By Scott Huff
Surprise – surprise.
The two biggest surprises in the second round of the PIAA Quad-A second round games came in the same game - #22 Central Bucks West wins and #6 Plymouth Whitemarsh loses. Both head coach Adam Sherman of CB West and Jim Donofrio of Plymouth Whitemarsh expressed pregame that tempo just might dictate who wins this game – and the 37-35 Buck victory is proof of that assessment.
The victory propelled Central Bucks West into the state quarterfinal round – and the road warriors from Doylestown will now travel to Chester County to meet #14 West Chester Rustin. The Bucks – in addition to being guaranteed a state playoff berth – will compete for a District One title.
The loss jettisons Plymouth Whitemarsh into the dreaded ‘playback bracket’ and will compete with seven other teams for the two remaining state playoff spots. That journey will begin when the Colonials will host Suburban One League American Conference rival - #30 Wissahickon. The winner of moves on – the loser is done.
In addition to CB West, the SOL had two other teams advance to the PIAA Quad-A District One quarterfinal round as both #7 Abington and #5 Pennsbury collected second round victories. Both the SOL National Conference champion Ghosts and the SOL-National runner-up Falcons need wins over #2 Chester and #4 Spring-Ford respectively to advance to the District One semifinals at Temple next week.
#18 Souderton also finds itself in the ‘playback bracket’ and will play #23 Haverford in a single elimination game. If the Indians win – the Big Red would play the winner of the PW-Wissahickon game.
#7 Upper Moreland will begin its quest of a PIAA Class AAA District One championship on the road with a quarterfinal game against # 2 Lower Moreland.
Stay tuned.
And the beat goes on…
#5 Pennsbury Falcons (20-4) @ # 4 Spring-Ford Rams (21-2)
PIAA Quad-A Quarterfinal Game
District One Playoff Resume: Pennsbury opened district playoff play with an 81-68 win over # 28 Academy Park and followed with a 67-50 victory over #12 Oxford. In the win over Oxford, Mekhi Bryant led the Falcons with a 19-point scoring performance, while Cameron Jones (17) and Steve Ciotti (16) also scored in twin digits. Spring-Ford opened district play with a 72-66 win over # 22 Kennett and followed with a 61-48 victory over # 20 Harriton. In the win over Harriton, Alex Epps Ortiz led the Rams with a 16-point scoring effort, while Nick Stanek (13) and Gary Hopkins (10) also scored in double digits.
Pennsbury head coach Bill Coleman says: “We have to forget the fact that we beat them (75-60) earlier in the season and just worry about Friday night. It is our first away playoff game, but at least we played them there this year. We will be very familiar with the surroundings, and we know what to expect. Spring-Ford is a team with a good mix of players and balance. It is a tough matchup for us. Our ultimate goal is to get to Villanova (District One final) and we know that we can only take one step at a time. We have shared the ball lately, and with Mekhi (Bryant), Cam (Jones), Steve (Ciotti), and Derrick (Woods), it is extremely difficult for a team to focus on any one player.”
Winner Gets/Loser Gets: The winner of this game will play the winner of the #1 Conestoga vs. #9 Lower Merion game at Temple University in the PIAA Quad-A semifinals. The loser of this game will play the loser of the Conestoga/Lower Merion to determine seeding for the state playoffs.
#7 Abington Ghosts (21-3) @ #2 Chester Clippers (19-5)
PIAA Quad-A Quarterfinal Game
District One Playoff Resume: Abington opened district playoff play with a 61-44 win over #26 North Penn and followed with a 53-34 victory over #23 Haverford. In the win over Haverford, Matt Penecale led the Ghosts with a 126-point scoring performance, while Anthony Lee (13) and Amir Hinton (10) scored in twin digits. Chester opened district playoff play with a 76-45 win over #31 West Chester Henderson and followed with a 64-33 victory over #18 Souderton. In the win over Souderton, Mahir Johnson led the Clippers with a 15-point scoring effort, while Tyrell Sturdivant (10) also scored in double digits.
Abington head coach Charles Grasty says: “The players are really looking forward to the challenge of playing Chester at Chester. They hear all about what a challenge it is going to be, and these players accept that challenge. This is a very special team with a very special chemistry. They really like to be around one another – they hang out with each other outside of basketball – and they really want to do something special for Abington basketball. After we beat Haverford, the players congratulated themselves for making states, but there is a much bigger goal that they want to accomplish. They have worked hard all season to prove that we could be one of the best teams in the district, and right now we’re playing with a little chip on our shoulder. And I like that.”
Winner Gets/ Loser Gets: The winner of this game will play the winner of the #14 West Chester Rustin vs. #22 Central Bucks West game at Temple University in the PIAA Quad-A semifinals. The loser of this game will play the loser of the Rustin/West game to determine seeding for the state playoffs.
