web1_TTL111417Tree1.jpg

Our View: You can say it’s too early for Christmas talk, but …

web1_pen.jpg

Our View: Despite hype, recent election not a Trump rejection

Ryan Zapoticky hits the home stretch of his career with the Shippensburg football team when he leads the Raiders into the Division II Super Region I Championships starting Saturday.The 6-foot-1, 205-pound senior quarterback from Dallas (Dallas High) led the team to a 10-1 record during the regular season. Shippensburg, ranked 19th, is seeded fourth in the championship round and will face 8-3 West Chester in the opener Saturday in Shippensburg. The Golden Rams handed the Raiders their only loss during the regular season, 37-27 on Oct. 7.Zapoticky has completed 193 of 314 passes for 2,790 and 25 touchdowns. He&#8217;s also rushed 86 times for 318 yards and six scores. For his four-year career, he has connected on 538 of 889 passes for 6,940 yards and 62 touchdowns and carried the ball 292 times for 1,181 yards with 12 scores. He&#8217;s first in the school record book in quarterback rushing yards and second in passing yards and total offense (8,121 yards).&#8220;To be competitive in the PSAC, you need to have strong play at the quarterback position and we feel like we have a great one in Ryan,&#8221; Raiders offensive coordinator J.C. Morgan said. &#8220;He has made many plays with his arm, but he is also athletic enough to make plays with his legs. He has a great knowledge of the game of football and does a tremendous job running our offense.&#8221;The coach praised Zapoticky&#8217;s leadership this season.&#8220;We incorporated a lot of younger guys in our offense, especially at the receiver position, and Ryan has done a great job working with them,&#8221; Morgan said. &#8220;He has always been a leader by example, but this year he has been vocal and that has been well received by his peers.&#8221;The winners of the Shippensburg-West Chester game will meet No. 1 seed Indiana on Nov. 25 in Indiana.Back Mountain duo to nationalsCornell senior Dominic DeLuca and Syracuse redshirt freshman Dominic Hockenbury will compete in the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships at the Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky., on Saturday.DeLuca, a Dallas grad, is the only representative in the race for the Big Red. He earned the bid by finishing 10th out of 254 runners with a 10,000-meter time of 32:13.0 at the Northeast Regionals last Friday in Buffalo.Hockenbury, a Lake-Lehman grad, helped the Orange capture the team title in the same race. He finished 11th, fourth-best for the team, with a time of 32:15.4. Syracuse is ranked third in the nation, captured the national title in 2015 and was third last year.Both DeLuca and Hockenbury earned All-Northeast Region honors for their performances.Grega, Lefkowitz reuniteDanielle Grega and Mallory Lefkowitz are both from Kingston and the Wyoming Seminary grads and former field hockey teammates will be back together when they compete in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division I Senior Game Friday in Louisville, Ky.Grega wrapped up a solid career with Old Dominion and was named to the All-Big East Conference first team after scoring seven goals with six assists for 20 points with a game-winner. In 72 career games she had 26 goals and nine assists for 61 points.Lefkowitz was a four-year performer at Iowa. She finished this season with three goals and an assist for seven points with a game winner and was a solid defender for the Hawkeyes. In 74 career games she had 12 goals and 11 assists for 35 points.Kusakavitch sisters finishSisters Melanie and Mallory Kusakavitch have wrapped up their college field hockey careers &#8211; Melanie with James Madison and Mallory with Monmouth. Both are Holy Redeemer grads.Melanie, named to the Colonial Athletic Association first team last week, had seven goals and two assists for 16 points with a game-winner. In 72 career games, the 5-foot-4 forward had 50 points on 21 goals and eight assists. The 12-6 Dukes lost 2-1 to William &amp; Mary in the CAA semifinals on Nov. 3.Mallory had nine goals and two assists for 20 points with two game-winners and in 61 career games, she had 12 goals and four assists for 28 points. She was also a key performer on defense for the Hawks, who finished 15-4 and missed the NCAAs with a 2-1 loss to Fairfield in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title game on Nov. 5.Solid season for EllJunior Greta Ell was the third-leading scorer on the Virginia field hockey team as the No. 5 Cavaliers finished 15-5 on the season after a 3-2 double overtime loss to No. 11 Princeton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last Saturday in Charlottesville.The Holy Redeemer grad had the first Virginia goal in that game and finished with 13 goals for 26 points with two game-winners, including one in a 4-1 victory over then No. 1-ranked Duke on Sept. 8. She had a hat trick in a 7-2 triumph over William &amp; Mary on Sept. 15.Honor for PitmanSophomore Hannah Pitman was named to the Landmark Conference second team for her play with the Susquehanna field hockey team. The Crestwood grad led the River Hawks with 36 points on 17 goals and two assists.Susquehanna was 9-8 on the season and Pitman had the game-winning goal in eight of the victories. As a freshman, she was named Landmark Rookie of the Year and was a first-team pick after she scored 51 points on 22 goals and seven assists with five game-winners.Nationals for GearingerJunior Dylan Gearinger and the Haverford men&#8217;s cross country team is headed for Elsah, Ill., Saturday for the Division III Championship. The Fords earned the berth by capturing the Mideast Regionals last Saturday in Newville with 25 points. Runner-up Carnegie Mellon had 96.The Berwick grad was the fifth finisher for the team, finishing 10th out of 365 entrants with an 8,000-meter time of 25:32.9. He earned All-Mideast Region honors with his effort.Oremus helps the HawksJunior Lindsey Oremus was the third finisher for the St. Joseph&#8217;s women&#8217;s cross country team at the Mid-Atlantic Regionals last Saturday in Bethlehem. The Hawks, who hadn&#8217;t been listed in the top 15 in the region all fall, finished 13th out of 28 teams.Oremus, a Dallas grad, finished 79th out of 193 runners. Her 6,000-meter time was a season-best 21.45.5 and is the second fastest time for that distance in her college career, just 10.9 seconds off her personal record.<style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_RyanZapoticky.CoachMac.web_.379.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Dallas alum Ryan Zapoticky will finish his career as one of the most productive quarterbacks in school history for Shippensburg and coach Mark Maciejewski. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_RyanZapoticky.CoachMac.web_.379.jpg</photo0><caption0>Dallas alum Ryan Zapoticky will finish his career as one of the most productive quarterbacks in school history for Shippensburg and coach Mark Maciejewski. </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Bill ArsenaultFor Times Leader</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Times Leader sports at 570-829-7143 or on Twitter @TLsports</shirttailMeta></div>

College Corner: Dallas’ Zapoticky looking for strong finish with Shippensburg