Quarterback Austin White and defensive lineman Christian Miller made Susquehanna the only team with more than one underclassman named as first-team Lackawanna Football Conference Division 3 all-stars on the team selected by northeastpafootball.com.

White, Miller, Lyle Lawson and Curtis Mills represented the Sabers on the first team while Brett Hepler, who was honored at two positions, and C.J. Monks made the second team.

Montrose’s Brenton Warner was also a two-way, second-team choice on the team, which was announced Dec. 16.

State finalist Old Forge dominated the selections with half of the 28 first-team choices, including Offensive Player of the Year Brandon Yescavage and Defensive Player of the Year Shane Schuback. Larry Gabriel III from second-place Carbondale was named Coach of the Year.

White was named first-team quarterback after leading the Sabers in scoring for the second straight season. In his second year as the starting quarterback, White also moved up to leading rusher after ranking second a year ago.

On the season, White carried 157 times for 841 yards and 5.4 yards per carry to help the Sabers finish third in the division and advance to the District 2 Class AA playoffs. He ran for 16 touchdowns.

White also contributed on defense, ranking fourth on the team in tackles and third in tackles for losses as a strong safety.

Lawson, a senior center, was a first-team offensive lineman after helping the Sabers average 188.4 yards per game and 5.3 yards per carry on the ground.

As a defensive lineman, Lawson also had three sacks, seven total tackles for losses and two fumble recoveries while being in on 45 tackles.

Miller led a strong pass rush from his defensive end position.

The junior led the team in sacks with 12, total tackles for losses with 19, pass rushes with seven and blocked kicks with two. He also ranked third in tackles with 52 while assisting on 35 others.

Mills, a senior linebacker, ranked first on the team in assists with 52 and was in on the most total tackles (111). He was second in tackles with 59 and second in tackles for losses with 12 while breaking up three passes, forcing a fumble and recovering a fumble.

Miller and Mills led a defense that allowed just 20 points in a four-game winning streak and allowed only six touchdowns during a six-week stretch in which the Sabers won five times.

Hepler, another junior, made the second team as a fullback and punter.

Hepler had the team’s best average per carry at 8.3 while ranking second in rushing with 586 yards and four touchdowns. He caught three passes, including one for a touchdown.

As a punter, Hepler often helped the Sabers win field position battles. He averaged 34.1 yards per kick and placed 17 of his 38 punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line, including 10 inside the 10 and six at the 6 or closer.

In addition to his play on offense and special teams, Hepler also led the Sabers in tackles with 60 from his free safety position.

Monks, a senior who was chosen at defensive back, led the team by breaking up seven passes. He returned an interception 39 yards for a touchdown and made 24 tackles while assisting on 30 others.

Monks also led the team in punt return average (12.2) while ranking second in kick return average (17.7) and receiving (6-93).

Warner, a senior at Montrose, was honored as a two-way, second-team choice as both an offensive lineman and a linebacker for the second straight season.

COLLEGE CORNER

Adam Phillips, a sophomore from Elk Lake, swims breaststroke and freestyle events for Rider University.

Phillips was named Co-Most Improved Swimmer on the team as a freshman at the NCAA Division I school in New Jersey.

Rider went into the weekend with a 3-3 dual meet record.

Phillips won the 100 breaststroke in a 194-106 win over Marist College to bring the team back to the .500 level. He also won the event during a victory over Lehigh early in the season.

Rider won the Metro Athlantic Athletic Conference Championships with the help of a fifth-place finish in the 100 breast, a sixth-place finish in the 200 breast and a 10th-place finish in the 50 freestyle by Phillips.

THE WEEK AHEAD

The Susquehanna County Christmas Tournament and Denise Reddon Memorial Tournament are scheduled for Blue Ridge Friday and Saturday.

County basketball teams fill both tournament fields.

The Denise Reddon Memorial for girls begins Friday at 2 p.m. with Elk Lake playing defending champion Montrose. Blue Ridge meets Susquehanna at 3:30.

