Northwestern Press

It's hard not to take notice of Sabrina Mertz's and Sarah Segan's relationship.

The two spent nearly every high school sports season competing with one another, by each other's side. The 2013 track and field season was the exception, as Segan didn't take on the sport until 2014. But for all four years, it was soccer in the spring and basketball in the winter, with Mertz and Segan side by side. The two even grew up playing on similar youth teams.

Cam Richardson leaves Northwestern Lehigh High School having left his mark on the sports program.

Richardson played a key role in turning around the football program that earned an Eastern Conference title in the 2013 season and a district championship this past season.

In track, Richardson collected two medals in this year's district events, finishing fourth in the 100-meter and second in the 200.

Incoming-junior Robbie Seyfried can be looked at as the wildcard for the Northwestern boys basketball team.

While Parker Jones and Brady Mengel are the only two returning Tigers that saw significant varsity court time last year, head coach Billy Hallman expects a lot out of his underclassmen heading into this year, but maybe no one more than Seyfried.

After a three-day stint in West Virginia for a team camp that saw Northwestern compete in six games, the Tigers returned home and resumed play on the local summer hoops scene this week.

It looked as if they rode that momentum from the weekend, at least early on in Tuesday night's contest.

In the days of practice heading up to Thursday night's game, the Red Team's defense looked impressive and crisp against its offensive counterparts. But that defensive players were not sure if they were as dominant as advertised.

Judging by their performance in the actual game, that question was answered in convincing fashion.

If finding scoring on the offensive end of the court isn't Northwestern's main focus at this point in the offseason, it's certainly a key aspect right now.

The Tigers, who graduated a number of their top scorers from the winter, have struggled to consistently score throughout their summer season in the Stellar Construction Summer League. That issue became evident once again on Tuesday night.

The task that lies ahead for second-year head coach Billy Hallman is a lofty one.

After guiding the Northwestern boys basketball team to one of its better seasons in recent memory, Hallman will have to replace much of that senior-laden team. In all, 10 seniors graduated from the winter.

The 34th Annual Lions All-Star Soccer Classic's boys game may have rained out last Sunday, May 31. But there was a bright spot in the day for Northwestern Lehigh senior Brandon Herb.

The Tiger all-star player was the recipient of the Award of Excellence scholarship, which he was awarded for scholastic leadership, community service and soccer achievements.

Herb was one of two boys chosen for this scholarship. He and his family are invited to attend a lunch on June 14th where he will receive a $250 scholarship award and plaque.

The PIAA's Strategic Planning and Football Steering Committee presented eight different classification proposals last month for athletic directors to chew on in regards to the future of high school football across the state of Pennsylvania.

All of the proposals passed the first reading during the May 20 meeting, which Whitehall Athletic Director and District 11 chairman Bob Hartman fully expected.

"The PIAA just wants to keep things moving along," Hartman said. "We'll meet again in July and go from there, but as of right now, there's nothing official."

The 2015 McDonald's All-Star Football Classic will kick off its 45th edition Thursday at 7 p.m. at Nazareth's Andrew S. Leh Stadium.

The Gold team (Northampton County, Palisades and Phillipsburg will be coached by Phil Stambaugh (Pius X), while the Red team (Lehigh, Carbon and Monroe) will be led by Stroudsburg's Jim Miller.

It was the first win by the Lehigh County led team since 2008, as both teams settled for a 7-7 tie in the 2010 affair.

GOLD ROSTER

PLAYER SCHOOL HGT WGT POS.

Alex Annan Phillipsburg 5'11" 195 LB

Nolan Kilpatrick Easton 5'9" 215 LB