Blogs > Gettin' Schooled

A high school sports blog, hosted by Christopher A. Vito



Tuesday, March 16, 2010

ARCH. CARROLL: HITTING THE ROAD FOR PIAA ROUND 2

Central Dauphin East High School, Harrisburg: 118 miles, 2 hours.

In a little while, I'll be hitting the road en route to Archbishop Carroll's second-round, PIAA Class AAA matchup with Danville at 6 p.m. It's going to take some time to get there and, according to the CD East folks, I've been told there's no Wireless in the building.

Bummer.

That being said, you can rest assured that right here on Gettin' Schooled you will see a synopsis of the game and some quotes from players and coaches within an hour after the final buzzer sounds. And, of course, you can always check Wednesday's Daily Times for the full report.

I'll keep you informed from Harrisburg. See you there.

UPDATED 10:23 P.M.
The Patriots pulled out a 64-51 victory over Danville and move into the PIAA Class AAA quarterfinal round for the second time in as many seasons of PIAA eligibility.

Of course, they'll have to get through Neumann-Goretti to go further.

Juan'ya Green scored 21 points, Ben Mingledough tossed in 20 and D.J. Irving recovered nicely from the opening round, in which he posted the first scoreless game of his career at any level. The All-Delco point guard finished with 13 points.

Carroll (24-4) overcame a hot spell by Danville, during which the Ironmen made 11 straight baskets in a 9-plus minute span. The Patriots trailed at the break but poured it on after halftime.

For more check out Wednesday's Daily Times.

(Photo by Varsity365.com)

Labels: , , , , ,

Monday, March 15, 2010

WHO'S GOING WHERE, WHEN

The PIAA brackets have been updated for each of the respective classes. Here's what we're looking at for Tuesday's and Wednesday's pairings:

On Tuesday....
BOYS CLASS AAA
Archbishop Carroll vs. Danville
At Central Dauphin East HS, Harrisburg, 6 p.m.

GIRLS CLASS AAAA
Cardinal O'Hara vs. Central Dauphin
At Governor Mifflin School, Shillington, 7:30 p.m.

On Wednesday....
BOYS CLASS AAAA
Penn Wood vs. Neshaminy
At Norristown HS, 7:30 p.m.

GIRLS CLASS AAA
Archbishop Carroll vs. Oley Valley
At Spring-Ford HS, Royersford, 6 p.m.

GIRLS CLASS A
Delco Christian vs. Tri-Valley
At Governor Mifflin School, Shillington, 7:30 p.m.

Labels: ,

Saturday, March 13, 2010

CARROLL, GREEN MOVE ON

To be short and sweet, here's what you should know about Friday night: Archbishop Carroll can win (and will win) with a half-effective D.J. Irving, left.

Absent from the Patriots' two previous outings, Irving was one of several difference makers in their 37-30 win over Holy Ghost Prep in a PIAA Class AAA first-round game. Irving, who didn't score, had four steals, two rebounds and two assists.

But he wasn't alone. Junior Juan'ya Green , right, was wildly effective. He scored 14 points, picking and choosing the best shots to choose in order to maximize his effectiveness. He also had five rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots.

Because Irving – limited because of his still-tender hand – wasn't 100 percent, Green took the reins. He was all over the court, soaring from behind to block shots, dishing out eye-popping assists and doing much of the clock-killing dribbling in the game's final minutes.

Ben Mingledough led the way with 15 points and Vince Mostardi had eight to round out the scoring leaders. Needless to say, those who doubted the Patriots because of Irving's hand … think again.

Here are other results from the PIAA Class AAA bracket:
Eastern York 68, Coughlin 42
Dobbins 57, Springfield 52
Mifflinburg 51, Pottsville 38
Abington Heights 58, East Pennsboro 28
Neumann-Goretti 64, Susquehanna Township 45
Holy Redeemer 59, Steel-High 39
Danville 68, Allentown Central Catholic 59
Archbishop Carroll 37, Holy Ghost Prep 30
Lancaster Catholic 52, Pottsgrove 44
York Suburban 61, Johnstown 46
Chartiers Valley 96, Erie Central 66
West Allegheny 42, Hickory 41
West Mifflin 81, Oliver 65
Bradford 45, Trinity 43
Hampton 63, Huntingdon 41
Montour 49, Erie East 42

####################

Next up: Archbishop Carroll vs. Danville
When and where: Tuesday night, TBD
What to know about Danville: The Ironmen went 18-6, have won five in a row and have won an opening-round PIAA game each of the last two seasons. They won Friday night, partly, because ACC showed up late to the game and weren't loosened up. Danville forced 10 first-half turnovers and the rout was on.

