No longer underdogs, Shady Side Academy boys in position to contend

By: George Guido
Saturday, January 15, 2022 | 11:01 AM

Purchase Photo Options

Last year, the Shady Side Academy boys basketball team dealt with unanticipated success.

This year’s team is dealing with anticipated success.

The Bulldogs – then known as the Indians – had a strong 2021 regular season, were seeded third in the WPIAL Class 3A tournament and defeated Apollo-Ridge before losing to eventual champion Ellwood City in overtime.

This season, Shady Side got off to a 3-1 start in section play and was 7-3 overall at the halfway mark of the 20-game regular season slate. The Bulldogs have been rated in the top five of TribHSSN’s Class 3A rankings much of the season.

The only Shady Side losses thus far are to Erie, a school with more than four times the enrollment of Shady Side; Fox Chapel, a school in the Class 6A rankings; and South Allegheny, a section foe that made the finals last season before losing to Ellwood City.

“I like where we are,” said Bulldogs coach Dave Vadnais. “Last year, I was happy to be underrated. We worked hard in the offseason and, even with everybody back, we had to make some adjustments against the big guns. We knew there’d be bumps in the road. These things are never easy,”

Leading the way thus far in the scoring column are guards Eli Teslovich and Peter Kramer. Vadnais like to go about eight to 10 deep each game.

“Any of our guys can score,” the veteran coach said. “We play as a team and we’re unselfish. It’s better when we can play at our pace.”

Some coaches dread the media rankings, but Vadnais says it depends on how he sees his team, and it matters to his players more than the coaching staff.

“It’s nice when people respect what you’re doing,” he said. “We’re a pretty good team and we want people to recognize that. It doesn’t guarantee anything. You have to keep working if you want to be No. 1.”

The second half of the season will also have its challenges, particularly facing Ligonier Valley, led by its high scorer Matthew Marinchak. Also on the card is a nonsection test against Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, defending WPIAL and PIAA Class 2A champions that have their sights set on the all-time WPIAL streak of 52 consecutive victories. Washington won 52 in a row in the mid-1980s, equaling Uniontown’s mark in the mid-60s.

“We also get South Allegheny at home in the second half,” Vadnais said. “Then we have OLSH. That is going for the record. We have to go out and play well in the second half. We didn’t play as many games last year, but we want to be ready for the playoffs. We want to be playing our best basketball in February.”

The Bulldogs will play OLSH at the Montour showcase at 4:30 p.m. Jan. 29.

Shady Side will conclude the section season at Valley on Feb. 11 and have what it hopes is a playoff tune-up game at Deer Lakes on Feb. 14.

Tags: Shady Side Academy