Williams Valley, Halifax earn runner-up trophies

LON ZEIDERS/For The Citizen-Standard Williams Valley’s Mya Achenbach drives for a layup through the defense of Kutztown’s Gretta Bankes and Selena White during action Dec. 9 at the Upper Dauphin Tip-Off Tournament in Elizabethville. Williams Valley would win this game, thanks to Achenbach’s 22 points, by a 45-44 score but then lost in the championship game to Shenandoah Valley.

Pine Grove 49, Schuylkill Valley 22
PINE GROVE — The Cardinals opened their season in a big way starting with a 20-2 run in the first quarter to rout Schuylkill Valley in non-league action Dec. 12.
Rachel Edge led the Pine Grove effort with 14 points while Faith Shiffer contributed nine points for the Cardinals.
Schuylkill Valley (22) — Davis 0 0-0 0, Himmelberger 3 3-4 9, Brzostek 1 0-0 2, Sisko 1 1-2 3, Kowalski 0 4-5 4, Rittenhouse 0 0-0 0, Cerankowski 1 1-2 3, Civil 0 1-2 1. Totals 6 10-15 22.
Pine Grove (49) — Conrad 4 0-0 8, Edge 7 0-1 14, Shiffer 3 2-2 9, Flick 0 0-0 0, Butler 2 0-0 4, Kaufman 1 0-0 2, Sleva 2 1-1 5, Betz 1 0-0 3, Frew 0 0-0 0, Boyer 2 0-0 4. Totals 22 3-4 49.
Schuylkill Valley — 2 8 5 7 — 22
Pine Grove — 20 10 14 5 — 49
3-point FGs — Shiffer, Betz.
Delone Catholic 64, Halifax 17
CAMP HILL — Halifax was outscored 30-4 in the first half as Delone Catholic dropped the Wildcats in the finals of the Camp Hill Tip-Off Tournament on Dec. 10
Six different players scored for Halifax with Brynn Miller and Hannah Custer leading the way with four points each.
Halifax (17) — Spicher 1 0-0 2, Ashberry 0 0-0 0, Egli 0 0-0 0, Turner 0 0-0 0, Miller 2 0-1 4, Starr 0 0-0 0, Davis 1 0-2 2, Custer 2 0-0 4, Weaver 0 0-0 0, Acri 1 0-0 3, Bingaman 0 0-0 0. Totals 7 0-3 17.

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Submitted Photo The Miller Family is featured on Pennsylvania Game News. Ken Miller and his dad Jim and brothers, Glenn, Barry and Darryl are all featured in the scene .

MILLERSBURG – Since 2011, Millersburg native artist Dana Bellis has been illustrating for PA Game News Magazine. From the beginning, Dana chose to use family members as models for most of the illustration work for the publication.
The October 2012 PA Game News issue, his first cover, featured his uncle Larry Bellis, cousin David Bellis and David’s son, Colt as the subjects in the painting entitled “Through the Generations.” It was painted to represent three generations of PA Game News readers and, as Dana notes, “it actually did!”
In 2014, Dana painted his first “throwback” cover titled, “Days Gone By,” requested by the magazine to recreate a hunting scene from 1964. Now, the artist has produced his sixth Game News cover, entitled “Deer Camp Memories” to be published in the December 2016 issue.
For this latest piece, Dana was approached by the magazine’s Senior Associate Editor and asked to create a 1966 deer camp theme similar to his popular December 2014 cover. He was told by the editor, the editorial staff and readers really enjoyed that cover and the magazine was hoping for something with a similar nostalgic feel.

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Last-minute scores gives Steel-High 24-20 win

MIKE LEITER/For The Citizen-Standard Williams Valley’s Levi Engle (11) tries to position himself to stop Steelton-Highspire’s Lathaniel Webster-Spencer during the PIAA Class A quarterfinal game Nov. 25 at Kemp Memorial Stadium, Shamokin. Steel-High won the game 24-20 to advance in the tournament, ending Williams-Valley’s season at 12-2. At left, The Williams Valley faithful stand up and cheer after the Vikings football team scored a touchdown in the PIAA Class A quarterfinals. The fans packed the home bleachers to support the team in the contest, outnumbering the Steel-High fans at least 10 to 1.