# 22 Central Bucks West Bucks @ # 14 West Chester Rustin Golden Knights
PIAA Quad-A Quarterfinal Game
District One Playoff Resume: Central Bucks West opened district play with a 58-50 win over #11 Penncrest and followed with a 37-35 victory over #6 Plymouth Whitemarsh. In the win over Plymouth Whitemarsh, Jared Kelly led the Bucks with a 16-point scoring performance, whole Pat Kelley (12) also scored in twin digits. West Chester Rustin opened district play with a 67-54 win over # 19 Radnor and followed with a 73-41 victory over # 30 Wissahickon. In the win over Wissahickon, Andrew Chobany led the Golden Knights with a 21-point scoring effort, while Ethan Ridgeway (16), Chris Richardson (10), and Matt McCarrick (10) also scored in double figures.
Central Bucks head coach Adam Sherman says: “We are very excited to know that we are going to be in the state playoffs, and our goal right now is to get to the Final Four (at Temple). We are jelling at the right time, and the funny thing about this team is that we seem to play much better on the road. We want to be able to go out on the floor and play our game – control the tempo – and that doesn’t mean we are always going to slow things down. In our scouting, we determine the best direction to go against any particular team. The bottom line is either to score more points than the other team – or have the other team score less than you do. It can be that simple. West Chester Rustin has a great point guard (Ethan Ridgeway) and some other weapons. It will be a tough challenge for our players.”
Winner Gets/Loser Gets: The winner of this game will play the winner of the #2 Chester vs. #7 Abington game at Temple University in the PIAA Quad-A semifinals. The loser of this game will play the loser of the Chester/Abington game to determine seeding for the state playoffs.
# 23 Haverford Fords @ # 18 Souderton Indians
PIAA Quad-A Playback Game
District One Playoff Resume: Haverford opened district play with a 55-39 victory over #10 Upper Darby and followed with a 53-34 loss to Abington. In the loss to Abington, the Fords were led in scoring by Alex Shippen with 15 points, while Spencer Dickler (14) also scored in double digits. Souderton opened district play with a 44-33 victory over #15 Pennridge and followed with a 64-33 loss to #2 Chester. In the loss to Chester, the Indians were led in scoring by Carter Knight with a team-high 13 points.
Souderton head coach Pete Chimera says: “Losing to Chester at Chester was quite an experience for our players. It was a tough loss, but a great experience. The fact that we get a home playoff game is great for our seniors. Haverford is a team that is very much like us – they play hard with discipline and a lot of enthusiasm. This has been a crazy year, and nothing has come easy for us this year. Friday night shouldn’t be much different.
Winner Gets/Loser Goes Home: The winner of this game will play the winner of the #6 Plymouth Whitemarsh vs. #30 Wissahickon in the second round of the playback bracket. The loser of this game will have its season end.
# 30 Wissahickon Trojans (14-10) @ # 6 Plymouth Whitemarsh (20-4)
PIAA Quad-A Playback Game
District One Playoff Resume: Wissahickon opened district play with a 55-51 win over #3 Great Valley and followed with a 73-41 loss to #14 West Chester Rustin. In the loss to Rustin, the Trojans were led in scoring by Chase Wilson with a 13-point performance, while Chris Vila (10) also scored in twin digits. Plymouth Whitemarsh opened district play with a 66-48 win over #27 Downingtown East and followed with a 37-35 loss to #22 Central Bucks West. In the loss to CB West, the Colonials were led in scoring by Jimmy Murray with 16 points, while Andre Mitchell added eight points for PW.
Wissahickon head coach Kyle Wilson says: “The worst thing about losing to Rustin is that we didn’t compete the way we can. There was a lack of focus in the practice before the game, and we played like we practiced. Now we have to decide how badly we want to continue playing – and we are going to have to beat a team that is one of the top teams in the district. They beat us twice – embarrassed us the last time we played (80-44) – and PW seems to have our number. The good thing going into the game is that we have had a couple of good practices. And that is a good sign.”
Winner Gets / Loser Goes Home: The winner of this game will play the winner of the game between #18 Souderton and #23 Haverford in a second round playback game. The loser of this game will have its season ended.
#7 Upper Moreland Golden Bears (6-16) @ #2 Lower Moreland Lions (15-7)
PIAA Class AAA Quarterfinals
Saturday – 1:30 pm
Season Resume: Upper Moreland finished the regular season in sixth place in the Suburban One League American Conference. Lower Moreland finished the regular season as the third place finisher in the Bicentennial League Independence Conference.
Players To Watch: Upper Moreland features Kevin McFall, Chris Corr, James Martin, Pat Driscoll, and Brandon O’Donnell. Lower Moreland features Nick Cerruti, Matt Cerruti, Danny Duffy, Richard Rhoads, and Stefan Zoubroulis.
Upper Moreland head coach Brian Corrado says: “This is a game with two very evenly matched teams. We both like to play hard – play team defense – and execute on offense. The team that dictates the tempo, gets to the 50/50 balls, rebounds and creates turnovers is going to win this game. We played them the first game of the season and beat them (45-42) at the buzzer in overtime on a 3-pointer by Chris Corr. We are both different teams than we were then, but I expect the game to be just as close.”
Winner Gets/Loser Goes Home: The winner of this game will play the winner of the #3 Pope John Paul II game versus #6 Pottsgrove. The loser of this game will have its season end.
- Log in to post comments
