Port Allegany’s All-Americans
QB Matt Bodamer and WR Nick Conway were honored by MaxPreps as Small School All-Americans – Bodamer on the first team offense and Conway on the second team offense.
Bodamer’s list of awards has become quite extensive. In 2012, he has been named the Gatorade Player of the Year, Mr. Football by the Pennsylvania Football News, which also named him their Class A Offensive Player the Year and a Class A all-state selection by the Pennsylvania Sports Writers (which I can say is one of the easiest votes I have ever had to make). This much is for certain – Bodamer has clearly become the most decorated player in District 9 history. That’s not to say he’s the best (I think we can all agree NFL Hall of Famer Jim Kelly has that distinction), but he is the most prolific statistically, holding or sharing every major state passing record.
Conway, meanwhile, set District 9 single-season records for receiving yards, touchdowns and receptions. Teammate Tyce Miller holds all of those career marks in District 9 and he and Conway were nightmares for defenses all season.
To be honest, it’s surprising Conway hasn’t gotten some Division I interest in football. He possess the size (6-3) and speed, as evidenced by not only his play on the football field but on the track, where he was a state medalist in both the 110 and 300 hurdles.
Bodamer and Conway are believed to be the first two players in District 9 history to be named MaxPreps All-Ameicans.
Smethport basketball makes statement
Speaking of Bodamer, he and his Gator basketball teammates were handed a 58-28 by the Hubbers Friday.
As Greg Clark said in his game story, if there’ a better player in District 9 than Zach Smith, let him come forward and be recognized.
Smith, at 6-4, is a matchup nightmare for teams. He can post-up inside, spot up and make three’s or isolate opponents one-on-one. He is certainly on the short-list of District 9 Player of the Year Candidates midway through the regular season.
But it’s not just Smith – the Hubbers are a team full of good athletes. Nate Wilber (who had a monster dunk in the Port game), Clay Schuler, Dylan Mott, Ryan Corbett, Ryan Stratton, Dario Caminite and others. The challenge is out to the rest of the North Tier.
Jamerson hits 1,000
Kane’s Kaila Jamerson needed four points against Ridgway to hit the 1,000-point plateau for her career and wasted no time, scoring Kane’s first two buckets of what turned out to be an easy win.
Jamerson, who has is a two-time all-district selection, became the third player in Lady Wolves’ history to surpass 1,000 points.
Kane (10-1) has a date with fellow 10-1 squad Bradford Monday.
And speaking of the Lady Owls
Their team speed really is impressive to watch and It was on full display in their 75-48 win over Brookville Friday.
The game featured 25 points from point guard Ali Rinfrette, a career-high 13 points from Payton Ambrose and Alex Vinelli’s fifth-straight double-double.
You don’t need size when you have the guard play, basketball IQ and team chemistry that the Lady Owls possess – something they have proven the last year-and-a-half.
Also, I want to point out the great job Vinelli and fellow senior Kaserra Owens did, putting together a program as part of their senior project to raise awareness for autism.
As coach Ann Nuzzo pointed out, the girls had been working on this for months and did a fantastic job.
Something that gets lost (and shouldn’t) in the course of competition is that we have so many special student-athletes in the area doing great things like this.
