March 29-31

The baseball club at McCaskey started its season with a non-league road win on the 27th, on the following Wednesday league play began at home against Manheim Township. A storm system moved through from the west in early afternoon, for a while it looked like the game might be in jeopardy. At 4:30 (two hours before game time) I got word that we were still on, I went over to the ballfield shortly after 5:00. Tyler Horst is back as the program's head coach, when I saw him I said that needless to say it felt damn good to be back. The local newspaper recently did a season preview story around the fact that since there was no season in 2020 it is difficult to make any predictions, the last time anyone played the current seniors were sophomores. The writer forecasted Township to be among the favorites in our division and on this night MT showed it, they scored twice in each of the first two innings and won it going away 8-0. The Red Tornado had a baserunner in each inning but recorded only two base hits and could never gain any momentum. A.J. De Los Santos started on the mound and worked into the fourth inning, he was followed by Albert Rosario, Xavian Padilla, Kolby Esh and Alex Ruiz. It was an unusually warm night for late March, game time temperatures were in the low-60s with almost no wind. There was some light mist falling during the later innings, not more than two minutes after the game ended it opened up and poured. The rain stopped almost as quickly as it started, after I had everything packed away upstairs my walk to the car was no problem at all. I was home right around 9:00 which gave me plenty of time to get a shower, grab a snack and write this blog post. The next home game is on April 7 against Warwick. Take care, thanks for reading.

March 26-28

Friday the 26th: JPM was scheduled to host Governor Mifflin in the first game of baseball season but the rains from Wednesday and Thursday had done their damage, as a result what would have been a great day for a ballgame was ruined. The game was postponed due to wet grounds, there was no immediate word of a makeup date. The club has a full schedule of twenty games (ten home and ten away), the next home date is on March 31. The home portion of the slate features each of the five division opponents along with crossover games with Solanco, Lampeter-Strasburg and Lebanon, Harrisburg and Mifflin are the opponents for the two nonleague games. The league recently announced that (like basketball season) only divisional games will count towards postseason playoffs which essentially means that half of the overall schedule counts only towards district playoff eligibility. It is what it is but at least there will be a season, it's been a long time since May of 2019. Take care, thanks for reading.

March 22-25

Monday night: back at LCHS in the neighborhood they call Rossmere for the state semifinal playoff game, on this night La Academia's wonderful postseason run ended with a tough overtime loss. Nativity Blessed Virgin Mary was the opponent making the seventy-mile trip south from Pottsville. The game was a thriller just about all the way, in the extra period Nativity outscored "The Academy" 11-3 and won 72-64. The visitors brought an enthusiastic busload of fans which helped to make the atmosphere very raucous, something we regrettably didn't see much of during the season since at McCaskey no fans were permitted and most other places were "parents-only" or something similar. It's obviously a disappointing way for Jerry's squad to end the season but the fact that they made it this far is something to be very proud of. The program is only in its second year of existence and in its first season as a member of the PIAA. I was only aboard the train for the last two games (I guess you could say I was riding in the caboose) but it was a pleasure nonetheless. The Class-1A state championship game was played on Thursday afternoon in Hershey, Nativity won the title and I've always felt that there is never any shame in losing to the eventual champ. Jenny and I had lunch on Tuesday because she had a doctor appointment in Quarryville the next day. Wednesday was a miserable rainy day but Thursday was much nicer until the evening hours when another rain shower passed through. Take care, thanks for reading.

