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HEADLINES: Carbondale – The Mountain View Eagles were ahead by 13 points in the fourth quarter. All they needed was for the clock to count down the final minutes and seconds. Instead, the clock ran a few seconds at a time, stopping repeatedly for the Southern Columbia Tigers to take the free throws that allowed them to rally for a 61-57 victory in the first round of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class AA boys' basketball tournament. Southern Columbia made only half of its free throws, but got 42 tries. The Tigers went 16-for-26 from the line in the fourth quarter. Such high numbers of free throws often occur when teams are holding the lead and the ball. In this case, the Tigers racked up their free throw attempts while coming from behind. Mountain View had three starters - Tim Bennett, Chris White and Chad Lasher - foul out and had two - Bennett and team leader Robbie Johnson -- sit out part of the fourth quarter with injuries suffered on plays where no fouls were called. "We can't send them to the foul line every possession," Mountain View coach Pat Heaton said. "The clock doesn't tick. They went to the line eight straight times. "Then, we came down and didn't finish. I didn't think we took bad shots, they just didn't fall." Even with all the trouble, the Eagles were tied, 54-54, when Johnson drove to the basket with 55 seconds left. Despite apparent contact from two other players, one from behind and another over the top on an attempt to block his shot, Johnson was called for charging into a third defender on the play. Southern Columbia proceeded to take the lead, extending its run to 21-4 for a 58-54 lead. "It wasn't so much the charge," Heaton said. "I thought he was getting grabbed going to the basket, but they were not giving him that call." It was not the only call that was disputed in the wild finish. Several fans were ejected from the gym and the officiating crew spent breaks in the closing minutes in discussions with security and police before sprinting to the exit when the game ended. Johnson, who finished with a game-high 23 points, made one more attempt to bring Mountain View back. He hit a 3-pointer with six seconds left and the Eagles called timeout down by just a point. When Mountain View's John Madas had to scramble to commit the foul to stop the clock, he made contact with Zach Silver hard. Officials quickly called an intentional foul, essentially deciding the game. "That was a questionable call," Heaton said. "It wasn't intentional." The Tigers finished things off by hitting three of their last four foul shots. Mountain View seemed to take control of the game in the second quarter when Johnson scored 10 of his points and the Eagles used a 20-8 advantage in the quarter to move in front, 28-23, at halftime. Nick Stoud scored six of his 11 in the third quarter to make the lead, 43-33. Colin Klebon, a 6-foot-5 freshman center, led Southern Columbia with 21 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter when he was 9-for-11 from the line. Silver added 13 points and Tim Bodman had 12. In girls' basketball, Montrose became the last winter sports team from Susquehanna County to be active this season. Montrose's defense shut down Hughesville in a 40-29 win. The Lady Meteors (23-4) gave up just two points in the second quarter while taking a 20-11 lead. After Hughesville closed within five to start the fourth quarter, Montrose allowed only four points over the final eight minutes. The inside combination of Chelsey Parvin and Amanda Lass accounted for more than half of Montrose's scoring. Parvin had a game-high 12 points while Lass added 11. Hughesville finished its season at 22-9. WEEK IN REVIEW Mountain View senior Matt Panasevich captured his second state medal in wrestling when he finished fifth in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Championships held Thursday through Saturday at the Giant Center in Hershey. Panasevich, who was eighth a year ago, won his opening match to reach the quarterfinalists as one of the last eight wrestlers with a shot at the Class AA 189-pound title. After beating Phil Henderson of Chartiers-Houston, 9-4, in his first bout Thursday, Panasevich was eliminated from title contention with a quarterfinal loss Friday morning. Northwest Regional champion Kellen Harris, the eventual state champion, avenged a loss to Panasevich in last season's state tournament by posting a 7-1 decision. Panasevich bounced back strong with a 54-second pin in his first consolation bout before working out a 5-3 decision over Jeremy Cannon of Boiling Springs. Curwensville's Nick Sipes, a 2005 state finalist, shut out Panasevich, 3-0, in the consolation finals to set up the bout to determine fifth and sixth place. Panasevich closed out his season with a 40-3 record when he won by injury default over Joe Haynes of Mount Carmel. Panasevich was ahead, 5-0, after one period at the time of the detault. Panasevich, a three-time District 2 champion, took an unbeaten record into the Northeast Regional final. He wound up losing only to state placewinners - Harris, Sipes, and Loyalsock's Justin Hepburn. Hepburn, the Northeast Regional champion, beat Sipes in the bout to determine third and fourth place. In professional hockey, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins tied a team record for standings points in a season and clinched a berth in the Calder Cup playoffs Sunday with a 4-1 victory over the Binghamton Senators. Erik Christensen scored two power-play goals and Dany Sabourin made 35 saves to lead the Penguins to victory. The