Taylor Huyck (15) is met by Emily Lawrenson (34) during pregame introductions prior to Friday night’s season opener at Wyoming Area

EXETER – West Chester University recruit Sarah Holweg scored 22 points, made 7 steals and dished out 5 assists Friday night to lead host Wyoming Area to a 58-42, non-league victory over Susquehanna in a girls’ basketball back that was part of the Opening Day of winter sports competition around the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association.

Susquehanna, coming off its first District 2 Class A title last season, hit the road to take on a team that is likely to be a contender in Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 and District 2 Class 4A.

“We’re playing this game to get better so we can expose the things we need to work on so we can move through our season getting better,” Susquehanna coach Errol Mannick said. “That’s what we did last year.

“We want to do the same thing, only to a bigger degree, this year.”

Taylor Huyck led Susquehanna with 19 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 blocked shots while going 3-for-7 from 3-point range. Mackenzie Steele shot 6-for-11 from the floor and finished with 13 points, a game-high 12 rebounds and 2 blocked shots.

Wyoming Area put Susquehanna in a big hole early with pressure defense that it turned into steals and easy lay-ups in transition.

The Lady Warriors got seven fastbreak baskets off steals while opening a 28-8 lead midway through the second quarter.

“The turnovers were obviously a huge factor,” Mannick said. “It was pretty much us just not stepping to the basketball. We worked against that press the last five days, against six of them.

“We really talked about making good decisions and making sure we stepped to the basketball. We had three or four stretches where we didn’t do that.”

Susquehanna cut into the deficit with surges in the second, third and fourth quarters, but never got Wyoming Area’s lead back into single digits.

Steele hit two straight baskets, then, after a Nicole Silinskie 3-pointer for Wyoming Area, Huyck scored the last five points of the half to complete a 9-3 run to get within 31-17.

Huyck hit a 3-pointer and Steele worked inside for a basket to extend the run to 14-5 and close within 33-22 just 1:02 into the second half.

The Lady Warriors took charge from there, building their biggest lead, 50-29, at the end of three quarters.

Steele and Huyck again combined for all the scoring when the Lady Sabers scored the first nine of the fourth quarter to get within 12 with 5:57 left. Steele scored five points while Huyck had four points and an assist.

“The thing about us I never have to question our kids’ effort,” Mannick said.

McKenzie Rhone had 8 rebounds for Susquehanna, which had a 45-29 advantage on the boards.

Mackenzie Heath had five assists.

Wyoming Area forced 29 turnovers, including 19 in the first half.

WEEK IN REVIEW

The Susquehanna boys’ basketball team went 1-1 while hosting a two-day, four-team event to open the season, producing the only win of the opening weekend by a Susquehanna County basketball team.

Mason Deakin had 21 points Saturday when the Sabers beat Sayre, 60-57, in the finale of the event.

Wyalusing was the only team to go 2-0, beating Susquehanna, 45-42, Friday and Blue Ridge, 44-33, Saturday.

The Raiders went 0-2, also losing to Sayre, 55-24.

Bobby Salitsky scored 24 points and earned his team’s Most Valuable Player award while leading Carbondale to a 70-49 win over host Elk Lake Friday night in the annual Michael “Red” Wallace Game.

Rierdan Reyan had 16 points and was named Elk Lake’s MVP.

Montrose dropped games the first two days, falling at defending Lackawanna League Division 2 champion Mid Valley, 57-35, then losing at home Saturday afternoon against Coughlin, 65-56.

Brennan Gilhool scored 15 points and Bryden Jerauld added 12 for the Meteors in the home opener.

Nanticoke routed Forest City, 99-51, Friday.

The Foresters then lost to host Carbondale, 79-55, in Sunday night’s first round of the Jerry Finan Memorial Tournament.

In girls’ basketball, Blue Ridge lost twice, finishing last in the four-team Towanda Tip-Off Tournament.

The Lady Raiders lost to Sayre, 41-32, in Saturday’s consolation game.

