Archive - Sports Article
January 18th, 2013
PUNXSUTAWNEY â In a tightly-contested and emotional affair, the first rematch of last yearâs District IX championship went to the home team after an extra two periods of play.
Bradfordâs Mike Wilber kissed a 25-foot shot high off the backboard as time expired before the home team took advantage of bad Punxsy shot selection in double overtime for a 57-49 victory.
âIt was a very, very tough loss tonight,â a drained Dirk Neal, Punxsyâs head coach said. âThis was a very emotionally draining effort.â
January 13th
PUNXSUTAWNEY â It may have taken 28 minutes but the Chucks were able to get its direction and get in âGeerâ to clip the Cardinals on Saturday night.
With only a hard-fought two-point lead, 54-52, Punxsy rode the wave of all-out effort by Cory Geer to spearhead the winning final four minute stretch drive over DuBois Central Catholic 62-52, in Punxsutawney.
These Punxsy 4th-grade girls dominated Homer Center 23-2 in the
Championship game of the Homer City tournament held on Jan. 5 and 6.
The young Lady Chucks bested United and Saltsburg to face Homer Center in the title game. There were a total of six teams in the tourney. After claiming the title, the girls got together to pose with the championship trophy.
They are (from row, from left) Chloe Presloid, Abbey Stello; (back row) Olivia Roberts, Eliott Ferrent, Riley Presloid, Murphy White, Sara Weaver and Ryley Casaday with team coach Mike Weaver behind the girls.
January 9th
PUNXSUTAWNEY â When the situation has called for it, the one constant of the 2012-13 girlsâ basketball season has been unrelenting defense.
The unrelenting, 32-minute Punxsy Lady Chucks' defense was on its game against a solid Elk County Catholic Lady Crusader squad.
The home Lady Chucks forced 27 turnovers, including three in the late fourth-quarter surge â all off Allie Fye steals â when their offense found its mark off the defensive end for a 39-31 victory in District IX League action.
January 8th
ST. MARYS â Tradition held true on the basketball court on Tuesday night.
The District IX league long-standing tradition of Elk County Catholic's gymnasium being the toughest place to play in the area was a reality, as the Crusaders crunched the Chucks, 50-30, in boys' basketball.
The night started off like many have up to this point of the season for Punxsy.
The Chucks (8-3) lit the scoreboard for nine of the contest's first 11 points for a 9-2 lead. Brandon Mancuso produced two scoring drives into the lane and popped a triple to spur the visiting advantage.
PUNXSUTAWNEY â The Punxsy Chucks grapplers could not handle a talented Brookville Raiders squad, falling 62-16 Tuesday night in Punxsutawney.
"I'm not unhappy in general... It was our fourth match of the year, and we wrestled a powerhouse," said Eric Eddy, Chucks varsity wrestling coach. "I thought the kids wrestled really well. We made some mistakes, but Brookville forces you to make some mistakes. Brookville has a fuller lineup, and it is a matter of us filling up the (wrestling) room (with more kids)," he said.
January 6th
The Punxsy/S.S.C.D 5th-grade girls' basketball team claimed the eight-team Indiana Tournament championship over the Dec. 27-29 weekend.
The squad, which has a 20-0 season record, went undefeated and stormed past Penns Manor, 30-4, in the championship contest.
The Punxsy team members are (front row) Laney Monroe; (second row, from left) Abby Gigliotti, Taegan Ludwig, Kyrie Nestle, Makena Nesbitt; (third row) Katelyn Griebel, Allison Doverspike, Grace Hall, Elizabeth Stello; (back row) coach Brad Gigliotti and coach Robb Nesbitt.
The Punxsy/S.S.C.D 6th-grade girls' basketball team made a strong showing but fell just short of prevailing in the Indiana Tournament last weekend.
Blairsville took the title over a battle worn Punxsy team, which was playing its sixth game of the day.
The team was comprised of (front row, from left) Kassidy Graham, Kate Horner, Magen Ray, Emily Griebel; (back row) coach Julie Horner, Cassidy Reed, Bailey Jones, Kylee Shoemaker, Abby Gemmell and coach Steve Greibel.
January 2nd
INDIANA â When your team is outscored by 14 points in the opening 5:23 of the game, it is a hard hill to climb to come back against a talented foe.
A resilient Punxsy boys' basketball team almost climbed to the top of the high comeback mountain on Wednesday night. The Chucks battled back to within four points, 40-36, with four minutes but could not continue the climb.
Punxsy misfired on its last five shots and turned the ball over on the other possession, as Indiana (8-1) netted eight of the last nine points of the contest for the 48-37 victory.
PUNXSUTAWNEY â After a close first half, the Punxsy eighth graders took charge in the second half to post their third victory of the season.
The junior Chucks outscored the Cardinals of DuBois Central Catholic 28-13 in the latter two frames for their 43-26 win.
"We play hard. We come to practice and play hard every day," said Punxsy coach Glenn Good.
"We are learning what we are supposed to do on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court. We rebound well on both ends every game."
The Punxsy scoring was a team effort, led by Patrick Fedigan's eight points.
