Dec 11, 2004 By Dave Stofcheck 3 min read

Whether he was being pessimistic or a master motivator, Uniontown coach Robbie Kezmarsky gave his team an earful on the heels of a 71-50 non-section win over visiting Waynesburg Central Friday night. The game was close for the first quarter and change, but the Red Raiders blitzed the visitors with a 13-0 run in a span of just under two minutes and never looked back.

Thanks to the win, Uniontown will take a 3-1 mark into Tuesday night’s Section 1-AAAA opener at Norwin. But Kezmarsky sounded more like a coach in search of his first win after Friday night’s game.

“For us to be successful, we have to play with energy and emotion every second of every game,” he said. “We have to be mentally tough. That’s what we want for our kids.”

Zack Sawka’s baseline runner gave Uniontown a quick 5-2 lead, but Waynesburg went on a 7-2 run and scored the first quarter’s last basket to lead 11-9.

Waynesburg’s Nate Stoner then took a pretty pass from C.J. Mason and finished the play with a two-handed slam from the baseline to push the visitors’ lead to four points 35 seconds into the second quarter.

Sawka answered with a three-pointer and started the 13-0 run. Eric Johnson’s basket then gave Uniontown the lead for good, and Kishaun Cook followed with a two-handed jam of his own to make it 16-13.

Quindale Dean than sandwiched a pair of lay-ups around one by Sawka and, just like that, Uniontown led 22-13.

“Early in the game, Waynesburg was actually pressuring us,” Kezmarsky said. “Maybe they got a little tired, but they did a good job early on. Then we started to push the ball. But we have to play like that for four quarters, not three.

“When you have one varsity player returning with experience, you’re going to have your ups and downs. And with our tradition, the kids want to do so well that maybe they’re trying too hard.”

Uniontown pushed its lead to double digits by the end of the half, 32-21, and Waynesburg never got closer than nine points the rest of the way.

Sawka led Uniontown with 16 points, six of which came on a pair of three-pointers, while Cook added 15 points and pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds. Rodney Thomas chipped in a pair of treys and finished with 10 points off the bench.

Stoner led Waynesburg with 16 points, while Anthony Bocchini added 12 points and a team-high five rebounds.

The Raiders dropped to 0-4 with the loss, with three of the setbacks coming against Quad-A schools. Waynesburg hosts South Park Tuesday in its Section 4-AAA and home opener.

“I haven’t given up on this team; my assistants haven’t given up on this team. Maybe the fans have, but this isn’t football season. We still have 20 games left to get this thing turned around,” said second-year Waynesburg coach Mark Stoner.

Stoner was especially fiery during Friday night’s game, having to be restrained twice by his players from arguing calls with game officials.

He also glared at a fan sitting behind the scorer’s table that told him to “sit down” during the early stages of the game.

“I wasn’t going to let our kids come in here and be intimidated,” Stoner said. “My wife thinks I’m a jerk sometimes, but I made it clear with my team and the officials that we weren’t going to be pushed around.”