Springdale boys must replace Zolnierczyk’s production, leadership

By: George Guido
Saturday, November 30, 2019 | 11:23 PM

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Replacing a stellar, multi-sport athlete is tough for any school, let alone a small one.

But with the graduation of Valley News Dispatch 2018-19 Athlete of the Year Michael Zolnierczyk, Springdale soccer found a capable replacement in goalkeeper Andrew Haus.

Now, the basketball team hopes to have its man to eventually take over at the point.

Freshman Chris Mitchell looks to fill that role, though second-year coach Aaron Epps hopes to ease the youngster in. At a recent tri-scrimmage, several players, such as returning all-section performer Demitri Fritch, brought the ball upcourt.

Epps needs to fill the production and the leadership void, thus the all-hands-on-deck approach.

“Demitri is the best player in our section, in my opinion, and Logan Dexter comes back after being injured,” Epps said. “We have multiple guys who can score with the basketball to replace the production. But Mike was a great leader, and replacing a leader is hard.”

Fritch, although just a sophomore, is ready to take on a larger role.

“We still have a pretty young team,” Fritch said. “When Chris plays point guard instead of me, he’s pretty good, and I can get off the ball and score a lot more and guard the other big men with Logan Reddinger. But I’ll be bringing the ball up once in a while. We have a lot of learning, but we’ll get there.”

Last year, the Dynamos overcame a series of injuries to finish 8-6 in Section 1-2A, 12-9 overall.

“It was a big load to carry last year,” Fritch said. “We were dropping like flies, going down left and right. But we found a way to pursue and overcome. We lost to Jeannette (in the playoffs), and they’re a good team but we’re hoping to make it farther this year.”

Epps sees a smoother preseason in his second year at the helm.

“It’s been much more smoother this year because the kids are used to me, my system and what I expect,” Epps said. “I have a lot more time to incorporate what I want to do.”

Junior guard Ben Myford, a returning starter, also will be counted on heavily along with sophomore Ryan Reinsfelder, who had to start some games with all the injuries the Dynamos experienced. Nick Biagi and Jake McIntyre will come off the bench.

“We actually have a lot of guys with some experience with all the injuries we suffered last year,” Epps said. “We can go about eight deep. We’re one of the teams in our section that can beat anybody, but we can lose to anybody. There’s no margin for error.”

Section foes include cross-river rival Riverview, Apollo-Ridge, Northgate, Sto-Rox, Summit Academy, Propel Braddock Hills and Winchester-Thurston.

The Dynamos open their 93rd basketball season Friday night by hosting a tip-off tournament game against Quigley at 8 p.m. The first Springdale section game is Dec. 13 at Northgate.

Tags: Springdale