VALLEY FORGE CHRISTIAN COLLEGE BASKETBALL 2007-08

Valley Forge Christian College (VFCC) is the only college which is located in the immediate Phoenixville area. The campus is located on Charlestown Road and the gymnasium is known as The Pit.
The grounds are at the old United States Army Hospital before the college was founded in 1931.
The Patriots compete in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Division II East Region. The president of the small college is Dr. Don Meyer. The athletic director is Jon Mack and the assistant athletic director is Ronshea Vargas.
Following victories on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, both the VFCC men and women have advanced to the regional championship games.
The Valley Forge CC women, coached by Emily Jerzak and Amanda Jerzak, defeated Lancaster Bible College Tuesday to advance to Thursday night’s title game at Philadelphia Biblical University, the top seed. The Patriot women have shown considerable improvement this year since they only won four games a year ago.
The Patriot women have a force inside in 6-foot-1 sophomore forward Brooke Burr from Spring Grove, Pa. It is also a young VFCC crew with just one senior on the eight-player roster.
The other starting players are 5-6 senior guard Laura Kaiser from Point Pleasant, N.J.; Amanda Parr, a 5-8 forward from Penn Hills, Pa; point guard April Applegarth, a 5-4 sophomore from Monroeville, Pa; and Hannah Johnson, a 5-6 freshman forward from Union, Ct. Charla Benton, a 5-9 freshman guard/forward from Milford, De., has been a big factor with her outside shooting sparking the offense off the bench.
The best years of the program probably are ahead for the Patriots if they keep the women they have in the program and attract some more strong recruits.
The Valley Forge CC men cagers are coached by Mack and assistants Vargas and Tim Pomerhn. The Patriots have 13 players on their roster, including two seniors, five juniors, three sophomores and three freshmen.
The Patriots are the top-seeded team in the regional and will host Davis College in the title game tonight at 8 p.m. at The Pit. They are favored to win the game and to keep going far in the postseason playoffs because of their athleticism and experience gained against some strong opposition.
The seniors are Steve Pierantozzi, a 6-5 forward from Lansdale, Pa., who has amassed more than 1,000 points and 750 rebounds in his career; and James Fulton, a 5-11 guard from Philadelphia, who has scored more than 1,600 points and grabbed more than 200 steals during his illustrious career. Zachary Housand, a 6-6 forward from Columbus, Ga., is actually a junior but only has one semester of collegiate classes remaining to graduate so he will not be playing basketball at VFCC next winter.
The other starters are Keith Watkins, a 5-11 sophomore guard from Philadelphia; Justyn Mitchell, a 6-3 junior guard from Kansas City, Mo.; and Nate Stoner, a 6-4 junior forward from Waynesburg, Pa.
Bench support comes from Kevin Wilson, a 6-0 sophomore guard from Farmington, Ct.; Mike Stayne, a 5-11 freshman guard from Farmingville, N.Y.; Sean Squire, a 6-3 junior guard from Philadelphia; Rafael Twiggs, a 6-4 sophomore forward from East Norriton, Pa.; Craig Lahr, a 6-0 junior guard from Bellefonte, Pa.; Andrew Godwin, a 5-10 freshman guard from Fairfax, Va.; and Mike Fiore, a 6-0 freshman guiard from Holtsville, N.Y.
Valley Forge CC’s basketball programs are on the upswing. The college seems to be able to draw students from across the country despite being small with limited facilities. Continued success in the postseason will only serve to enhance the prospects of drawing better student-athletes to Charlestown.
These students are committed to religion besides their concentration in other academic studies as well as their particular focus in athletics.