March 1-21

The third month of 2021 began on a Monday, the first three weeks of it were very slow and unnoteworthy. With the end of basketball season at McCaskey we're back into The Black Hole, the morning errand run is about all that goes on. The baseball team at JPM began practice on the 8th, the first home game is scheduled for Friday the 26th. They were supposed to have a scrimmage at home on the 16th, early in the afternoon a round of rain blew through. I don't know if the scrimmage went on or not, I elected to stay in because standing outside in the dampness and wind didn't appeal to me (at a regular game I would have been upstairs in shelter in the press box). On Thursday the 18th I had an afternoon internet message from former McCaskey basketball star Jerry Johnson. Jerry graduated from JPM in 2001 as the program's all-time leading scorer, a distinction he still holds twenty years later. These days Jerry is the athletic director and head basketball coach at a small charter school here in Lancaster called La Academia. The school has been around since the mid-90s, in 2019 they established a basketball program and they play all their games on the road because their school has no gymnasium. Jerry's squad qualified for district playoffs at the single-A level and won the championship, on Friday the 19th they were playing their first official "home" game in the state tournament. Jerry worked out a deal with Lancaster Catholic HS to serve as host, he called me because he needed a PA announcer. Jerry's assistant coach is former JPM teammate Dustin Salisbery (Class of 2003), Dustin's son Damajh is on the roster along with former McCaskey player Kevin Polite. At the game on Friday night a limited attendance was permitted, Jerry's parents were there along with a number of others with past McCaskey connections so in many ways it felt like The Band was back together. In the game itself La Academia won 55-50 over Phil-Mont Christian Academy (from the northern suburbs of Philadelphia), that puts them into a semifinal matchup on Monday the 22nd back at LCHS. On Saturday Jenny had an afternoon appointment at the hair salon in Quarryville, we had our usual lunch date as well (that's something NOBODY will take away from us no matter what BS they try to pull). Take care, thanks for reading.

February 23-28

Tuesday evening in Neffsville for the division tiebreaker game and a night of abject frustration. At halftime JPM led 29-24 but from there the offense went as flat as a pancake, had we been playing in a hockey arena you could say we were as cold as the ice under the floor. We scored just twenty-two points after the break and only ten of those were from the field, it all added up to a disappointing 62-51 loss. Because of The Circumstances the league recognizes both teams as division co-champions but it seems very hollow because the fact is our opponent advanced and we did not. The result effectively ended the season, the only matter was how many of the leftover crossover games would be played. The game at Elizabethtown had already gone into the trash can, on Tuesday Jon Mitchell told me the outstanding home game against Lebanon was also being canceled. That left the game at Conestoga Valley on the 27th as the last game of the season, it was originally on the 17th but was bumped to make room for a divisional makeup game. We met at 11:30 for the short trip into the eastern suburbs, the JV game tipped at 1:00. The JPM JV concluded a very difficult season with a mark of 3-12, between what I call The Three "I"s the team never had its full roster together at any point after the first game and it was a struggle all the way. The varsity game was simply a matter of pride, for CV it was their last game as well and for us it was an opportunity to finish with a .500 record. The mission was accomplished with a 74-63 win bringing the varsity's final mark home at 8-8. Had you told me at the start of the season that we'd be at .500 or right around it with this group I would have gladly taken it given the inexperience we had. Our returnees had a combined fifty-four games played and one-hundred-eight points scored at the varsity level, twenty-six of the games and sixty-nine of the points belonged to one player and he was a sophomore. There was a lot of opportunity available and for the most part the guys were able to seize the moment. The team's eight wins were by an average margin of 14.8 points, the eight losses by 8.9. We played nine home games and were 4-5, on the road (including the playoff game) we were 4-3. Hasan Williams led the club with 271 points and a 16.9 average, Jonathan Byrd averaged in double figures at 10.6 and Sam Hershey just missed the cut at 9.9ppg. Jon and Haz are eligible to return in '21-22 for Freddy Ramos' fourth year as head coach, Freddy's three year mark at the helm is 35-29 (.547). It's always disappointing to see a season end but the mere fact that we got through it given the extraneous BS we've lived with over the last year is a victory in and of itself. Take care, thanks for reading.

