More complete Kratzer has been at center of Palmerton’s hot streak

It is not a coincidence that Palmerton’s rise to prominence as a Colonial League boys basketball program began about the time Kody Kratzer started wearing a Blue Bombers varsity uniform.

“Kody’s contribution to the program has been remarkable,” Palmerton coach Ken Termini said. “When his class started, we had lost 14 straight games to Lehighton and the other night we beat them for the third time in four years. We’ve been to districts with at least 11 wins each of the last four years. Kody has played such a huge part in all of this.”

Kratzer has also played a significant role in the Blue Bombers’ nine-game winning streak they will take into next week’s league tournament.

He may have only scored 13 points against Saucon Valley and 12 against Lehighton, but Kratzer, who is one of the area’s top scorers at 21.1 points per game, is doing much more than scoring.

Kratzer, who went over the 1,000-point mark in his career earlier this season, is averaging a teamhigh 7.9 rebounds per game and leads Palmerton with 63 assists and is second with 22 steals.

“Kody has shown tremendous growth as an on-court leader,” Termini said. “He’s involving more of his teammates and making great decisions as to when to drive, draw and dish. That’s a big part of us getting better. We might be a better team when Kody scores a little less and more people are involved. So, even though he had recent games where he scored under 15 points, he was still fantastic in those games with his mental approach and leadership.”

Palmerton is 7-2 in the Colonial League and will be one of the teams involved in the eight-team league tournament set to begin Monday night with quarterfinal games at the home gym of the four highest seeds.

Settling seeds

Notre Dame was scheduled to play a rare league doubleheader Friday with a 4 p.m. game against Southern Lehigh and a 6 p.m. contest against Northern Lehigh.

Both games were victims of our latest snowstorm. Crusaders coach Pat Boyle said his team wants to get in as many games possible and especially wanted to play two-time defense Colonial League champ Southern Lehigh. So, that game has been rescheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at Notre Dame.

That game will have an impact on finalizing the seeds for the league tournament. Notre Dame, Northwestern, Bangor, Palmerton and Southern Lehigh all enter Saturday with either one or two league losses.

While they are all in the tournament along with Salisbury, Wilson and Palisades, the seeds are important since the top four seeds host quarterfinal round games on Monday and could be in line to host semifinal contests on Wednesday. Friday’s title game will likely be played at a neutral site.

District 11 schedule

Dates for which classes are playing on which nights have been decided for the upcoming District 11 tournament, which is an open tournament this year due to the pandemic.

The early rounds will feature games on the home courts of the higher seeds and culminate with title games at PPL Center in Allentown and Pottsville’s Martz Hall.

The schedule overview:

March 2: 3A and 6A boys pigtail round

March 3: 4A and 5A boys quarterfinals

March 4: 3A and 6A boys quarterfinals

March 5: 2A and 4A boys quarterfinals

March 6: 1A boys quarterfinals, 3A and 5A semifinals March 8: 4A boys semifinals; 6A semifinals at PPL Center

March 9: 2A boys semifinals; 3A and 5A boys championship games at PPL Center

March 10: 1A boys semifinals

March 11: 4A and 6A boys championship games at PPL Center

March 12: 2A boys championship at Martz Hall March 13: 1A boys championship at Martz Hall