Posted by
Barry Sankey

PHOENIXVILLE AREA HIGH SCHOOL

Spring Sports Outlook 2008

The first official day of scholastic spring sports practice is Monday, March 3. In case of bad weather or wet grounds, the teams will start workouts indoors or in the parking lot until they are able to venture outdoors to use the regular facilities.
The top spring sports team at Phoenixville is boys tennis with head coach Leo Scoda, who is also mayor of the borough. This will be Scoda’s 45th season of guiding the boys Phantoms and they carry an undefeated streak in the Pioneer Athletic Conference of never losing a match since the inception of the league in 1987. So the Phantoms have captured 21 consecutive league titles.
Phoenixville did graduate some top senior players in Kyle MacLelland and Tom McAvoy at first and second singles. MacLelland, who is now playing Division I tennis at Lafayette College, won the PAC-10 Singles title and then teamed with McAvoy, who is at Philadelphia University, to win the PAC-10, District 1-AA and PIAA Class AA state championship in doubles competition.
The other top teams in the spring recently have been the boys and girls track teams under the direction of head coach Jack Kraynak and his many capable assistant coaches. Phoenixville has won four straight PAC-10 title in boys track and two straight in girls track. The Phantoms should be solid again in both divisions with strong sprinters, distance runners, jumpers and pole vaulters.
The girls softball team, coached by Joe Bogus, reached the District 1-AAA playoffs last year, and practically the entire team is returning, including three top pitchers in left-hander Molly Ferguson, Courtney Heming and Kelly Foedinger.
The baseball team, coached by Jack Sturgeon, should be improved with a large number of returnees of players who saw varsity playing time as a young group last spring. The Phantoms should benefit from a strong crop of Junior American Legion players who reached the Twin County Junior League finals last summer before bowing to NorChester in the finals.
The girls lacrosse team, coached by Jen Foresta, and the boys lacrosse team, coached by Jim O’Brien, should also be improved from last year’s game experience.

Posted by
Barry Sankey

PHOENIXVILLE BOYS BASKETBALL

*sorry there is no audio, still working the bugs out of the system

HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING

The scholastic postseason wrestling tournaments are under way.
Locally, the PIAA District 1-AAA Section IV tournament was held at Great Valley High School in East Whiteland Township. Host Great Valley, Spring-Ford and Owen J. Roberts were area schools in the tough 10-team field.
Spring-Ford placed third in the tournament with 126.5 points, while Owen J. Roberts finished fourth with 124.5 and Great Valley came in fifth at 116.5 points. Downingtown West captured the team title with 149 points while Boyertown came in second with 131.5 counters.
A combined total of 19 wrestlers from the three local schools, including six sectional champions, advanced to this coming Saturday’s District 1-AAA South Tournament at Spring-Ford Area High School in Royersford.
The tourney’s Outstanding Wrestler was Spring-Ford junior 135-pounder Ryan Kemmerer. Kemmerer, who finished fifth at states a year ago while at Upper Perkiomen High School and who already has more than 100 career victories, now boasts a 30-1 overall recored. Kemmerer swept through his weight class with three falls, clamping Jake Miller of Downingtown West at 5:25 of their final bout.
The top four finishers in each weight class advanced. Great Valley moved seven grapplers through while Spring-Ford and Owen J. Roberts each had six advance to the next step. The top four place-winners at districts in Class AAA will advance to the Southeast Regional Tournament at Council Rock South High School on Friday, Feb. 29, and Saturday, March 1. The state championships will be held at the Giant Center in Hershey from Thursday, March 6, through Saturday, March 8.
The District 1-AA Tournament will take place at Springfield Montco High School this Saturday. There is no sectional qualifying in Class AA so wrestlers compete at districts in order to qualify for the Southeast Regionals at Wilson West Lawn High School the following week.
Spring-Ford is coached by Tim Seislove, a former Spring-Ford grappler; Great Valley by Joe Tornetta, a former Phoenixville wrestler; and Owen J. Roberts by Steve DeRafelo, a former Great Valley wrestler.
Phoenixville, St. Pius X and Pottstown will vie for honors among the field in Class AA. The top prospects for Phoenixville are sophomore Chris Onder and seniors Steve Lord and Rob Newcomb. Phoenixville is coached by John Tornetta, a former Phoenixville wrestler.
The top prospects for St. Pius X are Bobby Burns, Ryan Miller, Andrew Bone and Grant Sturgeon. The Winged Lions are coached by John Martucci.