February 19-22

We'll get the most important information out first: Hempfield won their game on Friday evening, that sets up a playoff game for the division championship scheduled for Tuesday the 23rd at neutral-site Manheim Township HS. The Thursday precipitation amounted to about four inches overnight into Friday, Jenny had been in town at her friend's house since Wednesday night. As is usually the case she had no other way home and we had planned on Friday lunch anyway, the drive to her place was not bad since most of the main roads were reasonably clear. In the evening we were at JPM for the front end of a back-to-back league-crossover set, Warwick was the opponent. Warwick is one of the league's better teams, they and Lebanon tied for the Section Two title. Although meaningless in the league standings this figured to be a tough test and it was all that plus a lot more. Warwick came out strong and absolutely COULD NOT MISS, at halftime we trailed by sixteen. The second half was more competitive but the hole was too deep to crawl out of, the final score was 83-69. Hasan Williams scored 23 points, Jonathan Byrd and Kevin Bell had 14 each, Sam Hershey added 13, Javonzee Washington had three points and Jayon Burnside had a field goal. We were right back at it on Saturday afternoon, Ephrata visited with the JV game tipoff at 1:30. It was Senior Day for the players (the senior cheerleaders had been recognized on Friday night), before the varsity game we spotlighted Jayon Burnside, Jyzel Mitchell, Javonzee Washington, Sam Hershey, Kevin Bell and Keyon Stewart as members of the Class of 2021. The game itself was more competitive than most might have expected, Ephrata entered with only two wins but played a competitive game, in the end JPM prevailed 80-63. Hasan Williams had another big day with 26, Sam Hershey had 17 and Kevin Bell had 13. Jonathan Byrd scored nine points, Jyzel Mitchell added five, Jared Kumah had four, Javonzee Washington and Grady Bachman had three each. The weekend split evens the overall record at 7-7. On Sunday we got word that the game at Elizabethtown on the 22nd was switched to the 24th, that gave the team an opportunity for one decent practice before the playoff game on the 23rd. If we win that game the next round of league playoffs would be on the 25th and the championship game on the 27th, how far we go will dictate how many of the leftover crossover games may still be played. Only the top twelve teams qualify for district playoffs and at last look we were ranked 18th so realistically the league playoffs are the only postseason we have to play for. On Monday a quick-moving storm blew through in the morning and dumped a few more inches of the Dirty White Stuff, in the afternoon it was announced that the Wednesday game at E-town was being canceled completely. Take care, thanks for reading.

February 15-18

Monday morning arrived with dreary weather and another raft of changes to the basketball schedule. That evening's game at Penn Manor was switched to Wednesday the 17th, as a result the crossover game at Conestoga Valley on the 17th was rescheduled for Saturday the 27th. The league is attempting to get all the divisional games completed since they are the only games counting for playoff seeding, the maneuvering gave us an extra day before starting a crucial back-to-back divisional set. On Tuesday night we made our way north on route 72, after twenty-six days and four postponements we finally got that game played at Cedar Crest. This was a varsity-only event since the JV game was called complete when we were originally there in January. Although CC is not as strong as they've been in recent years a game in their building is never easy, on this night it was a battle through three periods before the Good Guys pulled away in the fourth. We were up by one at the half and five entering the last quarter, the final was 56-42. Jared Kumah led the effort with 13, Jonathan Byrd had 12, Hasan Williams added 11 and Sam Hershey scored 10. Javonzee Washington had six points, Jayon Burnside scored a field goal, Grady Bachman and Kevin Bell were each 1-2 at the foul line. On Wednesday we traveled southwest through the city to suburban Millersville for the twice-postponed game at Penn Manor. The JV squad started the night with a victory, in the varsity game JPM won 78-56 but it wasn't as easy as it sounds. PM entered with only one win but this was their Senior Night and they would have liked nothing more than to play spoiler. It was dead-even after one quarter, at halftime we were up by ten. We held that same advantage after three quarters, a 29-17 fourth quarter put the game away. Hasan Williams and Kevin Bell tied for game-high with 21 each, Sam Hershey had another big night with 17. Jonathan Byrd had eight, Grady Bachman scored five, Jyzel Mitchell added four points and Jared Kumah was 2-2 at the line. The two wins complete the club's divisional schedule at 6-2, the overall mark stands at 6-6. Hempfield is 5-2 within the division, they are scheduled to play at Cedar Crest on Friday the 19th. A Hempfield win would set up a playoff game for the title, a CC win would give JPM the championship outright. What remains for us are the five crossover games against the teams from Section Two which at this point are glorified non-league games and it's possible that some of them may not be played. At it stands we host Warwick on the 19th and Ephrata on the 20th, beyond that is anybody's guess. There was snow in the forecast for Thursday, it arrived early in the morning and effectively ended the day before it started. Take care, thanks for reading. 