By Rob Wheary, Staff Writer • csrobwheary@gmail.com

SHAMOKIN – It was a scene that played out several times this season, Williams Valley drives with time winding down in the game, getting that go-ahead score that pulled out the victory.
In this game, though, Williams Valley found itself on the wrong end of the comeback, as Steelton-Highspire scored with 90 seconds left in the game to pull out a 24-20 win in the PIAA Class A football quarterfinals at Kemp Memorial Stadium, Shamokin on Nov. 25.
Williams Valley head coach Tim Savage, dejected after the game, said he understands the heartbreak that several teams that played against the Vikings this season felt.
“You feel what Marian felt, what Tri-Valley felt,” Savage said. “You know what the people we’ve done it too feel. To come so close, and see it all slip away like that.”
With Williams Valley leading 20-17 with six minutes left in the game, the Vikings went into ball control amassing first downs and keeping the ball out of Steel-High’s hands.

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Weber invited to camp at start of 2017

Photo courtesy of the University of South Florida Tri-Valley graduate Juli Weber watches a hit from last season playing for the University of South Florida softball team. Weber was one of 43 players invited to try out for the USA Softball Women’s National Team at a camp Jan. 1-5 in Clearwater, Fla.

TAMPA – A former Tri-Valley High School sports standout will be a part of a tryout in January for the country’s national softball team.
Juli Weber, a 2013 graduate of Tri-Valley High School and senior softball player for the University of South Florida, was named in the initial pool of 43 players invited to try out for 17 roster spots for the USA Softball Women’s National Team. Weber is among four players connected to the school invited to the camp, which will take place Jan. 1-5, 2017 at the Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater, Fla.
Weber was the 2016 American Athletic Conference Player of the Year, a first-team all-region member and had two SportsCenter Top 10 plays during her junior year. She led the conference with a .406 average, 49 runs, 78 hits, 18 doubles and 117 total bases in 2016, career highs for her. The outfielder scored in five straight games, three different times during the season. This is her first invitation to the selection camp.

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Williams Valley scores 20 in last five minutes for District XI title

By Rob Wheary, Staff Writer • csrobwheary@gmail.com

MIKE LEITER/For The Citizen-Standard Williams Valley’s Dylan Rabuck runs over Marian’s Mike Neary for what ended up being Williams Valley’s first touchdown en route to a 34-31 come-from-behind victory in the District XI Class A championship game Nov. 11. Rabuck rushed for 219 yards in the game and went over the 2,000-yard mark for the season.

PINE GROVE – The 2016 District XI Class A title game will be one that many will remember for a long time to come.
Those that left the game early missed an incredible effort by the Williams Valley Vikings, erasing a 17-point deficit in the final five minutes to win the championship with a 34-31 win over Marian at Cardinal Stadium, Pine Grove.
“It’s very important to me that every class has a district gold medal, and this is the fourth year for the senior class, so we wanted to get this one for them,” Williams Valley coach Tim Savage said. “The kids answered the call tonight. These kids have a drive that I don’t see in a lot of teams.
With Marian’s Ethan Kuczynski scoring on a 66-yard touchdown run to make the score 31-14 with seven minutes to play and Williams Valley being intercepted by the Marian defense, hope was slipping away from the Vikings.

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By Chuck Souders
and Tim Zyla
For The Citizen-Standard

Larry Deklinski/For The Citizen-Standard Line Mountain field hockey head coach Ashtin Klinger and team members charge the field after winning the PIAA District 4 Class A title against Bloomsburg Thursday on a penalty corner by Sierra Bobb at the end of overtime.

ALMEDIA — Sixth-seeded Line Mountain’s improbable run to its first field hockey district championship since 2000 culminated in a most improbable way Thursday.
Sierra Bobb scored a goal off a penalty corner with no time left on the clock at the end of the first overtime period to give the Eagles a 2-1 win over top-seeded Bloomsburg, but the win was even more improbable than that goal suggests.
Bloomsburg outshot the Eagles, 16-7, and had an 11-3 edge in penalty corners, including 8-0 in the second half. In addition, things looked very dark when Bloomsburg’s Lauren Brouse finally broke a scoreless tie with just 7:36 remaining in the game.