Posted by
Barry Sankey

PHOENIXVILLE GIRLS BASKETBALL

Phoenixville’s girls basketball players enjoyed an improved season under second-year head coach Erik Rutchauskas and his assistant coaches, Ashley Dvorak and Brian Tell.
The Phantoms closed with a 4-9 PAC-10 record and 9-13 overall following a 56-38 setback to Pottstown in the first round of the District 1 Class AAA playoffs Thursday night at Pottstown’s Strom Gymnasium.
Phoenixville was the 12th seed in the tournament while Pottstown was the fifth seed. It marked the third time the Trojans defeated the Phantoms in competition this winter.
The Phantoms have a young team and program with just two senior starters in forward Chelsea DiFebbo and guard Janay Winston. DiFebbo will be playing lacrosse and possibly field hockey at Kutztown University while Winston will continue playing basketball at nearby Ursinus College in Collegeville.
It marked the first time in five years that Phoenixville has participated in the district playoffs in girls basketball. The Phantoms gained valuable experience this year with hopes of being even better in the future, including the time spent in the playoffs.
The Phantoms will return three starters next year in guard Liz Jones, the team’s leading scorer; center Arial Keys and point guard Johanna Martens. Also back will be guard Kate Casaday, forward Ellen Dvorak, guard Lexi Lear, guard/forward Heather Parris and forward/center Amber Keys.
The Phantoms must continue to work on their game in the offseason. Plus, the school needs continued growth and depth from play at the elementary and middle school to feed into the senior high school program in order to return to the highly successful level of years gone by.

Posted by
Barry Sankey

PHOENIXVILLE BOYS BASKETBALL

The Phoenixville Area High School boys and girls basketball seasons for 2007-08 came to an end Thursday night with first-round setbacks in the District 1 Class AAA playoffs.
The Phantom boys fell to Radnor, 50-39, in overtime on the Phoenixville floor to complete an 11-14 season overall, including 6-7 in the Pioneer Athletic Conference for second place in Division II and a berth in the Final Four playoffs. Phoenixville was the seventh seed in the tournament while Radnor from the Central League was the 10th seed.
Phoenixville completed its sixth season under head coach Bill Detweiler, who was assisted by Jim Stinger and Lou Brignola.
Phoenixville had a basically new lineup this year since most of its players graduated from a team that finished a perfect 15-0 in the PAC-10 in winning the league title last winter. The Phantoms also finished third in districts and reached the second round of the state tournament a year ago.
However, Jon Hogga, Jon Crabtree, Tom Beasley and Kyle MacLelland were all impact players from that squad who graduated. Hogga, the school’s second all-time leading scorer, and Crabtree was the league’s Most Valuable Player as a senior, and he and Crabtree were both chosen as first team all-league players.
Hogga is playing Division I college basketball at St. Peter’s, Crabtree is at Division III Gwynedd-Mercy, Beasley is playing football at Division II Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) and, and MacLelland is playing Division I men’s tennis at Lafayette.
Zach Wise and Jesse Daywalt were returning starters as seniors this year for the Phantoms. Wise led the PAC-10 in scoring at 18.3 points per game. A four-year varsity player, he played on two PAC-10 championship teams. Daywalt was a three-year starter at point guard. Primarily known as a defensive specialist, Daywalt had to adjust to all the ballhandling and tried to become more of a scoring threat this year.
Junior center Greg Peters, junior guard Yusuf Brown and senior guard Jordan Thomas were the other starters against Radnor with senior forward Jim Sands and sophomore guard Corey Gordon coming off the bench for reserve duty.
Thomas came off an injury-plagued football season as a running back, defensive back and kick returner. He will be playing Division II college football on a partial scholarship at Kutztown University. Daywalt will be playing Division III college baseball at Chestnut Hill College. He is a solid left-handed hitter and infielder for the Phantoms.
Phoenixville’s main problems this year were outside shooting and turnovers. Opponents played zone defenses against the Phantoms to concentrate on Wise and Peters inside, and the perimeter players were not able to make enough outside shots to force teams to play more honest defense. Turnovers also cost the squad many valuable possessions throughout the season.
Detweiler hopes the Phantoms’ younger player work on improving their game during the offseason to prepare for next year.
They graduate six seniors in Wise, Daywalt, Thomas, Sands, Steve Fray and twin brother Mike Fray.
Daywalt summed up the season.
“Everyone had us for dead after the first couple weeks,” Daywalt said. “But we came back and had a respectable season. But it wasn’t even close to what we wanted.”

