her sitting on the bench, the team showed in their last face-off against Cedar Crest that they were capable of getting the win without her, but just barely.. Led by their senior forwards Alexandra Evans and Megan Schlegelmilch, they pulled out a close victory, 50-51.

“We still happen to pull through even when she’s not in the game” Evans said about Ygarza’s injury.

Manheim Township is currently the number one team in the LL-League Section One bracket.

The girls’ last encounter with Manheim Township was a tough battle and the Comets fell short of a victory.

“I know we can beat them,” Evans said about their upcoming game against Manheim Township.

The PM girls’ face off with Manhiem Township January 30, at Township.

The girls plan to emerge victorious against Township in hopes of becoming the number one seed in the section.

To read a story Ygarza wrote about her ankle injury, follow this link. https://www.pennpoints.net/?p=44301

 

By Brandon Schuman-

The Comets pulled it out in the nick of time.

With an intense buzzer beater by Penn Manor Senior, Landon Alexcih the Penn Manor Comets were able to clip the Hempfield Black Knights 53-52 in overtime Tuesday night.

It was a back and forth night with Penn Manor and Hempfield trading blows throughout the game.

It all started with Penn Manor creaming the Black Knights in the first quarter leading by 12 at one point in the quarter.

Marc Summy came out ready to rumble early in the game by hitting three of the Comets’ first four shots.

Hempfield responded in the second quarter by outscoring the Comets 12-8 in the period. That left the Comets up 27-25 at the end of the half.

After the half, the Black Knights kept their momentum from the third quarter by starting the second half on a 7-0 run. This put the Black Knights up five points over the Comets. Penn Manor out scored Hempfield 10-4 the rest of the way in the third to regain their one point lead going into the final stanza.

The hard fought fourth quarter was a microcosm of the entire game. There were many peaks and valleys for both teams. With the Comets up three, and 8.9 seconds left in the game Penn Manor senior, David Burch tied up Hempfield’s star Drew Johnson by wrestling successfully for the ball. This caused a jump ball from which the Comets regained possession.

Summy was fouled with less than eight seconds left on the clock causing play to be stopped for the foul shots.

Summy missed his first shot which Hempfield rebound and drove down the court. Hempfield senior Mark Mangold took the ball at half court and nailed a solid three-point bomb as the buzzer sounded to send the game into overtime.  Hempfield’s student section erupted as the shot fell.

Overtime did not change from the pattern of the game with Penn Manor and Hempfield swapping the lead back and forth. With less than fifteen seconds on the clock, and the Comets trailing by two, Penn Manor drove the ball past half court and Penn Manor Head Coach Charlie Detz called a time out.

With only 10.2 seconds remaining of play in overtime Penn Manor passed the ball in to Marc Summy. Summy took the ball to the top of the key where he was stopped cold by the Black Knight defense. Undeterred he quickly dished the ball to team mate Landon Alexcih. Alexcih dribbled the ball to the left corner and drilled a step back three pointer as time expired to put the Comets ahead one final time 53-52.