Leopards, Raiders clash tonight in Game of the Week
Belle Vernon has had a few setbacks due to injury this season and Waynesburg Central wants to show everyone in the section that it is more than a one-man show.
The Leopards (1-1, 3-2) and Raiders (0-2, 1-4) enter tonight’s Section 3-AAAA game looking to add a victory before the Christmas break begins and the meat of the schedule starts in January. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
The Herald-Standard has chosen this evening contest at Belle Vernon Area High School to be its Boys Game of the Week with coach/player interviews and a highlight video on our website.
Belle Vernon (1-1, 3-2) won the section and a playoff game last year, but coach Kyle DeGregorio and his team have already experienced some challenges this season.
“It was nice to win a section title and playoff game last year, but none of that will carry of this season,” DeGregorio said. “I had two seniors on last year’s team that graduated and JJ Hartman tore his ACL in September. We also had my main inside post player in Joe Sabolek go down in practice on Monday with a dislocated knee cap, and he will be out for a while.
“We won’t make any excuses and still plan to use a rotation of 10 guys. Waynesburg is vastly improved from last year. Darton McIntire is a great player and he had to do so much last year because they had a lot of young guys, but to their credit, the other kids are better.”
McIntire scored his 1,000th career point in the Raiders’ opener on Dec. 8 against Laurel Highlands, and has been the catalyst for Waynesburg since he arrived his sophomore year, but Raiders coach Kirk King would like to see his teammates contribute.
“We know opponents are going to pay special attention to Darton, but that’s why we need other guys to step up,” King said. “We have a pretty deep bench, and I think that will help us. It really comes down to execution.
“I know that Belle Vernon will come at us hard with a press. I am also sorry to hear that Joe (Sabolek) got hurt. You hate to see any kid go down. We know that they are going to be ready and we have to be 100-perecent prepared.”
Waynesburg suffered two six-point setbacks to open section play against Elizabeth Forward (79-73) and Keystone Oaks (75-69), but King doesn’t view tonight’s contest as a must win.
“I really don’t want to put any extra emphasis on this game,” King said. “We put emphasis on every section, and we play against the seven other teams two times, so there is a lot of basketball to be played.”
In addition to McIntire, the Raiders will start Collin Rose, Lucas Garber, Richard Bortz and Jimmy Straight. Avery McConville, Brandon Turcheck, Aaron Yorio, Chris King and Blake Brewer are all capable of coming off the bench and adding significant minutes.
The Leopards opened section play with a 35-33 win over South Fayette before falling, 78-71, to South Park on Tuesday. The Eagles are the lone undefeated team in the section.
Belle Vernon’s Cam Nusser, Bryce Washington and Derek Thomas were all in double figures against South Park. The Leopards also rely on Griffin LaCarte, Logan Pfrogner and Jake Rathway. DeGregorio has eight sophomores, and they could all see playing time if needed.