Penguins have won all five games in the season series. They have outscored the Senators, 22-7, by getting half their goals off Binghamton penalties. The win was the third in three states in 48 hours for the Penguins. It represented the first significant reward for the best start in American Hockey League history. "It's a great feeling," Penguins coach Joe Mullen said. "It's unbelievable that you've got to get 92 points to clinch a playoff spot." The Penguins may not be back to the dominating team they were to start the season, but they have been close in the three days since their lineup was bolstered at the National Hockey League trade deadline. Newly acquired Petr Taticek and Kystofer Kolanos and reassigned Shane Endicott have been added to the list of forwards. Taticek had a power-play goal and Kolanos had an assist Sunday. "Just when you write the names down on the lineup sheet, you can tell we have a stronger lineup," Mullen said. "We've still got to go out and play, but for the fourth game in five nights, we really competed hard." The Penguins were 5-10-0-1 and had been outscored, 46-30, in the last 16 games before the trade deadline. They have outscored their three opponents since, 9-2. COLLEGE CORNER Montrose graduate Courtney Parvin was named New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference Player of the Year in basketball after leading Springfield College to its fifth championship in six years and a berth in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III Tournament. Parvin's career, however, came to an end when Messiah College defeated Springfield, 70-56, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Grantham. This was the second straight season that Parvin was named first-team all-star in the NEWMAC. Parvin averaged 14.7 points and 7.1 rebounds on the season despite being held to two points, while grabbing nine rebounds, in the tournament loss. She finished her career fifth in school history with 1,185 points. Parvin shot 41.0 percent from the floor, 45.5 percent on 3-pointers and 74.0 percent from the line. She averaged 2.5 assists per game. THE WEEK AHEAD Montrose was scheduled to face District 3 champion York Catholic (30-1) Tuesday night in Pottsville. If the Lady Meteors could get through that game, they would play in the state Class AA girls' basketball quarterfinal Friday against the winner of the game between Pine Grove and Fairfield. High school teams are in their second week of preparation for the spring season. In professional hockey, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and Binghamton Senators meet again Wednesday night at the Broome County Arena. TOM ROBINSON writes a weekly local sports column for the Susquehanna County Transcript. He can be reached online at RobbyTR@aol.com.
JOHNSON Gambles And Wins,Las Vegas, November – Jimmie Johnson caught Matt Kenseth in the final turn in a green-white-checkered finish Sunday and then passed him about 50 yards from the finish line to win the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Jimmie Johnson “That was a great race,” said Johnson. “I knew if I could get to his outside coming to the finish, I could win it.” Even though Kenseth led the most laps and dominated the race, he was not satisfied with his runner-up finish. “Well, nobody likes to run second,” said Kenseth. “We led the most laps, and with the great work from the crew in the pits, I should have won it. “We had a great car, but there at the end it seemed like it started slowing down and Jimmie started catching me. If I had tried any harder, I was going to wreck, and maybe take both of us out. “I did every thing I could and just got beat.” Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Jeff Burton, Greg Biffle, Casey Mears, and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top-10 finishers. Top-10 Nextel Cup points leaders after 3 of 36: 1. Johnson-540, 2. Kenseth-488, 3. Kahne-455, 4. Mears-454, 5. Martin-430, 6. Kyle Busch-403, 7. Bowyer-389, 8. Sadler-385, 9. J. Gordon-374, 10. Burton-373. What’s Up With CHILDRESS And HARVICK – Kevin Harvick’s contract with Richard Childress Racing expires at the end of this season. But neither of the two is giving any indication of which direction they are going. Childress said they plan to decide their future--to sign new contracts or not--sometime around the first of April. But the big question might be; is there any common ground left between them? Harvick moved up from the Busch Series in 2001 and made his Cup debut, replacing Dale Earnhardt following the Daytona 500 tragedy. Driving the No. 29 Chevrolet, Harvick finished 14th at Rockingham the following week. He drove the rest of the Cup schedule that year, winning his first race, at Atlanta, in just his third start. He finished the season with two victories, six top-fives and 16 top-10s to rank ninth in points. Harvick became the first driver in NASCAR history to run full-time in both the Cup and Busch series, and the first to win Cup rookie of the year and the Bush title in the same season. His best Cup season was in 2003 when he had 11 top-fives and 18 top-10s to go along with. He has a total of five cup victories. Now, Harvick has more to do than just driving for Childress. He has his own racing operation; which includes two Busch teams and one Craftsman Truck team. So does Harvick want to stay with Childress? And does Childress want Harvick to stay? Childress says his three-car Nextel Cup operation is on the rebound. Jeff Burton is optimistic, and he ran well in the race at California. Newcomer Clint Bowyer is making a name for himself, and Childress' engine