DP Sports

h.s. football

By John Erzar jerzar@timesleader.com
Sports Reporter
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PLAINS TWP. – The District 2 athletic committee is hoping to hold a hearing the week of Dec. 7 concerning the allegations that members of the Dallas High School football team urinated on the tennis courts at Tunkhannock on Sept. 18.

The committee sought a hearing at Wednesday’s regular monthly meeting at the Wilkes-Barre Career and Technology Center, but District 2 chairman Frank Majikes said both schools requested a continuance.

The incident allegedly occurred during halftime of a varsity football game between the two schools.

The committee ruled out next week because of the Thanksgiving holiday. The week of Nov. 30 was also nixed because of too many scheduling conflicts with committee members.

The likeliest date for the hearing is either Dec. 7 or Dec. 9. Dallas Superintendent Frank Galicki has school business the evening of Dec. 8 and several committee members will be attending PIAA sports workshops on Dec. 10 in Mechanicsburg.

“We really need to move ahead with this,” Majikes said.

Attorney Donald Rogers, District 2’s solicitor, said he talked to Wyoming County detective David Ide last week. Ide told Rogers an investigation was continuing and an appointment was being made to get a statement from a member of the Dallas School Board.

“He did indicate he was moving forward with his investigation,” Rogers said, “and if I wanted to call him toward the end of this week, he would provide an update and its status.”

Rogers spoke previously to Wyoming County District Attorney George Skumanick, but elected not to give details of the conversation to committee members.

“I don’t know how appropriate it is for us to delve into the actually findings of their investigation,” Rogers said, “in as much as it may ultimately end up in a hearing in front of us at which time we have to develop our own evidence, our own facts based on what the schools present.”

Dallas plays Abington Heights at 1 p.m. Saturday at Scranton Memorial Stadium for the District 2 Class 3A championship. Tunkhannock’s season ended Nov. 6.

In other football-related business:

District 2 football chairman Tom Jenkins said the district won’t be hosting any state playoff games involving its Class A, 2A and 3A champions.

D2-4A champion Hazleton Area might play the D12 champion at a District 2 site provided it wins the D2/4-11 Class 4A championship. Hazleton Area needs to win at Easton on Friday and then again on Nov. 28.

However, Jenkins added that the PIAA has final say on sites. So if Hazleton Area does win twice, the PIAA could move the site to a midway point between District 2 and District 12, which encompasses Philadelphia.

The district listed at top of each game on the PIAA playoff brackets is usually the host district.

Preliminary schedules for the 2010 and 2011 Wyoming Valley Conference football seasons will have to be reworked. Galicki, who is also the WVC football president, said the rough drafts were based on projected classifications for the 2010-11 and 2011-12 school years.

There was a prevailing assumption that Wyoming Valley West was going to drop from Class 4A to 3A. However, the school will remain at 4A the next two years, creating some problems with the schedules.

H.S. FOOTBALL WEEK 12 SCHEDULE

Friday’s games

(7 p.m.)

D2/4-11 Class 4A Semifinals

Hazleton Area at Easton

District 2 2A Championship

Dunmore vs. Lakeland, Valley View H.S. stadium

District 2 Class A

Championship

Northwest vs. Riverside, Spartan Stadium, Kingston

Eastern Conference

Class 2A Championship

Hanover Area at Mt. Carmel

Saturday’s game

District 2 3A Championship

Dallas vs. Abington Heights, 1 p.m., Scranton Memorial Stadium