Archive - 2011 - Sports Article
December 20th
PUNXSUTAWNEY — After an important, emotional win over the Brookville Raiders last Friday night in Punxsutawney, the Chucks basketball team was riding on cloud nine entering its non-league matchup against the Indiana Indians Tuesday night in Punxsutawney. Unfortunately for the Chucks, the Indians' high-power offense and pressure defense proved to be too much, and Indiana pulled off a 61-39 win.
December 19th
CLEARFIELD — When two winless teams play each other, one will always come out with a victory, but Monday night, the Lady Chucks and the Clearfield Lady Bison, who were 0-4 and 0-1, respectively, entering the contest, played the type of game in which neither team deserved to be called the loser.
In a game that took two extra periods to complete, the Lady Bison eventually came out on top, 60-55, but not until after a back-and-forth contest brought excitement to the fans in attendance.
PUNXSUTAWNEY — After three tough losses to start the season, the Chucks ninth-grade boys' basketball team picked up its first win of the season with a 31-17 victory over the Brookville Raiders Friday afternoon in Punxsutawney.
The Chucks jumped out to an early lead and were ahead 18-10 at halftime and never looked back, developing their lead even further in the third and fourth quarters.
Overall, Punxsy ninth-grade head coach Brandon Krug was pleased with his team's performance Friday.
December 18th
JOHNSTOWN — Although the Lady Chucks were down by just five points at halftime Saturday against Bishop McCort, they were outscored 14-6 in the third and eventually fell 56-37.
"We have to eliminate the mental mistakes at crucial times," Punxsy head coach Randy Reitz said. "At the end of the third quarter, we had a couple of turnovers, and they got the lead up to 12 points, and that's pretty much where it stayed until the end of the ball game."
The game was close through the first two halves, with Bishop McCort leading only 11-10 at the end of the first quarter.
December 16th
PUNXSUTAWNEY — The Route 36 Rivalry has seen its share of close games in every sport the schools participate in for years, and the latest chapter — Friday's boys' basketball game between the Chucks and the Raiders — was no disappointment, as Punxsy defeated Brookville 45-40 behind 24 points from Daniel Triponey and a three-pointer from Alex Fedigan that put the Chucks up for good with 13 seconds left.
PUNXSUTAWNEY — Every NASCAR-loving youngster dreams of strapping into a car and driving around the turns of Daytona International Speedway when he or she grows up. One local 18-year old is grown up, and is going to have the chance to live out that dream. Well, sort of.
2011 PAHS graduate Darren Pifer has been driving a race car since he was six years old, but the type of car he drives runs on dirt, not pavement like Daytona International.
Although it has a few less horsepower than the Sprint Cup cars, that doesn't mean there's not an element of danger and excitement in his sport.
December 15th
BROOKVILLE — League play opened for the Lady Chucks Thursday night against Brookville, but the young squad struggled against a strong opponent and fell 63-45.
Despite losing in a rival game, Punxsy head coach Randy Reitz said there are some positives he saw in his team's play.
"They worked hard for 32 minutes, and each game, we are improving," Reitz said. "I thought this was the best game we played up to date, but we played a good basketball team tonight."
PUNXSUTAWNEY — The seventh- and eighth-grade boys' basketball teams kicked off their seasons this week with a pair of games each — Monday against DuBois Central Catholic and Wednesday against Brockway — and so far, there is no shortage of close games at the junior high level.
One of those close games came Monday in the eighth-graders home opener against DuBois Central Catholic, when the Chucks earned a come-from-behind 34-30 victory over the Cardinals.
PUNXSUTAWNEY — While Punxsy's varsity wrestling squad opened its season Wednesday night against the Marion Center Stingers, the junior high team has been hard at work with two matches already in the books and a tournament under its belt heading into Wednes-day's match against the Stingers, and Punxsy looked polished in its second home meet, earning a 54-39 victory Wednesday in Punxsutawney.
December 14th
PUNXSUTAWNEY — In the season-opening dual meet for the Punxsy varsity wrestling team, the Chucks jumped out to an early 30-0 lead and cruised to a 66-9 victory over the Marion Center Stingers Wednesday night in Punxsutawney.
