The Council Rock North-Council Rock South rivalry is one of the special ones in high school sports, and Rock South junior varsity coach Adam Bowen – himself a graduate of Council Rock and member of Rock North’s staff for four years - tried to convey that to his players this week.
“I’m going to do everything I can to get our kids excited and pumped up and ready for the game,” Bowen said. “I know how important this game is to North.
“My message to our players is to make sure it’s even more important to them. I told my players, ‘The kids at Council Rock North don’t care if it’s basketball, chess or swimming. If they are playing Council Rock South, they want to win.’”
When these two teams meet, coaches can throw out their pre-game pep talks. None are needed.
“When we talk about our goals for this season, our first goal is to be the best team in our (school) district,” Rock North senior Charlie Anastasi said. “We still haven’t done that because we have to win the second game.
“Any time you’re playing a team that’s right down the road, you’ve got to get excited for it. We’re all pumped, especially playing at home in front of a lot of people. It should be a great game.”
Rock North enters the game with a perfect 11-0 mark in SOL play and a 17-1 record overall. The Golden Hawks, meanwhile, are 4-7 in league play (8-10 overall).
Rock North defeated Rock South 66-50 earlier this season, but if it seems as though Rock North coach Derek Wright would be feeling pretty confident about his team’s chances, guess again.
“It’s not an easy game,” the Indians’ coach said. “Our game at their place the last time – it was like going to the dentist.
“It was hard-fought with a lot of emotion involved. When you’re a player and a competitor, it’s a great game to be in. As a coach – at least from my perspective, these games are really difficult.”
Making it especially difficult are the many ties not only between the players but between the coaches as well. Rock South assistant Dennis Matika was Wright’s high school coach and – during 11 successful seasons at the helm - led Council Rock to four league titles.
“He’s like a godfather to me,” Wright said. “We have a banquet award named after him.“He’s really the guy that we feel raised the level of Council Rock basketball, so he means a lot to us.”
Rock North junior varsity coach Jim Vacca also played for Matika, but the ties don’t end there. Wright and Rock South coach John Easterly were once neighbors, and Bowen was on Wright’s staff for four years – three as freshman coach and one as varsity assistant – before accepting the junior varsity position at Rock South this year.
For Bowen, leaving Rock North meant leaving some special players behind. After telling Wright of his decision, he told Anastasi, the senior captain of the Indians squad. Then he pulled aside Aaron Morgan, Arron Goodman and Owen Rice, players he coaches on the highly successful AAU team PA Playaz.
“The hardest thing for me was my relationship with the players on the team,” Bowen said. “I really miss those guys, and I hope the kids understand.
“It’s easy for adults and coaches to understand, but I had a great relationship with the players.”
There’s no mistaking that the players valued their relationship with Bowen as well.
“Coach Bowen meant a lot to us,” Anastasi said. “With the coaches we have – we love our coaches, but Coach Bo was a little younger, so there was that connection we were able to make with him.
“Sometimes if we didn’t feel comfortable going to the older coaches, we would go to Coach Bo and know that he would be there for us. To have him for three years and have him leave – we all understood, and we were all so happy for him, but at the same time, we were all a little upset when he moved on.”
It was hardly surprising that ‘Coach Bo’ was in the stands when Rock North held its Senior Night celebration before Thursday night’s SOL game against Truman.
“It was great to see the seniors get honored because they put so much hard work into their high school careers and they deserve the recognition,” Bowen said. “I had to see Charlie and the other seniors graduate. I was rooting for them.”
Bowen’s former players do the same when their former coach isn’t doing battle with Rock North.
“A lot of the varsity guys went to the Rock South jayvee game to support our team, but at the same time, we were there to support Bo because he was such a part of what we had at North,” Anastasi said. “We wish him the best success.
“He could have left and not stayed in touch with us and just worried about South. South is definitely his priority, but he’s always checking in on us. It’s great to have someone that will stay with you even when they leave the program. Obviously, we’re going to root for North, but when we’re not playing South, we definitely wish him the best success as well.”
