When Montrose found itself without a head coach less than two months before the start of official practices, Steve Miller was ready to step in for his first assignment leading a high school football program.
Miller accepted an offer from principal William King and athletic director Joe Gilhool to guide the Meteors on an interim basis through the 2017 season.
“The kids have been working hard,” said Miller, who served as freshman coach last season, his first in the program. “I’d been going there three days a week since January, working with the kids on their weightlifting for the last five months, so they wanted to keep the continuity of the program together.”
Miller said he was surprised when Eric Nichols stepped down prior to what would have been his second season as Montrose head coach. Miller said the timing and fit were right for him to take this step. He had previously coached one season as a high school assistant in his native Rhode Island before spending 12 years coaching in the Vestal, N.Y. youth program.
“There’s great support there from Mr. King and Mr. Gilhool, so I agreed to it,” said Miller, who owns bowling alleys and related family-entertainment businesses, including Midway Lanes in Vestal and Sunset Lanes in Kirkwood, N.Y. “ I’m fortunate that I do have the flexibility, being that I own my own business.
“I do have responsibilities, but I can afford to put in the time that the position deserves.”
Miller said there will be time before he puts in an offense and defense for the Meteors, who went 1-9 a year ago, beating only winless Holy Cross. Montrose opens the season Aug. 26 at Susquehanna in the Battle for the Bluestone.
“I’m a firm believer in football that you don’t stereotype it; you don’t pigeon-hole it,” Miller said. “We have to wait to see what kids we have and what their capabilities are. We’ll put a system in place that matches the kids to those capabilities.”
Miller is familiar with many of the players, including the holdovers from last year and those who have been active in weightlifting, but says he needs a better feel for the full squad before designing the team’s playbook.
“At this point in time, I’m not going to tell you we’re going to run triple option or what defense because I don’t know,” he said.
Miller, 52, has developed certain “old-school” philosophies about the game he has been involved for more than 40 years. He began playing Pop Warner football as a 6-year-old and continued through high school where he was a three-year starter.
“I believe that you play like you practice and it all starts from there,” Miller said. “You’ve got to be disciplined; you’ve got to work hard; you’ve got to be conditioned; and you’ve got to know your responsibilities.
“And, you’ve got to know the guy alongside of you is going to run through that wall for you and he’s got to know that you’ll run through that wall for him.”
WEEK IN REVIEW
Forest City’s Noah Yates, who plays football at Carbondale on a cooperative sponsorship, announced his commitment to attend the United States Military Academy and play football for Army while at West Point.
Yates, a linebacker prospect, was a second-team Lackawanna Football Conference Division 3 all-star wide receiver last season, according to NPFSports.com.
In professional baseball, the defending Triple-A national champion Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders regained first place in the International League North Division during the week and held on to a half-game lead going into the all-star break despite losing two of three games in a series with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs Friday through Sunday.
The RailRiders (55-34) passed the IronPigs into first place for the first time in two months with Wednesday night’s 3-1 win over Buffalo, then rallied in both the bottom of the ninth and 11th innings to beat the Bisons again, 4-3, the next afternoon.
Lehigh Valley handed Scranton/Wilkes-Barre its first series loss since May when it won, 5-2, Sunday.
The RailRiders lost the northeastern Pennsylvania connection from their roster when Crestwood graduate Matt Wotherspoon was traded from the New York Yankees organization to the Baltimore Orioles July 2.
Baltimore kept Wotherspoon in the IL, assigning him to Norfolk.
The 25-year-old relief pitcher has five strikeouts in three innings while allowing one run in his first three innings (3.00 earned run average) with the Tides.
Wotherspoon was 2-1 with three saves and a 1.67 ERA in 15 games at Double-A Trenton to start this season, before going 1-0 with a save and 2.25 ERA in six games for the RailRiders.
In his four-year professional career, Wotherspoon is 16-10 with 14 saves, a 2.96 ERA and 279 strikeouts in 270 2/3 innings.
THE WEEK AHEAD
The Binghamton Rumble Ponies had five players selected for the Eastern League All-Star Classic Wednesday in Manchester, N.H.
P.J. Conlon, Luis Guillorme, Tomas Nido, Corey Oswalt and Kevin Taylor were all selected in their first year on the Double-A level.
Conlon, a left-handed starting pitcher, is second in the league with 71 strikeouts to make a mid-season, all-star game for the second straight year.
Nido, a catcher, made an all-star game for the third straight year.
Oswalt is a pitcher, Taylor an outfielder and Guillorme a middle infielder.
Al Pedrique from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre is managing the International League against the Pacific Coast League in the Triple-A All-Star Game Wednesday night in Tacoma, Wash.
TOM ROBINSON writes a weekly local sports column for the Susquehanna County Transcript. He can be reached online at RobbyTR@aol.com or followed on Twitter at @tomjrobinson.
