Thought for the Day — Given that our focus is college students, let us recall the words of Plutarch, who said, “The very spring and root of honesty and virtue lie in good education.”
HEY Awards
This week’s first Higher Education Yahoo Awards go to two members of Susquehanna’s volleyball team who have each earned post-season honors from the Landmark Conference.
Junior libero Sarah Paluck of Tamaqua was named first-team All-Conference for the second consecutive season, while senior middle hitter Hayley Dunkel of Pottsville was named to the second team.
For Dunkel, an accounting major, it was the second post-season honor in two weeks, having also been selected for the Capital One CoSIDA Academic All-District team. Her selection was the first such honor in program history.
Paluck, the reigning Landmark Specialist of the Year, led the conference with 5.05 digs per set and 666 total digs. She also had 51 service aces, second best on the Crusaders.
Dunkel, who was first-team All-Conference in 2013, had 102 total blocks and a conference-leading 0.89 blocks-per-set average. She also had 176 kills and 26 service aces. Her .252 attack percentage was second best on the team.
Susquehanna made it to the conference finals before being defeated by Juniata.
• Meanwhile, the Richard Stockton Ospreys won their seventh consecutive New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) title with the help of second-team All-Conference senior defensive specialist Emily Grube of Nativity. She led the team in digs with 391, compiling more than 1,000 for her career, and had 40 service aces and 65 assists.
• A HEY award also goes to freshman Susquehanna swimmer Joann Butkus of Tamaqua who was named a Susquehanna Pepsi/SAAC Super Crusader after individual first-place finishes in the 100 breaststroke and 100 freestyle, and helping the 200 medley relay team to first place in the Crusaders’ 157-99 win over Elizabethtown. Butkus added second- and third-place finishes in the 100 and 200 breaststroke and the 200 medley relay team took second in a win over Catholic.
• Two football players with local ties earn HEYs this week. King’s senior quarterback Tyler Hartranft was named to the Capital One Academic All-District 4 team, which honors academic and athletic achievement, while Lebanon Valley College junior fullback Billy Powanda of Minersville earned a spot on the Middle Atlantic Conference Weekly Honor Roll.
Hartranft has a 3.91 grade-point-average as an elementary education major, has been on the Dean’s List for six semesters, is a two-time member of the MAC Academic Honor Roll and is active in a number of community service organizations.
On the field, he led King’s to a 27-21 win over Wilkes in the annual Mayor’s Cup game, throwing for 158 yards and a touchdown. On the season, the three-year starter completed 160-of-290 passes for 2,005 yards and 10 TDs, giving him a 119.11 passing efficiency rating. He has also gained 220 yards on the ground on 89 carries. Career-wise, Hartranft set school records for passing yardage (5,507), completions (414) and TD passes (34).
Powanda made the honor roll after he tied the LVC single-game scoring record when he scored four touchdowns (on only five carries) on runs of 3, 4, 1 and 1 in a 30-29 overtime loss to Lycoming. Two of his scores came in crunch time in the fourth quarter and one in overtime.
• The final HEY award today goes to Lebanon Valley women’s cross-country runner Kelsey Patrick of Tamaqua, who punched her ticket to her third straight NCAA Championships. A junior, Patrick finished 12th overall and was the MAC’s top finisher at this weekend’s NCAA Mideast Regionals in Carlisle with a time of 22:25.
Patrick will head to Mason, Ohio, in suburban Cincinnati for next weekend’s national meet at the Golf Center at King’s Island.
Football Factoids
Getting back to the results above, and some other recent games, here are some other noteworthy numbers from the gridiron:
• In that King’s-Wilkes Mayor’s Cup game, Wilkes’ senior wide receiver Tim Bousson of Shamokin was named the Colonels’ MVP after recording seven catches for 125 yards and a score in the game. For the season, Bousson had 41 catches for 512 yards and three TDs, leading the team in catches and yards.
Among his teammates, senior Michael Litwak (Minersville) and junior Lucas Amarose (Mount Carmel) started all season at right guard and right tackle, respectively. Senior defensive back J.T. Keer of Marian had 25 tackles and 1½ sacks this season. Sophomore running back Paul Martin, also of Marian, carried the ball 20 times for 64 yards and a TD, while catching seven passes for 62 yards. And junior punter Bryan Mellon of Nativity averaged 37.98 yards per punt, with a long of 56, five punts of 50 yards or more and nine downed inside the opposition’s 20-yard line.
At King’s, senior defensive back A.J. Hubiak of Pottsville played in five games and made 11 tackles.
• Looking again at the LVC-Lycoming game, Lebanon Valley senior linebacker Frank Gaffney led the team with 10 tackles. He had help from senior nose tackle Clayton Williard of Tri-Valley and linebacker Tyler Laudeman of North Schuylkill, who each had five tackles.
In LVC’s most recent game, a season-ending, 17-14 loss to Albright, Gaffney added eight more tackles (two for loss) and blocked a field-goal attempt. For the season, Gaffney led the Dutchmen with 86 tackles and 3½ sacks.
Against Albright, Laudeman had five more tackles and Williard added three stops (one for loss). For the season, Williard recorded 29 tackles, four quarterback hurries and four tackles for loss.
Senior quarterback Brian Murphy of Schuylkill Haven was 10-of-18 for 106 yards and a touchdown for LVC. For the season, Murphy completed 131-of-243 passes for 1,888 yards and 18 touchdowns.
• In this week’s 45-27 win over FDU-Florham, Lycoming junior linebacker Phil Schron of Marian scored a touchdown on a 16-yard blocked punt return. Teammate senior safety Tanner Troutman of Tri-Valley made 11 tackles and picked off a pass, giving him 16 career picks.
• Kutztown closed out its season with a 41-35 overtime win over Clarion, with a big contribution from redshirt junior wide receiver Anthony Kelly of Pottsville, who had five catches for 83 yards. That gives Kelly 28 catches for 539 yards (an average of 19.2 yards per catch) for the season. His nine touchdown receptions lead the team.
• A local student-athlete will be part of the historic 150th meeting between Lehigh and Lafayette to be played in Yankee Stadium on Nov. 22. A full house is expected for the renewal of the most-played game in NCAA college history.
The Lehigh roster includes defensive lineman Tyler Cavenas of Mahanoy Area, who has played in five games as a freshman. Cavenas has already made an impact, blocking a 48-yard field-goal attempt against Monmouth and recording 12 tackles, including two for loss.
(MacLaughlin’s college column runs bi-weekly. To make contributions, email Sports Editor Leroy Boyer at Lboyer@republicanherald.com)