`kindergarten Stuff' Leads To Grade A Feud At Meeting 
**see For The Record 1/15/98

Bar Scene Stealer: Watching Pittsburgh Lose 
After The Only Pa. Team 
In The Nfl Playoffs Lost, 
Many Area Football Fans 
Shifted Support To Denver And Qb John Elway

Tuesday, January 13, 1998 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1B 





Mohawks see GAR as tough foe &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Meyers won its first Robert McGrane boys basketball tournament championship
in late December by pounding city rival GAR, 62-41, in the title gameThe
contest was never close. Greg Barrouk and Dale Rapson, the Mohawks' two main
scoring threats, helped get coach Joe Caffrey's team off to a big
first-quarter lead and the Grenadiers never recovered. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Then tonight's Wyoming Valley Conference Division II first-half
championship game with GAR should be a mere formality. Right? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Meyers, 14-1 overall, 7-0 in Division II, and winners of 13 consecutive
games, should be able to emerge from its home locker room in the depths of the
South Wilkes-Barre school and romp past once-powerful GAR for a sixth time in
a row. Right? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We're not 20 points better than GAR," Meyers coach Joe Caffrey said
moments after his team survived a double-overtime scare Friday night from
Hanover Area. "Things went real well for us at the McGrane, and everything
went wrong for GAR. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I expect things to be very different come (tonight)." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Coach Paul Brown's Grenadiers enter tonight's game having won seven league
games by 10 points or more, including a 74-47 rout of Dallas on Friday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Junior center Alex Hairston leads GAR's balanced offensive attack at 15.4
points per game. Other contributors are junior forward Jack Peters (14.1),
junior forward Aubrey Keatts (11.6), senior guard Mark Shovlin (10.2),
sophomore guard Isiah Walker (8.9) and senior sixth man Bill Hudock (8.0). &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "They are a very athletic team with a lot of pride. They're not going to
lie down for us," Caffrey added. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The last time GAR beat four-time defending Division II champion Meyers was
in the first half of the 1995-96 season. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Despite losing five of their top eight players from last season's PIAA
Class AA runner-up team, the Mohawks have displayed the same type of mental
toughness and hard work that has allowed them to become the division's elite
team. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It's a good group of kids who work very hard. They play well as a team,"
the Mohawks coach said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Though Rapson (14.3) and Barrouk (13.7) do the bulk of the scoring for
Meyers, the other players have carried out their roles very well. Point guard
Kenny Jordan (3.9) distributes the ball and is an excellent defender. Joe Fox
(7.9) and Jim Gallagher (6.3) can hit the open shot, and Jeff Carlo (6.5) is
active at both ends of the floor. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Carlo hit the game-winning basket at the buzzer to give the Mohawks, who
lost Barrouk and Fox to fouls, a 54-52 victory over Hanover Area. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 * * * &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 An unfortunate situation marred an otherwise highly intense and competitive
game on Friday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Meyers (6-0) and host Hanover Area (5-1) were tied, 48-48, in the closing
seconds of overtime. There was a scramble for a loose ball at the Hawkeye end
of the court. Jeff Holda got the ball while on the floor. He flipped it to
teammate Jason Skovronski beyond the three-point arc with about seven seconds
left. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Skovronski, unsure of how much time was left, fired up a shot that was
long. Hawkeye George Aufiero rebounded, then faked a shot before attempting a
three-footer. Meyers sophomore Dale Rapson fouled Aufiero on the shot attempt
as time ran out. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Officials Sandy Mackay, who called the foul, and Mike Amory weren't sure if
the scoreboard horn had sounded. They went to scoreboard operator Tom
Ropietski, who acts as a third official in this instance, to ask if he heard
the horn go off. Ropietski said he didn't hear it. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Frank Majikes, rules interpreter for the local chapter of officials, said
the officials should have awarded Aufiero two free throws. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 According to Rule 2, Section 13 (of the National Federation of State High
School Basketball Associations rules), if all three officials did not hear the
horn, the foul should have been called. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The foul was not called and the game went into double overtime. Meyers won,
54-52, setting up tonight's Division II showdown with GAR (7-0). &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It's a hard lesson to learn for the kids," Majikes said. "But,
unfortunately, these things happen. We all make mistakes." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Rule 2, Section 13 also states that if there was a question about a made
basket under the same circumstances, the basket should be allowed if none of
the officials heard the horn sound. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 * * * &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Though the Division I first-half championship belongs to Coughlin,
tonight's showdown featuring the Crusaders and rival Hazleton Area will be an
intense battle between two of the best teams in the area. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Coach John Quinn's team won the first-half title by winning seven Division
I games by an average of 18 points per game. The closest call came Thursday,
when Scott Napkori's three-pointer gave Coughlin a 64-62 victory over Berwick. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Hazleton Area (5-2), which lost two consecutive league games for the first
time in school history, has rebounded with an eight-game winning streak. The
major reason is defense. The defending WVC Division I and District 2 Class
AAAA champions lead the WVC in scoring defense at 39.9 points per game. Only
Nanticoke (54) in the regular-season opener has scored more than 47 points
against the Cougars. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Coughlin, which lost a triple-overtime thriller at Hazleton Area last year
after lead ing by 11 points in the third quarter, needs this game to build its
confidence. The Crusaders have returning Division I MVP John Boylan, who
scored his 1,000th career point against Berwick, and veterans Napkori and
Roman McLaughlin. That trio must play well for the Crusaders to win. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 * * * &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Defending Division III champion Northwest Area is halfway toward repeating
this season. The Rangers, who returned one starter from last year's Class A
quarterfinalists, are 7-0 and have the first-half title secure entering
tonight's home game with Wyoming Seminary. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 * * * &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Mohawks See Gar As Tough Foe 
Meyers Won Its First Robert Mcgrane Boys Basketball Tournament Championship In 
Late December By Pounding City Rival Gar, 62-41, In The Title Game.

Mohawks See Gar As Tough Foe Meyers Won Its First Robert Mcgrane Boys Basketball Tournament Championship In Late December By Pounding City Rival Gar, 62-41, In The Title Game.