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Six things to watch for the week of Dec. 17-22 * It’s only a non-section game, but Monday’s boys basketball matchup between Latrobe and Allderdice is one of the better regular-season games locally this season. Latrobe (5-0) is ranked No. 2 in Class 6A, while host Allderdice (2-1) is No. 1 in the City League. The Dragons have won five straight City League titles. Both teams feature outstanding backcourts. Latrobe’s Reed Fenton is a Lehigh recruit and Bryce Butler is a West Liberty commit. Allderdice’s Jackson Blaufeld has committed to Dartmouth and Bobby Clifford is a Slippery Rock recruit. * There are only two WPIAL section games in boys basketball Monday. One of them, however, should be a really good one. Franklin Regional (5-0, 1-0) hosts Mars (3-0, 1-0) in a big Class 5A Section 3 game. It’s a rematch of last year’s WPIAL championship won by Mars, 54-44. Mars went on to reach the PIAA final. Each team is good again this season. Mars is ranked No. 1 and Franklin Regional No. 5. Mars is led by guards Andrew Recchia and Kori Fusco and 6-6 forward Michael Carmody. Franklin Regional is led by guards Nick Leopold and Adam Rudzinski. * So much for rust. Despite very little practice, the Aliquippa boys basketball team is off to a 2-0 start. Most of the team’s players were also on the school’s football team that won a state championship a little over a week ago. The Quips, ranked No. 2 in Class 3A, will face a huge test Tuesday when it plays host to No. 1 and defending champion Lincoln Park (3-0). Both teams are 1-0 in Section 1. Keeno Holmes continues to play well for Lincoln Park, which went 3-0 against Aliquippa last season. One of Aliquippa’s top players is M.J. Devonshire, who this weekend was named Post-Gazette co-player of the year for his football achievements. * There are some excellent girls basketball matchups this week, too. One of the best ones will come Monday when Class 5A No. 3 Mars (4-0, 1-0) hosts No. 5 Gateway (4-0, 1-0) in Section 2. Mars is the defending PIAA champion and Gateway is the reigning WPIAL champion. Mars beat Gateway, 50-38, in the PIAA quarterfinals. Mars has gotten off to another fine start behind the play of Bucknell recruit Tai Johnson and Bella Pelaia. The Planets will try to contain Gateway’s Lexi Jackson, a 6-foot-3 junior center who had a triple-double in a game last week. * The North Allegheny girls basketball team has won 40 games in a row against WPIAL opponents. Can Seneca Valley put an end to that run Monday? Top-ranked and two-time defending champion North Allegheny (4-0, 2-0) is the WPIAL title favorite in Class 6A, but No. 5 Seneca Valley (5-0, 1-0) has started strong and will try to stun the host Tigers when they meet in this Section 1 game. North Allegheny continues to be led by Rachel Martindale and Lizzy Groetsch, while Seneca Valley is led by McKenna Gross and Gretchen Koken. * The WPIAL's top four Class 3A wrestling teams will face off in a showcase Friday (Dec. 21) that will obviously play a big part in seeding of the WPIAL Team Tournament. No. 1 Kiski Area, No. 2 Canon-McMillan, No. 3 Seneca Valley, and No. 4 Hempfield are the participants for the showcase, which will be held at Canon-McMillan High School. It's not a complete quadrangular, since each team will only face two opponents. At 6 p.m., Canon-McMillan will face Hempfield, while Kiski Area is matched up with Seneca Valley. At 8 p.m., Kiski Area and Canon-McMillan will wrestle, while Hempfield and Seneca Valley face off. |