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Steve Harnischfeger was fired as Hanover Area boys basketball coach Thursday night at the school board meeting for violating the PIAA seven-day rule regarding practice.The board voted 9-0 to dismiss Harnischfeger, who was in his sixth season as the coach. Hanover Area athletic director Russ Davis said assistants Bobby Shoemaker and Sean Diggs will run the program the rest of the season. Shoemaker has been the freshmen coach the past few seasons. Diggs is in his first season.Davis added assistant coach Chip Barber resigned, but will be involved with the program in a lesser capacity.&#8220;Chip stepped down (Friday),&#8221; Davis said. &#8220;He&#8217;ll still be involved in the program if the other two guys need help, but he stepped back.&#8221;The PIAA seven-day rule prohibits teams in every sport from holding activities for more than six consecutive days during the regular season. Activities are defined by the PIAA as practices, scrimmages, games and open gyms.Davis said the school district was informed of the violation through an anonymous letter.&#8220;They went from the 16th to the 25th of November,&#8221; Davis said. &#8220;They practiced every day. Every seventh day, the kids need a day off.&#8221;Harnischfeger was suspended by the school district when the violation was discovered. He didn&#8217;t coach the Hawkeyes on Dec. 4 against Pittston Area or on Dec. 9 against Coughlin. The team has a game scheduled for Saturday afternoon at Forest City.The school board voted unanimously in May 2010 to hire Harnischfeger to replace Bill Callahan. Callahan coached the team for 10 seasons, compiling a 122-132 record. The two were the only applicants for the position.Harnischfeger&#8217;s first season involved some controversy as a player from Scranton High School transferred to Hanover Area before the start of the season and then transferred back to Scranton less than a week after Hanover Area&#8217;s season concluded.&#8220;When the board met last night, they were given all the current information,&#8221; Davis said. &#8220;They asked for any previous history and if we had any documentation. And there was, of course.&#8221;Harnischfeger had a 68-52 record at Hanover Area. The Hawkeyes&#8217; best finish under him was in 2013-14 when they were 16-8 and second in Division 3 of the Wyoming Valley Conference.<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By John Erzarjerzar@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach John Erzar at 570-991-6394 or on Twitter @TLJohnErzar</shirttailMeta></div>

Steve Harnischfeger out as Hanover Area coach