department appears stronger. "It's got to be right for both of us," Childress said. "It has to be a deal where both of us believe we can win races and win championships. If we believe in each other that way, it will be good for both of us. But it's a two-way street. "Hopefully we'll get something put together. Kevin is one of the most talented drivers out there, and I'd like to see him driving for us." General Motors wants to keep Harvick, but Toyota is looking for two more seasoned drivers, so they might want to sign Harvick. Prior to the Las Vegas race, Harvick would only say, “I’m happy where I am, and we’ll just have to wait and see how we work it out.” NEWMAN Will Try To Avoid “Friday Night Jinx” – “Rocket Man” Ryan Newman will try and add his name to the record books at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Friday night, March 17 during qualifying. Newman is going for his seventh straight pole at AMS. Should he win the coveted first starting spot he would tie Buddy Baker for most career poles at AMS. Newman currently holds the record for most consecutive pole positions with six. Only five other drivers have won back to back poles at AMS. Alan Kulwicki, Buddy Baker, Cale Yarborough, Dave Marcis and Fireball Roberts all recorded consecutive pole positions at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Winning the pole hasn’t necessarily translated into stellar performances on race day for Newman. The 35-time career pole winner has failed to win a NEXTEL Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway despite posting the fastest lap time during qualifying sessions six races in a row. Even with an AMS career average starting spot of 1.75, Newman’s average finish at AMS is 15th. Top-10 Busch Series drivers after 4 of 35: 1. Harvick-642, 2. Hamlin-600, 3. Yeley-595, 4. McMurray-560, 5. Bowyer-538, 6. Edwards-518, 7. Leffler-489, 8. Wood-472, 9. Keller-465, 10. Lamar-464. WEEKEND RACING Friday, March 17, Craftsman Trucks Atlanta 200, race 3 of 25, 134 laps/200 miles, 9 p.m. TV: Speed Channel. Saturday, March 18, Busch Series Nicorette 300, race 5 of 35, 203 laps/300 miles, 2:30 p.m. TV: FX Channel. Sunday, March 19, Golden Corral 500, race 4 of 36, 325 laps/500 miles, 1:30 p.m. TV: Fox. Racing Trivia Question: Which Cup team does Michael Waltrip drive for this year? Last Week’s Question: Who has the most career starts among Busch drivers? Answer: Jason Keller’s 396 starts is tops. You may read additional stories at the Racing Reporter’s website, www.race500.com.
Kip’s Korner Protecting Yearling Bucks Many hunters unfamiliar with Quality Deer Management (QDM) incorrectly assume QDM is only about large-racked bucks. Many also feel antler point restrictions (APRs) are synonymous with QDM. Pieces from both of these beliefs can be parts of QDM programs but QDM is about much more than just antlers or APRs. In simplest terms QDM involves balancing the deer herd with the habitat and having deer - bucks and does - in multiple age classes. Determining and achieving the right number of deer for the habitat is a topic for another discussion and this article will focus on multiple age classes of deer. Most areas have a good age structure for the doe population as it is common for hunters to harvest does 1.5-6.5+yrs. This age structure exists because of traditional deer management practices where hunters focused much of their harvest pressure on bucks and allowed does to survive and fill multiple age classes. Very few places have this same age structure for the buck population. Typical buck populations include a high percentage (60-80%) of yearlings, a small percentage (10-30%) of 2.5yr olds, an even smaller percentage (5-10%) of 3.5yr olds and almost no 4.5+yr olds. This young age structure is a direct result of harvest pressure by hunters. In the not-too-distant past most hunters focused intense pressure on yearling bucks and removed the majority of that age class. In historical Pennsylvania for example, hunters routinely removed over 80% of the yearling age class on an annual basis! With that removal rate, less than 1% of Pennsylvania’s bucks ever reached maturity. Quality Deer Management helps correct this imbalance by protecting young bucks and allowing them to survive into the older age classes. Quality Deer Management isn’t about protecting bucks until they are 5.5yrs old - that’s trophy management. Quality Deer Management, in simplest terms is about protecting yearling bucks. Yearling bucks are the easiest adult deer to harvest, but if hunters pass them and allow them to reach 2.5yrs, they become a little smarter and some will avoid hunters and reach 3.5yrs. Some of those will then avoid hunters and reach 4.5yrs, etc. Pretty soon you end up with a deer population that has bucks in multiple age classes even while allowing bucks 2.5yrs and older to be harvested. A complete age structure is good for deer and great for hunters. The big question then is what is the best way to protect yearling bucks? There are several techniques to protect yearlings and they all have advantages and disadvantages. Antler point restrictions are a common technique and they involve establishing a minimum number of points a buck must possess to be eligible for harvest. This minimum number should be established with the aid of a biologist and with local harvest data. Advantages of APRs include they are simple and are easy for state agencies to enforce. The disadvantage of APRs is the number of antler points is a poor predictor of animal age. Yearling bucks can have a rack ranging from short spikes to 10+ points. Therefore it can be difficult with APRs