Central Bucks South’s annual Coaches vs. Cancer event is personal to a great many people.
“I know I have had family members diagnosed with cancer and a lot of my teammates have as well, so it’s sad, especially when death is the result of it,” South senior Nicole Mummert. “This (event) opens my eyes to the dangers that really are around you.”
“A bunch of people in our school have lost parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles to cancer,” South junior Matt Johns added. “Once you know someone who has actually died from it, it reaches out to a lot more people.”
Educating students, raising money for a worthy cause and enjoying a good night of basketball – it’s all part of a very special event. Last year’s highly successful night raised $8,500. “Our hope is to match or exceed what we did last year,” said Scott Davidheiser, CB South House Principal for the Class of 2013 who is once again helping to coordinate the event. “We didn’t know what we were getting into last year, but things just really fell into place.
“The community came together with some nice support, and it really worked out pretty well.”
On Tuesday night, the Central Bucks South school community – in partnership with Doylestown Hospital - will celebrate its second annual Coaches vs. Cancer event when the Titans host neighboring Central Bucks West in a girls/boys basketball doubleheader, beginning with the girls’ game at 5:30 and the boys’ game at 7 p.m.
A highlight of the evening will be a food court which will open at 5 p.m. inside the school’s main entrance. A $5 donation will allow those in attendance to enjoy food provided by local vendors that include A Taste of Philly, Altomonte’s, Dominick’s Pizza, Giuseppe’s Pizza and Family Restaurant, Moe’s, P.F. Chang’s, Panera Bread, Pina’s Pizzeria, Planet Smoothie, Red Lion Diner & Restaurant, T.G.I. Friday’s, Ted’s Montana Grill, Tomatoes, Uno Chicago Grill and Wendy’s.Last year over 600 people were served before the vendors ran out of food. An even larger turnout is expected this year with hopes to feed upwards of a thousand people.
Food is just a small part of the event. All South students attending the game will receive a free Coaches vs. Cancer t-shirt, thanks to funding provided by Doylestown Hospital.
Nineteen raffle baskets from local vendors will also be raffled off over the course of the evening, and there will be a donor wall where – for a dollar – persons can post a message for or about someone who’s battling cancer.
“I look at our high school students today, and cancer is a huge part of life,” South girls’ coach Beth Mattern said. “Whether it be parents, grandparents, neighbors or whoever it may be that suffered from it – they see so much of it, and I think they get that it’s going to be in their lives.“It’s events like this that hopefully will bring more money and awareness.”
Prior to Tuesday’s big event, videos about the prevention and treatment of some of the more prevalent cancers were shown in advisory classes. The videos included interviews with doctors from Doylestown Hospital.
“The great part about the event is educating students and people in the community about cancer and what effects it has as well as prevention and things to look for,” South boys’ coach Jason Campbell said. “For students and younger adults, hopefully, it will make them a little more conscious about protecting their bodies.
“Today they watch shows like Jersey Shore, and the cast goes tanning. They look up to some of these people and what they’re doing, and I don’t think they understand what those types of things can do long term.”
While the Titan Council – South’s student governing body – will provide more than 50 volunteers, the CB South Basketball Parents Association has played a major role in coordinating the event.
“The Parents Associations for both boys and girls have been wonderful,” Davidheiser said. “They have done the work behind the scenes in terms of getting the sponsorships from the restaurants and the raffles.
“Instead of having kids going out and doing the stomping, they have really done the hard work which will allow the evening to go well.”
All proceeds from the event will be donated to the American Cancer Society with a portion to be given to Doylestown Hospital’s Bridge Fund, which helps offset costs for cancer patients that may be outside of their insurance coverage.
“It’s significant because it’s a contribution from a lot of different parts of the school,” Mattern said. “It’s truly a team effort in the school. We have obviously cancer as an issue in the world we live in, and it’s nice to see students and parents’ organizations working together and working towards one effort.”
Not to be lost in the shuffle of the event itself are the two very important basketball games.
“You have such a great event and a good purpose to the event, and on top of that you’re playing one of your biggest rivals,” Campbell said. “There’s a lot going on in the game emotionally as well as trying to even perform in front of such a large crowd and fan base that will be coming out for this particular game.”“It does add to the drama,” Mattern said. “It’s an inter-district rival. There’s already going to be a lot of people for an inter-district game, and you add an event like Coaches vs. Cancer to it – you want it to go your way. West is a good team. It takes a lot of focus to be able to play in that game.”
According to the players, it is important not to get too caught up in the hoopla.
“It’s hard, but we focus on the hour of the game that we play,” Mummert said. “We know we get to have fun afterwards.
“The game is what we’re there to do and then support after the game. That’s our focus.”
“For me, it’s exciting,” Johns said. “The bigger the crowd, the more excitement it brings overall.”
Last year’s event might be a tough act to follow.“That was huge,” Johns said. “I don’t think anyone expected to be that big. Everybody talked about it – ‘Are you going to the game?’ Word spread really fast.
“Cancer touches a lot of people, and it was a huge crowd. I remember the food being sold out the first hour and a half.
“It was awesome,” said Mummert, a senior captain who is sidelined with a torn ACL. “Since it was the first year – we were expecting a great turnout but not the turnout we had.
“We raised $8,000 for our first year. It was awesome being part of that and raising money for cancer.”
A win, according to Johns, would be a nice touch.
