The following article is sponsored on behalf of the Council Rock North boys’ basketball team by Triumph Physical Therapy of Newtown. To read about their services, please visit their web site by clicking on the following link: http://triumphpt.com/
By Mary Jane Souder
Council Rock North-Council Rock South.
This is always the big one.
“Nothing beats North-South competition in any sport,” Rock North senior Matt Margolis said. “I play football and baseball, and nothing beats it.
“It’s what you circle on your calendar.”
The date they’ve circled on their calendars has arrived. On Friday night, the seniors will take the hardwood for their final go-round against their neighboring rival.
“There’s definitely excitement,” senior Drew Glenn said. “Going into warm-ups, you’re getting dressed with your boys, you’re relaxing, you know it’s the North-South game, and you always have that in the back of your mind.
“It’s a great environment to play in. You have fans rooting for you, you have fans rooting against you. You know most of the players on South, and it’s always good to play them. They’re going to come into our home court ready to have a war, and we have to fight back. It’s my last year. I want to leave winning.”
The Indians defeated the Golden Hawks 43-27 on Jan. 6, but they know that doesn’t mean a whole lot. Last year, Rock North won the initial meeting between the two teams 56-39 only to have the Golden Hawks hand them a 52-48 loss in the late-season rematch on the Indians’ home court.
“We’re excited to have a shot at South,” senior Steve Nowmos said. “It’s always a big rivalry game, especially after having lost to them last year. “
This game pits friend against friend, teammate against teammate.
“A couple of guys on South – Danny Buchnik and Matt Stewart – were my AAU teammates,” Margolis said. “Bryce Bundy and Tom Boyd, the (Rock South) assistant coaches, are my AAU coaches.
“Matt Stewart didn’t play the last time, but this time he’ll be there, so it should be fun to compete against them and make memories.”
Margolis, Nowmos and Glenn are tri-captains of an Indians’ squad that sprinted out of the gate to a 7-2 mark in December but then dropped three straight, including a pair of heartbreakers at the buzzer to Glenn Mills and Bensalem.
“The loss to Glenn Mills – although it was a tough one because we lost in the last five seconds and had a shot to win it and just barely missed – I think they really felt good about how they played,” coach Derek Wright said. “We really stress the importance of not letting the score dictate whether or not we won the game, so to speak.
“Bensalem was a tough one because we didn’t play our best, we were winning the whole game, and their first lead was at the buzzer. It was a 30-footer. Bensalem outplayed us at the end, and I think it hurt our guys a little bit.
“We just want to make sure we kept communicating with the guys that they’re doing a lot of good things too and not to focus on just a couple of those tough endings but keep in mind that we’re doing a lot of really good things that are putting us in that position.”
Wright pointed to the leadership of his three senior captains as significant.
“They have a lot of responsibility in terms of leadership as well as their play on the court,” Wright said. “They’ve still been very consistent in their effort and enthusiasm in practice every day.”
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This year’s senior class – which includes Drew Glenn, Matt Margolis, Steve Nowmos, Matt Chandlee, Luv Popli, David Hills and Elonas Marcauskus – has the distinction of being part of the first ninth grade class after the district chose to cut the ninth grade program.
“We’ve included the ninth graders as part of our jayvee team, and they’re the first group to go through that,” Wright said. “They’re really good kids.
“They made it through the process of sitting the bench as freshman, getting some time of jayvee as sophomores, getting a little bit of varsity time last year and finally getting their shot to lead a varsity team.”
Talk to the players, and it’s clear they didn’t mind the challenge of becoming part of the program as freshmen.
“First off, I saw it as an opportunity because I was excited coming in to be part of such a great basketball program,” Margolis said. “I was just excited, maybe a little intimidated because you didn’t know to expect as far as being a jayvee player as a ninth grader because you knew it was a big step going from eighth grade.
“Coaches expect a lot out of you. You have to grow up a little faster, but I think we did pretty well. We grew up fast, we took on the challenge.”
It didn’t take long to find out that the speed of the game was faster, and it also was a lot more physical.
“I think we were still in our ninth grade bodies and ninth grade mindsets, but I think also with the physicality of practices every day – our jayvee team did a lot of running, a lot of conditioning, and that had an impact on us,” said Margolis, a three-year varsity player. “We realized – you have to be in good condition to compete at any level in high school.”
According to Nowmos, a two-year starter who saw some varsity time as a sophomore, playing jayvee as a freshman was a unique opportunity.
“I think it was beneficial for us because it threw us right into the fire,” he said. “We had to adapt, and we grew a lot from that.”
Glenn points to working against Josh McWilliams – one year his senior – as a key to his development as a freshman.
“It’s a big jump going from eighth grade to freshman year because you’re playing against older kids, you’re playing against stronger kids than you,” he said. “You have to do something to show them you’re good enough to go on the court as a freshman.
“I knew my role my freshman year. I knew that I had to be a bench player, a practice player and just work hard and show them what I got. I didn’t play that much freshman year on the jayvee team, but I guarded Josh McWilliams at practice, and he made me a better player.”
By the time he was a sophomore, Glenn was seeing playing time, and he went on to become a starter and captain for this year’s squad.
“That’s how it works,” he said. “You always have to do the time to get the time. No matter what, you just have to keep working hard at what you’re doing.”
Glenn, Margolis and Nowmos are providing positive leadership to this year’s squad, and their attitude is reflected in their response to the tough losses.
“We did have a couple of tough games, but overall, this team is improving,” Margolis said. “Even if we lose, our effort and attitude is always there, and that’s something we focus on.
“There were times where we didn’t execute, and that just takes a little practice time. There are a couple of new guys on the team, and we had to get used to working together. Overall, I really like how this team is improving, working together.
“We’re all unselfish players, we all really could care less who takes the credit for a win as long as we come out with a win. We’re really team oriented which is what I like.”
“We just try to focus on what we can control and try to keep everybody’s spirits up,” Nowmos said. “You just play hard and do what you can and focus on the stuff you can control.”
Added Glenn, “Our coach always tells us – as long as we get better, we’ve met our goal.”
It’s a philosophy the Indians will carry into Friday night’s ‘White Out’ game against Council Rock South in a rivalry game that – according to the players – is second to none.
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