to protect the majority of the yearling age class while still making other age classes available for harvest. Managers may unintentionally focus harvest pressure on yearlings with larger racks or protect older age classes. However, because of APRs simplicity and enforceability, they are the most common buck harvest restriction discussed and implemented by state agencies. Antler width restrictions are another technique and they involve establishing a minimum width of antler spread a buck possess have to be eligible for harvest. Again, this width should be established with the aid of a biologist and from local harvest data. The premise of a width restriction is few yearling bucks attain an outside antler spread of more than 15-16 inches. Hunters can estimate a buck’s antler spread by viewing where the antlers are in relation to an animal’s forward pointed ears. Ear tip to tip distance is approximately 15-16 inches for northern deer and slightly less for southern deer. Therefore, if a buck’s antlers are as wide as or wider than his ears, there is a good chance he is at least 2.5yrs. The advantage of a width restriction is it is a much better predictor of whether a buck is 1.5 or 2.5+yrs and therefore can do a better job protecting yearlings. The disadvantage of a width restriction is it is slightly more difficult to determine the legal status of a buck in the wild (vs. APR) and it can be more difficult for state agencies to enforce. A width restriction is more biologically sound than an APR and therefore is commonly used on private lands where managers have more control over the deer management program. A third technique is age restrictions based on body characteristics. This technique involves establishing the age classes available for harvest (2.5+yrs for this discussion), and hunters then use body – not antler – characteristics to determine eligible bucks. Distinguishable body changes occur as deer progress through age classes and this technique requires hunters to be skilled in identifying those changes. The advantage of this technique is it is an excellent predictor of animal age and therefore you can either target or protect multiple age classes of bucks. The disadvantage of this technique is it requires time and practice for hunters to learn the body characteristics of each age class and be able to accurately estimate the age of live bucks in the wild. This technique is currently practiced on some of the most intensively managed properties throughout the country and is the future of deer management for many hunters. This technique is a lot of fun and is very rewarding for true whitetail enthusiasts. Age restrictions are by far the most biologically sound approach and are therefore used for the majority of intensive management programs. Due to the skill involved and practice required by hunters this approach is most commonly used by private land managers and unfortunately is rarely even discussed by state agencies. Two final techniques are “earn-a-buck” programs and buck harvest quotas. Both of these programs restrict the number of bucks that get harvested rather than the age of bucks that get harvested. Earn-a-buck programs are typically used in areas of high deer density where managers must force hunters to remove additional antlerless deer. The premise of this technique is a hunter must harvest an antlerless deer to receive (or validate) his/her buck tag. A hunter that doesn’t help the management program by harvesting a doe is not permitted to shoot a buck. This technique protects some bucks because not all hunters will have the opportunity to harvest a buck after harvesting an antlerless deer. Buck harvest quotas are similar to what most states currently use to limit the antlerless harvest. With this technique, managers issue a limited number of buck tags and thus some bucks are protected because not all hunters receive a tag. There are many ways to protect numbers or specific age classes of bucks. No technique is perfect but they all have advantages. The challenge is to educate hunters on the benefits and limitations of each and achieve broad-based support for the selected technique. Hunter support is crucial and it can take a management program to the next level or dump it in the gutter. In general, the most biologically sound techniques provide the most benefits but all of the techniques can improve a deer management program when applied correctly. So, is QDM just about large-racked bucks and are APRs synonymous with QDM? The first answer is obviously “no”. Quality Deer Management is about balancing the deer herd with the habitat and having bucks and does in multiple age classes. You end up with larger bucks because they are a byproduct of good deer management. The second answer is also “no”; APRs are merely one technique to get bucks into multiple age classes. Antler point restrictions are not the most biologically sound approach, but as Pennsylvania and other states have shown, they can be effective when applied correctly. EDITOR’S NOTE: Kip’s Korner is written by Kip P. Adams, a certified wildlife biologist and the Northeast regional director for the Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA). The QDMA is a non-profit wildlife conservation organization dedicated to promoting sustainable, high-quality, white-tailed deer populations, wildlife habitats and ethical hunting experiences through education, research, and management in partnership with hunters, landowners, natural resource professionals, and the public. The QDMA can be reached at 1-800-209-DEER or www.QDMA.com.
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