With the weather finally becoming more “spring-like,” the high school sports action in the Lehigh Valley finally kicked into high gear the last couple weeks.
Our “RCN SportsTalk” cameras have been busy covering the local sports landscape. Here we present a sample of some of our high school sports features (more can been seen on “SportsTalk” live at 7pm on Thursdays and through RCN On-Demand)
A few additional highlights from this spring season:
- Congratulations are in order for the up-and-coming Northampton girls lacrosse program. The Konkrete Kids just started their program a few years ago. The Lehigh Valley quickly has become a very talented area for this sport, making it much tougher for newer programs like Northampton to build success quickly. However, the K-Kids recently won their first ever league contest by defeating Allentown Central Catholic in Eastern Pennsylvania Conference play. With many underclassmen contributing on the roster, it probably won’t be long before Northampton starts posting league victories on a more regular basis.
- The Easton baseball team conducted a ceremony celebrating their 50th anniversary of playing on “Richards Field” on 25th Street in Easton. The team welcomed back members of the first Easton team to play on that field and honored them before the Red Rovers game against Allen this past Wednesday. Former Easton Assistant Coach Karl Dutt threw out the first pitch and current Easton players wore “throwback uniforms” replicating the same uniforms worn by that 1965 baseball team. An interesting side note: we learned on last week’s “SportsTalk” show that John Lennon was in Easton, Pennsylvania around the same time that Richards Field first began hosting games and he purchased an Easton baseball jersey in a local thrift store. Lennon later wore that same jersey when he sang his iconic “Imagine” ballad nationally on the Mike Douglas Show.
- Speaking of Allen, it’s great to see both Allentown schools doing well in baseball after several years of struggling. As mentioned above, it’s tough to rebuild in the EPC (and baseball is among the most competitive sports in the Lehigh Valley) and both the Canaries and Huskies deserve kudos for playing at a much higher level this spring. Allen already has five wins this spring (as of 4/20/15). Dieruff also has recorded some impressive victories, and played one of the best teams in the area—Liberty—to a close 2-1 loss the other day. The Allen and Dieruff kids have never stopped working hard and their perseverance is paying off.
It’s also nice to see area baseball fans recognizing the efforts of the athletes from ASD. I’ve gone to other schools’ games this spring in which neither Dieruff or Allen is playing, yet baseball fans are talking about these programs and are genuinely happy these schools are moving in the right direction (although they still hope that their team wins in a head-to-head match-up). Both of these programs have tough issues to overcome that other school districts don’t have to deal with. One of the great things about this region is the knowledgeable sports fans who recognize great efforts by young student athletes and it’s great to see people acknowledging the Allentown players’ efforts.
What other spring sports accomplishments deserve recognition? Which spring sports athletes have stood out from the pack? Email your opinions to us at RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com and tune in to “RCN SportsTalk” at our new time, Thursdays at 7pm, on RCN-TV. On April 30th, we’ll be talking in more detail about high school sports, with our in-studio guests comprised of athletic directors from the RCN viewing area. Also, on this Thursday (April 23rd) program, join us as NFL Football Network analyst and former Philadelphia Eagles Lineman Bryan Baldinger is among our guest panelists, breaking down the NFL Draft and predicting what the Eagles, Redskins and other teams will do in the draft. Al Thompson (Eagles beat writer for “FootballStories” magazine) and Rock Hoffman, who covers college football and has a comprehensive list and analysis on many of the region’s players expected to be drafted, will also be featured on this week’s show.
