LOCAL

LOCAL
PIAA playoff gamespostponed
HERSHEY, Pa. -- The PIAA has postponed Saturday's Class AA and AAAA football championships until Sunday because of a winter storm.
Melissa Mertz, PIAA's assistant executive director, said PIAA officials made the decision Friday after talking with officials from all four schools involved, AA Northern Lehigh and Aliquippa and AAAA Central Catholic and North Penn.
"They were 100 percent in favor of going to Sunday," Mertz said.
This will be the first Sunday football championship in PIAA history; the organization had a rule forbidding Sunday games, but it was changed after a lawsuit in the 1990s. The last time the football championships were postponed was 1992, when the games were still played in Altoona and a blizzard forced them to wait a week.
Friday's games went on as scheduled.
Mooney grad Wildermakes regional team
BEREA -- Nate Wilder, a junior tight end for the Baldwin-Wallace College football team from Cardinal Mooney High, has been named to the 2003 Don Hansen's Football Gazette All-North Region Team.
Wilder, who previously was named to the All-Ohio Athletic Conference first team, had six touchdown catches this season which led the B-W team, and 20 receptions overall (for 294 yards) to tie for No. 4 on the team.
Hubbard grad lauded for academics
TWINSBURG -- Matt Kanetsky, a senior quarterback for Ohio Northern University football team from Hubbard High, has been named to the 2003 Academic All-Ohio Athletic Conference Football Team as an honorable mention.
Kanetsky, the Polar Bears' backup quarterback, achieved a 3.80 grade-point average as a major in biology and pre-medicine.
He completed 12 of 18 passes for 148 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions, and had an efficiency rating of 131.84. He also rushed three times for 6 yards.
Ohio Northern posted a 4-6 record, including 4-5 in the OAC.
B-W's Baker honored
TWINSBURG -- Sean Baker, a senior offensive tackle for the Baldwin-Wallace College football team from United Local High, has been named to the All-Ohio Athletic Conference Football Team as an honorable mention.
Baker (6-4, 265), a two-year starter from Hanoverton, helped the Yellow Jackets to a 10-2 record, including a second-place 8-1 in the OAC.
B-W was eliminated by Wheaton, 16-12, in a second-round game of the NCAA Division III playoffs.
Quad County all-stars
POLAND -- Six Poland High football players made the Quad County Football Coaches All-Star Team: QB Reid Lamport, K Shawn O'Halloran, WO Dave Koval, TE Dan McGarry, DB Anthony Brine and T Mike White.
REGION
Knutsen sent to Syracuse
COLUMBUS -- Columbus forward Espen Knutsen was sent to the Blue Jackets' top minor league team Friday.
Knutsen could either be traded or return to play in Europe, said Jim Clark, the Blue Jackets assistant general manager.
"Unfortunately for him, he's been prone to injury for the past couple of seasons," Clark said after Knutsen was assigned to Syracuse of the AHL. "We haven't been able to find a fit for him in the lineup."
Knutsen, a former All-Star, was the player who hit the deflected shot that led to the death of a 13-year-old girl last year.
His shot against Calgary on March 16, 2002, deflected off the stick of Flames defenseman Derek Morris and ricocheted over the end glass at Nationwide Arena. The puck struck Brittanie Cecil in the forehead. The girl died two days later.
Pirates outfielder Bayhas shoulder surgery
PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Jason Bay had surgery on his right shoulder and is expected to be ready for the start of the season. Bay complained of a pinching sensation in his right shoulder just before the season ended, and tests revealed the tear. The operation to repair his right labrum was performed about two weeks ago.
Staff/wire reports