TRUEX GETS THIRD WIN
Martin Truex Jr. Gets Third Win (Furnished by NASCAR)
SPARTA, Ken.--Martin Truex Jr. had the dominant car in Saturday night's Kentucky Cup Series race, but his team had to take a chance when the race went into overtime. Their gamble paid off, as Truex rolled into victory lane for the third time this season.
Truex had led 152 laps of the 267-lap race, as well as winning both stages, but it all came down to a green-white-checkered finish.
Just before Truex took the white flag, the engine in Kurt Busch's No. 41 began to smoke and then let go, bringing out a caution. The big question for Truex and his team was whether they should pit for tires or try to hold off the field with what they had. Several other teams, including Kyle Busch, who had led 112 laps and Kyle Larson did come in for tires, but the decision was made for Truex to keep his No. 78 Toyota on the track.
“I thought we were done,” said Truex. “Honestly, we had such a good race car I think my main concern was just trying to get out front. If I could get to the lead I thought I’d be OK. Got to thank (Kyle) Larson. He gave me a heck of a shove. I kind of waited until late in the restart zone just hoping I’d get a push because I knew I was going to be struggling and then there was a lot of speed driving down on that bottom groove. I thought that might play into it and I think that helped us a little bit. I was able to clear Kyle (Busch) into (Turn) one and then the rest was history.”
Kyle Larson had the accelerator to the floor and was gaining on Truex, but before Larson could reach him, several cars got together behind the leaders, bringing out the race's last caution, and freezing the field.
“I was worried every lap waiting for a caution, especially at the end,” continued Truex. “You’re counting them down – you know the last 30, the last 20, the last 10 and then you get inside of five and you’re like oh my god, there’s no way there’s not going to be a caution and sure enough there was. Fortunately we were able to hold them off.”
Larson, who finished second did not lead any laps, but had a fast race car. If it hadn't been for a mid-race pit road penalty that sent him to the rear of the field, if might have been a different story.
Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin were the remaining top-five drivers.
Truex's teammate Erik Jones was sixth.
“It was a good night for us,” said Jones. “You know we didn’t have the track position all night and it was kind of unfortunate. I think we had a car that probably could’ve run with the 78 and the 18 (Kyle Busch) at times. We ran well all day. A good building block for us again. I learned a lot and hopefully some good momentum for New Hampshire.”
Jamie McMurray was seventh, followed by Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, and Ryan Blaney.
Top-10 leaders after 18 of 36: 1. Larson-710, 2. Truex-709, 3. Kyle Busch-609, 4. Harvick-599, 5. Elliott-560, 6. McMurray-545, 7. Hamlin-538, 8. Keselowski-536, 9. Johnson-519, 10. Bowyer-495.
CUP DRIVERS DOMINATE XFINITY RACE
The top-four finishers in Saturday's Kentucky Xfinity Series race were all Cup Series regulars.
Kyle Busch was first across the finish line, then it was Ryan Blaney, Erik Jones and Kevin Harvick.
Those four drivers, along with Joey Logano, another Cup driver, combined to lead every lap of the 200-lap race.
The highest finishing Xfinity Series driver was Ty Dillon, who came in fifth.
Joey Logano was sixth, followed by William Byron, Justin Allgaier, Daniel Hemric, and Tyler Reddick.
“We had a good car, but we weren't able to match the leaders,” said Allgaier “It's hard to win one of these races, because most of the Cup drivers have an advantage over us in equipment and technology.”
After 16 races into the 33-race season, only three races have been won by regular Xfinity drivers.
Top-10 leaders after 16 of 33: 1. Sadler-578, 2. Byron-533, 3. Allgaier-520, 4. Hemric-396, 5. B. Poole-395, 6. Custer-368, 7. Tifft-357, 8. Reed-354, 9. Armstrong-338, 10. Annett-334.
BELL GETS THIRD TRUCK WIN
Christopher Bell won last Thursday's Truck Series race at Kentucky Speedway. It was his third win of the 2017 season, and fifth victory in 40 starts.
The remaining top-10 finishers: 2. Brandon Jones, 3. Justin Hayley, 4. Austin Cindric, 5. Noah Gragson, 6. Kyle Busch, 7. Parker Kligerman, 8. Matt Crafton, 9. Johnny Sauter, 10. Austin Hill.
Top-10 leaders after 10 of 23; 1. Sauter-464, 2. Bell-436, 3. Briscoe-390, 4. Crafton-375, 5. Rhodes-330, 6. Enfinger-316, 7. Truex-315, 8. Nemechek-306, 9. Gragson-299, 10. Grala-266.
KENSETH MIGHT NOT RETURN TO GIBBS IN 2018
Matt Kenneth doesn't expect to return to Joe Gibbs Racing next season.
The 2003 Cup Series champion didn't go into details, but he said last week at Kentucky Speedway that he does not have a ride for 2018. He is winless this year and 11th in the Cup standings, bordering on the brink of a playoff berth.