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By Rob Wheary, Staff Writer • csrobwheary@gmail.com

ROB WHEARY/Staff Photo Tri-Valley defenders bring down Williams Valley quarterback Levi Engle for a loss during the Tri-Valley-Williams Valley clash at Bulldog Stadium Oct. 21. The Vikings took home the victory with a 14-7 win with a touchdown in the last minute of the game.

HEGINS — The matchup on paper was just about even between the two teams. The final result was just about even, too through the statistics, with one difference.
Williams Valley pulled out the win with just 45.6 seconds left on the clock to give the Vikings a 14-7 victory over crosstown rival Tri-Valley Oct. 21 in Hegins.
Down 7-6 with 4:53 left in the game, Williams Valley put together a 10-play 54-yard drive that was all Dylan Rabuck. The junior running back ran the ball nine times during the drive, eight of them for positive yardage.
With the Vikings having first and 10 on the 15 with time running down, quarterback Levi Engle found Kenny Boyer in the end zone to take the lead 12-7. Engle then completed just his third pass of the night, the two-point conversion to Devon Rabuck and Williams Valley was up by seven with seconds left on the clock.
After getting the ball back on their own 15 and moving up to the Tri-Valley 30, the drive stalled and Williams Valley clinched the victory.

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By Rob Wheary, Staff Writer • csrobwheary@gmail.com

Lon Zeiders/Citizen-Standard Photo A block from Viking teammate on Tribe’s Dillon Gordon springs Dylan Rabuck on a run for paydirt.

MILLERSBURG — Williams Valley geared themselves up for the “Battle of the Valleys”, the matchup with Tri-Valley on Oct. 21 with a 39-13 victory over Millersburg at the Indians’ home field on Oct. 14.
The Vikings’, now 7-1 on the season, had the game in the mercy rule in the third quarter but Millersburg kept scrapping, scoring two touchdowns against the second stringers before time ran out.
After Millersburg put together a drive to start the game that went 40 yards, including a 25-yard carry by Cole Shomper, the drive stalled at the Williams Valley 30 where the Vikings took over on downs. All they needed was one play — give the ball to Dylan Rabuck.
Rabuck ran through the defense and was off to the races, 70 yards for a score in 15 seconds. The extra point was missed and Williams Valley led 6-0.

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MIKE LEITER/For The Citizen-Standard Williams Valley’s Colten Rebuck, in white, works the ball down field against Tri-Valley’s Cameron Schultz during boys soccer action on Wednesday, Sept. 28. Williams Valley won this game in the crosstown rivalry, 7-0.

Minersville 3, Tri-Valley 0
HEGINS — Tri-Valley was shutout for the second-straight game, this time to Minersville in action on Oct. 1
Kole Ney stopped 12 shots in goal for the 0-13 Tri-Valley Bulldogs
Minersville — 2 1 — 3
Tri-Valley — 0 0 — 0
M — Rinaldo (unassisted), 12:00
M — Hertz (unassisted), 26:38
M — Smith (unassisted), 58:04.
Salisbury 5, Pine Grove 1
ALLENTOWN — Luke Reiter was the only scorer for Pine Grove as they suffered their third defeat of the season, this one a non-league loss to Salisbury.
Jason Soper stopped six shots in the loss.
Pine Grove — 1 0 — 1
Salisbury — 5 0 — 5 (more…)

By Rob Wheary, Staff Writer • csrobwheary@gmail.com

MILLERSBURG – All things were clicking for Tri-Valley in their matchup with Millersburg on Sept. 30 as the Bulldogs left Indian Stadium with a 42-7 victory in Tri-Valley football action.
The biggest stat of the night was Millersburg having minus-3 yards offense for the entire game, despite putting seven points on the board. Compare that to the Bulldogs, who had 410 yards of offense on the night, 181 of that coming from the rushing attack of Danny Scheib.
It was Millersburg that struck first on the scoreboard in the matchup. After both teams exchanged possessions, Millersburg took advantage of the Tri-Valley mishandled punt, getting the ball on the Bulldog 44.
With a bit of trickery on the receiver from quarterback Aiden Harman to Cole Shomper who passed it to Matthew Koppenhaver for a 26-yard gain. From there, Shomper took the ball the rest of the way, scoring four plays later with a six-yard run that gave Millersburg a 7-0 lead. (more…)