East-West Hoop Rivalry is a Family Affair for the Ages (Submitted Article)

East-West Hoop Rivalry is a Family Affair for the Ages

(Submitted article)

This year’s final CB East - CB West hoop night is a family affair, a tradition spanning generations of athletes in the Doylestown area.

 Jeff Silk remembers the day he was told that Central Bucks High School was splitting into two schools and that he would attend the newer school, Central Bucks East. He wondered about his new basketball team’s chances to compete with their former teammates. Silk is now an assistant men’s basketball coach at DeSales University and a 55-year basketball veteran. He sounds excited as he remembers the first CB East-CB West games in the winter of 1969-1970. 

Coach Silk has been part of 47 East-West games, two as a starting guard at CB East and 45 more as an East coach from 1979 to 2000. He explains the intense rivalry.

“The first game was in December of 1969, and it was at CB East, and East lost,” he said. “The crowd was electrified; it was bedlam. It felt like the whole town was there.”

He names both starting fives as though the game was played yesterday. East avenged the loss in January of 1970, and the traditional rivalry was “on.”  Silk also watched his sons participate in the rivalry. In the early 2000s, Silk’s sons Matt and Kevin played for the Patriots in the annual games. 

Polly Case Glowatz is in the CB West Athletic Hall of Fame, and she played in that first girls’ East-West game in 1969. She remembers the announcement that CB West basketball coach (CB East Hall of Fame Coach Audrey Scanlon) would leave to coach at the new school in Buckingham.  She was disappointed about her coach’s decision to leave and was determined to “take care of business.” The first matchup was an afternoon game; very few fans were in attendance, but she was inspired to defeat this new crosstown rival and her former coach. West beat the new rival by two points.  The girls’ rivalry was also now “on.”

It has been nearly 50 years since these two suburban programs first battled each other, and the rivalry is still an emotional event for high school basketball players. As a new generation of athletes participates in the games each year, there are constant reminders of the rivalry’s importance to generations of players, coaches, and local basketball fans.

Bill Power is a sharpshooting senior guard for CB West and has helped the Bucks in their quest for a title. The Bucks are 10-2, second in the Suburban One Continental Conference. Bill’s father Mike Power was a Hall of Fame athlete at CB East and coached the CB West Boys team in the early 1980s. He now assists CB West Coach Adam Sherman with son Bill’s West team. He tries to explain the importance of the East-West rivalry to son Bill, “You only have eight of these hometown games, and this is your last one; just enjoy it.”

Mike Power smiles, remembering the crowds at away games at CB West.  

“The old West gym was packed to the rafters,” he said. “There were kids sitting on the floor, right up to the court’s boundary line.” 

“Your team could be in first place or last place going into that game,” he says with a grin. “But that night was special, like playing in the Super Bowl, and bragging rights could last for a year.”

Asked about his current allegiances, Power hedged.

“I have a place in my heart for both programs, but this year I am with Billy and the Bucks,” he said.

Fueling the loyalty debate, Mike’s sister Kathy cheered at East, and his daughter Molly cheered at CB West.

This year’s games have numerous family ties to the rivalry’s rich basketball history. East guard Matt Pattyson is the nephew of CB East great Meghan Pattyson Culmo, a 1,000- point scorer, UConn star, and CB East Hall of Famer. Two Lady Bucks players - Kaili Carey and Cassidy McGarry - have parents who are part of CB West sports history (football star Jim Carey and Hall of Famer Jennifer Gowen McGarry).

East girls’ senior captain Kyra Scaliti had three uncles (Paul, Pat, Mike) and father/writer Doug Scaliti play basketball at CB East in the 1970s and ‘80s. Two of the brothers - Mike and Doug - later served as CB East assistant coaches. Kyra Scaliti is playing in her eighth and final East-West varsity game. Each school has current assistant coaches who once played against the rival school.

Many basketball families have experienced the tradition from both sides of the contest. CB West’s Reichwein brothers, Senior Cal and Sophomore Jake, remember their excitement, watching cousin Reills Reichwein (CB West) take on their crosstown cousin, East’s Craiger Eschelman in 2007-9. Their father (legendary youth coach) Jim Reichwein explains the family feeling.

“This is a great rivalry because they get to play against friends, AAU teammates that are considered brothers,” he said.

West’s Cal Reichwein will join one of those brothers, CB East star Tommy Strasburger, at Lafayette College next fall.  Cal’s uncle Joe Reichwein also coached at CB West in the 1980s. The series is truly a family affair.

This week’s showdown features the Lady Bucks hosting the Lady Patriots at 7 pm on Tuesday, Feb 2. The two teams have similar league records and are battling for contention in District playoffs later in February. The young West team is rebounding nicely after finishing second in the state last season. Traditions aside, the game has serious playoff implications.  

CB East captain Kyra Scaliti will compete against her AAU teammate, West star senior Mackenzie Mason.  Kyra details the meaning of this ball game.

“With a victory, we can improve our playoff prospects, and achieve a senior season highlight, with a win against our hometown rival,” East’s senior captain said. “This game is crucial.”

The boys teams play at CB East on Tuesday at 7 PM. CB West is near the top of the SOL Continental Conference and has District playoff ambitions, while East seeks a victory to qualify for Districts and capture local bragging rights.  

East Junior Matt Pattyson played AAU with West’s Jake Reichwein, and he sums it up for the teams.

“Most of these kids played AAU together or against each other as young travel players,” he said. “Just walking into the packed gym for warm-ups, the intensity and adrenaline are unbelievable. We’ve had this game circled on our schedule in the locker room, since October.”

Somewhere in the audience Tuesday, an aspiring young basketball player will watch, starry-eyed, as Doylestown’s oldest basketball rivalry unfolds. Later that night, they’ll dream of someday helping their school’s team prevail. The teams’ current players - almost 80 of them (varsity/JV) - will look back on this one game, and many will appreciate the crosstown rivalry forever.

As a veteran player/parent/coach/broadcaster of the traditional matchup and a fan of the game, I have only one regret. Local basketball fans cannot watch both of these hometown games at the same time.

Doug Scaliti is a freelance writer and resident of Lahaska PA.

dlps122@comcast.net