Monday, October 06, 2003

By Mike White, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Strath Haven has lost in the PIAA Class AAA championship game the past two seasons. But the Panthers have this regular-season winning thing down pat.

Strath Haven, a suburban Philadelphia school, tied the state record for the longest regular-season winning streak when it defeated Haverford Township, 42-8, Friday. It was the 69th consecutive regular-season win for Strath Haven.

Smethport, a Class A school in District 9, won 69 regular-season games in a row from 1988-96. Ironically, Smethport's streak was stopped one week before Strath Haven's streak started. Strath Haven can break Smethport's record with a victory against Marple Newtown Friday.

Strath Haven doesn't play in a strong league (District 1's Central League) and rarely does any league opponent challenge the Panthers. They have 33 shutouts in the streak.

This year's Strath Haven team is the Post-Gazette's PIAA Class AAA No. 1-ranked team. The Panthers feature Dan Connor, a Penn State recruit who is ranked by some scouting services as one of the top five linebackers in the country.

Conley picks baseball

Blackhawk High School quarterback Sean Conley is focused on football and helping the Cougars challenge for the WPIAL Class AAA title. But his future is in baseball.

Conley, a 5-foot-11, left-handed hitting outfielder, verbally committed to Pitt for baseball Friday. He wanted to keep his decision under wraps until after Blackhawk played Hopewell in football Friday night.

Conley led Blackhawk to a 29-26 victory, throwing for more than 200 yards.

In the spring, Conley hit .465 for Blackhawk with 11 doubles, 21 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. His on-base percentage was .548. This summer, he helped Blackhawk win the state American Legion title.

Losing streaks

The longest current losing streak in the state belongs to Fleetwood, which has lost 27 in a row. York Tech has 26 losses in a row and Serra of the WPIAL 21 in a row.

Scoring sensations

Sto-Rox scored the most points in the WPIAL this season when it defeated Bentworth, 75-0, Friday. On the eastern side of the state Friday, Steelton-Highspire beat Bishop Hafey, 76-0.

Sto-Rox came close to the modern-day WPIAL scoring record. According to records that go back to the 1950s, only two WPIAL teams have scored 80 points or more in a game. Brownsville beat Beth-Center, 85-13, in 1998. North Allegheny beat Ambridge, 83-7, in 1996.

Lights out

Penns Valley has to be thinking, 'What next?'

In the season opener, the Penns Valley-Bellefonte game was delayed twice by thunderstorms and finished around midnight. A few weeks ago, Penns Valley's game was postponed one day because of Hurricane Isabel. Then Friday night, the lights went out on Penns Valley.

With 6:24 left in the fourth quarter, Penns Valley was trailing Bellwood-Antis, 14-0, when the lights went out.

An automobile hit a light pole near the stadium, causing the blackout. The game will be finished tonight.

Suspended season

Mepham High School in New York canceled its season recently after three players were accused of sodomizing three players with a stick, pine cones and golf balls during a week-long preseason camp in eastern Pennsylvania. Authorities are pressing charges against the players.

Mepham is the alma mater of Steelers running back Amos Zereoue.

Elsewhere

Southern Columbia, the No. 1-ranked Class A team, did not allow a first down in a 41-0 victory against Hughesville. That had never happened in Jim Roth's 19 years as Southern Columbia's coach.

North Penn showed why it is the No. 1-ranked Class AAAA team in the state when it defeated Glen Mills, 45-19. Glen Mills came in with a 5-0 record. Kevin Akins, a Boston College recruit, rushed for 107 yards on 10 carries.

Girard's Mina George became the first coach in Erie County to win 200 games when his team beat Iroquois, 14-0. George, who has been coaching 28 years, is in his seventh season at Girard. He also spent 16 seasons at Erie Cathedral Prep and guided the Ramblers to the 1991 PIAA Class AAAA title game before losing to Central Bucks West.

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