Jeannette 75 North East 66

This Blog Post is brought to you by Craig Welker Heating & Plumbing. He paid for my game ticket and it was much appreciated.

A sold out Sharon High School was the scene of the Boys AA PIAA Western final between Jeannette and North East High Schools. I had the opportunity to sit with The Bleacher Mums of North East and thoroughly enjoyed meeting the families of the young athletes that I have been admiring for the past few years. It was very evident why these young men have represented their High School and District 10 so well. I also want to point out that fans from many other D10 schools were present and rooting for the Pickers and I think that says a lot about our area.

Jeannette's senior phenom, Terrelle Pryor, won the opening tip but it was NE on the board first with a deuce by #5 Bryan Kirsch on a nice feed from a teammate. Jeannette came right back with a long range three by Jordan Hall which turned out to be a glimpse of the future as he would hit three more of those later in the game and tie Pryor as game leading scorer with 17 points. North East tied the score at 3-3 before Pryor gave Jeannette the lead for good at 5-3 and they would continue to run the score to 12-3 before NE's Matt Triana could stop the bleeding with a hoop. The first quarter was really the story of the game as it ended 26-15 Jeannette. Div 1 football, basketball, and baseball recruit Pryor looked like a man on a mission as he led all scorers to this point with 10 tallies.

The second quarter started much like the first with NE scoring first on a three pointer by the Picker's sharpshooter Michael Rouse. Jeanette however came right back on a power one handed dunk by Pryor. Jeannette would have another strong quarter and build their lead to 16 with the score 47-31 at the half.

The second half was a whole new story as NE held the high powered Jeannette to just six points as they scored 12 of their own. NE put a tremendous amount of pressure on the ball and forced Jeannette into quite a few turnovers. Picker's Aaron Meehl seemed to be everywhere on the floor at once and seemed to come up with almost every loose ball. NE finished the 3rd quarter with a 7 point run to pull within 10 at 53-43.

The fourth quarter opened up with Jeannette's Jordan Hall hitting another three ball to put the lead back to 13. Picker's Ryan Szwejbka had a great fourth quarter by scoring 11 of his 16 points which gave him high scoring honors for NE while Rouse and Triana each added 15. NE did win the fourth quarter 23-22 but it just wasn't enough to overcome the strong first half of Jeannette. Final score: Jeannette 76 North East 67

Thoughts: While Terrelle Pryor is the real deal, he is not alone on that team. Jordan Hall (17 points), #10 Shaw Sunder (14 points), sixth man Cameron Baradzeij (13 points) are all a great compliment to Pryor and I wish them the best in the finals at Penn State.

I was very proud of our D10 fans and the North East boys this evening. Even though they did not get off to the best start tonight, they never gave up and played hard to the final buzzer. They need to hold their heads high for one day they will reflect on the marvelous run they have had together as teammates starting way back in elementary. You have been a blessing to many and you are truly blessed with each other, your school, and those "Bleacher Mums" are just the best.

David Vs Goliath (North East Vs Jeannette)

Oh, I know the story well. David said about Goliath "who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?" (can I say uncircumcised here?) Basically David was saying that he was not intimidated by this 9 foot tall giant and I can tell you this, North East will not be intimidated by Jeannette. I sat near the Jeannette coach at the Farrell/NE game and as he walked by me while NE celebrated on the floor, he said as though talking to NE fans, "You're gonna _________ get what you want." You can fill in the blank and you would most likely be correct. Hmmmm, very impressive. But, those of you who read my blog know I am all about positiveness so enough of that. I really do not think they are giving North East much respect at all.

Jeannette is a WPIAL powerhouse but I am here to tell you that North East is a Giant Killer. David went to a stream and gathered 5 smooth stones for his sling to use as ammunition. NE has 5 smooth stones as well plus a few extras and I expect they will put four quarters together like nobodies business.

Goliath better show some respect or he better duck because NE has been gathering smooth stones for awhile now and they will not be intimidated!

See you Wednesday in Sharon at 7:00 PM. I am hoping that we will be there in full force with Heather, me (Big), and Skinny to support NE and D10.

Girard - Jeannette

I had the opportunity to take in the Girard/Jeannette game this evening and I just wanted to congratulate Girard on a fine season. Jeannette proved to be a bit much for them this evening as the Yellow Jackets were not quite on their game. Sometimes the shots just don't go in but you guys have nothing to hang your heads over.

I was anxious to see the Pryor boy play and while he is a magnificent athlete, Jeannette is definately not a one man team. They executed well and shot well from the outside. Their quickness was very evident as they came up with nearly every loose ball and did well on the offensive boards. If North East or Farrell get the chance to play them they will have their hands full.

I think the Farrell Vs North East game on Saturday will be a very interesting game. The winner will probably get their chance against Jeannette and that game I want to see.

