Scholastic Notebook – 01/06/2017

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, January 6, 2017 | 1:29 PM

Look at the progression of the Laurel High School boys basketball program the past few years, and it is quite evident that the Spartans are now all Locked in.

Ken Locke is in his fifth season as the Spartans’ coach. The program without much history has made giant strides the past few years. Now this year, the Spartans are doing things never seen before at the school.

In the latest MSA Sports WPIAL rankings that came out at the beginning of the week, Laurel was No. 3 in Class 2A. But that was before Laurel knocked off No. 1 Sewickley Academy this past Tuesday. Laurel heads into Friday night’s big game against Our Lady of the Sacred Heart with a perfect 9-0 record. The Spartans are one of only four teams in the WPIAL with a perfect record.

Depending on what happens against OLSH, you could see Laurel at No. 2 or possibly No. 1 in next week’s rankings. It would be a sight to behold at Laurel.

Laurel, located in Lawrence County, has been around for more than 50 years. But the Spartans have been to the WPIAL basketball playoffs only 10 times, and never made it past the first round. They have never won a section title. Now they are flirting with a No. 1 ranking.

Locke has obviously made a big difference. You can tell by the record. Laurel was 2-20 the year before he war hirred. That was followed by seasons of 5-17, 13-11, 16-8 and 17-6. By beating Sewickley Academy, this team proved it will challenge for a section crown and looks good enough to make a playoff run. Laurel is averaging 81 points a game.

The player leading Laurel to great things is senior guard Mason Mraz. He is now the third-leading scorer in the WPIAL at 29 points a game and came into the season with more than 1,000 points. He was one of only two starters back from last season’s team. The other was senior Jordan Dantico.

But because of Mraz and Dantico, and some contributions from new starters, Laurel has raised the bar of expectations.

By George, They Score

When George Yokitis was the coach of the Vincentian boys for the past eight years, his teams always were high scoring. Once, the Royals averaged over 90 points for an entire season.

Yokitis left Vincentian after last season to take the job at Montour. His system is again paying off with a high rate of points.

Heading into Friday, Montour is averaging 89 points a game, the most in the WPIAL in any classification. Montour has three players averaging 15 points or more. Dom Sleva leads at 25 points a game. K.J. Rhodes averages 17 and Mike Mastroianni 15. Mastroianni is the son of Quaker Valley coach Mike Mastroianni.

Montour has a big game tonight at Mars.

Scoring Teams

After Montour, the highest-scoring teams in WPIAL boys basketball are Laurel (81.6), North Hills (80.2), Quaker Valley (78.6), Latrobe (77.8) and Hampton (77.0).

In girls basketball, the top scoring team is Pine-Richland at 66.8. The Rams are followed by East Allegheny (66.0), Hampton (64.3), Winchester Thurston (64.2), West Greene (64.1) and Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic (64.0).

QBs Who Score

A few athletes who were quarterbacks in football are putting up some big numbers in basketball.

Latrobe’s Austin Butler leads the entire WPIAL at 30 points a game. He was Latrobe’s QB. Two other QBs scoring big are Beaver’s Darius Wise (28.1 ppg) and New Castle’s Geno Stone (21.5).

Jeannette Player Ruled Ineligible

Anthony Johnson averaged 27 points in the four games that he played for Jeannette. But Johnson’s season is over after a WPIAL ruling earlier this week.

The WPIAL ruled Johnson ineligible to play the rest of this season and until Dec. 19 next year because the league said he transferred from Allderdice to Jeannette last month for athletic reasons.

The WPIAL made its ruling after a hearing with Johnson, a 6-foot-4 forward who is a sophomore, and at his fourth high school in a year-and-a-half. He was at Chartiers Valley in the fall of his freshman year before transferring to Lincoln Park and playing there before leaving the team late in the season. He transferred to Allderdice in the spring and was on Allderdice’s team before he was removed shortly before the season.

He then moved into Jeannette’s district and enrolled there.

The main reason the WPIAL ruled Johnson ineligible is that there is a PIAA rule that basically says a student-athlete who leaves a school because of penalties and transfers to another school to escape penalties can be ruled ineligible. Basically, you can’t leave a school and go play for another team because you were removed from a team.

TJ’s Cherpak Honored

Thomas Jefferson football coach Bill Cherpak is the Pittsburgh Steelers’ nomination for the Don Shula Coach of the Year.

NFL teams nominate coaches for the national award, which is named after the former Miami Dolphins coach. Cherpak will be honored during festivities at the Pro Bowl in Orlando. Two finalists will each receive $15,000 from the NFL Foundation and $10,000 goes to the coach’s high school program. The winner will be announced in the third quarter of the Pro Bowl Jan. 29.

Cherpak won a WPIAL championship this season for the second consecutive season and the sixth time in his 22-year career.

Tags: Beaver, Jeannette, Latrobe