Shamokin AD Suspended????

Is the Shamokin Athletic Director suspended? Here is the take in the News-Item. Do you hire a football coach while the AD is suspended? Will the AD have any input? It all remains to be seen if the AD is indeed suspended.

End of the Line for Coach Z.

Last night the Shamokin School Board reorganized to pick officers. A petition signed by 750 residents was presented to the board. A motion was brought up by Mark Anonia to reinstate Zielinskie was seconded by Tracey Witmer.

The motion was defeated on a 5-4 vote.

Special Comment On Coach Zielinskie

The first talk with Coach Z. at last year preseason picnic.





My last interview with Coach Z.





The more things change the more they stay the same. As autumn give way to winter, once again Shamokin Area is looking for a head football coach. Dave Zielinskie was fired yesterday by a 5-4 vote of the school board. The board voted, 5-4, with directors Charles Carpenter, Ed Griffiths, Todd Hockenbroch, Barry Rebuck and Daniel Venn voting yes, and directors LaRue Beck, Robert Getchey, Tracy Witmer and Mark Anonia voting no. Over 15 years ago, when Zielinskie was let go, too many penalties was the excuse.

This time the firing was a little bit more elaborate. Athletic Director Nick Celinscak gave an "evaluation"of Mr. Zielinskie and a substandard performance only to be rebutted by Zielinskie himself.

Celinscak was only a "patsie" for the board. Someone had to make a motion, second it and vote.

Covering Shamokin and Dave Zielinskie

When Zielinskie took over for Carmen Defrancesco, I asked to video our pregame interview that would be played back on radio on game night. Coach Zielinskie obliged and it was pretty much a staple. As far as handling players and coaches, I thought he great support.

One thing that is very hard to do in life is notice change while it is occurring. Kemp Memorial is still the same, except for the turf and new booster stand, but many things have changed. Not many kids are motivated to play football anymore. On average Shamokin has dressed the below 40 the last few seasons.

With the schedule and personnel, how much better were Shamokin than 5-15 in two years. Zielinskie lost his number one running back to illness, most of his secondary to injury and insubordination, but he never offered any excuses. With a full squad of players that were with him in the preseason would Shamokin have beaten Southern, Mount Carmel, Selinsgrove, and Montoursville?

Coaching?

If you look back at the Indians over the last 20 years was it the coaching or the players? If you point out to the winning season's Shamokin has had since 1988, their success centered on having a 1000-yard rusher (Tim Krebs, Richie Shick, Jamie Wis., etc) or a strong one-two punch like Kirk Stehman and Gary Anascavage.



One of the by-products of the head coaching merry-go-round is the developing talent. The senior class of 2010 would have played for 3 different head coaches. Most of the success of Mount Carmel and Southern Area is delveloping football players and plugging them in the right holes. The other thing is coaching stability. MCA has had three head men since 1961. The core of Southern's staff have been together for 25 years plus they still have many mile left.

X's and O's

I am firm believer in taking what the Lord has provided. Last season the Indians ran what I would call an offense of the week. There was a different offense for like six straight weeks. This season Shamokin ran a different offense the first two weeks and went smash-mouth the final 8 games. Offense is about consistency and repetition. The points will follow.

What's Next?

It should be an interesting sideshow until Christmas. With a $6000 bill staring the Board in the eyes, will they go cheap? Dave Zielinskie did all that was asked of him by the board and some more. He didn't stand for insubordination and got rid of players that violated team rules. This was done in 2007 and 2008 knowing full well he was short at those positions. As far as ejections this season, I believe there were two. One against Southern and one against Selinsgrove.

Coach Z. still has alot of coaching left in him, sad to say with his second stint over at Shamokin it will not be as a head coach.

Shamokin Board Sacks Coach Z.

Chuck Souder's article printed in the News-Item covers the meeting.


Sidebar by Souder's cover's Coach Z.'s statement.


The Coal Region Voice will have special comments later this evening.

Shamokin Interview for Selinsgrove

There is no interview for this week with Selinsgrove. Coach Zielinskie politely declined to be recorded. Here is Coach Z.'s address at last year pre-camp cook out.

"We are getting better," said Coach Zielinskie off camera.





Half of the season is in the books for area teams and there are a few surprises. I will run them down here and let me know what you think.


Mount Carmel had many seniors but there defense halfway through has surpassed expectations.

Southern Area got through a rough early stretch and look to week#9 showdown with Mount Carmel for the Heartland Division II Championship. Many expected Southern to be aroun 7-3. Barring major injuries they could find themselves in Hershey. Like Tigers teams past, you look up at the scoreboard in the 4th quarter and find yourself losing 35-0 and Southern just put up 400 rushing yards and their defense doesn't yield too many points.

Shamokin Area has won back-to-back games for the first time in close to four seasons. The Indians were probably hit most by injuries on and off the field and lost player games in between. Even with all their players there and healthy like projected in mid-summer, the Indians are still no better than 3-2 at this point. Shamokin looks like a favorite against Warrior Run, Loyalsock and Mifflinburg in the second half of the season and underdogs against Selinsgrove and Montoursville. 5-5 would put the Indians in the hunt for the playoffs. Could it be the second meeting with Mount Carmel in the same season? Look for the Indians to play Montoursville tough, they always do and should have won last year's game.

AROUND THE AREA

North Schuylkill - came out of the gate 3-0 after a bad four year run.

Central Columbia - possible playoffs after 3 wins in the past three seasons.

Lewisburg - Long time since the Green Dragon's started 5-0. They won the West Branch with 11-0 in 1981.