Labels: , , , , ,

Friday, March 12, 2010

STATES. TONIGHT. GO TIME.

Five. It's a number that separates Delco's state playoff teams from history.

The Class AAA (Archbishop Carroll, Springfield) and Class AAAA (Penncrest, Chester, Penn Wood) teams need only five wins to claim a state championship in their respective brackets. Five wins? That's a good 10-day stretch for some of these teams. What's five more wins?

It's the difference between being remembered and being forgotten. The PIAA playoffs commence tonight. And we'll have the scores here on Gettin' Schooled.

Check back throughout the night.

Labels: ,

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

QUOTABLE: HOLY GHOST LIKES ITS UNDERDOG LABEL

After Holy Ghost Prep put the finishing touches on Springfield Saturday, it began to settle in that HGP would draw the defending PIAA Class AAA champion in the first round of states.

Needless to say, the Firebirds weren't thrilled with that prospect. Fair enough, right? The District One champion deserves a little better a draw than Carroll. But that's how the bracket worked last year, too. Another year, another bracket ... In hindsight, perhaps PIAA should employ a power-rankings system for states.

In any case, here's some of what those around Holy Ghost had to say about Carroll:

COACH TONY CHAPMAN
"The shoe will be on the other foot, too, a little bit. More will be expected of Carroll. Even though we are district champs, we'll probably go into that game as an underdog."

"It is what it is. In a perfect world, you have a seeding thing with the PIAA and maybe you play someone not as dominant. We'll look at them and get ready to go. We're going to play hard and we're going to play a real good basketball game. If that's good enough to win, great. If it's not good enough to win, than it's not. We're going in confident."

SENIOR GUARD MICHAEL BYRNE
“We look forward to being the underdog a little bit. “Through the districts, we were the one seed. Now, we can play a little bit looser. Most people probably think we’re going to lose, so it will be nice to be the underdog.”

#############

So... yeah, it should be a good game. I don't predict any sort of trash-talking or bad blood. Nah, none of that. (Thanks to Bucks County Courier Times' Kevin Cooney, for the Byrne quote.)

Labels: , , , , ,

Monday, March 8, 2010

START THE CARS! PIAA PLAYOFF SITES, TIMES SET

The PIAA playoff brackets were released Sunday night. Some of Delaware County's five boys teams have brief drives; others, well, aren't so lucky.

Here's the breakdown...

PIAA CLASS AAA - FRIDAY
***Springfield (18-8) vs. Murrell Dobbins (16-8)
At South Philadelphia High, 6 p.m.
What to know: The Cougars, District One's runnerup, probably has a better draw against their opponent from the Public League than district-champ HGP. Yeah, about that...

***Archbishop Carroll (22-4) vs. Holy Ghost Prep (24-3)
At Norristown High, 8 p.m.
What to know: The Firebirds, who won the District One crown, were rewarded with a first-round draw against the reigning state-champion Patriots. Fair? No. But it is what it is.

########

PIAA CLASS AAAA - SATURDAY
***Penn Wood (23-3) vs. Penn Manor (17-10)
At Norristown High, 3:30 p.m.
What to know: The newly-crowned District One champion Patriots knocked off the Comets, of District Three, in the first round of states a year ago. Probably enough said.

***Penncrest (24-5) vs. Bethlehem Liberty (22-5)
At Freedom High, Bethlehem, 4:30 p.m.
What to know: The Central League champion Lions have a 90-minute drive that covers 70-plus miles for this game. Liberty has a three-mile drive that takes eight minutes. Fair? No. But it is what it is. (See above.)

***Chester (16-10) vs. La Salle (19-5)
At Archbishop Carroll High, 4:30
What to know: The Clippers are in the unfavorable spot of losing three straight heading into states; meanwhile, the Explorers won a hotly-contested District 12 title game. It seems like the teams are going in opposite directions.

Labels: , , , , , ,