The Susquehanna County Christmas Tournament for boys starts Friday at 6 p.m. with defending champion Elk Lake against Montrose. Blue Ridge plays Susquehanna at 7:30.

The tournament is set to conclude Saturday. The third-place games are for girls at 2 p.m. and for boys at 3:30. The championship games are planned for girls at 6 and boys at 7:30.

Friday’s opener is a rematch of last season’s Reddon final when Montrose defeated Elk Lake, 50-32,

Myra Lattimore and Meghan Gilhool are back after making the all-tournament team for Montrose. Lattimore had 15 points and eight rebounds in the championship game while Gilhool added 10 points, five assists and three steals.

Elk Lake’s Casey Tyler and Susquehanna’s Mashawna Hargett are also back from the all-tournament team.

Elk Lake defeated Susquehanna, 62-49, in the boys’ final last season after opening a 22-point lead in the first half.

Tanner Reyan and Tyler Arnold are back after making the all-tournament team in the championship run. Reyan had 16 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals in the final while Arnold led a strong defensive effort.

Cameron Dean, who made the all-tournament team for Montrose in a third-place finish, is also back.

LOOKING AHEAD

Montrose has been moved back up to Division 2 of the Lackawanna Football Conference for the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

Mid Valley, which has a smaller enrollment, will return to Division 3.

The LFC set its schedules along with the realignment process.

Despite playing in different divisions, Montrose will maintain its Battle for the Bluestone rivalry game with Susquehanna and will host the Sabers Sept. 26 in the last of its five non-division games before playing the second half of its schedule entirely in Division 2.

LFC officials helped ease Montrose’s move to a larger division by scheduling four games against teams from Division 3.

The Montrose schedule in order, beginning with Aug. 29 is: at Meyers, Carbondale, at Lackawanna Trail, at Holy Cross, Susquehanna, at Lakeland, Western Wayne, Riverside, Dunmore, at Honesdale.

Susquehanna will open Aug. 29 at Nanticoke.

The Sabers have added a difficult challenge in a road game at LFC Division 2 champion Dunmore. The Sabers will play their Division 3 opener in the third week with Holy Cross, allowing for a Week 6 game against Holy Redeemer before finishing the season with four divisional games.

The complete Susquehanna schedule, in order: at Nanticoke, Meyers, Holy Cross, at Dunmore, at Montrose, at Holy Redeemer, Mid Valley, Lackawanna Trail, at Carbondale and Old Forge.

TOM ROBINSON writes a weekly local sports column for the Susquehanna County Transcript. He can be reached online at RobbyTR@aol.com and followed on Twitter at @tomjrobinson.

CHRISTMAS WITH "THE ARKANSAS TRAVELER"

NOTE: Each year during Christmas we break from our traditional NASCAR racing news in order to bring a story that blends in with the holiday season. This year’s story comes from Bobby Ward, an early sprint car racer from Arkansas. While he was not well known along the east coast, he was a household name among racing fans in the Midwest. When Ward showed up at the race track, he was always the “one to beat.”

Bobby Ward in 1972 at Riverside Raceway, West Memphis, Arkansas

Bobby had a stroke this past year. He is doing well, but he and his wife sold their “homeplace,” and moved to Conway, Arkansas, so he could be closer to a medical facility.

“I think that sometimes people overvalue the things of Christmas, and forget to really focus on their friends and the actual holiday season,” said Ward. “I certainly have more material things now, which I thoroughly enjoy, but as far as true happiness goes, I’m not so sure that we weren’t just as happy back in my early years.”

Ward was born in 1935 in the community of Bee Branch, Arkansas, about 40 miles north of Little Rock, in a one-room log cabin. His racing career began in 1956.

He raced hard, traveled long distances, won many, many championships, accumulated a large fan following, and became known as “The Arkansas Traveler.”

