Pioneers hold second tryout camp
Michael Balakier
Wednesday December 5, 2001
Among the participants in the afternoon session were local standouts Damon Saxon, the former King’s College running back that led Division III in rushing last year, and Berwick High School graduate Chris Orlando, whose brother, Bo, played with four NFL teams.
Pioneer head coach Terry Karg was very pleased with the second tryout, which 49 participants took part in. “I’m really happy with the second session. We had a good turnout with lots of local talent,” said Karg, who earned a roster spot on the CFL`s B.C. Lions through a local tryout. “From day one I said I was on a search to find some local guys who will help win football games.”
Orlando couldn’t agree with Karg more. “The Wyoming Valley has always been a great place for football talent,” said Orlando. Orlando, who lat played football at Lackawanna Junior College and Bloomsburg University, seemed optimistic about playing football again. “I’d like to try it one more time,” he said. “If it doesn’t work out, I’ll hang it up.”
In addition to the local talent, former Af2 kicker Lee McDonald also was on hand in hopes of landing a spot on the training camp roster. McDonald had played for the Norfolk Nighthawks after a college career at Rutgers University.
Although no dates have been set, the Pioneers tentatively have plans for holding their third and fourth tryout camps in January and February, respectively, before the start of training camp in March.
The Pioneers also should be signing a few players from Saturday’s tryout to the training camp roster in the near future. If Saturday’s tryout was any indication of the caliber of player that will be wearing a Pioneer uniform this spring, then Wilkes-Barre/Scranton fans should be looking forward to an explosive season.
Michael Balakier first discovered a knack for writing during his senior year in high school while reporting for his school`s newspaper. Aside from being an Arenaball fan, Michael is an avid Syracuse University athletics follower, which poses a problem for him, as he attends the University of Pittsburgh. Michael plans on using what he has learned through his Arenafan experience to remain as impartial as he can during future Syracuse/Pitt events. Michael also serves as co-Editor of the af2 section of Arenafan Online.