Tunkhannock shut out Elk Lake in the first quarter and held the Lady Warriors to two points in the first half of a 42-24 win in a Saturday opener.

In wrestling, Montrose went 3-2 to finish fifth of 10 teams Saturday at the season opening Gary Woodruff Duals at Wyalusing.

The Meteors split four matches in pool competition, then defeated Lackawanna Trail, 40-23, in the fifth-place match.

Elk Lake defeated Blue Ridge, 34-28, for ninth place after each gone winless to that point.

In football, Montrose senior Bryden Jerauld was named as a first-team punter and second-team kicker when NEPAFootball.com selected its Lackawanna Football Conference Division 3 all-star team.

Montrose senior linebacker Seth Bulkley and senior defensive back John Herman each received honorable mention along with Susquehanna junior running back Sam Cosmello and junior wide receiver Mason Deakin, who was recognized as an “athlete” on offense.  

COLLEGE CORNER

Blue Ridge graduate Ty Herbert is a sophomore forward on the Penn State-Scranton men’s basketball team.

Herbert has come off the bench in 9 of the team’s 11 games. He has 6 points, 5 rebounds and an assist in 47 minutes.

Penn State-Scranton played its last game Friday before breaking until Jan. 7. It has lost eight straight to slip to 2-9.

THE WEEK AHEAD

County basketball teams have struggled outside the division in recent years, but with some hopes of accomplishments in the upcoming season, they cannot be faulted for the toughness of their schedules.

Multiple teams will continue their preparation for the Lackawanna League Division 4 season with some extremely challenging tests in non-league play.

Two of the Wyoming Valley Conference’s top contenders travel into the county for Friday night boys’ basketball games.

Tunkhannock, selected by WVC coaches as the favorite to win Division 2 in its second year under former Mountain View coach Spencer Lunger, will play at Montrose, which is likely to battle for the Lackawanna League Division 4 title.

Wyoming Seminary, rated as the leading threat to defending WVC Division 3 champion Holy Redeemer after bringing back its top four players from a second-place team, will play at defending District 2 Class A champion Susquehanna.

In girls’ basketball, defending District 2 Class A champion Susquehanna continues the most ambitious of the schedules by hosting Northwest Wednesday, going to Nanticoke Friday and playing at Dallas Monday, Dec. 18.

Northwest won the WVC Division 3 title last season without a senior on its roster and returns Brenna Babcock, who averaged more than 19 points per game last season.

Nanticoke went 26-2 while winning both WVC Division 2 and District 2 Class 4A titles on the way to the second round of the state tournament.

Dallas, which gave Nanticoke a one-point game in the district semifinals, is a probable contender for the WVC Division 1 title.

Mountain View also plays two defending champions, the teams that won the largest classifications in District 2.

The Lady Eagles host defending District 2 Class 5A champion Abington Heights, which has East Stroudsburg University recruit Cassie Ksiaszek back after missing last season with a knee injury, Wednesday.

They travel to Scranton Dec. 18 to play the Lady Knights, who went unbeaten in Lackawanna Division 1 last season and also won the District 2 Class 6A title. Scranton may have the tallest lineup in District 2.

Before Mountain View gets to Scranton, Elk Lake plays there Friday night.

Forest City is home Saturday afternoon against Scranton Prep, which has played in the last two District 2 Class 4A championship games.

Montrose plays Tuesday, Dec. 19 at West Scranton, a Class 5A team that won 16 games and finished above both Abington Heights and Scranton Prep in divisional play last season.

In high school wrestling, Blue Ridge, Elk Lake, Montrose and Mountain View are all scheduled to be in the Lackawanna League Tournament, which begins Saturday morning at 9 at Wallenpaupack.

In swimming, Elk Lake is at Holy Cross in a Lackawanna League boys’ and girls’ meet Friday to open the season for both teams.

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.

What Happened To Jimmie Last Year

Jimmie Johnson and Crew Chief Chad Knaus in 2017

Jimmie Johnson's 2017 racing saga has to be one of the most puzzling driver stories of the entire season.

