Penn Cambria junior Zak Newton kept defenses guessing during the Panthers 2008 campaign.
Depending on what formation the Cresson squad ran, Newton might be in as the tailback, fullback, quarterback or a receiver.
“He’s such an athletic player that we like to take advantage of his prowess in a variety of different positions,” Penn Cambria coach Ernie Fetzer said. “There wasn’t too much that we didn’t ask him to do. He brought a lot to the table.”
Newton ran for 2,059 yards on 271 carries, an average of 7.6 yards per carry and finished as the area’s second-leading rusher. He also was 13 of 36 passing for another 235 yards.
For his accomplishments, Newton has been selected as The Tribune-Democrat’s Offensive Player of the Year.
“I was pretty surprised,” Newton said. “I thought I had a pretty good year and I’m happy to be in the situation. I got a few more opportunities this year than I did when I was a sophomore because the coaches knew me a little better. Our line was one of the bigger ones in the conference. They were very talented and I give them a lot of the credit.”
Newton was also selected to The Associated Press All-State team as a second teamer.
Fetzer says Newton’s strongest attribute is that he is a team player.
“He recognizes how important the rest of the team is and is very complimentary to the players around him,” Fetzer said. “He’s a humble kid, not a showman. He is a hard worker and wants to try to continue to get better. He never flaunted anything.”
Penn Cambria finished 5-5 in the regular season in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference, and lost 21-14 to District 6 Class AA champion Central in the first round of the playoffs.
“We definitely could have done a lot better,” the Panthers standout said. “We made some mistakes, but we pulled through in some other games.”
Newton said that the team’s biggest win was a 14-13 Week 3 victory over Central Cambria.
“It was fun to play in the mud in that game and I’m glad we got the (Goal Post) trophy back,” Newton said.
The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Newton had at least 100 yards per game in 10 of the Panthers 11 contests, garnering just 92 once, in a 23-12 loss against Bishop Guilfoyle in Week 5. Newton doubled his offensive production from 2007.
“If you look at his stats, he usually had between 22 to 25 carries per game,” Fetzer said. “Teams knew he was getting the football. They ran different defenses against him. Without him in the lineup, we would have had a much harder time winning games. We have to figure out new ways to make him productive next year.”
On defense, Newton showed the same adaptability, moving from safety to outside linebacker to wherever he was asked to play. He finished with 94 tackles, including 55 solo stops and two sacks. He also punted part of the time and served as the team’s quick kicker.
Newton’s selection as offensive player of the year came two seasons after Penn Cambria’s Matt Holsberger rushed to the honor.
“Newton and Holsberger are similar players in that both of them are fairly quick, have nice size and run hard,” Fetzer said. “We have been blessed with some talented kids at Penn Cambria.”
High School Sports
T-D All-Area Offensive Player of the Year: Multi-talented Panther was a force at many spots
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Richland's Lumley settles for pair of silver medals
Paige Lumley was on an emotional roller coaster and seeing silver on Saturday at the PIAA Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg University.
The Richland senior had state record jumps twice during the triple jump competition, but ended up with a silver–medal leap of 40 feet,
1¾ inches.
Defending state champion, second-seeded junior Lanae Newsome of Brookville, won with a jump of 40-3½. -
Ridge’s Dull takes second with school-record time
Matt Dull finished his athletic career with his best on Saturday at the PIAA Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg University.
The Chestnut Ridge senior ran a career-best time of 38.12 to finish second in the 300 hurdles final, also setting another school record. -
Young takes silver in state triple jump
Chestnut Ridge senior Michael Young capped six years of triple jumping with a silver medal Friday on the first day of the PIAA Track and Field Championships at Seth Grove Stadium on the campus of Shippensburg University.
Young had a career-best leap of 45-9¼ just behind Jared Horne of Schuylkill Valley whose winning jump was 46-9. -
Forest Hills’ Smay places fifth in Class AA long jump
Brooke Smay is moving on up.
The Forest Hills junior earned a fifth-place position in the Class AA long jump with a leap of 17 feet, 3 ½ inches Friday on the first day of the PIAA Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg University. -
Bishop McCort wins District 6-A baseball crown
Bishop McCort truly won the District 6 Class A baseball championship as a team on Friday at Peoples Natural Gas Field.
There were more than a few huge plays. Of course a number of individuals stepped up to secure a 3-1 victory over LHAC rival Bishop Guilfoyle. -
Somerset denied 6-AAA baseball title
Hollidaysburg pitcher Dom Viduya and his Golden Tigers teammates beat defending champion Somerset 3-1 in Thursday’s District 6 Class AAA championship game at Peoples Natural Gas Field.
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Pitcher's 'bad day' results in no-hitter
Bridgit Yothers struggled on the mound on Thursday.
But the Chestnut Ridge right-hander was able to persevere through her issues, throwing a no-hitter against Bedford in their District 5 Class AA semifinal and helping the Lions to a 5-0 victory. -
Local athletes look to shine at PIAA track and field meet
Each of the nearly 50 area athletes who will be competing at this weekend’s PIAA Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg University, will be looking for his or her best performance of the season, but only the top eight finishers in each event for both boys and girls will stand on the podium in front of the crowd at Seth Grove Stadium.
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Westmont, Somerset represented at PIAA Class AA tennis tourney
The PIAA Class AA tennis tournament showcases the top players in the state, which includes three area athletes, when it begins today at the Hershey Racquet Club.
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Corridini’s hit propels Shade
Tasha Corridini had been having a tough time at the plate on Wednesday.
The Shade leftfielder had struck out twice in her prior two at-bats against Shanksville-Stonycreek pitcher Kayla Stockenus.
But in the bottom of the seventh of a scoreless game with Kaily Karl on first, Corridini clubbed a triple out to the fence, scoring Karl and giving the Panthers a walk-off 1-0 win over the Vikings in a District 5 Class A softball quarterfinal. - More High School Sports Headlines
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