NTL VOLLEYBALL: ATHENS GOES 1-9 IN POOL PLAY AT LYCOMING TOURNAMENT (2010-09-04)
Valley Sports Report
WILLIAMSPORT — It was a long day for the Athens volleyball team here Saturday at the annual Lycoming Tournament.

The Lady Wildcats lost their first six games of the day in pool play action and finishe ...more

NTL FOOTBALL: TURNOVERS PROVE COSTLY FOR WILDCATS IN 21-0 LOSS AT WYALUSING (2010-09-03)
By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
WYALUSING — It was a comedy of errors for the Athens Wildcats here at Peterson Stadium Friday night, but the results were far from funny for Wildcats fans.

Wyalusing took advantage of four Athens turnovers and eight Wildcat penalties to post a 21-0 win in the season-openi ...more

NTL BOYS SOCCER: WILDCATS ON THE OFFENSIVE IN OPENER, HAMMER ELK LAKE 6-1 (2010-09-03)
Valley Sports Report
ATHENS — Athens unveiled its new offensive philosophy here Friday afternoon at Alumni Stadium and found the back of the net early and often in a 6-1 romp over Elk Lake in non-league boys soccer action.

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NTL VOLLEYBALL: ATHENS HOLDS OF ELMIRA SOUTHSIDE FOR 3-2 WIN (2010-09-03)
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ATHENS 0, WYALUSING 21 — FINAL
VESTAL 41, WAVERLY 14 — FINAL
TIOGA CENTRAL 32, NEWARK VALLEY 0 — FINAL (2010-09-03)
IT'S OVER: WYALUSING 21, ATHENS 0 ———

Wyalusing's Chris Camp bolts 10 yards up the middle for a first down ... a knee or two and this game will be over. ———

After a 1-yard run by the Rams, the Wildcats take time out with 1:22 left in the game. ———

Wyalusing takes time out with 1:33 left in the game and I'm not sure why. ———

IT'S OVER IN WAVERLY: VESTAL 41, WAVERLY 14. ———

A pair of runs by Hu ...more

FROM THE PRESS BOX: WEEK 1 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PREDICTIONS (2010-09-03)
There's nothing tougher than trying to pick winners in Week 1 of the high school football season.

All four local teams play non-league games this week, with only Athens playing a smaller school.

Vestal at Waverly, Friday, 7 p.m.: The Wolverines have had successive years losing a lot of talent to graduation. What remains is a very talented, but extremely young Waverly team.

Vestal, on the other hand, returns its quarterback and top running back and a ma ...more

NTL FOOTBALL PREVIEW: ATHENS LOOKING TO WIN WAR IN TRENCHES IN 2010 (2010-09-03)
By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
ATHENS — If games truly are won in the trenches, then the 2010 Athens Wildcats stand a good chance to post another winning season.

While featuring a slew of inexperienced sophomores and juniors elsewhere on both sides of the ball, the Wildcats return a wealth of experience on both the offensive and defensive lines.

The offensive line is anchored by three returning starters — all seniors — in center Aaron Nor ...more

NTL BOYS SOCCER PREVIEW: DESPITE SHIFT IN PHILOSOPHY, EXPECTATIONS THE SAME FOR WILDCATS (2010-09-03)
By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
ATHENS — A defensive-minded coach, Athens boys soccer coach Jake Lezak is letting loose the reigns of the offense this season and hopes it proves beneficial come District 4 playoff time.

Lezak, entering his eighth season on the Wildcats sidelines, is seeking his seventh straight trip to the postseason. He said the switch in philosophy will take time.

"It's pretty tough for us right now. Even the players know ...more

NTL VOLLEYBALL PREVIEW: ATHENS COACH LOOKS FOR YOUNG TEAM TO IMPROVE AS SEASON PROGRESSES (2010-09-03)
By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
ATHENS — Veteran Athens volleyball coach Mary Alice Sullivan faces the daunting task of replacing five starters lost to graduation.

"We're trying to build back up. We're young and we're trying to find the right positions for everybody.