Johnson started the year with seven championships and hoped to make it eight to break the record-book tie for most titles with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. Also, he needed just four victories to move into a tie for fourth all-time wins with 84, matching Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip.

No matter how good your plans or team is, fate or circumstances often gets involved in the game of racing.

His first incident was a crash at Daytona, followed by a string of so-so finishes. Then he gained back-to-back wins at Texas and Bristol.

He wasn’t dominant in those races, but he and crew chief Chad Knaus were making good decisions, outwitting when they weren’t necessarily outrunning the competition.

He won a third time at Dover, so after 13 races into the season, he had three wins and looked to be among the favorites for the championship.

2017 marked the first time in Johnson’s 16-year career he did not win a race after the start of summer. His 217 laps led marked a career low.

His team had run out of mojo.

What happened thereafter turned Johnson’s season into what might be the worst three-win season in NASCAR history. In the next 23 races, he managed four top-10 finishes but never threatened to win.     He crashed out of five races and once is officially listed as “parked.”

In those 23 races Johnson led just 40 laps, and he led those 40 only by extending green-flag runs while other teams — the ones with a chance to win — came in for fuel and tires.

He picked up several pit-road speeding penalties. Knaus made a few questionable pit strategy calls. They looked vulnerable, and now and then the two of them got a little tense with each other during their in-race radio chatter.

“I feel like the way the last quarter of the season went for us was below our expectations and certainly our fans and probably even the people reporting on the sport,’’ Johnson said. “It is unfair to always expect us to win a championship but I think being competitive and leading laps and challenging for wins is a fair expectation and we just didn’t do that at the end of the year.”

Last year Johnson spent much of the off season at his new home in Colorado – skiing, getting his young daughters up on snowboards and generally enjoying the good times and just rewards of having cemented his legendary status in the sport.

“This off season is going to be different,” he said. “This year we won’t do that, we’ll just go out for holiday seasons and maybe West Coast swings, things like that.

“I’m sad I won’t be there as much with my family, but it was a lot easier last year after a championship. With the poor finish we just had, we need to buckle down and get to work.

“Every offseason has different effects. This one is much more about letting go of stress and tension and relaxing. Last year after winning the championship it was being on top of the world and celebrating and trying to get to Colorado as fast as I could to ski as often as I could.

“This year I’m kind of licking my wounds in a sense. Trying to think through what we could have done better in ’17. As the month moves on start thinking of ways we could communicate better, put a better product on the track.”

Johnson believes that his team will have a better run at the championship next season.

“I’m optimistic about 2018 and the new Camaro,’’ Johnson continued. “From an aerodynamic standpoint the Chevrolets have not had an update since we went to this generation of car. For us to finally have an update the car will produce more downforce, be more efficient, definitely more competitive on the downforce tracks.

“Change is good. No one is ever really in the same place individually, collectively or as a group. You’re either growing together or growing a part. Some change is always happening, so I think the change taking place for us is change in the right direction, will bring the company closer together and produce a better product, more competitive cars.”

Johnson has been a great driver in the past. If his team can correct some of the problems they encountered last year, there's no reason to doubt he will be in the Final-4. But Johnson turned 42 this past season and history doesn't favor older drivers in racing.

TONY STEWART GOING DOWN UNDER

Tony Stewart is headed “Down Under” for some sprint car racing, Dec. 12-16.

According to a report in the New Zealand Herald, Stewart said this is a trip 20 years in the making.

The 46-year-old has shipped his sprint car to the island nation, and plans to compete in several events in the Porter Hire International Sprintcar Series at Western Springs Speedway and Robertson Holden International Speedway.

“In 1995 when we won the USAC Triple Crown we got booked to go to Australia,” Stewart said. “The promoter at Western Springs was Willie K and he tried to get me to come over for the 1996-97 season but just timing-wise it didn't work out. After 1995 I got my first NASCAR ride and the same with an IndyCar drive so there was no way I was going to have the time to come back over.

