Mar 16, 2003 5 min read

MOON TWP. – The team out on the floor at Robert Morris University’s Charles L. Sewall Center wore maroon and gold, and had the word “California” on its uniforms. Make no mistake about it, though. These weren’t the “real” Trojans who fell meekly to Union, 65-34, in the PIAA Western Division Class A semifinals on Friday night.

The “real” Trojans marched to a Section 2-A championship.

The “real” Trojans won four of five previous playoff games, reaching the final four in the WPIAL and the elite eight of the state.

The “real” Trojans finally cleared a huge hurdle called “Monessen” by beating the top-seeded Greyhounds in the second round of the WPIAL playoffs, and battled this same Union squad down to the wire before falling 58-55, one step short of the WPIAL final.

The team they called the Trojans on this Friday night was a complete imposter.

This California squad shot 19 percent from the field. Its two leading scorers during the regular season – Rick Cope and Shane Tonkavitch – combined for a grand total of five points. It had no player score in double figures, and never even hit double digits as a team in any one period.

The Trojans’ score by quarters read like a Pennsylvanian Lottery Big 4 number: 8, 8, 9, 9. … Do we have a winner?

Even the players themselves couldn’t figure out what happened.

“We couldn’t do anything,” said Tonkavitch, who had poured in a career-high tying 29 points in California’s first-round victory over Southern Fulton, before hitting a lone 3-pointer to account for his total in his final game in a Trojan uniform.

California was the bigger team, but still got out-rebounded 29-23. It gave up a 10-point run and a seven-point run in the first period alone. An eight-point burst early in the second frame made it 30-10 and forced Trojans coach Steve Luko to call his second time out.

Luko wisely didn’t call another one the rest of the game. What did it matter? This clearly wasn’t the same team he had coached all season anyhow.

What could he say to these strangers?

Of course, it wasn’t all the Trojans’ fault. They ran into a Scotties buzz saw that has picked up more power and confidence with each post-season win. Union is now 7-0 in the playoffs, including a win in the WPIAL championship game over Clairton.

“They sort of had a swagger in these playoffs, and it’s elevated with each win,” Union coach Mark Stanley said. “I’m just happy and going along with it.”

The flawless execution by his team and the ease that it dismantled California even stunned Stanley.

“I thought if we could get out early …” Stanley said, and then he paused. “I didn’t dream it would be a blowout.”

The key to the game was defense, especially in the first half.

Union pressured the ball and challenged every Trojan shot.

“I thought our defensive pressure got to them early and got us off to a fast start,” Stanley said.

California, on the other hand, remained in a zone that was highly ineffective. The Scotties got wide open shots from the outside and grabbed offensive rebounds inside.

Luko switched to a man-to-man out of desperation midway through the third period when Union began to run a delay to milk the clock with its huge lead. It was quickly clear why the Trojans rarely play such a defense, however, as the Scotties continually beat them off the dribble and either got wide open shots inside or simply continued to play keep-away.

At times it looked like the Trojans had given up, although they denied it, as did Stanley.

“I think they got frustrated, but I don’t think they gave up,” Stanley said. “There’s a point where you have to try to get over the hump, and they could never do that. California is a class act.”

The Trojans are a class act, despite how their season ended, and Tonkavitch showed that by giving Union all the credit.

“Their team chemistry is just awesome,” Tonkavitch said. “Everyone knows everyone else. Everyone knows where everyone else is going to be. They play great team defense.”

Tonkavitch tried to look at the big picture instead of focusing on California’s worst game of the season.

“Right now we’re upset,” Tonkavitch said. “It’s our last game, it’s emotional. But when we go down the road a ways and look back, we’ll be able to say we went 21-7, we won a section title, we went further in the playoffs than any other team in school history and we were in the final eight of the state.

“That’s something to be proud of, something special to be part of.”

This may not have been the “real” California team on Friday night, but the 2002-03 Trojans proved they were certainly for real, even when the WPIAL didn’t believe as such and slapped them in the face with a No. 8 seed in the Class A pairings.

In addition to Cope and Tonkavitch, names like Ryan Robinson, Dan DeMoss and Thom Russell will surely always be remembered with fondness and pride by California fans.

As Tonkavitch pointed out, the final resume speaks for itself.

“It was a heck of ride,” Tonkavitch said. “It’s just over now.”

Rob Burchianti is assistant sports editor of the Herald-Standard and can be reached at rvburchianti@hotmail.com.