Weekly Rewind (Jan. 7-12)
There is rarely a dull moment around the YAIAA, and this week was no exception.
We saw winter sports hit high gear with big games, meets and matches; school records were set and a football player received a big honor.
Plus, there was more reaction regarding Gettysburg potentially leaving the Mid-Penn for the YAIAA.
Let's get started:
1. What a week it was for Kennard-Dale and Sara Tarbert.
In a game featuring two potent scorers Wednesday night, it was the Rams and Tarbert that got the best of host Spring Grove and Morgan Arden, who was averaging 22.1 points per game.
But the Rams bottled her up -- Arden finished with 12 points -- and escaped with a 44-37 win.
On the other hand, Tarbert was her normal dominating self. She finished with a game-high 27 points and pulled down 12 rebounds.
That was nothing compared to what she did two nights later: In a win vs. William Penn, Tarbert went off for 29 points to set the Kennard-Dale girls' basketball all-time scoring mark.
Tarbert struck again Saturday with 33 points in narrow 52-49 victory vs. York Suburban. Tarbert now has 1,477 career points for the Rams, who are streaking toward the playoffs with a 10-4 record.
2. Despite two games being played, basketball wasn't the sole focus Saturday night at York College's Grumbacher Sport and Fitness Center.
The inaugural Donnie Swartz Memorial Classic paid tribute to the former YAIAA basketball official who died in March 2011, but it also benefited the Gretchen Wolf Swartz Scholarship Fund.
West York beat York Suburban, 64-50, in the boys' game while Central York rallied past Eastern York, 57-48, on the girls' side.
Steve Navaroli was there to capture the events of the evening.
3. It probably wasn't a shock to most that, in the second week of January, the York Catholic and Delone Catholic girls' basketball teams met with first place in YAIAA Division IV on the line.
The Squirettes fell into a 12-point halftime hole after the Fighting Irish held them to four second-quarter points.
But Delone battled back and made it a game late before Kathryn McNamara, who comes off the bench, stood tall in the fourth quarter of York Catholic's 57-44 win.
The Squirettes dropped to 10-3 overall and 5-1 in the division while the Irish improved to 9-1, 5-0.
4. The hype continues to build around a wrestling dual meet that is now only a little more than a week away.
South Western improved to 6-0 in YAIAA Division I on Thursday night (and later to 7-0 with a win against New Oxford on Saturday) by thumping Dover, 48-10.
But, Mustangs coach Brad Zeigler felt this team left some points on the mat and wasn't exactly happy about it. Zeigler is focused on improvement and maximizing points. He wants his wrestlers peaking for a huge dual meet vs. Spring Grove on Jan. 24.
The winner of that match will likely win Division I outright.
5. Tonight, the YAIAA will vote on whether to invite Gettysburg to join the league.
Gettysburg, a member of the Mid-Penn Conference, has already been given the green light by its school board to pursue membership in the YAIAA.
Given that vote and what YAIAA leaders and even some fans had to say, it's reasonable to expect the Warriors get the invitation. If the school joins, it will be effective for the 2014-15 school year and have a negative impact on Mid-Penn scheduling.
6. Saturday evening, North Allegheny football coach Art Walker, whose Tigers have won two of the last three PIAA Class AAAA titles, announced the Pennsylvania roster for June's Big 33 Football Classic vs. Maryland.
West York offensive lineman Brody Kern was the lone YAIAA player selected.
In all, District 3 has nine players (including State College) in the game, which will be held at 7 p.m. June 15 at Hersheypark Stadium. The Mid-Penn Conference (including State College) had six selections, the Lancaster-Lebanon League (including Wilson) two and the YAIAA one.