February 8-14

The new week began with an announcement that the game with Cedar Crest was reset for Friday the 12th, since we were already scheduled for the 11th and 13th the games on the 13th were moved to Saturday the 20th. It all proved to be completely moot but that story comes later. On Tuesday afternoon we boarded the bus for the five-mile trip west on route 283 to Hempfield. This was one of those nights where you start at the bottom of the hill and climb endlessly without reaching the peak, it was like walking down the pier and up the gangplank but the ship isn't there. We were down by three at the quarter and eight at the half, the deficit was four entering the last period. The club fought to the end and never gave up but it was all for naught, Hempfield held on for the 62-59 decision. Johnathan Byrd was game-high for JPM with 19, Sam Hershey had 15 and Hasan Williams added 14. Kevin Bell scored six, Javonzee Washington hit a three-pointer and Jayon Burnside had a field goal. The loss drops the division record to 4-2 (both losses to Hempfield) and puts the club out of a league playoff spot, when we returned to JPM after the game nobody could have known that we wouldn't play again the rest of the week. On Wednesday night into Thursday morning there was a freezing wintry mix, school was closed and the evening's home game with Lebanon was postponed. Later in the day it was announced that the game on Friday at Cedar Crest was called off YET AGAIN. Neither game was immediately rescheduled until Sunday evening when the CC game was set for Tuesday the 16th (the Lebanon game remains TBA). This creates a five-games-in-six-days scenario since we're already on for Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Talk about endurance tests: This Is It. Take care, thanks for reading. 

February 5-7

Friday night basketball on the floor at McCaskey, Cedar Crest made the trip south from Lebanon County. Over the last ten years or so CC has been (credit where credit is due) one of the league's top programs, a game with them is never expected to be easy. They lost a great deal to graduation from their '19-20 team although one could say that about us as well, this game was the first meeting of the new season (it should have been the second but we all know the story by now). On this night at JPM the events unfolded into a surprisingly one-sided victory. We were up by five after one quarter and seven at the break, a 26-13 third quarter advantage broke the game open as JPM took it 67-47. Hasan Williams led with 18, backcourt mate Johnathan Byrd joined him in double figures with 15. Javonzee Washington and Kevin Bell scored nine each, Jared Kumah had six, Sam Hershey and Grady Bachman added four points each and Jayon Burnside rounded out the book with a field goal. It's an important divisional win which improves the mark within the division to 4-1. There was little time to savor the victory, on Saturday afternoon we were back at home for a date with perennial state power Reading High. The JV game tipped at 1:00 and was decided early on as JPM suffered a third consecutive loss, in the varsity game RHS took control early and led by twelve at halftime. The second half was more competitive but Reading was never headed, at the buzzer the final score was 56-45. Hasan Williams was again the top scorer for JPM with 17, Jonathan Byrd and Javonzee Washington had eight each, Sam Hershey had seven, Jyzel Mitchell and Kevin Bell had two points each and Jared Kumah was 1-2 at the line. This game concluded the REAL non-league portion of the schedule, the club went 0-4 against some of the tougher competition in the state. The entire point of a non-league schedule is to test yourself, find out how good you really are and what you need to do to improve. After the game we got word that the game at Cedar Crest on the 8th was being postponed yet again with the makeup date to be determined. By the time we get that game played it will be a makeup of a makeup of a makeup.  Take care, thanks for reading. 

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February 1-4

The Sunday snow continued overnight and ended on Monday morning, I went out at lunchtime to get the car cleaned off, moved out and warmed up. It began to sleet in early afternoon, the forecast was calling for another round of the white stuff in the evening. Tuesday morning was literally a repeat of Monday, we got word that the game at Cedar Crest was postponed (again) and moved to February 8. All told we got about a foot of snow in the city, areas in the northern part of the county were hit much harder. On Wednesday the weather was much better, in the evening we were back on the floor at McCaskey for a non-league game with Central York. JPM had not played in eight days and it showed as the club started sluggishly and trailed by ten after one quarter, the middle two periods were dead even. In the fourth the boys battled back and had a chance to tie it on the last possession, a three-point attempt fell short at the buzzer. The 80-77 final drops the club to 3-4 overall and 0-3 in the non-league portion of the schedule. Hasan Williams had another hot night with 28 points, Sam Hershey scored 16, Jonathan Byrd had 12 and Grady Bachman added ten. Jared Kumah had six, Javonzee Washington hit a three-pointer and and Jayon Burnside added a field goal. The gauntlet continues with visits from Cedar Crest on Friday the 5th and Reading High the following afternoon. The LL League recently announced its playoff format which is drastically different from the norm, only the division champions will qualify (it's usually the top two finishers) and only divisional games will count towards the league record. We have five crossover games against the teams in Section Two which would usually matter in the division race, they are now essentially non-league games counting only for the overall record and the district playoff standings. Right now we are 3-1 within the division (two wins over Township, one over Penn Manor and a loss to Hempfield) with four games left (home-and-home with Cedar Crest and road trips to Hempfield and Manor) and every one of them is huge. Take care, thanks for reading.