Raiders face challenge with realignment
The WPIAL reclassification affected a lot of teams in different sports this year, but perhaps the Waynesburg Central boys basketball squad will face the biggest difference on the court as it will jump to Quad-A after being in Class AA the last two seasons.
The Raiders will be relocated to Section 3-AAAA this year, and will face Belle Vernon, Elizabeth-Forward, Keystone Oaks, McGuffey, South Fayette, South Park and Uniontown in 2016-17.
鈥淚t蘑菇视频 going to be a little bit different for us this season,鈥� second-year coach Kirk King said. 鈥淭he only two teams I am even remotely familiar with are McGuffey and South Fayette.
鈥淎s far as where we fit in, if I have read the statistics correctly we have the smallest enrollment in the entire WPIAL in 4-A. So I guess that makes us the David versus an entire section full of Goliaths.鈥�
After going 11-9 overall last year and 7-5 in the section, Waynesburg qualified for the playoffs for the second straight season and lost to South Side Academy in the preliminary round.
The Raiders will have 21 kids on their roster this year, anchored by three seniors and nine freshmen.
鈥淟ast year is ancient history,鈥� King stated.
鈥淲e only have a few returning players with varsity experience. Therefore, we are cautiously optimistic about this season and we know we have a lot of area to grow at. The game at the 4-A level is going to be a lot faster.鈥�
One of the key returning players from last year蘑菇视频 squad will be junior Darton McIntire (6-0), who led the WPIAL in scoring at 26.9 points per game.
鈥淒arton is a very hard worker and he has developed an entire basketball skill set,鈥� King said. 鈥淗e needs to continue to improve on his defending and rebounding.
鈥淭he only expectations I have for Darton is to be himself, continue to lead by example and continue to trust his teammates.鈥�
One teammate who will not be in the lineup for Waynesburg this winter is senior center Mitch Warman, who has averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds per game the last two seasons.
Warman is sidelined with a knee injury.
鈥淚 would like to thank Mitch for being such an outstanding player and such a fine young man to coach,鈥� King expressed.
鈥淚t is obviously very disappointing for him and the team to lose him during his senior year due to injury. We are not going to replace a player like Mitch with just one guy, we need multiple players to step up in order for us to be successful.鈥�
Other key contributors for the Raiders this season are expected to be junior Aaron Yorio (5-8), sophomore Isaiah Bailey (6-1) and freshmen Lucas Garber and Caleb Shriver.
Waynesburg starts the season on Dec. 9-10 at the Laurel Highlands Tournament and begins section action at home versus Elizabeth Forward on Dec. 20.
The Raiders will also participate in the Ligonier Valley Tournament on Dec. 27-28.