Jake Buzard is set for his senior season for the Westminster College football team.
The former West Middlesex High standout, who quarterbacked the Big Reds to the 2002 Mercer County Athletic Conference and District 10 Class A crowns, returns as the TItans’ leading receiver.
A year ago Buzard bucketed 30 receptions for 252 yards (8.4 yards/catch), highlighted by an 8-catch, 75-yard outing against Waynesburg.
The 5-foot-9, 180-pounder wide receiver will be a third-year letterman. He has hauled in 50 career collegiate catches for 454 yards (9.1), and has acquitted himself equally as well academically. An accounting major, he was named to the 2005 Head Coach’s Academic Honor Roll (minimum 3.0 grade-point-average). The diminutive, yet durable Buzard also was one of 16 Titans who did not miss a single practice last year.
Also listed on Westminster’s ’06 preseason roster are a pair of Sharon natives in freshmen George Kovac (Kennedy Catholic High) and Mike Snyderwine (Sharon High). Kovac is a 5-9, 220-pound fullback, while Snyderwine is a 5-11, 175-pound wide-out/defensive back. Another pair of area products include 6-1, 230-pound freshman defensive end Mike Regal (Slippery Rock High) and Andrew Robison (Wilmington High), a 6-3, 215-pound sophomore defensive lineman.
Westminster was 4-6 overall and 2-4 in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference last year.
The Titans of second-year head coach Jeff Hand commence the campaign Sept. 2, welcoming Allegheny College to Harold Burry Stadium for a 1:30 p.m. non-conference encounter.
ä Grove City High graduate Ryan King has decided to stay home and play basketball at Grove City College.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound King, a first-team District 10 All-Region 5 selection in ’05-06, bucketed 405 points last season in leading the Eagles of veteran mentor Don Fee to the playoffs where they were ousted by Strong Vincent 69-48 in the D-10 Class AAA consy contest. He logged 24 double-digit scoring games for Grove City (23-4), highlighted by a 27-point performance in a regular season-ending win at Hickory.
King concluded his scholastic career as Grove City High’s all-time leading scorer (1,351), surpassing former teammate Mike Johnson.
He is a pleasantly surprising addition to the recruiting class of cage coach Steve Lamie (111-95, 8 years). According to GCC sports information director Ryan Briggs, King initially was not intending to play college basketball. Potentially, he could become the home-grown product with the most impact on Grove City College’s cage program since Bob Crow (’83), its second-leading all-time scorer (1,450).
Grove City College commences the campaign Nov. 17-18 in the West Penn Classic against Allegheny College and Carnegie Mellon University. The Wolverines ended 9-17 overall, 5-7 in the PAC last season.
Ed Farrell is assistant sports editor for The Herald
Sports
Related Photos
Local Titans ready for season; King heading to GCC
- Sports
-
-
Roundup: Hickory girls beat Franklin in battle of 5-AAA leaders
Knowing its male counterparts upset Franklin 48 hours earlier, the Hickory High girls basketball team was not to be outdone.
Forcing Franklin into a substandard shooting performance, the Lady Hornets harvested a 53-42 District 10 Region 5-AAA win Monday night. -
SPORTVIEW: Reynolds, Greenville are 2 of state's historic programs
CONGRATULATIONS TO the Reynolds High wrestling program which became the fastest Class AA team in the history of the state to reach 700 wins last weekend.
The program, which began in 1960-61 under coach Dick Sherwood, has set a torrid pace for winning since that 4-4 season.
Ironically, the school’s 700th victory came Saturday in the District 10 Dual Meet Championships against long-time rival Greenville, which went over the 700-win plateau in 2009. Greenville is believed to be the first AA team to reach 700 wins, while Reynolds did it in the shortest time. -
Hickory soccer standouts Free, Richards to Ashland University
Hickory High girls’ soccer coach B.J. Rudge believes the bar has been elevated, and his Lady Hornets have helped hoist it.
“In general, soccer has grown in this area ... and what our girls have accomplished is a reflection of the whole (Shenango) Valley,” Rudge recently observed. -
Ft. LeBoeuf beats Reynolds at D-10 AA Team Duals
EDINBORO — The Reynolds Raiders notched the school’s 700th victory in the semifinals of the District 10 Dual Meet Championships Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately for the Raiders, No. 701 will have to come later.
The Raiders topped long-time rival Greenville, 51-16, in the semis to become the first Class AA school in Pennsylvania history to 700 wins. However, in the D-10 finals at Edinboro University’s McComb Field House, the Raiders fell to familiar foe Fort LeBoeuf, 31-28. -
Roundup: Popatak hits 1,000; Hickory, Farrell, Sharon boys win 6-AAA contests
ä Hickory 64, Franklin 52 — At “The Castle” in Franklin, the Knights (9-3, 15-3) led 28-21 at halftime, but coach Nick Cannone’s Hornets (11-2, 13-5) came storming back and outscored the hosts 24-9 in the 3rd quarter and 19-15 in the 4th to win a key Region 6-AAA clash.
Vinnie Mastrian rifled in a career-high 28 points to lead Hickory while Matt Votino scored 22. -
Roundup: WM, Sharpsville, Lakeview grab region wins
When in doubt, defer to Dogan.
West Middlesex High junior point guard Matt Dogan dominated the 2nd half of Friday night’s District 10 Region 1-A contest with visiting VisionQuest.
Dogan deposited 18 of his game-high 27 points after intermission, converting 12 of 16 free-throw attempts, leading the Big Reds to their 9th consecutive conquest, 56-41. -
Greenville's Zahniser headed to St. Francis
Nico Zahniser believes four years of scholastic football prepared him for the next level — and learning how to win and lose was only part of the process.
The Greenville High senior committed to St. Francis University of Loretto earlier this week, where he hopes to become part of a Red Flash resurgence under coach Chris Villarrrial. -
Belichick: Indy friendlier after failed '09 call against Colts
Coach Bill Belichick jokes about the welcome he has gotten since arriving in Indianapolis -- where Colts fans are less-than-friendly toward his New England Patriots -- for Super Bowl XLVI.
-
SLIDESHOW: Super Bowl by the numbers
The nation's biggest sporting event produces some staggering statistics, from the number of chicken wings consumed -- 1.25 billion -- to the amount of money some people plan to bet on the game.
-
Roundup: Hickory, Sharon, GC boys grab 6-AAA wins
The District 10 Class AA Team Dual-Meet Championships have been owned by Reynolds and Fort LeBoeuf since its inception, with the Raiders winning 10 titles under now retired coach Brian Hills and the Bison winning the other 3.
The two teams are heavily favored to meet again Saturday in the finals of the tourney at Edinboro University’s McComb Field House which expands to 8 teams this year for the first time. The top 2 teams advance to the state tourney the following weekend. - More Sports Headlines
-
