STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — We too often get lost in the big-lights, big-city atmosphere that high school sports can sometimes turn into. We get too lost looking for "the next great big thing." State championships feature glamour teams. Teams filled with future stars. Then we meet
Tyler Henry and South Fayette’s boys basketball team and remember the beauty of high school sports. Its purity. Its essence. The reason why we’re so compelled to it.
Because all you have to do is look at someone like Henry.
The senior guard, generously listed at 6-foot, will never take another shot again. His lasting memory of the last time he wore a basketball uniform will be of a put-back basket that won the PIAA Class AA state championship over a team no one thought they could beat. Think Hoosiers — the Pennsylvania version.
Henry’s layup in the closing seconds gave South Fayette, a team that had never won a district title in its school history, an upset victory over Philadelphia powerhouse Strawberry Mansion, 49-47, Saturday at Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center to win the PIAA Class AA state championship. Henry finished with 10 points, but none bigger than the bucket he scored with 0:25 left to spell the difference against the Knights.
"Yep, that was it," said Henry, who’s headed to West Virginia and said he’ll never play organized basketball again. "That was my last shot, and it’s to win a state championship, in the fourth-largest state in the country, against one of the best teams in the state. Yeah, you can say it doesn’t get any bigger than that. It’s something I think I’ll always remember. What a way to go out."
What a way to put down Strawberry Mansion, a team that was 28-1 when the Knights entered the game, while the Lions concluded their most amazing season 24-5 — all thanks to Henry’s putback.
"It was all right there for me, I grabbed the rebound and put no thought whatsoever into taking the shot, I just wanted to get it up before it was going to challenged, and I knew the shot was going to get challenged," Henry said.
Strawberry Mansion had the last possession, and tried to work the ball into the hands of 6-4 senior guard Devonte Newbill, who’s headed to Marquette and finished with a team-high 15 points.
"I wanted to take the last shot, and was looking to get an open shot, but they all stepped to me," Newbill said. "I have faith in my teammates, I’ve had faith in my teammates all year."
Newbill, with three Lions converging on him, passed to Khalil Meadows, whose shot from the foul line with :02 left was long and clanged off the iron. The South Fayette players rejoiced, while the Strawberry Mansion players collapsed to the floor.
Afterward, we got another reminder of why high school sports are so special. Newbill was inconsolable after the game and had his jersey drawn over his head during the post-game handshake. After talking to reporters after the loss, Newbill had to excuse himself for a few minutes because, "I have to congratulate (South Fayette); they played a great game and I didn’t get a chance to shake their hands afterward."
Newbill exhibited yet another facet at the high level of high school sports that too often gets overlooked after a crushing defeat — class.
CLASS A
Sewickley Academy entered the Class A title game with a 26-2 mark, Reading Central Catholic came in at 30-1. Something had to give — and after three tense quarters, it was Sewickley that surged ahead, winning the Class A boys state championship, 43-35, behind 15 points from Tyler Palmer, 11 from Tom Droney and 10 from Carrington Motley.
It marked the first time the Panthers won the state title since 1997, when they turned back Schuylkill Haven, 52-45. A clutch 3-pointer by Marquis Marshall, the son of former Reading great Donyell Marshall, with 2:04 left in the game pulled the Cardinals to within 36-35, but Marshall’s basket wound up being the last time reading scored.
GIRLS FINALS
There’s hot — and then there’s torridly hot. Then there is otherworldly hot. Kayla McBride certainly fit the third category. The 5-11 senior guard went on a rampage, scoring 17 straight and 19 of Villa Maria’s final 22 points to lead the Victors to a 52-44 victory over York Catholic in the Class AA girls title game. It marked the second-straight state title for Erie-area school. Thanks to McBride.
"Being a captain, being a senior, I just did what I had to do," McBride said. "I felt like I had to take over, I did and we pulled out the win."
BISHOP GUILFOYLE 49, NORTHERN CAMBRIA 29
In the Class A championship, there was another repeat champion. The Lady Marauders capped a pristine 30-0 season by easily getting by Northern Cambria, 49-29, getting 16 points and 14 rebounds from Alli Williams, and 11 points and 8 rebounds from Halee Adams.
ARCHBISHOP WOOD 49, INDIANA 39
This was the first time Archbishop Wood ever reached the Class AAA state finals. But don’t blame the Lady Vikings. They have to go through the rugged Philadelphia Catholic League, which features the treacherous path of going through national powers Cardinal O’Hara and Archbishop Carroll.
But this season was different. The Lady Vikings beat both teams this season for the first time in school history. Their reward: meeting 25-2 Indiana.
After missing what appeared shot after shot in the first half, Wood rebounded for a 49-39 victory and the first PIAA state championship in school history, behind a team-high 16 points from junior Christine Verrelle, 11 from Stephanie Keyes and 10 from Samantha Greenfield.
"This is an amazing feeling," said Greenfield, Wood's lone senior starter. "Maybe it will sink in that we won. We had some tough shooting in the first half, but we bounced back to do this — and bring this (state championship trophy) home with us."
Joseph Santoliquito covers high school sports for the Philadelphia Daily News and is a contributor to MaxPreps.com. He can be contacted at JSantoliquito@yahoo.com.
