LL Musing

Another year…Another year, another story or more..every year we have a team make a run here or there (LL or districts)…

The Etown Bears won Section 2 – then lost in LL finals and had to scrap its way into the state playoff by beating Reading High School for the final spot in the PIAA..2nd time in PIAA in 2 yrs for Coach Kevin Dolan.

Hempfield…Who would have guessed that the Knights would go through the Section at 16-0? The Knights knew how to win---beat Etown and PM and CV and everybody else. Tough ending for the Knights as they got beat in semis of LL and lost first round of districts.

Penn Manor…the Comets finished 2nd in the Section. Got bumped out of LL by the streaky Crusaders of LCHS…Won first round District 3 game vs McCaskey and won playin game vs. Reading. The Comets lost to eventual PIAA champ, Penn Woods, by a few points. The Comets have been in PIAA 3 out the last four yrs.

CV…LL Champs! The Bucks got hot during the LL. After losing close games to Etown and Hempfield during league play, the Bucks beat both of them on  the way to LL title. Lost to Reading after winning playin game.

LCHS..The Crusaders won a LOT down the stretch. They did not lose in Jan!  They knocked out PM in the LL’s.  LCHS clawed their way into states and beat highly regarded Johnstown at Johnstown. Lost a 2 point game in PIAA 2nd round.

PV..runner-up in District 3 AA…the Cinderella story of the season. Coach Shatzman coached his last game for PV in the PIAA. Coached his son , Matt (1000 pt scorer). Some up and down years for PV, but always, always strong coaching.

LL LLhoops.com awards

Best student body cheering section..Hands down CV…No contest this year. PV second.

Fastest National Anthem—Hempfield..does not matter—chorus or record.

Best Food stand..Lebanon… LS moving up 2nd

Best cheerleaders…McCaskey

Best Gym for big time game—TWP..runner-up LS

Worst parking for big time game– TWP

Most exciting game…CV/Etown..LL finals OT..2nd..PM/Hempfield (2OT)

D1 players not playing in LL…Lamar Patterson (ex McCaskey/Pitt) and Austin Alexich (ex PM/UNC Ashville)

Coach of the Year  - Mike Shatzman, PV…How could we not give it up for this guy?

Best record of new coaches—AC , Mark Linebaugh

Unsung hero--Kyle McNeil, Etown...Had to battle others teams center. A huge factor for the Bears winning section 2 title.

Humanitarian Award – Chris Johnson..LL ref. I’ve watched Chris ref Lancaster REC and actually help the players with understanding the rules, their behavior and the value of trying to compete without going overboard. Very very impressive.

Best Quote..Kevin Dolan Etown…”thanks for not covering us, Dell”…after Etown knocked off Reading to qualify for states… LLhoops.com watched Etown about 3 times down the stretch and all loses to that point. J

Coaches under the radar (read - did not get coach of the year)---Geoff Groff, LMHS. Qualified for LL in first year back…Charlie Detz, PM..Takes PM to LL and Districts and States. Takes over in tough situation at PM…John Achille, LS..rallies LS after a terrible start. Qualified for districts and LL’s..Donegal’s Ryan Butt..led the Indians to 9-7 record after poor start…Brad Herr, CV..LL champs!

Best District 3 and PIAA rankings--Jerry Shenk!

Misc thoughts..

LLhoops.com is hanging on by a thread..I know every year we write about it but…look around at some of the small papers- Columbia, Etown..gone. We lose advertisers each year to the bigger boys and really have trouble picking up more. LL insider did a great job with standings and stats and ind. Pages. LLhoops.com will probably eliminate that next season. Probably some columns and history, but…a more than 10 yrs run is something I am proud of..

LL coaches Association..gives money to charity from all star game…sponsors LL team in Conshehocken tournament..Gives out Def awards and academic awards as well…Yet another thing coaches do behind the scenes.

Palmyra? In or not..what would that do to the current make-up of sections? Stay tuned…

Changes…more and more coaches leaving…Ryan Landis at Spot. A great guy. Excellent at helping organize stuff for the Coaches Association. Ryan told us he may wind up doing some commentating or radio for the LL. …Mike Shatzman Sn..another great guy. He’s been there thru thick and thin. He knows what its like to not have a lot of horses. Gets the most out of his players. Great support on his staff….Is the reason coaches leave a win or lose or is it the time and energy involved with running all year programs? Another day, another coulumn..

Blog me…everyone has them..do folks read them? I just read some of Jason G and Mike Gross’..Excellent stuff…lack of hits amazes me.

Hit me…LLhoops.com ..how about another 75K season…pretty consistent for the last 3 yrs. Would imagine with insider, the numbers will go down next year.

Sponsors..thanks to H&L (camp time!)..John Lichty, CPA ..Bev Richards, Nationwide. We could not do it without you…Also thanks to Dave Porter for providing great actions shots for the front page…please consider sponsoring LLhoops.com in the future.

BBoard…check the front page for summer info..I’ll post things that are worthy J

See you this summer?

~Dell Jackson