Posted by
Barry Sankey

BASEBALL DRUG HEARINGS

Major League Baseball pitching star Roger Clemens and his former personal trainer, Brian McNamee, continue to contradict one another on Clemens’ alleged use of steroids and human growth hormones, generally known as performance-enhancing drugs.
Clemens adamantly denied such use in front of Congress Wednesday while McNamee affirmed that he personally injected Clemens with the drugs.
One of them is obviously lying so take your pick. Which one do you believe?
There could be false testimony in both of their statements. There is perjury here and there will be severe punishment with a possible jail term when the case is closed.
I believe Clemens did use some of the drugs, but perhaps not as many or as often as McNamee alleges. Clemens says it was Lidocaine or B-12, which McNamee denies. B-12 would also seem to be a vitamin with considerably less effects than some of the other drugs.
However, McNamee should have come forward sooner. He kept the syringes from 2001 until now to make his own case. He says the DNA and chemical analysis will show he is telling the truth.
But why did McNamee wait seven years to come forward? And what could have happened to the equipment since that time?
Other players like former New York Yankees teammates Andy Pettitte and Chuck Knoblauch say McNamee is telling the truth. So Clemens seems to be the odd man out in that case.
Major League Baseball is still to take some blame for all of this for not policing drug usage years ago. Officials looked the other way when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were belting all those long home runs that helped bring baseball’s popularity back.
Now it seems like giants of the game like Barry Bonds and Clemens have been caught with the goods in the act.
All of the records and statistics are now tainted, not to mention whether to induct these people into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. If and when they are found guilty, I don’t think they belong in the Hall of Fame.

Posted by
Barry Sankey

BASEBALL DRUG HEARINGS

Major League Baseball pitching star Roger Clemens and his former personal trainer, Brian McNamee, continue to contradict one another on Clemens’ alleged use of steroids and human growth hormones, generally known as performance-enhancing drugs.
Clemens adamantly denied such use in front of Congress Wednesday while McNamee affirmed that he personally injected Clemens with the drugs.
One of them is obviously lying so take your pick. Which one do you believe?
There could be false testimony in both of their statements. There is perjury here and there will be severe punishment with a possible jail term when the case is closed.
I believe Clemens did use some of the drugs, but perhaps not as many or as often as McNamee alleges. Clemens says it was Lidocaine or B-12, which McNamee denies. B-12 would also seem to be a vitamin with considerably less effects than some of the other drugs.
However, McNamee should have come forward sooner. He kept the syringes from 2001 until now to make his own case. He says the DNA and chemical analysis will show he is telling the truth.
But why did McNamee wait seven years to come forward? And what could have happened to the equipment since that time?
Other players like former New York Yankees teammates Andy Pettitte and Chuck Knoblauch say McNamee is telling the truth. So Clemens seems to be the odd man out in that case.
Major League Baseball is still to take some blame for all of this for not policing drug usage years ago. Officials looked the other way when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were belting all those long home runs that helped bring baseball’s popularity back.
Now it seems like giants of the game like Barry Bonds and Clemens have been caught with the goods in the act.
All of the records and statistics are now tainted, not to mention whether to induct these people into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. If and when they are found guilty, I don’t think they belong in the Hall of Fame.

