Weekly Rewind (Jan. 21-26)
We're starting to feel a little sorry for YAIAA winter sports teams.
This week was more of the same as news away from the courts, mats and pools once again took some of the focus away from the in-season sports.
So, keeping with the theme of recent weeks, we'll start off with some housecleaning items.
1. Lots and lots of football news this week.
We'll start off with West York coach Ron Miller's decision to turn down perennial District 3 Class AAAA power Cumberland Valley to remain with the Bulldogs. Miller just completed his seventh year at West York and was CV's No. 1 choice to replace legendary coach Tim Rimpfel, who announced his retirement in November.
Miller, who owns a 72-17 record with the Bulldogs, has taken West York to two District 3 Class AAA finals and is the only coach to lead a YAIAA program to a District 3 big-school title.
Meanwhile, the search continues at CV. The Mid-Penn Commonwealth member did not name a replacement for Rimpfel as expected Tuesday. The Eagles have been to the district playoffs 25 times and own 16 titles.
CV is looking to hire a new coach for only the third time since 1971.
2. And now to some area schools who did name new coaches this week.
Northeastern and York County Tech both hired from within.
The Bobcats tabbed offensive coordinator Jon Scepanski to replace Brendan Brown, who had been the program's only head coach. Scepanski is a first-time head coach.
Northeastern finished 7-4 last year and lost to West York in the District 3 Class AAA first round.
The Spartans decided on defensive coordinator Matt Glennon as Doug Wilkinson's replacement. Glennon, a West York grad, served as head coach at Westmont-Hilltop in Johnstown before coming to Tech. Glennon went 10-30 in four years with the Hilltoppers.
The Spartans are coming off back-to-back 2-8 seasons under Wilkinson.
That leaves two YAIAA schools searching for football coaches as January comes to a close.
Dover continues its search for Bill Miller's replacement while Pat Conrad turned in his resignation at Red Lion on Tuesday.
Conrad guided the Lions for nine years and went 45-53 with one appearance in the District 3 Class AAAA title game.
3. Back to winter sports.
Thursday was a huge night in the YAIAA wrestling scene. Both divisions came down to one dual meet to decide an outright champion.
Spring Grove wrapped up its sixth straight Division I title with a commanding 33-19 win vs. South Western. The Rockets polished off a 20-0 regular season, but the loss was crushing to the Mustangs, who found out three days later that they missed the upcoming District 3 Class AAA Team Championships.
Dallastown edged out South Western for the 16th and final slot by 0.02 points.
Biglerville also suffered a loss Thursday, but the Canners' 39-20 setback to rival Bermudian Springs didn't cost them a spot in the District 3 Class AA Team Championships.
But, in an odd twist, the Division II champion Eagles finished third in the power ratings while Biglerville came in second. That's important because Biglerville will host the lower portion of the bracket Wednesday.
The Canners meet Hamburg and the Eagles wrestle Susquenita in a pair of 5 p.m. dual meets. The winners square off at 7 p.m. in the semifinals.
4. Spring Grove and Central York put on quite a show in the water Thursday.
On the girls' side, the Rockets' fate hinged on where its 'B' relay team finished in the meet's final event, the 400 relay.
Spring Grove's 'A' team of Haley Staub, Alexis Cable, Abby Kling and Katelyn Miller took care of business in 3:52.69 and, when the 'B' team of Courtney Perry, Rebekah Keller, Michaela Taylor and Rebecca Miller came in at 4:08.12 for third place, the Rockets had a thrilling 94-92 win.
In the boys' portion, Central York remained unbeaten behind Erik Peckmann's two individual wins for a 99-86 triumph.
5. The West York girls' basketball team put another feather in its cap Saturday with a 45-38 win vs. Delone Catholic at the Red Lion Showcase.
Sure, that win did nothing to bolster the Bulldogs' pursuit of a YAIAA Division I title during their first year in the top league, but it didn't hurt the team's confidence.
Remember, the Bulldogs are playing without leading scorer Sarah Shearer, who is lost for the season with a knee injury. If the team had any doubts about its ability to beat good teams without Shearer, those should have been erased Saturday.