February 7

There was supposed to be a soccer game in Reading on Friday evening but earlier in the week it was postponed. The snowstorm on Monday caused a power outage at the Arena, the ice-making equipment malfunctioned and the rink itself literally melted. With several days required to make new ice and the Royals scheduled at home on Saturday and Sunday the soccer game was a casualty, it was rescheduled for February 20. As a result I was able to be with JPM for the division playoff game against Cedar Crest, the game ironically was played at Hempfield (assistant coach Earl "Papa" Boots called it "returning to the scene of the crime"). The evening would prove to be one of utter frustration as we lost 59-51. For most of the first half CC controlled play, they scored as many points in the second quarter as we did for the entire half. In the third quarter JPM battled back to tie but could never get over the hump, down the stretch it was all CC as they claimed the division title. In forty-two years of LL play this is only the third time Cedar Crest has made the league playoffs and their first division title since 1976 (!!!). In 2011 we beat Hempfield in a playoff for the division, a week later they beat us when it really mattered in the league title game. JPM's path to the championship in 2014 begins on Tuesday the 11th in the quarterfinals when we travel to Manheim Central HS, as one of the four division champions they earned to right to host the game. We haven't played Central since the league playoffs in 2008, before that you have to go back to the late 1980s. MC went 20-2 during the regular season, some would say they didn't play the caliber of competition we did but a record like that needs to be respected no matter what. A win over MC would put us in the semifinals against either Lebanon or Lancaster Catholic, we couldn't meet Cedar Crest again until the finals but that's a long way off. The concern for the moment is getting prepared for what should be a tough game in an unfamiliar gym on Tuesday night. Take care, thanks for reading.