“It has been a long time coming to get over here but we are pretty excited about the chance to come out."

Stewart retired from full-time NASCAR competition following the 2016 Cup Series season. In his full-time return to sprint car racing, Stewart did not post the results he wanted to and hopes his long awaited trip to the Kiwi State proves to be fruitful.

“I got back in a sprint car after two and a half years and did not have a very good summer,” he said. “I think we won two races all summer, which isn't very good by our standards.

“I am running the same sprint car that we raced in the US. It is a 410 cubic inch winged sprint car. I am pretty excited – it is what I am doing now that I'm not a NASCAR driver anymore. I am back to running sprint cars a lot.”

Meanwhile NASCAR did shake up its 2018 Cup Series schedule by moving races around. Indianapolis is now the last race of the regular season, Las Vegas is now the playoff opener, and there's the addition of the Charlotte road course. While NASCAR has not cut the length of any race, there is concern that fans are getting tired of long, boring races.

“I think with the stage racing and the things that we have going now and the attention spans of what people want to watch, the races shouldn't be as long,” said Kevin Harvick. “I think we need the Coke 600, the Daytona 500 and the Southern 500, but everything else should be shorter."

“ROWDY” KYLE WINS SNOWBALL DERBY

Kyle Busch returned to his short track roots last weekend and won perhaps the biggest race in the recent history of Super Late Model competition in the 50th annual Snowball Derby.

The race featured NASCAR notables Corey LaJoie, Harrison Burton, Mason Mingus, Ty Majeski and Noah Gragson. And yet, the fight came down to Busch versus two Late Model lifers: Bubba Pollard and Jeff Choquette.

“I didn’t think we had it there for about 280 laps, and then that final 20 she came to life,” Busch said after the race. “I just tried to persevere, save and work my way to those guys and finally be able to get my way around them. I wasn’t sure once I got there I’d have enough to be able to get by them, but they just kind of kept falling off and I just plateaued and kind of stayed.”

He also won the race in 2009.

Racing Trivia Question: How many Cup races did Ryan Newman win in 2017?

Last Week's Question:  Where did Kyle Busch finish in this year's Chase for the Championship? Answer. He finished as runner-up behind Martin Truex Jr.

Gerald Hodges is a syndicated NASCAR writer and author. His books may be viewed and ordered online at Amazon.com. You may contact him by e-mail at: hodges@race500.com.

Montrose cross country runner, Brandon Curley

Brandon Curley and the entire Montrose boys’ cross country team wanted another shot at the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class A Championships in Hershey.

Once they earned that chance by winning District 2 individual and team championships, Curley and the Meteors made the most of the opportunity.

Curley placed fifth in the 214-runner field and the Meteors placed third in the team standings.

For his efforts, Curley has been selected as the Susquehanna County Transcript Athlete of the Month for November.

“The goal really this year was for the whole team to run its best,” Curley said. “Last year, the whole team was sort of overwhelmed, so we didn’t really run our best. A couple of us did really well, but for the most part we didn’t do as well as we could have, mostly because of how big the race was.”

Curley moved up from a 61st-place finish last year as a junior, helping the Meteors climb from fifth to third in the team standings. He completed the 3.1-mile Hershey Parkview Course in 16:32.

“It’s a tough race because there’s a lot of good competition,” Curley said. “It’s way different than a regular race.

“My strategy was just to stay with the top group as long as I could and hopefully not lose any spots late in the race.”

Curley began competing as a distance runner in the spring of his seventh-grade year when he joined the track and field team. He went out for cross country for the first time in eighth grade and kept improving to the point he reached this fall as a district champion and state top-five finisher.

All runners in the top 25 at the state meet earn medals.

“I’m very proud, not just of myself, but of the whole team,” Curley said of the efforts in Hershey.

Curley is running in some indoor track and field events this winter and expects to concentrate on the 1600-meter run during outdoor seasons in the spring.

Brandon is the son of Ben and Amy Curley from Montrose.