We've got a pretty good ...more

VALLEY SMALL FRY FOOTBALL: VIKINGS BLANK JETS IN OPENER (2010-09-01)
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ADULT FLAG FOOTBALL: THREE OF FOUR GAMES IN WEEK 1 GO DOWN TO FINAL POSSESSION (2010-09-01)
Valley Sports Report
WAVERLY — The Waverly Recreation Adult Flag Football League got off to an exciting start on Sunday. Three of the four games in Week 1 were decided by a single touchdown or less and were in doubt until the final ...more

ADULT FLAG FOOTBALL: THREE OF FOUR GAMES IN WEEK 1 GO DOWN TO FINAL POSSESSION (2010-09-01)
Valley Sports Report
WAVERLY — The Waverly Recreation Adult Flag Football League got off to an exciting start on Sunday. Three of the four games in Week 1 were decided by a single touchdown or less and were in doubt until the final ...more

MONDAY MORNING QB: WILDCATS MAKES STRIDES FROM ONE SCRIMMAGE TO NEXT, SAYS YOUNG (2010-08-30)
By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
ATHENS — Athens football coach Jack Young has a pretty simple philosophy when it comes to the game: get better every day and, in turn, from one game to the next.

For the Wildcats, from their first scrimmage to their second Friday evening at Shamokin, said Young, it was mission accomplished.

"We scrimmaged a pretty good Shamokin team," he said, "our main goal was to get better than we were last Saturday and w ...more

FOOTBALL / SOCCER: CHOICE RADIO RELEASES 2010 BROADCAST SCHEDULE (2010-08-26)
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NTL GOLF: WELLSBORO EDGES TOWANDA IN FIRST MATCH OF SEASON (2010-08-24)

ATHENS SOPHOMORE ULMER FINISHES FOURTH IN INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS

By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
WAVERLY — Wellsboro edged Towanda by 2 strokes to win the first NTL golf match of the season her ...more

MONDAY MORNING QB: YOUNG SEES POSITIVE SIGNS IN FIRST SCRIMMAGE (2010-08-23)
By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
ATHENS — All in all, veteran Athens football head coach Jack Young was pleased with his team's performance in a Saturday morning scrimmage against Susquehanna here at Alumni Field.

"Overall, I thought it was a very positive scrimmage," said Young. "It was a typical first scrimmage, especially for a young team."

As he said immediately after the scrimmage, Young was pleased with how his team responded physical ...more

NTL FOOTBALL: ATHENS SEE FIRST LIVE ACTION IN SCRIMMAGE AGAINST SUSQUEHANNA (2010-08-21)
By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
ATHENS — The 2010 Athens Wildcats football squad took the field Saturday morning for its first live action in a scrimmage against Susquehanna.

Athens showed flashes offensively, with running backs Casey Shiposh and Justin Schlosser breaking off nice runs and sophomore QB Nick Carl throwing several good passes.

Defensively, the Wildcats struggled at times to stop Susquehanna's ground game.

Athens h ...more

NTL BOYS SOCCER: WILDCATS ON OFFENSIVE FOR REDEMPTION AS 2010 PRACTICES BEGIN (2010-08-20)
By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
ATHENS — Entering his eighth season on the Athens sidelines, boys soccer head coach Jake Lezak still gets pumped for the start of the season.

"Absolutely excited ... The guys have been looking forward to it since last year. We had a bitter end to the season," said Lezak. "We expected to do better at districts and it left a sour taste in everybody's mouth, so we're looking for a little redemption."

Lezak ha ...more

NTL GIRLS SOCCER: LOTS OF NEW FACES ADD EXCITEMENT IN ATHENS AS PRACTICE OPENS (2010-08-19)
By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
ATHENS — Athens girls soccer coach Duane Hafer is glad to be back on the field and looking forward to 2010.

"Yes I am," said Hafer when asked if he was excited to get back on the field. "It is exciting with a new group of girls.

"The girls have been great. They've all been working hard," said Hafer. "I know it's only the third day, but we've had two very hard days of conditioning and they've said: 'Coach, le ...more

NTL FOOTBALL: ATHENS HITS THE PRACTICE FIELD FOR FIRST TIME (2010-08-16)
By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
ATHENS — For area high school football coaches, today is the day they've been waiting for since last November — the first day of pre-season practices.

"It's great. It's that time of the year. It's time to get after it. There's no better feeling," said Athens head coach Jack Young Monday morning.

Young faces a familiar challenge this season, much like last year — due to low numbers in the upper classes, the W ...more