One week at the BigSkinny Hot Dog Shop

The BigSkinny team now has exactly one week of restaurant experience and oh boy how appreciative we are with the way our community has supported us. Our first weekend was sensational and each day has been very steady. We are learning new things every day and you should see Skinny sling those dogs while Mrs Skinny works the dining area. Our whole staff is learning more each day and they are doing well for us as we are forming into the BigSkinny Team.

It is really wonderful to see our dream being realized in such a big way. In the first week we have used up over 2500 Smith's Dogs and still counting. We worked around the clock to keep stocked with our specialty sauces. We obviously thought it would be popular but we never imagined what has taken place the first week.

Girard Farrell Thoughts

First of all let me say that I love watching both of these teams. This was a very exciting game and the boys and coaches of both teams handled themselves in the heat of competition with great sportsmanship. I was proud of the way the Farrell boys handled themselves in what had to be a disappointing loss.

I sat with Farrell fans directly behind the Girard bench. I learned my lesson last year about sitting near Farrell Fans when I almost picked up a couple dollars left for the referees on the floor. I thought it was a tip for a job well done but the refs didn't seem to want it. Well, I was ready this time, if any tips were thrown around I was gonna be all over it. Well, I guess everyone was feeling in a hockey sort of mood tonight. One young man even thought he saw a hat trick and threw his cap onto the floor. The security people were not in a hockey mood so out he went. He is pictured here putting his hat back on. As he walked by me I was hoping he would flip me a buck or two but his eyes told me he wanted to flip something else. Maybe that is where the term "fowl mood" came from. I don't think he was tossed but one of last years ejectees followed him out because I am sure he figured it was just a matter of time anyway. Ok, they may go a little overboard but you gotta love their passion and no one was hurt by the hat and they did leave peaceably.

Just so you know, not all Farrell fans thought the refs beat them. I overheard a woman say the refs beat us and a very fine gentlemen, also a Farrell fan, said to her, " the refs didn't beat us, #15 did". I agree with that whole heartedly! Andrew Rickard is an amazing sophomore b-baller. You can read Heathers blog to get the details of the game but let me also say that #2 Traphael Stubbs of Farrell had an amazing game as well. I am a happy camper, I got to see two of my favorite players tonight (Rickard and Stubbs) and even though I didn't get to pick up a few bucks I was thoroughly entertained.

I got some good pictures tonight so check back for a link to them as I need to upload them. Here they are: http://www.bigskinnyonline.com/GirardFarrell.htm

I close by saying that I do not condone throwing anything on the court at anytime or verbally abusing the referees. These guys have a tough job and I would not last long doing it. I can't even bring myself to umpire a little league game so my hat is off to you guys. No pun intended, well, maybe a little.

Leading Scorer?

I am looking to find out who the leading per game scorer in District 10 is. Any help would be appreciated and it does not matter which classification. It can be anyone in A through AAAA.

Respond to: big@bigskinnyonline.com

Conneaut Valley 64 West Middlesex 52

I have had this date set on my calendar for a month or so because I wanted to see Troy Mild of WM before the playoffs begin. He did not dissapoint me but I saw oh so much more. Valley came to play on their Senior Night. I was very impressed with Doug Beil who tied Mild for high scoring honors as they both netted 25.

Valley won the tip but it was WM #11 Matt Murray who got on the board first with a long range 3 ball. It was quickly followed up by a two for Valley's Beil. After Mild hit for two, Valley went on a 4 point run to make the score 6-5 at the 4:16 mark. Mild then hit two free throws to give WM the lead again at 6-7. Valley's Beil regained the lead with a bucket just to watch Mild grab it back at 8-9. Valley scored the next 5 to grab a 13-9 lead with Freshman #3 Casey Baker scoring his fourth point. Mild hit another 2 but that was followed by Beil scoring 4 strait points to give Valley a 17-11 lead to end the first quarter.

This was an old fasioned shootout and boy was I enjoying it until it was marred somewhat by an ankle injury to WM guard Matt Murray while scoring in the lane. Murray would not return. Valley had a 5 point run and an 8 point run to build a 34-19 lead at halftime.

The third quarter saw Valley build the lead to 46-30 at the 1:50 mark but WM cut the lead a bit by outscoring Valley 5-2 the final 1:50 to make the score 48-35 after three quarters. Tyler Jones scored 6 in the frame for Valley and Mild netted 7 for WM.

The fourth quarter was much like the rest of the game with Valley holding WM to one shot on most possessions. At the 1:52 mark Valley held a 61-43 lead as Troy Mild's evening was over with his fifth foul. WM did end the game with a 9 point run to make the final score 64-52. Valley's Hakeem Spotswood made a WM comeback really tough as he came off the bench with a great effort to net 8 points in the final quarter.

BigSkinny Player of the Game goes to Valley's Doug Beil who had a monster night on the boards to go with his 25 points.

Observations - Troy Mild is the real deal and I am sure we will see him again in the playoffs.

Valley is certainly peaking at the right time and should make some noise in the A bracket of the D10 Playoffs. I really liked their effort and energy tonight.

More photos at: http://www.bigskinnyonline.com/ValleyWM.htm