A-K Valley notebook: Kiski Area stays healthy through nonconference games

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, October 17, 2018 | 5:45 PM

Kiski Area didn’t play with a running clock the last two weeks, but the Cavaliers took care to ensure they didn’t leave nonconference games against Woodland Hills and McKeesport with significant injuries.

Coach Sam Albert sat several key starters in the 47-0 loss to Woodland Hills and 66-6 loss to McKeesport, better to save them for conference games against Mars and Armstrong the next two weeks. Kiski Area (3-5, 2-3) is in the running for a WPIAL Class 5A playoff berth.

“We were banged up, so hopefully those two weeks off gets them back to where they need to be,” Albert said. “Conference game now, so it’s no more pretend. Those games mean nothing to us. The same thing happened to me at Highlands with Ringgold. Why are we playing those games at this time of year? It used to be all your exhibition games were at the beginning of the year, and it gave you extra games to get ready. Why you put them down in the schedule like that is beyond me.”

Coaches with teams in playoff races are facing difficult decisions about what to do about nonconference games in the final weeks of the season. North Allegheny coach Art Walker Jr. and West Allegheny coach Bob Palko originally planned to play their game this week with a running clock before scrapping the idea.

Deer Lakes, still alive for a Class 3A Big East playoff berth, played a nonconference game last week at Keystone Oaks and saw a few starters leave with significant injuries that leave them in question for Friday’s game at Derry.

“It’s a double-edged sword,” Deer Lakes coach Tim Burk said. “You hate to have (nonconference games) late in the year because of these scenarios because you don’t want anybody hurt, but in the same breath, it’s not any better to have them at the beginning of the year. If a guy goes down at the beginning of the year, you don’t have them for conference play. I guess it’s a half-dozen of one and a half-dozen of the other.”

Burk said he avoided a Week Zero game for that reason, believing he could more easily avoid injuries in a controlled environment of a second scrimmage.

Freeport could face a dilemma next week: If the Yellowjackets beat Mt. Pleasant on Friday, they’ll clinch a WPIAL playoff berth ahead of a nonconference game at Knoch in Week 9.

Taking a Nee

Jamison Nee hopes to become a coach, and he’ll get his first high school experience this season.

Nee, a 2016 Highlands graduate who led the Golden Rams to the WPIAL championship game as a senior after transferring from Vincentian, was hired Monday as a volunteer basketball assistant on Highlands coach Tyler Stoczynski’s staff.

“I’m more thankful than anything else,” Nee said. “(Stoczynski and assistant coach Corey Dotchin) were amazing coaches to play for. They are true players’ coaches, and I respect and admire them for that. When they came to me and asked if I’d want to join the staff, I was in awe.

“I’ve always wanted to get into coaching, and now the same coaches I played for are giving me an opportunity to coach alongside them. They are both great teachers and mentors who are knowledgeable on the game of life and the game of basketball. I cannot wait to learn from them, this time on the coaching side of things.”

Nee, who is working part-time and taking classes at Penn State New Kensington, was the 2016 Valley News Dispatch Player of the Year after averaging 17.4 points, 4.2 assists and 4 rebounds per game as Highlands finished as WPIAL runner-up in Class AAA.

Highlands is coming off a WPIAL semifinal and PIAA quarterfinal appearance last year, and the Golden Rams dropped to Class 4A from 5A in the offseason.

“Overall, I’m very thankful and excited to be a part of this talented group of basketball players at Highlands,” Nee said. “Unfortunately, my senior year we lost in the WPIAL championship, but it’s my hope that for the current kids, that they can achieve more than any team ever has at Highlands. They just have to keep listening to (Stoczynski and Dotchin) and working hard.”

Scoring stars

A pair of Alle-Kiski Valley soccer standouts recently set school scoring records.

Knoch senior Lindsie Galbreath became the Knights’ all-time leading scorer with a converted penalty kick last week against Section 1-AAA foe Franklin Regional.

That goal gave Galbreath 112 points in her career, passing 2008 graduate Amanda Sharbaugh atop the school’s scoring list. Galbreath added a pair of goals in a win over Highlands and another in a 1-1 draw with Indiana on Monday to finish with 82 career goals.

St. Joseph senior Daniel Fábregas, meanwhile, shattered the school single-season record for goals with 43, breaking 2003 graduate Mark Sadler’s record by double digits. Fábregas added 13 assists, meaning he figured in on 56 of the Spartans’ 79 goals this season.

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Doug at dgulasy@tribweb.com or via Twitter @dgulasy_Trib.

Tags: Deer Lakes, Highlands, Kiski School, Knoch, St. Joseph