Archive - Sports Article
February 11th, 2013
FOXBURG â When the shots are dropping, the Punxsy Lady Chucks have been winning this season.
On Monday night, the Lady Chucks started the night hitting their shots for a strong start on their way to a 59-39 victory over the host Lady Falcons of A-C Valley.
âWe shot the ball very well tonight. We had good look and did a nice job running our offense,â commented Lady Chucks coach Randy Reitz.
The Punxsy director continued, âOur defense, we continued to press the ball very well and we able to get a lot of turnovers off it.â
PUNXSUTAWNEY â After scoring the game's first 18 points, the eighth-grade Chucks boys' hoops team used the early surge to down the Rovers of Brockway by the same margin, 44-26, in Punxsutawney on Monday afternoon.
The Punxsy victory improved the team's season record to 12-6. The team has now won five of its past six contests, including the last four. The Monday win also gave the home team a âšmeasure of revenge, after dropping the second game of the year at Brockway.
February 8th
PUNXSUTAWNEY â After a crowd-roaring three-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer, Punxsy could not ride the wave of momentum to victory on Friday night.
Rival DuBois proved to be too strong for Punxsy by scoring the gameâs final 11 points over the last 2:51 to take away a 50-40 boysâ basketball victory in Punxsutawney.
âIt was the same old record,â explained Chucks head coach Dirk Neal. âWe had too many missed easy baskets and putbacks. We canât finish.â
The inability to finish was never more evident then during one stretch in the final period.
February 5th
ST. MARYS â The road is always tough no matter how many more wins you have than your foe before the night begins.
In what turned out to be an even game for the first 24 minutes, Punxsy could not come up with the winning mix in the end at St. Marys.
The Flying Dutch stunned the Chucks, 59-55, in the final moments of the District IX League matchup.
âSt. Marys hit some big shots at the end,â explained Punxsy head coach Dirk Neal. âWe didnât get anyone to hit a late shot and committed some unforced turnovers. We just had nobody step up in the fourth quarter.â
PUNXSUTAWNEY â Any basketball double-digit run is good when it is your team scoring the points.
It was the Lady Chucks scoring the points in the final five minutes of the second quarter. Punxsy rattled off 13 straight and 14 of the final 15 points of the opening half and rode the cushion for a 41-35 victory over visiting St. Marys Tuesday in Punxsutawney.
âThe bench came in and did a nice job for us. We were able to get a few turnovers and capitalize on the offensive end,â pointed out Punxsy head coach Randy Reitz.
January 30th
HOLLIDAYSBURG â In a tight wrestling match, a team has to finish strong to pull out the victory on the scoreboard.
Leading by a slim two points, 24-22, after the first eight weight classes, Punxsy could not hold on for the win.
Hollidaysburgâs middleweights propelled the home team to the match win, 51-30, with four wins in a row and five of the final six bouts.
âItâs tough going into a match giving up two forfeits and we had Brandon Wingert out,â noted Punxsy coach Eric Eddy.
January 28th
The annual Groundhog Classic and Groundhog Novice youth wrestling tournaments were held last Saturday and Sunday at the Punxsutawney Area High School gymnasium. The tournaments put six mats to nonstop use as more than 560 wrestlers grappled in the events. (Top left photo) Young newcomer Hunter Dobson is taken down in his bout. (Top right photo, right) Izaiah Kanouff takes control of a victorious bout against a Brockway opponent. (Bottom photo) Ben Skarbek has position over a Curwensville foe, whom the Punxsy wrestler went on to defeat.
By Chris Myers
Of The Spirit
BROOKVILLE â Two rivals never need any assistance to play hard against one another. Tonight, the Route 36 girls' basketball rematch between Punxsy and Brookville will take place in Brookville.
The rivalry game, though, will have a special color of pink seen throughout the Brookville High School gymnasium.
It will be "Hoops for Hope" night, with proceeds going to support Relay for Life. The funds and awareness are put toward helping in the efforts to save lives from cancer.
January 27th
Bo Dinger (left) and Alexis Young (right) were named as The Spirit's Fall Sports Outstanding Player for the boys and girls, respectively, and both were stars on their respective cross country teams.
Young, a four-year Lady Chucks runner, helped her team capture the District IX championship for the first time in three years. After being last fall's Outstanding Player runner-up, the senior received 33.4 percent of the vote total â or 402 of the 1,203 female ballots cast.
January 25th
DuBOIS â The Punxsy Friday night comeback started from 25 feet away.
As the first half horn sounded, Brandon Mancuso banked in a long-range halfcourt triple, and the Chucks rode the momentum to the second half to power past the host Beavers, 55-50 in DuBois.
âWe were able to get big hoops when we needed them,â explained Punxsy head coach Dirk Neal. âIt was a nice team win and a nice team effort.â