“I do not think I will have the option to race for JGR next year, unfortunately,” Kenseth said. “I haven't really worked on anything real hard [for next year]. ... I don't really have anything to talk about for what I am doing. At this point, I don't have anything going on for next year.”
A full-time Cup driver since 2000, Kenseth left Roush Fenway Racing for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2013. He finished second in the standings in his first year at JGR and has 14 wins with the organization, and 38 wins overall.
JGR likely would replace Kenseth in its No. 20 Cup car with Erik Jones, whom JGR allowed to sign a one-year Cup contract with JGR affiliate Furniture Row Racing for 2017.
Jones, 17th in the Cup standings, said he didn't know where he would race in 2018.
“I'm just driving,” Jones said. “For the most part, for me -- I don't know where I'm going to be yet. They haven't let me know.
“So for me, I've been really happy at Furniture Row, and it's been a steady group of guys over there that I think work really well together. Hopefully I'll know soon. It's kind of getting down to that point. I guess it's July now, so I'm sure we'll have an answer here soon.”
Kenseth has been mentioned as a possible driver to replace the retiring Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Hendrick Motorsports. Hendrick team owner Rick Hendrick said Saturday that he had no timetable to make a decision and was not feeling pressure to name a replacement soon.
Earnhardt, who has battled Kenseth throughout their careers, said Kenseth is too good not to have a ride next season and doesn't believe Kenseth will join him among the retired from full-time Cup racing.
“Matt is going to have a job,” Earnhardt said. “I don't think he's got to worry about that. ... He is so good, so talented, that he'll be in a great car with a great opportunity next year, no less than what he has this year.”
Kenseth is winless in the past 34 races and has had only three top-5s and six top-10s in 17 races this season.
“It has not been a good year at all -- not nearly up to my standards or my team standards,” Kenseth said.
Weekend Racing: The Cup and Xfinity teams are at the 1.058-mile New Hampshire Raceway. The Trucks have an off weekend.
Sat., July 15; Xfinity Series race 17 of 33; Starting time: 4 pm ET; TV: NBCSN.
Sun., July 16; Cup Series race 19 of 36; Starting time: 3 pm ET; TV: NBCSN.
Racing Trivia Question: Where is Matt Kenseth's hometown?
Last Week's Question: Where does the 10-race Chase for the Championship begin? Answer. It begins with the Richmond race on September 9.
Gerald Hodges is a syndicated NASCAR writer and author. You may contact him by e-mail at: hodges@race500.com.
Jake Deker
MOOSIC – Jake Decker was back in familiar territory one final time to close out his high school athletic career.
Decker returned to the mound at PNC Field for one inning.
When Decker struck out J.D. Barrett from state Class 4A champion Dallas June 25, he secured a 6-2 victory for the Lackawanna League over the Wyoming Valley Conference in the fifth annual Field of Dreams senior baseball all-star game and locked up a Susquehanna County Transcript athlete of the Month award for the third straight year.
The recent Blue Ridge graduate was honored in June of 2015 and April of 2016. He claimed the award again for June with his performance both at the plate and on the mound while playing with the best seniors from all around District 2 at the home of the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.
Decker stood on the same mound in late May of 2015 as a sophomore when he retired nine of the last 10 batters in a two-hit shutout to defeat Forest City for the District 2 championship. A week later, he was earning his first Athlete of the Month award with his hitting and pitching during a state tournament victory.
Getting to the mound was not easy for Decker this season because of an elbow injury that requires rest to heal. With the hope of pitching in college, Decker, who also plays in the infield, is refraining from pitching for the rest of the summer while playing for the Broome Bandits travel team.
Using a throwing regimen developed by the Texas Rangers, Decker is working on rebuilding his arm strength for pitching.
“It’s really weird, I’m playing third base, shortstop, all over the field, but it’s just when I pitch that it hurts,” he said.
For his last high school game, Decker threw the ball past the WVC’s best, retiring three out of four batters he faced.
“It was phenomenal. It was kind of like revisiting the year we won the championship,” he said.
While the Lackawanna was taking a 4-1 lead after two innings, Decker, who started at third base, was involved in scoring three runs. He walked and scored in the first inning, the singled in two runs in the second.
Decker still pitched effectively in his limited mound appearances as a senior, but he did more damage at the plate, batting close to .500. He teamed with Derek Stento, who took over as the number-one pitcher, to lead the Raiders to a 9-3 finish and a tie for second place in Division 5 of the Lackawanna League.
Both Decker and Stento plan to continue their baseball careers at Northampton Community College.
“Derek and I would stay after every practice and just bat and bat and bat until we got tired of it,” said Decker, who tried to find other ways to contribute when he was not on the mound. “That kind of made up for it.”
Decker was also part of the cross country team throughout his time at Blue Ridge although he did miss his sophomore season and part of his senior season with injuries.
Jake is the son of John and Evie Decker of Susquehanna.
