Expert marksmanship was on display in Bethlehem as the Patriots of Liberty High School welcomed the Southern Lehigh Spartans. Both squads took aim at an opening day victory, but the Spartans were a bit sharper as Southern Lehigh nipped Liberty 498-496 in an seesaw affair.
For those unfamiliar with the sport, there are ten shooters per team. Each team has two shooters compete, simultaneously, in fifteen minute relays. The shooters lie down in prone position with rifles that weigh ten pounds and eject twenty-two caliber rounds. The shooters are given three minutes to settle in before they fire for points, and are permitted some practice shots, known as "dry shots" which do not release rounds.
The targets they are shooting at contain eleven, round smaller targets, known as "bulls".The shooter must begin with the bull in the middle/center and work his way out. A shooter is permitted one shot per bull and is aided by a "sighter", a coach or teammate who calls out their progress and advises the shooter on sight adjustments. "Counter" is yelled out if adjustments need to be made up or to the right. "Clock" is bellowed when adjustments are necessary to go up or to the left.
Find out what's happening in Upper Sauconfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The shooter fires one round and then reloads one round at a time. The ideal shot is an "X" which hits some portion of the dead center shooting bull. Each shooter begins the match with a score of one hundred which they strive to maintain with as many dead center shots as they can amass. Any shot that hits outside of dead center would lose points, the deduction dependent on the distance from center.
The Spartans' Tony Rizzuto, Jared Przelomski, and Adam Weaver all delivered scores of one hundred for winning Southern Lehigh. The Patriots had two perfect scores of their own, turned in by Jackie Aamoth and Nate Breiner. Liberty coach Jody Miller viewed the close loss as a learning experience." My kids have to take what they do in practice and carry it into the game." Spartans' coach Carl Crouse was very pleased with his teams' effort." I am really happy with the win, as we are young with only two seniors."