Posted by
Barry Sankey

BASEBALL DRUG HEARINGS

Major League Baseball pitching star Roger Clemens and his former personal trainer, Brian McNamee, continue to contradict one another on Clemens’ alleged use of steroids and human growth hormones, generally known as performance-enhancing drugs.
Clemens adamantly denied such use in front of Congress Wednesday while McNamee affirmed that he personally injected Clemens with the drugs.
One of them is obviously lying so take your pick. Which one do you believe?
There could be false testimony in both of their statements. There is perjury here and there will be severe punishment with a possible jail term when the case is closed.
I believe Clemens did use some of the drugs, but perhaps not as many or as often as McNamee alleges. Clemens says it was Lidocaine or B-12, which McNamee denies. B-12 would also seem to be a vitamin with considerably less effects than some of the other drugs.
However, McNamee should have come forward sooner. He kept the syringes from 2001 until now to make his own case. He says the DNA and chemical analysis will show he is telling the truth.
But why did McNamee wait seven years to come forward? And what could have happened to the equipment since that time?
Other players like former New York Yankees teammates Andy Pettitte and Chuck Knoblauch say McNamee is telling the truth. So Clemens seems to be the odd man out in that case.
Major League Baseball is still to take some blame for all of this for not policing drug usage years ago. Officials looked the other way when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were belting all those long home runs that helped bring baseball’s popularity back.
Now it seems like giants of the game like Barry Bonds and Clemens have been caught with the goods in the act.
All of the records and statistics are now tainted, not to mention whether to induct these people into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. If and when they are found guilty, I don’t think they belong in the Hall of Fame.

Posted by
Barry Sankey

The District 1 boys and girls basketball playoffs have started in earnest.

Locally, in Class AAAA girls, Spring-Ford is the third seed and Great Valley is the fifth seed.
Spring-Ford, which finished as runner-up to Upper Dublin last year, won its first-round game over Kennett, 58-37, Saturday afternoon in Royersford.
Great Valley also won its district opener, 50-24, against North Penn Saturday night in East Whiteland.
Both teams will be in action again Wednesday night in the second round. Spring-Ford will host William Tennent while Great Valley will host defending state champion Cheltenham.
Spring-Ford is now 24-2 on the year with the only losses coming to Upper Dublin and Mount St. Joseph in triple overtime in non-league games. The Rams are experienced and battle-tested and should go far in the tournament again this year.
The Rams are led by a pair of four-year veteran guards, Megan Bedard and Allie Kakareka, eachof whom have scored 1,000 points in their careers and lightning-quick fellow guard Ashley Wood, who is a junior. Sophomore center Jasmin Hinnant is another key player and the Rams have a deep bench that sparked the Rams in the victory against the Blue Demons.
Guard play is so critical in the playoffs with ballhandling against pressure defenses. That is one reason the Rams finished undefeated at 15-0 in the Pioneer Athletic Conference. Head coach Jeff Rinehimer reached his 200th career victory during the regular season.
Great Valley is now 22-3, playing out of the Ches-Mont League’s American Division (small schools).
The Patriots avenged a non-league setback to North Penn from the previous Saturday. Although Cheltenham graduated most of its team from the previous year, the Panthers have a very solid program and are a big school that plays a rigorous schedule.
Great Valley will have its hands full against Cheltenham this time, too. The Patriots are led by 6-2 senior center Emily Ellisen, 6-0 senior forward Brittany Greaves and senior guard KC Curran, the latter two serving as captains. Dana Walsh is another veteran who scored 20 points against North Penn, and Colleen O’Malley and Andrea Pride are also key components for coach Paul Girone.

