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On Sunday night, the second class was inducted into the District XI Hall of Fame. Fourteen inaugural members were welcomed last year and 17 new members were inducted in this, the second year. Since I have been around a long time (hopefully, not too long), I was very familiar with almost all of the 17 new members.
I covered Jackie Adamshick at Central Catholic where she scored 1,848 points and led her team to two state championships in 2001 and 2002. She was 1st team All-State in 2002. She went on to Villanova where she scored 1,372 points, with 703 rebounds. Villanova was in the NCAA tournament during her time there.
The late Mike Lisetski was the coach for Northampton baseball for 32 years and was an assistant football coach at Northampton for 24 years. He won nine baseball championships and three District championships. He was just as well known for being a PIAA official and later an NFL official for 18 years. Mike officiated the first Super Bowl in 1966.
Anyone who knows Lehigh Valley basketball knows the name Pete Lisicky of Whitehall. He still is their all-time leading scorer with 1,974 points. His teams won three EPC titles and two District championships. He was voted one of Pennsylvania’s top 150 high school players of all time. Pete went on to an outstanding career at Penn State and 11 years playing professional basketball overseas.
Bill Paulik was the very first basketball coach at Salisbury and remained in that capacity for 30 years. His teams won 539 games, 20 league titles, and four District championships. His 1992-93 teams were undefeated. His 1983 team won 26 games.
The most intense coach I came across was Don Rohn. As a wrestler, Rohn won two PIAA state championships. He went on to win an AAU National Championship and was a three-time NCAA All-American. I best remember him, however, as the wrestling coach at Northampton. His teams won eight straight EPC titles; three MVC championships; five District dual meet titles; and six state team titles. He was named coach of the year a total of 12 times by three different groups.
Speaking of intense coaches, Dick Schmidt ranks right up there. He coached at Dieruff for 15 years and switched to coaching the Bethlehem Catholic girls for eight years. He won at both places – in one, four-year stretch at Dieruff, his teams won four consecutive EPC titles and four consecutive District titles making it to the PIAA semifinals twice. He went on to win four District titles with the Beca girls.
I was very familiar with some of the others even though they were not part of television coverage – Chanelle Price, a track star at Easton and Tennessee; Jack Wabby, a 19-year chairman of the District XI: and Betsy Wilson, the First Lady of District XI female athletics.
The District XI Hall of Fame was a long time coming, but much needed. Whitehall Athletic Director Bob Hartman deserves much of the credit for getting it all started. The good news is we have just scratched the surface of those who deserve admission to this prestigious group. Certainly, there are many, many more to come.
ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
- How about the atmosphere at State College on Saturday night? The “white-out” was extremely impressive and the football game was equally thrilling. A dropped pass in the end zone by a Michigan wide receiver would have tied the game. Penn State has moved into the #6 spot in the national polls. Michigan State is next. Ohio State is November 23.
- Have you watched Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers this year? He and Tom Brady are the calmest quarterbacks in the pocket you will ever see. They are so experienced it is as if they know exactly where the onrushing defensive players are all the time. Rodgers threw for five TDs on Sunday and ran for one. Some players are worth every penny the team pays them.
- Baseball needs to find a way to shorten the games, particularly in the post season. It was not unusual for the Yankees–Astros to go four hours or more in what should have been a riveting series for the television viewer. It is hard to convince any fan to set aside 4-5 hours to watch a baseball game. The sad part is the games were outstanding, but how many missed the end?
- The Eagles are fortunate that they are in the NFC East. The Giants and the Redskins are not good so the race will be between the Cowboys and the Philadelphia. Even though the Cowboys outplayed them badly on Sunday night, there are plenty of games left. Dallas has a bye this week while the Eagles take on the 5-1 Bills. This might just be a “must win”.
- Emmaus travels to Parkland on Friday and RCN-TV will bring the game across the state on PCN. The game will be broadcast LIVE at 7:00PM. That game will be followed by the Easton-Nazareth match-up at 9:30PM. A Nazareth win and they will be the EPC South Division champs.
Lafayette takes on Bucknell on Saturday at 3:30PM. Then, it’s Freedom-Liberty for bragging rights in Bethlehem. Tune in at 7:00PM.
GARY’S GUESSES (LAST WEEK – 10-4) (YEAR-TO-DATE) – 71-33-1 68%)
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