'the Nutcracker' Dancing Into Wilkes University

Alleging Entrapment, Trooper Sues/ Ex-superiors Taped Call To Try To Discredit
Claim For Compensation, Says Suit.

Times Leader staff
 Wednesday, November 16, 2005 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 3B 





Fresh off Sunday's selection as an at-large team in the NCAA Division III
playoffs, the Wilkes football team was honored in a big way again on Tuesday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Colonels sophomore inside linebacker Kyle Follweiler was named the Middle
Atlantic Conference Defensive Player of the Year and Frank Sheptock was named
MAC Coach of the Year. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Colonels totaled nine selections on the all-MAC team, which is voted on
by conference coaches. City rival King's, which Wilkes defeated 36-13 to keep
the Mayor's Cup, also landed six players on the all-MAC squad. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Follweiler led Wilkes with 99 tackles and ranks fifth in the nation in solo
tackles (75). He also has 15 tackles for loss, two sacks, an interception and
four pass breakups. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Sheptock was patient with a young team that matured over the course of a
current seven-game win streak. Sheptock will make his NCAA playoff debut as a
head coach on Saturday, when Wilkes goes to New Jersey to face Rowan at noon. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Colonels juniors Matt Pizzaro and defensive tackle Anthony Serafin were
named to the all-MAC first team. Pizzaro, a repeat selection, is second on the
team with 29 catches for 327 yards and four touchdowns. Serafin, who moved in
from end this year, led the MAC with 19 tackles for loss to go along with 51
total tackles. He also had 3.5 sacks, three fumble recoveries and an
interception. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Earning second-team honors for Wilkes were junior receiver Jim Jordan, a
Wyoming Valley West graduate, sophomore offensive lineman Jordan Purdy, junior
return specialist Bo Tkach, sophomore defensive tackle Jason Acquaye, junior
linebacker Tyler Henninger and senior defensive back John Darrah. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Jordan led the team with 46 catches for 768 yards and five touchdowns. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Purdy moved from tackle to guard and helped a young offensive line develop
into a cohesive unit. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Tkach returned nine kickoffs for 212 yards and 27 punts for 363 yards and a
touchdown in each of the past two games. As a receiver, he has 29 catches for
403 yards and three TDs. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Acquaye totaled 31 tackles, a team-high five sacks and 10 tackles for loss. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Henninger was second on the team in tackles with 87, including 64 solo
stops, seven tackles for loss, three sacks and a 35-yard interception return
for a score. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Darrah led a young secondary by making 35 tackles, seven pass breakups, an
interception, forced fumble and fumble recovery. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 King's was led by first-team selections Tore Alaimo, Blake Letchford and
Nick Renninger. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Alaimo, a junior inside linebacker and Pittston Area graduate, was a repeat
selection after leading the MAC with 112 tackles. He set a team record with 69
solo stops and added 6.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, two fumble recoveries
and an interception. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Letchford, a senior receiver, set team records with 56 catches for 993
yards and 11 touchdowns. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Renninger was a first-year starter that helped the offense average 423.4
yards per game. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Junior tailback John Ortiz, senior tight end Matt Nicodemus and junior
safety Craig Haywood earned second-team honors. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Ortiz, a first-year starter, averaged 123.8 rushing yards per game and
scored 18 touchdowns. He had a career-high 267 yards on an NCAA Division III
record 59 carries against Albright on Sept. 24. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Nicodemus, a repeat second-team pick, posted 24 catches for 286 yards and
two scores. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Haywood, who switched from cornerback, made 37 tackles and an interception
despite missing two games with an injury. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 * Bishop Hafey graduate Max Whitacre, a senior linebacker at Johns Hopkins,
was a second-team Centennial Conference selection for the second consecutive
year. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Whitacre had 45 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss, one sack, an
interception and three pass break-ups this year for the Blue Jays, who will
play in their first NCAA playoff game on Saturday at Thiel. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Whitacre also has three blocked punts and a blocked field goal. An
honorable mention all-Centennial pick his freshman year, Whitacre has more
career tackles (225) than anyone on the Hopkins roster. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 
Field hockey &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 *Four former Wyoming Valley Conference players were named to the National
Field Hockey Coaches Association Division I All-Region Teams. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Wyoming Seminary graduates Lauren Powley (Mid-Atlantic Region) and Laura
Suchoski (South Region) were first-team picks, while fellow Sem alum Samantha
Lloyd (Northeast Region) and Crestwood product Caitlyn McCurdy (West Region)
were second-team picks. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Powley, a senior at Maryland, earned her fourth such honor after earning
All-American honors her first three seasons. She scored the game-winning goal
last weekend to help the Terrapins advance to the NCAA semifinals. She has six
goals and five assists this season. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Suchoski, a freshman at Duke, totaled two goals and four assists for the
Blue Devils. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Lloyd, a junior at Brown, led her team with 20 points on eight goals and
four assists. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 McCurdy, a freshman at Iowa, led the Hawkeyes with 28 points on 11 goals
and six assists. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 * A pair of ex-WVC players from Bloomsburg's NCAA Division II runner-up
team were named All-American. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Junior midfielder Maribeth Brozena, a Wyoming Valley West graduate, and
Lake-Lehman product Tracey Hudak, a sophomore goalie, earned first-team spots
on the Dartfish/National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division II
All-American team. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Brozena totaled six goals and a team-high eight assists. She scored her
team's lone goal in a 2-1 double-overtime loss to UMass-Lowell in the D-II
title game on Sunday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Hudak, a repeat choice, recorded 136 saves and a 1.24 goals-against
average. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 
Women's basketball &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 * King's senior Beth Jordan was named an honorable mention pick on
d3hoops.com's NCAA Division III Preseason All-America team. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Jordan, a 5-foot-11 power forward, was second on the team in points (13.9
per game) and rebounds (7.2) in helping the Lady Monarchs to a 22-4 record and
a No. 15 national ranking last year. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 She also led King's with 59 steals and a 51.2 percent field-goal percentage
and ranked among the national leaders with an 89.2 percent free-throw
percentage. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Our "Colleges" page will return Wednesday, Nov. 30. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

9 Wilkes Players Win Mac Honors