“It would be huge,” the junior captain said. “The past two or three games in the league we have lost by one or two points and that really hurt our record, but if we could win, it would start the second half of our league play and bring a whole new spark to our season with 10 games left. We want to finish strong.”
Just the Facts (CB South vs. CB West Boys’ BB)
This year’s record: Central Bucks South 1-5 SOL (2-11) Central Bucks West 3-3 SOL (7-3 overall)
Last year’s record: Central Bucks South 15-10, Central Bucks West 13-10
Last meeting: Feb. 8, 2010 – Central Bucks West 52, Central Bucks South 42
Last game: Upper Darby 50, Central Bucks South 42 (Steve Schneider – 16 points; James Delgato – 11 points)
Central Bucks West 50, Upper Perkiomen 16 (Derek Dyer – 15 points; Kevin Sweet – 14 points)
Central Bucks South
Projected Starters:
#3 – John Staman (5-10, Sr., Guard) 4.6 PPG
#13 – Jim Delgato (6-3, Sr., Center) 7.8 PPG, 8.2 rebounds
#22 – Steve Schneider (5-10, Sr., Guard) 15.7 PPG, 2 assists
#33 – Dave Knox (6-3, Jr., Forward) 5.7 PPG, 4.5 rebounds
#44 – Jake Cramer (6-3, Sr., Center/Forward) 4.8 PPG, 2.8 rebounds
The rest of the Titans:
#5 – Adam Remick (5-6, Soph., Guard)
#10 – Dan Eichorn (6-0, Sr., Forward)
#15 – Kevin Raymond (5-5, Soph., Guard)
#23 – Chris Veal (5-8, Jr., Guard)
#24 – Paul Zakrzewsi (6-2, Jr., Guard/Forward)
#32 – Will Sasser (5-11, Jr., Guard)
#34 – Matt Johns (6-4, Jr., Forward) 3.3 PPG, 4 rebounds
#45 – John Flaherty (6-3, Jr., Center)
#54 – Chase Vonder Schmalz (5-10, Soph., Guard)
#55 – Ricky Dennis (6-6, Soph., Center)
Central Bucks West
#4 – Quinn Cox (6-2, Sr., Guard)
#5 – Jack Rogers (6-0, Jr., Guard)
#10 – Jesse Kahanofsky (5-8, Sr., Guard)
#11 – Anthony Salvitti (5-6, Sr., Point Guard)
#15 – Drew Gazda (6-0, Sr., Forward)
#20 – Tyler Schechter (6-2, Jr., Forward)
#21 – Seth Condi (6-1, Sr., Guard)
#23 – Shane Kellar (6-1, Jr., Guard)
#24 – Tim McBride (6-3, Jr., Forward)
#32 – Derek Dyer (6-3, Jr., Guard)
#33 – Kevin Sweet (6-4, Jr., Forward)
#34 – Burgess Bryant (6-3, Jr., Forward)
Just the Facts (CB South vs. CB West Girls’ BB)
This year’s record: Central Bucks South 4-2 SOL (8-4 overall), Central Bucks West 4-2 SOL (6-4 overall)
Last year’s record: Central Bucks South 15-11, Central Bucks West 6-16
Last meeting: Jan. 30, 2010 – Central Bucks South 53, Central Bucks West 43
Last game: Central Bucks South 55, Hatboro-Horsham 49 (Madi Vitelli – 13 points, Brittany Kaewell – 12 points)
Central Bucks West 47, Pennridge 15 (Jen Fabian – 14 points, Sam Colloi – 11 points)
Central Bucks South
Projected starters:
#11 – Kate McMenamin (Jr., Forward)
#15 – Tyler Vitelli (Sr., Guard)
#23 – Shannon Senour (Jr., Guard)
#32 – Brittany Kaewell (Sr., Guard)
#33 – Kelsey Herrmann (Sr., Forward)
The rest of the Titans:
#10 – Madi Vitelli (Jr., Guard)
#13 – Jenna Harner (Sr., Guard)
#22 – Nicole Mummert (Sr., Forward)
#24 – Maura Kane (Sr., Guard)
#34 – Ginny Edwards (Sr., Center)
#35 – Tori Steinberg (Jr., Guard)
#40 – Alysha Lofton (Fr., Guard)
#42 – Becky Shaffer (Sr., Forward)
#44 – Kimmy Green (Sr., Guard)
Central Bucks West
#3 – Kathrynn Bahner (6-1, Soph., Forward)
#4 – Daniella Nestory (5-4, Soph., Guard)
#5 – Juliet Dillon (5-4, Soph., Guard)
#10 - Fiona Gilmore (5-9, Sr., Guard)
#11 – Amanda Parker (5-11, Jr., Forward)
#15 – Alexis Haug (5-5, Sr., Guard)
#20 – Sam Colloi (5-6, Jr., Guard)
#21 – Calypso Carty (5-9, Soph., Guard/Forward)
#22 – Jen Fabian (5-11, Jr., Forward)
#23 – Kathrynn Bahner (6-1, Soph., Forward)
#30 – Caitlynn Mautz (5-8, Soph., Guard/Forward)
#33 – Kate McLaughlin (5-9, Soph., Guard/Forward)
#35 – Maggie Gratz (5-11, Soph., Forward)
#44 – Taylor Moylan (5-9, Fr., Forward)
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