Run to WPIAL finals helps Chartiers Valley boys carry on winning tradition

By: Don Rebel
Sunday, March 28, 2021 | 10:01 AM

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Brandon Sensor just completed his third year as boys basketball coach at Chartiers Valley. It is a program built on tradition that hasn’t skipped a beat the last three winters.

The Colts are 59-17 in those three years with their district title hopes ending in the WPIAL semifinals in 2019 and 2020 and the title game in 2021.

A thrilling 22-4 season for Chartiers Valley came to a bitter end when its golden dreams were doused by a Red Hurricane.

“Not the outcome we wanted, but I was proud of our season,” Sensor said. “The guys bought in from Day 1 and we won a lot of games with one of the toughest schedules you could put together. It was great for us to get to that championship game. We had a ton of support from parents, friends and former teammates before and after the game. The game itself, that’s why we love what we do. The excitement, nervousness, the togetherness — that’s what it’s all about.

“When you get to those big games, what I really love is guys just care about one stat: winning. That’s all they want is to win and they don’t care who gets the credit. That’s when you really are invested and can really accomplish some great things. Unfortunately, we didn’t do enough to continue our season, but those young men are still winners in my eyes.”

Two of the four losses for Chartiers Valley came against New Castle, including a 63-55 setback in the WPIAL Class 5A finals.

“It wasn’t a perfect game. It’s never going to be, especially when you’re playing a really good team like New Castle in the WPIAL championship,” Sensor said. “There were things we could have done better — moved the ball more, made open shots, made free throws, rebounded. But at the end of the day, that doesn’t always happen.

“Our guys were resilient in the fact that in spite of struggling in a lot of areas, we found a way to fight our way back into it and have a chance late in the game. At the end, it wasn’t enough. New Castle played better and got the win.”

The loss in the title game marked the end of the scholastic careers for four key seniors: Brayden Reynolds, Socrates Boulis, Garrett Alauzen and Anthony Collura.

“Brayden had a phenomenal senior season,” Sensor said. “He works hard, and it showed on the court. He’s going to have a great college career, and I can’t wait to follow him and see where his journey takes him.

“I was impressed and very happy with how Garrett and Socrates stepped up this year. This was their first year as starters and top players for us, and man, did they excel. Anthony came in and gave us another high-character kid who played hard and had a lot of athleticism. I’m thankful he played this season.

“What we will miss most is the character and leadership these four had. All four of them are just really good people and great leaders. Not much complaining or whining from them ever. They do whatever you ask and set a great example. We hope the younger guys learn some of that and it carries over.”

Sensor mentioned doing well with low expectations, having a strong record against a brutal schedule and the regular season win at New Castle as some of the highlights from the unique 2021 season.

“I thought we did great things this year, not only in the win and loss column, but also with our leadership and culture,” he said. “We spent time intentionally talking about and working on our leadership, and I think it benefited us this season. We just need to keep improving and continue to build on that foundation we have set.”

Sensor said he is already looking ahead to another year and another group wearing Colts blue and red.

“I’m excited to have a full offseason with these guys and let them compete and just get better throughout the offseason and into next season,” he said. “We will have five seniors (Anthony Mackey, Carter Mastovich, Frank Dervanik, Patrick Mulligan, Brandon Ferguson) and a few juniors (Joey Zajicek, Dylan Marian, Brendan Cruz).

“Mix that in with the returning sophomores and incoming freshman and we are going to have a lot of competition from within. Also hoping we can get back to a normal year without a lot of covid restrictions. That really limits some of the team building things we get to do.”

Tags: Chartiers Valley