Altieri, Kaminski shine with their team efforts

By Andrea Snyder, October 15, 1998

Melissa Kaminski CV High School tennis Senior Helped Eagles win Capital Div. team title Jason Altieri Mechanicsburg High School football Senior Returned punt for TD; had 105 yards receiving

Playing in his first varsity season for the Mechanicsburg High football team, Jason Altieri had the game of his life last Friday.

All Altieri did was return a punt 68 yards for a score, snag an interception while playing defense and catch five passes totaling 105 yards, including the winning touchdown pass in the Wildcats' 22-18 victory over Big Spring.

Playing in her last year of varsity tennis at Cumberland Valley, Melissa Kaminski won both the No. 1 singles and doubles titles at the Mid-Penn Capital Division meet last week, helping her undefeated Eagles win the division team title.

Altieri's and Kaminski's performances earned them The Sentinel Athlete of the Week honors for the week of Oct. 5 to 10.

Altieri played for Mechanicsburg's ninth-grade team his freshman year. After a bad experience of a winless season on the bench, he hung up his cleats to devote his time to basketball and baseball.

"This is my first year since ninth grade because this is the first year anyone had shown any interest in me," Altieri says. "I didn't feel they needed me after sitting on the bench. There were better people out there than me."

But Altieri tried out for a spot on the team anyway. Now he's getting noticed.

"He's a very good athlete," Wildcat head coach Rich Lichtel says. "He has natural instincts and is very easy to coach."

Altieri gives the credit to his coach.

"I owe all my success to coach," Altieri says. "He's pushed me every practice so I would get better because he knew I was new to this game."

Lichtel finds Altieri easy to coach, partly because of his attitude and partly because of his mentality.

"He has fun and is always smiling," Lichtel says. "But he's kind of tough. He's also very deceptive out there."

Lichtel is referring to the senior's speed on the field. He says Altieri doesn't have breakaway speed, he has field speed. That showed on his TD catch and punt return Friday.

"You line him up out there and run a sprint with somebody and he won't pop your eyes out," Lichtel says. "But when he's on the field, he steps it up a notch and knows how to elude the defender.".......

Jason Altieri
Mechanicsburg High School
Class: Senior
What do you like best about football? It's fun
What has been your greatest accomplishment in football? Winning our two games against Shippensburg and Big Spring
Who is the toughest opponent you have faced? Yohan Mosley, Susquehanna Township
What is the toughest team you have faced? Cumberland Valley
How many years have you played football? Three
Do you play other sports? Basketball, baseball.
What other activities in school are you involved in? None
What is your favorite subject in school? History
Who has been the most influential person in your life? Coach Rich Lichtel
Person you'd most like to meet (alive or dead)? Andruw Jones, Atlanta Braves
Favorite team? Penn State
Favorite athlete? Mark McGwire

MECHANICSBURG (0-1) at CARLISLE (1-0)

Kickoff: Friday 7:30 p.m., Ken Millen Stadium

Last week: Mechanicsburg suffered a 35-7 loss to Cumberland Valley, which was expected. But, more importantly the Wildcats proved it had heart by playing hard until the final whistle. The Wildcats managed just nine yards rushing, but sophomore Aaron Bruno had an impressive debut with 177 passing yards.
Carlisle opened the season with a win for the first time in the Brent Stroh era. The Thundering Herd dominated South Western 31-17, thanks in part to a bruising ground attack. Carlisle's defense also stepped up, holding South Western on a key fourth-and-goal late in the fourth quarter.

Key Players: Mechanicsburg - QB/DB Bruno (16-29-2 177 yards); RB/LB Robert Smith (10 carries, 24 yards); TE/DE Graham Eggleston (6 catches, 53 yards); OL/LB Dale Jones (5-11, 190).
Carlisle - QB/DB Justin Barrick (9-15-1 110 yards, 1 TD); RB/LB Noah Cline (19 carries, 143 yards 2 TDs); WR/LB Matt Creason (2 catches, 40 yards 1 TD); OL/DL Brian Schmick (6-4, 257).

Analysis: Mechanicsburg gives opponents headaches with its wide-open attack. Coach Rich Lichtel promised more run plays this season, but he still relies heavily on the passing game. If the Wildcats get any type of ground game going and Bruno plays like he did last week, look out.

Carlisle will attempt to control the game with long, time-consuming drives. The Herd have the ability to score points, but Stroh doesn't want to see a shootout. "If they get into a feeding frenzy on offense, we're in trouble. I'm not sure we can win a scoring derby with them."

Don't be surprised if this game goes down to the wire

Veterans key for Wildcats

By Michael Blouse, September 2, 1998

After a particularly intense and spirited early season practice, Mechanicsburg senior Dale Jones could have easily gotten caught up in the moment.