“Christmas for us was very light,” continued Ward. “Mom and dad, and sometimes all the family would go out on Christmas Eve and cut down a tree. It wasn’t always a cedar tree. Sometimes it was a pine. After getting it set up in the house we would decorate it. The decorations consisted of some colorful ribbon that had been cut in strips, and strings of popcorn.

“That was all the decorations we used. There were no lights, or anything shiny.

“My three sisters and I each got one toy. That’s the only time of the year we got any store bought toys. But I don’t ever remember a Christmas when we didn’t get that one toy.

“On my sixth birthday I had asked my mom for some type of Tinker Toy. On Christmas Eve, I happened by the bedroom and saw a Tinker Toy sticking out from under the bed. Mom saw me, and said, “Son, would you believe that Santa Claus came by earlier today and left this for you? And he might even come back again tonight.”

Well, I believed her, and sure enough, the next morning Santa had paid us a second visit and left some oranges, apples, and cookies.

“Our Christmas dinner consisted of chicken and dumplings, and dressing, along with ham and some other vegetables, plus a cake and pie.

“We never had turkey or anything you had to buy.

“Around Christmastime, daddy would kill some hogs and cure the meat. He would take some type sugar cure and put it all over the ham, and inject it all around the bone. This not only flavored the meat, but preserved it. The meat would keep in a smoke house for at least a month.

“In my very early childhood, we had Christmas by ourselves. We lived a pretty good way from our neighbors, and traveling in our wagon would have taken too long.

“As I got older, we moved and dad bought a car, and we visited my father’s mother and dad on Christmas. I had a cousin that always got lots of toys and we were allowed to play with them while the rest of the family visited.

“I never said anything to mother and dad about the single toy I got, because I knew how things were with us.

“During the year, I was able to make homemade cars out of blocks of wood.

“We used our imagination and what we had, to entertain ourselves.

“We always ate well, even outside the holidays. We had pork, along with fried potatoes, pinto beans, and corn bread. Every Thursday night we had corn bread and buttermilk.

“There was no electricity in my early years. Our traditional lighting was a simple kerosene lamp. One day my dad brought home a new type of kerosene lamp, called a “Latin Lamp.” It gave a much brighter light, and that was the first time my sister and I had been able to do our homework together at the kitchen table.

“Sometimes at night I would get a glass of milk, and only drink half of it. I would leave the rest of it setting in the kitchen. When it was really cold, the next morning I would have a half glass of ice cream.

“When we moved from Bee Branch to Shirley, Arkansas, there wasn’t any boys around to play with, just girls. Mother made me a doll on her old treadmill sewing machine, and filled it with straw and rags, so I would have something to play with.

“It might seem funny now, but I had the time of my life playing with that doll, along with my three sisters and the other girls.

“Whenever my dad took corn to the grist mill to get it ground into meal and grits, I always went along. The corn was yellow. We never raised any white corn like they have now.

“My childhood was good. I thoroughly enjoyed growing up with my sisters and we were a loving family. We were also a working family. We worked hard, and loved each other. We didn’t go around hugging each other, saying, “I love you,” but we all shared a bond of love.

“I don’t ever remember a day growing up when I didn’t feel loved.

“I tried to race everyone just like I would want him to race me.

“I didn’t always win, but I knew it was important for me to try and finish each race. I think in order to enjoy our success we’ve got to put forth effort. The races that I enjoyed winning the most were those I really had to work for.

“Greater labor leads to greater love.

“To maximize our present enjoyment in life we might need to give up some of the comforts an easy life style brings us. Instead of buying a present ready-made this Christmas, why not see what kind of physical chore you could do for your neighbor. Instead of buying a pre-cooked pie or cake for Christmas dinner, why not bake it yourself?

“Christmas happiness can still be found. You just need to know how and where to look.”

Racing Trivia Question: Which NASCAR series championship did Matt Crafton win in 2013?

Last Week’s Question: Which Cup team will Clint Bowyer drive for in 2014? Answer. He will continue to drive the No. 15 for Michael Waltrip Racing.

You may e-mail any questions to the Racing Reporter at: hodges@race500.com.