Posted by
Barry Sankey

SPRING-FORD WRESTLING

The Spring-Ford Rams captured their first Pioneer Athletic Conferece (PAC-10) wrestling title, a co-championship with Boyertown, Wednesday night. Both the Rams and Bears finished 7-1 in league action to share the crown.
It marked the second straight title for Boyertown in a wrestling field that had been dominated in recent years by Upper Perkiomen.
The Rams were coached by former Spring-Ford Area High School and Ursinus College wrestler Tim Seislove and his assistant coaches, Jason Kerkusz and John Holsinger.
Seislove also served as an assistant coach during the Rams’ glory years under coach Pat Nugent, now the Spring-Ford High School principal, during the 1990s.
Spring-Ford defeated Pottstown, 52-18, at the Trojans’ Strom Gymnasium Wednesday night while Boyertown downed St. Pius X, 61-13, to seal the co-championship for the 2007-08 campaign. The Rams’ lone loss was to Perkiomen Valley while Boyertown’s only setback came against Spring-Ford.
Justin Franiak (heavyweight), Brandon Duffy (125 pounds), Alan Gauger (130), Gareth Cooper (140) and Matt Patterson (160) registered the Rams’ five pins against the Trojans.
Tom Boring (103) scored a major decision, Anthony Wallick (112) and Ryan Kemmerer (135) forfeits, and Matt Kreuger (152) and Alex Kanakis (189) had decisions.
Tim Seislove and his older brother, Dan Seislove, were both wrestling standouts for the Rams before entering the coaching ranks. Dan is the former head coach at Quakertown High School.
Tim Seislove coached at Pottsgrove High School prior to joining the staff at Spring-Ford. Tim teaches health and physical education at the Spring-Ford Area Middle School.
Older sister Jane Seislove was also a sports star at Spring-Ford in field hockey, basketball and lacrosse. She formerly coached field hockey at Spring-Ford High School.
The Seislove children’s parents are Jerry and Ann Seislove, both of whom were teachers in the Spring-Ford Area School District. Jerry also coached junior high football for 20 years at Spring-Ford before joining the senior high school staff as an assistant coach. He also coached Spring City’s Senior American Legion baseball team during the 1970s.
Jerry and Ann Seislove still make their home on Church Street in Royersford.
Jerry, Ann and Jane still faithfully attend the Rams’ matches to watch Tim coach and to cheer Spring-Ford on.

Posted by
Barry Sankey

PHOENIXVILLE AREA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

The Phoenixville Phantoms completed their 2007-08 football season with a 6-3 record in the Pioneer Athletic Conference (PAC-10) and recorded an 8-4 mark overall under fifth-year head coach Bill Furlong and his capable staff of assistant coaches.
The Phantoms earned a berth in the District 1 Class AAA playoffs and fell to top-seeded Unionville, 27-10, in the first round on the Indians’ field.
The first Wednesday in February always signals the first day college letters-of-intent become binding. Commitments become official when student-athletes sign on the dotted line. It is called national signing day.
Phoenixville had two senior football players announce their decisions for next fall. Rob Lohr, a 6-5, 230-pound defensive end and tight end, has selected Division I-A Vanderbilt University while Jordan Thomas, a 5-9, 160-pound defensive back/running back/kick returner, has chosen Division II Kutztown University.
Lohr has a full scholarship for defensive end but could be moved to tight end by the Commodores, depending on team needs. Thomas will be playing cornerback or safety as well as returning kicks for the Golden Bears.
Lohr also had scholarship offers from Syracuse and Temple and also considered Harvard. Thomas had a chance to attend Temple as a walk-on but decided to accept a partial scholarship from Kutztown.
A third Phantom senior, lineman Andrew Carr, is deciding between Division III schools Ursinus and Muhlenberg.
Nine more former Phantoms, from the last four years, are already playing in the collegiate football ranks. They are Ryan Paulson, Jay Nelson and Travis Ford-Bey at West Chester University; Erik Snyder at Muhlenberg; Drew Carter at Williamson Trade; Tom Beasley at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP); Joe Galie at Ursinus College; Bill Shirk at Millersville; and Chase DiFebbo at Shippensburg.
It all speaks well for Furlong’s successful Phoenixville football program, which captured the PAC-10 championship with a perfect 9-0 record two years ago. It should also help open doors for future Phantom prospects.

Posted by
Barry Sankey