Abington defeated Coatesville to capture the District One 6A title at Villanova University on Saturday night. Photos provided courtesy of Kathy Leister Photography. Check back for a gallery of photos.
By Scott Huff
Villanova – You don’t tug on Superman’s cape … you don’t spit into the wind…you don’t pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger… and you don’t mess around with….Robbie?
“I really believe that Robbie Heath was offended tonight,” said Abington head coach Charles Grasty after Heath stunned Coatesville with a remarkable 30-point performance as the Ghosts (24-4) collected the PIAA District One Class 6-A title with a 57-51 victory over the Red Raiders. “We knew that Coatesville would try to take (6-8 sophomore Eric) Dixon away, and Robbie took advantage of the opportunity.”
“I knew that I needed to help pick it up with the way they were playing Eric,” said Heath as the Raiders doubled and sometimes tripled Dixon in the paint. “I took some chances to help us get some momentum, and it worked out.”
Abington battled the Ches-Mont champion Raiders to a 33-33 deadlock after the first three periods. The fateful fourth quarter belonged to the SOL champion Ghosts.
The final period began for the winners with a spectacular set play that featured a thunderous dunk by senior Joseph O’Brien. O’Brien skied to the rim and finished off the play on a perfect pass from senior guard Rob Young.
“We normally run it after a timeout or at the beginning of a quarter,” smiled O’Brien. “Rob made a great pass – and it was an easy finish for me.”
“We needed some energy – and that play got us that energy,” said Grasty. “The fans and high school kids really like to see dunks, and we played very well right after that play.”
Abington ran off the first 11 points of the fourth period to transform a 33-33 tie to a 44-33 lead. Heath scored six of those 11 points. The closest Coatesville got was at the final buzzer as the Raiders scored the final four points of the game.
“I think we stepped it up defensively in the second half,” said Heath. “We didn’t want them to penetrate and get to the basket, and I thought our bigs (Dixon and O’Brien) played great.
“In the second half we began to play smart and make good decisions,” added Heath. “Coach always tells us that if we play hard the hard work will pay off.”
The payoff for Abington is its second district title in three years.
“I didn’t get to play in the title game two years ago,” said O’Brien. “I broke my foot and couldn’t play. This was my last chance to play in a district title game.”
“I feel really good for O’Brien and Young that they could experience this success,” said Grasty in reference to his senior captains. “They have been a huge part of this program the last few years.”
The run to the district championship was not without a pair of ugly black eyes. The Ghosts lost a pair of nonleague December games to Philadelphia Catholic League powers Archbishop Wood (71-46) and Neumann-Goretti (71-43).
“We challenged our guys to play some of the best teams in the area,” said Grasty. “People thought I was crazy to be playing teams like that, but I knew that it was going to help us down the line.
“To be able to win this game – and with the girls also winning the district championship tonight – is something that the community will remember for years,” added Grasty as an estimated 6,000 fans filled the Pavilion. “We embrace playing in games like this. Enjoy the moments – and remember that life is more important than basketball.”
“I wasn’t nervous coming down on the bus to the game,” said Heath. “But then we came out for warm ups – I looked around at all the people – and said ‘Holy Crap’.”
And as things turned out – Coatesville reluctantly said ‘Holy Crap’ about Heath’s glittering fourth quarter performance.
Overtime – Heath scored 14 of his 30 points in the fourth period…Heath was 8-10 from the free throw line in the final period…Heath – who also had four rebounds and three steals - shot 10-18 for the game from the field and 9-12 from the foul line…Dixon had 14 rebounds while O’Brien had 10 boards…the Ghosts have played in six district title games and won four district titles (1982, 1986, 2015 & 2017)…Abington will open the state tournament next week against CD East – the sixth place finisher from District 3.
Coatesville Red Raiders 13 11 9 18 * 51
Abington Ghosts 11 13 9 24 * 57
Coatesville: Jhamir Brickus 12; Dapree Bryant 10; Tyrel Bladen 8; Kamau Brickus 7; Joe Boulware 6; Haasan Young 5; Tione Holmes 2; and Avery Young 1.
Abington: Robbie Heath 30; Eric Dixon 10; Joseph O’Brien 6; Lucas Monroe 6; Rob Young 3; Eric Dougherty 1, and Darius Brown 1.
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