Marian's Olivia Serfass dribbles the ball up the floor during Saturday's non-league win over Allentown Central Catholic. The Fillies will host the Marian Christmas Tournament on Friday and Saturday in Hometown (Photo by James Gelatko).

Holiday tournaments are a regular occurrence for local high school basketball teams.

Such will be the case this weekend as Marian, Pine Grove and Williams Valley will host day-long events Friday and Saturday and the Minersville and North Schuylkill girls will venture out of the county in the hopes of winning a tournament title.

While Pine Grove’s Cardinal Classic and the annual WQLV Tournament are mainstays every holiday season, the Marian Christmas Tournament is a new addition to the local scene. The Hometown school will host a boys’ tournament consisting of Jim Thorpe, MMI Prep, Panther Valley and the host Colts, while the girls’ tournament will feature Jim Thorpe, New Hope-Solebury, Oley Valley and the host Fillies.

The Cardinal Classic will include Lehigh Valley Charter, Salem Christian, Schuylkill Valley and Pine Grove on the boys’ side and ELCO, Fleetwood, Shenandoah Valley and Pine Grove in the girls’ bracket.

The WQLV Tournament, which has been called the Love 99 Tournament in the past, features Millersburg, Tri-Valley, Upper Dauphin and Williams Valley every winter, with the site rotating among the schools. This year it’s at Williams Valley.

The Minersville girls will compete in the Shamokin Tournament along with Mount Carmel, Southern Columbia and the host Indians.

North Schuylkill makes its annual trip to State College for the State College Holiday Hardwood Tournament. This is a loaded bracket, with the Spartans (5-0) facing Downingtown West (5-0) in Friday’s opening round. The other two teams are Linville Hill Christian (7-0) and State College (7-1).

Opening-round games in every tournament are slated for Friday, with the first-round losers playing in the consolation game Saturday and the winners meeting for the championship Saturday.

Here’s a list of all the Christmas/Holiday tournament involving local teams this weekend:

FRIDAY

GIRLS

Cardinal Classic (at Pine Grove) — ELCO vs. Shenandoah Valley, 4 p.m.; Pine Grove vs. Fleetwood, 5:30 p.m.

Marian Christmas Tournament — Oley Valley vs. New Hope-Solebury, 1 p.m.; Marian vs. Jim Thorpe, 3 p.m.

WQLV Tournament (at Williams Valley) — Tri-Valley vs. Millersburg, 3 p.m.; Williams Valley vs. Upper Dauphin, 6 p.m.

Shamokin Tournament — Mount Carmel vs. Southern Columbia, 4:30 p.m.; Shamokin vs. Minersville, 6 p.m.

State College Holiday Hardwood Tournament — North Schuylkill vs. Downingtown West, 2:30 p.m.; Linville Hill Christian vs. State College, 5:30 p.m.

BOYS

Cardinal Classic (at Pine Grove) — Lehigh Valley Charter vs. Schuylkill Valley, 1 p.m.; Pine Grove vs. Salem Christian, 2:30 p.m.

Marian Christmas Tournament — Panther Valley vs. Jim Thorpe, 5 p.m.; Marian vs. MMI Prep, 7 p.m.

WQLV Tournament (at Williams Valley) — Tri-Valley vs. Millersburg, 4:30 p.m.; Williams Valley vs. Upper Dauphin, 7:30 p.m.

SATURDAY

GIRLS

Cardinal Classic (at Pine Grove) — Consolation, 1:30 p.m.; Championship, 4:30 p.m.

Marian Christmas Tournament — Consolation, 1 p.m.; Championship, 5 p.m.

WQLV Tournament (at Williams Valley) — Consolation, 3 p.m.; Championship, 6 p.m.

Shamokin Tournament — Consolation, 3 p.m.; Championship, 6 p.m.

State College Holiday Hardwood Tournament — Consolation/Championship, TBA

BOYS

Cardinal Classic (at Pine Grove) — Consolation, noon; Championship, 3 p.m.

Marian Christmas Tournament — Consolation, 3 p.m.; Championship, 7 p.m.