Bowen – who played for Easterly in ninth grade - was part of the ’03 Council Rock squad that won the league title and advanced to the district final before falling to Chester. The Indians advanced to the Sweet 16 of the PIAA State Tournament.
This year’s Rock North team is hoping for even more, and although Bowen will be rooting his former players on if the Indians advance deep into the playoffs, he has just one goal on Friday night.
“There are a lot of great relationships over there, but the one thing on my mind is beating them and getting into the playoffs,” Bowen said. “Once the ball goes up, it’s all business.
“My only focus right now is winning the game.”
Rock South’s players echoed similar sentiments.
“I played with a lot of the kids that are on Rock North,” senior Mike Dipaolo said. “Kevin Bogucki and I have been friends since I was a little kid.”
“It’s a big rivalry,” senior Justin Thomas said. “It will be my third time playing them. It’s a good time. We always get real pumped.”
“This game is important because we need a big push to make the playoffs,” Pat Silverthorn added. “Every year it’s close no matter how good each team is or how both teams are doing.
“We may be playing bad the whole season, and when we play North, it’s a whole new season in one game.”
For Rock North, a win will solidify its standing as the conference’s top team. For the Golden Hawks, a win would make their season and take them one closer to an elusive district playoff spot.
“I think the kids really enjoy it,” Easterly said. “They play against them in the offseason and growing up. They enjoy the rivalry, they enjoying playing against their kids.”
Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.
Just the Facts
This year’s record: Council Rock North 11-0 SOL (17-1 overall), Council Rock South 4-7 SOL (8-10 overall)
Last year’s record: Council Rock North 11-3 SOL (21-6 overall); Council Rock South 3-11 SOL (7-13 overall)
Last meeting: Jan. 7, 2011 - Council Rock North 66, Council Rock South 50 (Council Rock North: Arron Goodman – 23 points, Aaron Morgan – 14 points, Charlie Anastasi – 10 points; Council Rock South: Justin Thomas – 18 points, Christian Crane – 12 points)
Last game: Council Rock North 67, Harry S. Truman 41 (Charlie Anastasi – 14 points, 16 rebounds; Arron Goodman – 13 points; Aaron Morgan – 10 points)
Council Rock South 46, Abington 45 (Justin Thomas – 20 points)
Council Rock North
Projected starting lineup:
#2 – Matt McCloskey (6-1, Jr., Guard)
#5 – Aaron Morgan (5-10, Jr., Guard)
#10 – John Raymon (6-6, Sr., Forward)
#22- Arron Goodman (6-4, Jr., Guard/Forward)
#23-Charlie Anastasi (6-6, Sr., Forward)
The rest of the Indians:
#3 – Liam Kane (5-0, Sr., Guard)
#4 – Kevin Bogucki (6-1, Sr., Guard)
#12 – Owen Rice (5-8, Jr., Guard)
#14 – Brandon Knotts (5-10, Soph., Guard)
#21 – Alex Corry (6-0, Jr., Guard)
#24 – Alex Jordan (6-2, Soph., Guard/Forward)
#31 – Kyle McCloskey (6-5, Soph., Guard)
#32 – Sam Ryan (6-3, Jr., Forward)
#42 – Jordan Chernin (6-0, Sr., Guard)
#50 – Hunter Stevens (6-7, Sr., Forward)
Council Rock South
Projected starters:
#3 – Zach Fitzgerald (5-10, Jr., Guard)
#4 – Mike Dipaolo (5-11, Sr., Guard)
#5 – Christian Crane (5-10, Soph., Guard)
#23 – Justin Thomas (6-3, Sr., Forward)
#25 – P.J. Gallo (6-3, Jr., Forward)
#25 – P.J. Gallo (6-3, Jr., Forward)
The rest of the Golden Hawks:
#11 – Mike Brightcliffe (6-5, Jr., Forward)
#15 – Pat Silverthorn (6-0, Sr., Guard)
#21 – Nick Cocco (5-10, Jr., Guard)
#32 – Jason Tannenbaum (6-3, Sr., Forward)
#44 – Andrew Cohen (6-3, Jr., Forward)
#45 – Jim Ivers (6-6, Sr., Forward)
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