Jones might have predicted the Wildcats would win a Capital Division title, or maybe even make the District 3 playoffs.

Instead, the 5-foot-11, 190-pounder wanted no part of being a high school football prognosticator.

He has other, more realistic goals for an inexperienced 1998 team.

"The strength of this team is we're like a big family," Jones says. "When one person is down, I want to see another right there to pick them up. Of course we want to win bad, but hopefully whatever happens on the field doesn't carry off the field.

"As far as where we'll finish, I don't know."

The fact is, no one knows what to expect between the white lines from this year's Mechanicsburg team.

So many "star" players are gone. So much is expected of the new blood.

Even Wildcats head coach Rich Lichtel, in his 18th season, doesn't have many answers.

"I don't know how many games we'll win. I have no idea," Lichtel says. "But, barring injuries, I think by the fourth or fifth game, I think we'll be a tough team to contend with."

Last season Mechanicsburg was as tough as any Mid-Penn team to contend with. Despite an injury-filled 4-6 record, the Wildcats' high-octane offense caused opposing defenses major headaches.

Lichtel gave talented quarterback Ryan Olsen free reign of the offense, and was rewarded. Olsen, The Sentinel's Player of the Year, threw for 1,890 yards and 11 touchdowns. The 1998 graduate also ran for 337 additional yards.

Gone, too, is Olsen's favorite target, Wes Reohr (48 catches, 768 yards).

"We lost over 2,500 yards of offense in two players. You take that much offense away from a team and it's very tough," Lichtel says. "Some teams don't get that much offense in a season.

"But we have to find skill players that can replace some of those statistics."

One of the players Lichtel is not concerned about is Jones.

Jones, described by his coach as the "glue that will hold everything together," will key both the offensive line and linebacking corps. He is a returning starter at both positions.

"Dale is the ringleader of the offensive line," Lichtel says. "He's very intense and keeps a positive attitude."

Instead of relying so heavily on the passing game in 1998, Lichtel plans to make sure he establishes the run - which makes the line's play even more important. Karl Krouch (6-1, 200), Dan Paull (6-2, 215) and Josh Spicher (5-10, 230) return with Jones to give the line significant experience.

Replacing Olsen at quarterback is a bit more up-in-the-air. The competition is between senior Bill Serafin (5-11, 180) and junior Mike Woska (6-0, 185). Neither has seen much quarterbacking time at the varsity level.

"I'm not too concerned about that position. We're not going to ask those kids to win games, just do what they can," Lichtel says.

With an inexperienced quarterback, the offensive line will need to open holes for senior tailback Adam Castner. At 5-5, 146 pounds, Castner is undersized, but he more than makes up for it with attitude.

"Adam has the biggest heart of any player I know," Lichtel says. "I would put him up against any other player in the area pound-for-pound. He won't give up, and I hope that reflects onto the team."

Lichtel says junior Robert Smith will also see action at tailback.

Defense is the area most in need of improvement for Mechanicsburg. Last season opposing teams averaged 21 points per game against the Wildcats.

Grant Eggleston (6-2, 205) and Paull will be at the defensive end positions, while Kyle Burton (6-2, 210) will anchor the middle of the line.

Joining Jones at linebacker is junior Ben Bowman (6-0, 185).

The secondary will feature Serafin, Woska and Andrew Thompson (5-11, 172).

"The No. 1 thing this season is that we stay together as a team through thick and thin," Lichtel says. "No. 2, I want the kids to be relentless. And No. 3, I don't want the team to fear failure."

This season, Mechanicsburg will fail or succeed against different competition than in 1997.

The Wildcats move to the Capital Division, along with Hershey, Middletown, Palmyra, Susquehanna Township and West Perry.

"We're used to playing teams in Division I and Division II, and essentially we'll be in Division III," Lichtel says.

"Really we're playing teams below us, but the thing is, they're good teams and that's scary."

Time to get acquainted with a new Mid-Penn

By Jeff Pratt, August 23, 1998

Northern football coach Marty Green rattled off the answers over the telephone with ease.

This is your fourth year as coach? - "Yes."

How many returning letterwinners do you have? - "24."

Offensive formation? - "That would be a multiple pro-set."

Defensive formation? - "We're switching to a 4-3 this year."

Returning letterwinners? - "Around 24, but I'll check on that."

Then came the toughie, the question every football, soccer, tennis, volleyball, cross country, field hockey and golf coach will have trouble answering this fall:

What division do you play in? - "You tell me," was his reply.

Welcome to the new, improved and totally confusing Mid-Penn Conference - at least for a little while.

"For most of the coaches, we don't all know the names yet," Cumberland Valley football coach Tim Rimpfel said. "But for us, it's pretty much the same teams, except that Carlisle is not in our division, conference, association or whatever it is."