Danville - The surprise is only two wins and not improving.

Good luck to all teams in the second half of the season.

Dave Zielinskie declines coaches interview

"Nothing to Say"

Normally at this time every week, I post the interview with the home coach of the game BILL95 will be broadcasting. This week's game is between the Danville Ironmen and Shamokin Area Indians. Dave Zielinskie declined to comment about this week's game so we will repect his wishes.

UPDATE: Coach Z. simply turned down the interview at practice. It wasn't a matter of not showing or not calling. I check out practice regardless. He didn't have a comment for week 5 and that was it.

Dave Zielinskie interview for game with Central Columbia

I had the opportunity to talk to Shamokin head coach Dave Zielinskie about this week's game Central Columbia. We both agreed that this was make or break game of the season for the Indians. Coming out of the gate at 0-2 with losses to Southern and Mount Carmel, this game will tell if Shamokin has a shot at .500 or better or will end up like the two previous seasons.

We were surprised last week when Central was leading Danville 35-15 about the time the Coal Bucket game was over. One paper had picked Danville to win 35-13. Central has had it's share of hard times recently.

With a win over Central, Shamokin will be favored against Shikellamy in Week 4. The Indians would be 2-2 after four weeks with some renewed hope and possibly some confidence. We will know a little more after Friday night.

Weekend High School Wrap

Discussing Lock Haven Homecoming?

Well, if you look at my Friday analysis of the Southern-Shamokin game, I predicted a two score win for Southern but not as high. I didn't count on the humidity. Both team sputtered around for three quarters and Southern came through with a big fourth quarter for the win.

Southern - The Good

Like a good old Southern team when you looked after the final whistle, the offensive put up 400 yards on the ground and 35 points on the board. Defensive front seven looked as tough as in previous years and the freshman Schetroma did a nice job on the defensive front. Kicking game was outstanding.

The Bad

Passing game needs to improve to move past week 11. Campbell made some nice throws, but pass protection was subpar. Receivers need some experience, but may have held up here with a game next week at Montoursville.

Shamokin - The Good

Defensively, the Indians were one score down with a full quarter to go. Last season, Shamokin went there first five games without forcing a turnover. On Saturday night they forced 4 and were +3 in TO ratio.

The Bad

Running game was non-existant. It is always the quarterback's best friend. The defense could have used a friend also. The scheme in general had the quarterback and fullback in a spread formation and Southern playing man. Passes were designed to go deep and the running were too slow developing usually with 7 defenders in the box.

The Ugly

Shamokin had a defensive back ejected. Counting the one that was removed in the preseason, Coach Z's son, and possibly Dirienzo could have helped if healthy. Your down 4 players headed into week number with Mount Carmel and Polish Attack (Wasilewski, Pellowski, and Kovaleski) coming to town.

Dave Zielinskie interview for 2008 opener with Southern

Dave Zielinskie interview for 2008 opener with Southern Columbia.

Zielinskie Clarifies Incident

Dave Zielinskie clarified the incident that took place in the 10/11 issue of the News-Item. I had the opportunity to show Tuesday's article to a teacher in another district and is not involved in athletics. The teacher informed me that if the incident wasn't witnessed by staff or not caught on a camera all you have is a hearsay. This left Zielinskie to ask the players to step up and tell what happened. No one did.

Here is the verdict. If no one seen the incident and it wasn't recorded on film, for the most part it didn't exist. Unfortunately, you have the same situation going on in State College. A fight in the spring, one this past weekend, and Austin Scott suspended is leaving Joe Paterno's hand's tied until sorted out by law enforcement. Joe's press conference was quickly deflected to "let's talk about what's going on the field." If someone like Joe can't enforce discipline, who can?

MOTION TO OPEN THE JOB

Garnering headlines on Tuesday was the motion to open Zielinskie's job. You have to question the motivation here due the director being a lame duck and one of the principles in hiring Zielinskie in the first place. I guess an 0-6 start and another loss to Mount Carmel lowers your stock somehow. What will the fallout be for the motion? Was the board equipped to handle the coaching situation if the job was opened? What kind of message does that send to the players returning in 2008? Stay tuned.

MAROONS DAY BIG SUCCESS

Big lines and crowds awaited Dave Fleming author of the book Breaker Boys about the 1925 NFL champion Pottsville Maroons. The week will conclude after Friday's Shamokin-Pottsville football game.

Coach Z's Address at the Hillside Coaches Picnic

The second era of Shamokin Area head coach Dave Zielinskie will be begin in a few hours. Above is his partial address to the crowd at the Hillside Coaches preseason picnic. The Hillside Coaches are the Indians football boosters. They are an outstanding organization and most if not of their officers do not have sons on the team. A great group of volunteers.

In the video posted above that was different from last season. None of the captains were announced. Jerseys have not been given out yet. When Coach Z. took the program over in the mid-80's just a week or two before the season, he was looking for players. It is simple, if you want to play and give all you can there will be a spot for you somewhere in the lineup.

One question was asked to Coach Z. about the Indians operating their third offense in three years. "Nothing you see this year will resemble last year," said Zielinskie. "We are going to come right after people and run the football." If you take away the two good years by Richie Schiccatano and one solid year by Tim Krebs, the Indian's running game has lacked consistency since Sam Schiccatano was the head coach.

On a side note, the Black Diamond Network's broadcast of the game in Nome, Alaska has been moved to Saturday, August 18th at 4 pm EST according to Dr. Phil Manney who is scheduled with Tom Ryan to broadcast the game. Manney and Ryan depart Tuesday morning for the game.