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HEADLINES: SCRANTON – Wallenpaupack football coach Mark Watson walked into the final City huddle following Wednesday night’s 74th annual Scranton Lions Club Dream Game. Watson was looking for one player – Susquehanna guard Josh Jenkins. “His high school team didn’t have too much success, which was something we had talked about,” Watson said after Jenkins and Montrose running back Jared Fowler helped the City defeat the County, 14-8, before a paid crowd of 7,157 at Scranton Memorial Stadium. “He said he would love to go out on a winning note. “I told him we need to win this game for you so you can get out of your football career with a win.” Jenkins earned Lackawanna Football Conference all-star honors in the line even while the Sabers were struggling to the finish with a 1-9 record in his senior season. “I’m so excited,” Jenkins said after the win. “This is the most fun I’ve had in football, ever.” Jenkins was part of a strong offensive line effort that paved the way for Fowler and others in the City running game to control play in the first half while taking a 7-0 lead. The Susquehanna graduate, who plans to attend East Stroudsburg University but is undecided about whether he will eventually try to play football there, started at left guard. He played the bulk of the game there. “We had a great offensive line,” Jenkins said. “I knew we could run the ball.” Fowler started and was part of a rotation of tailbacks for the City. He picked up yards on all seven of his carries, finishing with 27 yards. “We had a lot of kids who were running the ball,” Watson said. “He started for us and did a good job. “He’s a good, hard-nosed kid who played very well on a lot of our special teams, too.” Jenkins had a tackle on the kickoff team. The two Susquehanna County players were part of the only scoring drive of the first half of the all-star game for graduated high school players. The City ran the ball all 11 times to cover 51 yards in the second-quarter drive. The team was 7-for-41 running left and just 4-for-10 going to the right on the drive. Fowler carried twice in a row to advance the ball from the 4 to the 1. After the County held on third-and-goal, Scranton’s Jason Dominick scored on a power play off the left side. Dunmore’s Sean Gilroy added the first of his two extra points for a 7-0 lead. The first half featured just four pass attempts, no completions and two interceptions between the two teams, making the running game the key. Jenkins and Fowler helped the City gain 102 yards on 24 carries while the County picked up just 24 on 14 carries. Both Watson and County coach George Howanitz from Valley View opened up the attacks in the second half. Each team threw a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. Delaware Valley’s Billy Poore found Scranton’s Tar Barrett for a 35-yard touchdown and 14-0 City lead with 9:35 left. The County rallied, moving 70 yards on the next possession as Old Forge’s Mark Alexander hit three of six passes for 55 yards, including a 21-yard touchdown to Lance Gabriel with 7:31 left. Alexander then found Mid Valley’s Kyle Shevchik with the two-point conversion pass. THE WEEK AHEAD The high school sports year gets started Monday around Pennsylvania when fall sports teams report for their first official day of practice. TOM ROBINSON writes a weekly local sports column for the Susquehanna County Transcript. He can be reached online at RobbyTR@aol.com.
NASCAR Racing the Racing Reporter Edwards Does Back Flip At Pocono, Long Pond, PA – For the fourth time this season, Carl Edwards has done his traditional back flip in victory lane. This past Sunday, he devised his own pit strategy to win the 200-lap Sprint Cup race at Pocono Raceway.
Carl Edwards performs his traditional back flip after winning Sunday's Pocono race. Photo Courtesy of NASCAR Edwards was leading the race when NASCAR put out the yellow flag for rain on lap 129. He argued with his crew chief, Bob Osborne in favor of pitting. Osborne wanted him to stay on the track. If the rain continued and the race was called, Edwards and his No. 99 team would be a big loser if they pitted. “I really argued with Bob before I came in,” said Edwards. “He didn’t want me to pit, but under the circumstances I thought it would be better to pit and take on tires and fuel.” Edwards’ decision was correct. The shower was brief, and NASCAR was able to run the entire 200-lap race. The move put Edwards and several other teams at an advantage over the cars that had stayed on the track during the rain caution. When green flag racing resumed on lap 134, after the rain delay, Kasey Kahne was the leader, followed by Denny Hamlin and Mark Martin. Kahne had to pit on lap 184 for fuel, and Martin came in two laps later, giving the lead back to Edwards, who went on to take his fourth win of the season by six seconds ahead of Tony Stewart. Stewart and his No. 20 team have yet to get their first 2008 win. “My car was really, really loose all day, but after that restart it got tighter,” said Stewart. “I can’t complain. It came to us and we finally got a good run. We were on the same racing strategy as Carl and a bunch of the other guys. We didn’t get second because of a trick or anything.” Stewart moved from tenth to ninth in points. Mark Martin had the fastest car early in the race, but two bad pit stops cost him track position, and he was out of sync with Johnson and Stewart on fuel at the end. Several drivers ran out of fuel before crossing the finish line, including Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, and Reed Sorenson. Points leader Kyle Busch was never a factor in the race. After running out of fuel, he finished 35th. Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, David Ragan, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Mark Martin, Jamie McMurray and Jeff Gordon rounded out the top-10 finishers. Top 10 Chase contenders after 21 of 36: 1. Kyle Busch-3059, 2. Earnhardt-2883, 3. Edwards-2874, 4. Johnson-2859, 5. Burton-2833, 6. J. Gordon-2678, 7. Kahne-2592, 8. Biffle-2589, 9. Stewart-2569, 10. Hamlin-2547. Fellows Gets Historic Win – Ron Fellows won Saturday’s rain-shortened Nationwide Series race at Montreal, Canada. The race was the first NASCAR points race to be run on grooved rain tires. Top 10 Nationwide Series leaders after 23 of 35: 1. Bowyer-3346, 2. Edwards-3178, 3. Keselowski-3164, 4. Reutimann-3035, 5. Ragan-3003, 6. Bliss-2944, 7. Kyle Busch-2828, 8. M. Wallace-2730, 9. Leffler-2629, 10. Keller-2628. Top 10 ARCA RE/MAX Series Points After the Pennsylvania 200 at Pocono Raceway (8-2-08); 1) Scott Speed 3045; 2) Matt Carter 2950; 3) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. 2935; 4) Justin Allgaier 2855; 5) Frank Kimmel 2825; 6) John Wes Townley 2635; 7) Tom Hessert III 2530; 8) Tayler Malsam 2510; 9) Patrick Sheltra 2415; 10) Ken Butler III 2405. NASCAR Sprint Cup Leader: Kyle Busch – With his Nationwide Series win at Indianapolis Raceway Park, Kyle Busch set a new record for the most combined wins in a season (15) across NASCAR’s top three divisions, breaking the previous mark of 14 set by Kevin Harvick in 2001. When he left Hendrick Motorsports at the end of the 2007 season, very few people thought he would be the Cup leader at Joe Gibbs Racing. “With the position we’re in, we’re focused on being consistent and running up front,” said Busch. “Just earning as many of those bonus points as we can by the time we get to New Hampshire (the first race on the 10-race Chase schedule). Obviously we’re not looking to go out there and be reckless and do something stupid. There’s something to be said for carrying some momentum into the Chase. “That’s what Jimmie (Johnson) and those No. 48 guys were able to do last year. We’ve had some bumps in the road this season but this M&M’s team has been pretty resilient. We’ve just got to rebound and make sure that 48 team doesn’t pick up too much steam.” Even NASCAR's newly implemented rule to restrict Toyota's horsepower couldn't stop Busch from getting to Victory Lane again. He led 197 of 200 laps in winning Saturday's Kroger 200 at O'Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis on Saturday night – his sixth Nationwide Series win of the season. With his Cup win at Chicagoland, Busch became the 17th driver to win at least seven races in the first 19 events. Eleven of the previous 16 went on to win the Cup Series championship (the last to do so was Jeff Gordon in 1997, Cale Yarbrough in 1974 and Bill Elliott in 1985). Tire Deal At Indy Was A Big Strike – The tire debacle last week at Indianapolis was another strike against NASCAR, that has seen declining attendance, sponsor participation drop, and gas prices soar. The following blog was taken from Jayski.com website. “We are watching a major spectator sport slowly dying. The tire debacle is only the latest symptom of greater ‘health problems’ that NASCAR is having. “NASCAR refuses to address any of these things. If they did, then they'd find a way to get out of their contract with Goodyear, and sign Hoosier or Firestone up as their tire supplier, they'd remove some of the restrictions on the cars that carried over from the last car. This car needs different springs, shocks and such to make it work properly. Stuff NASCAR can't just hand out and expect it to work. “What would really help is if NASCAR actually sat down, devised a rule book that is written in plain English, and offered it to the press as well as offering it for general sale to the public like other major sports do. NASCAR needs accountability if they ever expect to regain their credibility.” Even though NASCAR offered an apology, they need to wake up and realize there are other factors in the sport that need tending to in these tough economic times. Next Week: Recap of the 2008 Craftsman Truck Series. WEEKEND RACING The Craftsman Trucks will be at the 1.33-mile Nashville Superspeedway, while the Sprint Cup and Nationwide teams will race on Watkins Glen’s, twisting 11 turn, 2.45-mile road course. Saturday, August 9: Nationwide Series Zippo 200, 2:30 p.m. TV: ABC. Saturday, August 9: Craftsman Trucks Toyota Tundra 200, 7 p.m. TV: Speed Channel. Sunday, August 10: Sprint Cup Centurion Boats at the Glen, 1 p.m. TV: ESPN. Racing Trivia Question: Where is Johnny Benson’s home town? Last Week’s Question: Will Tony Stewart’s crew chief, Greg Zipadelli go with Stewart next season, or stay at Joe Gibbs Racing? Answer: No, Zipadelli’s plans are to stay at JGR. You may contact the Racing Reporter at: hodgesnews@earthlink.net.
Rare Fisher Found In Susquehanna County
On July 24, Ed Price of the PA Trappers Association discovered an adult, twelve-pound fisher (pictured above) killed on the highway in Herrick Township. Fishers, a species of marten, are the rarest and most interesting furbearing animal. In 1900, there were no fishers in Pennsylvania. In 1994, the Pennsylvania Game Commission released 194 fishers in the state forests in Clinton County. These handsome, native animals of the state’s wildlife have steadily migrated throughout Pennsylvania. Their main habitat is continuous forest areas and their diet normally consists of porcupines and red squirrels. Ironically, fishers rarely pursue fish. The July meeting of the Susquehanna County Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs met at the Jackson Sportsmen’s Club. At that meeting Susquehanna County Wildlife conservation Officer Michael Webb inspected the animal. We hoe fishers will grow in numbers for all outdoor enthusiasts to enjoy.
Joseph Lewis of North Jackson, caught this 12.3 pound, 27 inch walleye off of Fox Island, Lake Ontario. Joe is the son of Dean and Lavone Lewis.
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