The Mid-Penn formerly realigned its sports divisions 1 1/2 years ago, and they start taking effect this week when the 1998 fall sports season opens.

The most obvious change for fans will be the names of the divisions in each sport. Capital, Commonwealth, Colonial, Keystone and Liberty replace the former roman numeral classifications.

There is no Mid-Penn Division I any more, now you have the Mid-Penn Commonwealth Division.

"The name changes try to send a message to people that Division I is not always the best teams," Mid-Penn Chairman John Allison said. "That's the perception people had and it's not true. We felt we had to change that. There were teams in Division II and III that weren't that bad."

While trying to alter the power structure is one point, Mid-Penn Football Chairman Randy Umberger said the change could be more simple.

"(Getting away from the power structure) is what everyone said," the Lower Dauphin athletic director said. "I just think they wanted to get away from numbers. It's the mentality with numbers. I'm not sure they ever meant that much, though."

What has meant a lot is the realignments themselves, with fall sports football and boys' soccer taking center stage in the arguments.

Most sports were realigned for two reasons - grouping schools into their respective PIAA classifications or grouping schools geographically.

Football falls into the classification category, with a fifth division added to the format. That fifth division arrives because the former Mid-Penn I has been split into two divisions - Commonwealth and Keystone.

Each school in Mid-Penn football will get three crossover games with another division, guaranteeing eight league games per season. For the Class AAAA schools in the Mid-Penn, like Cumberland Valley, that guarantees them eight games against AAAA opponents, which is a huge factor in the District 3 playoff points system (where more points are given for a win based on the higher the classification of the opponent).

"We did this to put people of similar size in the same division and to simplify the playoff structure," Umberger said. "That helps people gain the appropriate amount of points to qualify for the district playoffs."

CV had just five guaranteed AAAA games in the seven-team Mid-Penn I last year (Bishop McDevitt had been Class AA, but has jumped to AAAA this year.)

The Eagles' schedule has featured lengthy trips to Central Bucks West or Easton to open its season in past years. They needed a AAAA opponent on their schedule, but couldn't find one within the district.

Now the AAAA opponents are provided for, and the Eagles have added AAA Mechanicsburg (a local rival) to its schedule.

"The schedule is helpful in that we are playing in our conference now, which the Lancaster-Lebanon League has done for years," Rimpfel said. "We`re fortunate to get Mechanicsburg back on our schedule, which is a great rivalry. Our only out-of-conference game is South Western, and that's at home. Our farthest game is at Central Dauphin."

In terms of the power structure, Commonwealth still features the stronger and larger AAAA schools, but the most competitive division may be the Liberty (Class A and AA schools). The new fifth division features Steel-High, Milton Hershey, Camp Hill, Trinity, Bermudian Springs, Scotland, Susquenita, Boiling Springs and Biglerville. Six of those teams have legitimate playoff aspirations this year.

While football has had limited complaints (mostly from McDevitt's move up to AAAA), boys' soccer is loaded with them.

The major splits came in the top two AAA divisions - Commonwealth and Keystone, which were geographically realigned. Commonwealth features West Shore schools, while Keystone features East Shore schools.

The most hurt falls on the Commonwealth schedule, where Cumberland Valley is the standout team in the division. While last year's division schedule featured power teams like Central Dauphin, Lower Dauphin and Hershey (all Keystone Division teams this year), this year's schedule has up-start schools like Big Spring, Waynesboro, Shippensburg and West Perry.

"Soccer didn't benefit by this at all," said Carlisle coach Greg Clippinger, who's Thundering Herd squad plays in the Commonwealth Division with CV. "The other division that is AAA has a real quality division right now. That's the division where there will be a lot of day-in and day-out intense games. A team like CV will miss that.

"Maybe our division will become very competitive also, but the East Shore division is much more competitive from a tradition standpoint."

But Clippinger and the Mid-Penn soccer coaches have a more focussed complaint.

"The biggest frustration is that we are being forced to play 18 games (within the division)," he said. "Now we can't go out and expand our schedule base. We have just two open dates (teams are allowed to play 20 games in a season), and some schools have turned down excellent competition just because there requirement the schedule has."

The best news for all teams in the Mid-Penn is that this realignment is a two-year process and will be reviewed again in 2000. That should be about the time when everyone gets the new division names and groupings down pat.

Allison and the rest of is staff know changes may have to be made, but they also know perfection is near impossible.

"We don't believe (we can make everyone happy)," Allison said. "We feel with 32 schools it becomes very difficult to do that. Different schools have different strengths in programs.

"We'll always have our critics. That's the way it goes with one of the largest conferences in the state."