WQLV Tournament (at Williams Valley) — Consolation, 4:30 p.m.; Championship, 7:30 p.m.

Super 7 Basketball Polls

The inaugural T102 Sports Now Super 7 Boys’ Basketball Poll and T102 Sports Now Super 7 Girls’ Basketball Poll will be unveiled Sunday, Jan. 5.

We did not put together a preseason Super 7 poll, instead compiling Schuylkill League boys’ and girls’ coaches’ polls for each division at media day.

You can find the results of those polls here:

Boys’ polls — https://www.t102sportsnow.com/2024/11/24/bears-tide-toppers-headline-sports-now-preseason-coaches-boys-poll/

Girls’ polls — https://www.t102sportsnow.com/2024/11/26/raiders-fillies-top-t102-sports-now-schuylkill-league-girls-basketball-coaches-poll/

Blue Mountain to host diving invitational

Blue Mountain will be the site for what it is believed to be the first-ever Schuylkill League Diving Invitational (is that the name?) set for Sunday, Jan. 19, at the Glen Belmont Natatorium.

The event will be an 11-dive competition, which is different than the usual six-dive competition held at regular dual meets throughout the season.

The event was put together due to the PIAA and District 11 now basing qualifying for the district meet on an 11-dive score. The only time local divers — before this event was created — compete in an 11-dive event is the Schuylkill League Diving Championships.

The new event, which I would guess is open to any diver from the Schuylkill League and surrounding areas, gives them a chance to compete in another 11-dive competition.

The event is still in its planning stages. More details will follow.

Hartranft hired at Hamburg 

Pottsville offensive coordinator Tyler Hartranft was hired Dec. 5 as the new head football coach at Hamburg Area High School.

Hartranft, a 2011 Blue Mountain grad and former standout quarterback for the Eagles, was the offensive coordinator with the Hawks in 2022 and 2023 before coming to Pottsville this past fall as part of Mike Brennan’s staff.

A special education teacher in the Hamburg district, Hartranft replaces Matt Hoffert, who stepped down after three seasons at the helm.

“Hamburg Area School District is excited to announce Mr. Tyler Hartranft as our next head football coach,” Hamburg Area Superintendent of Schools Dr. Christopher Beissel wrote in announcing the hire. “Coach Hartranft, a special education teacher at Hamburg Area High School, has a proven track record of both playing and coaching football at a high level. His knowledge of the sport, energy, work ethic and ability to build positive and lasting relationships will be invaluable to developing our student-athletes for success both on and off the field. We are excited about Coach Hartranft’s vision for the program and know he will be a tremendous asset to our school community.”

4 area players earn Mini Max Awards

Blue Mountain’s Gaige Guers, Marian’s Michael Gelatko, Nativity’s Noah Dolbin and Schuylkill Haven’s Leyden Hertz were among 55 high school football players from Pennsylvania to receive the prestigious Mini Max Award for 2024.

The awards, selected by the Maxwell Football Club, were unveiled Monday.

Established in 1985, the Mini Max Awards are a prestigious honor bestowed upon the top high school football players from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. The awards highlight the exceptional performances of student-athletes who have demonstrated remarkable skill, leadership and dedication throughout the season.

The four local players chosen will be honored at the annual Mini Max Awards Dinner on Sunday, Feb. 2, in Drexel Hill.

Guers (Kutztown) and Hertz (East Stroudsburg) recently announced their college choices while Dolbin (Army) and Gelatko (Buffalo) signed NCAA Division I letters of intent in November.

Congratulations to all four recipients.

PA Football Writers’ All-State Teams coming this weekend

The annual Pennsylvania Football Writers’ All-State Teams will be released this weekend.

The Class A, 3A and 5A teams will be unveiled Friday, with the Class 2A, 4A and 6A squads coming Saturday. The PFW All-State Teams are selected through nominations and voting done by football writers from all across the state, including T102SportsNow.com.

The teams will be released at specific times each day: 10 a.m., noon, 2 p.m. Stay tuned to www.T102SportsNow.com and our social media sites at those times to find out which local players were selected.