Central Catholic storms back to win big school title
In final, Vikings avenge earlier loss to Muhlenberg Township; Whitehall wins JV tournament title
Allentown Central Catholic played at 10 a.m. Sunday and lost to Muhlenberg Township.
That meant the Vikings’ path to the championship game in the 26th annual Cedar Beach Basketball Showcase had to go through a long, steamy day with some dips in the Little Lehigh Creek in between.
The players put their feet in the cool water between contests and that provided just enough refreshment to keep the Vikings going strong. They ended the day 11 hours after they started with a 34-29 win over Muhlenberg Township in the title game. That victory wrapped up the four-day, 55-team tournament that brought teams together on three different levels from throughout the region.
The championship was Central’s first since 2005 when the tournament was called the Stellar Construction “Catch A Rising Star” Showcase.
By any name, it was an impressive showing for the Vikings, who are coming off a 21-6 season that featured a disappointing ending with losses in the semifinals of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and District 11 4A tournaments and a firstround loss in the PIAA playoffs.
Rising sophomore Jahrel Vigo was the MVP and Nico Pulieri, who will be a senior, was a sixth-man award recipient.
But typical of the depth and scoring balance used by ACCHS to pull off its Super Sunday, Vigo scored just four points in the championship, none in the second half of yet another come-from-behind win on a day full of them by the Vikings.
David Fridia scored four points in the second half and had a team-high eight in the title game. Anthony Jones and Cole Cook scored three apiece for Central in the second half when they had just 15 points and a mere two field goals.
Thanks to a stout defensive effort, it was enough to beat a Muhlenberg Township team that is unbeaten in the Lehigh Valley Varsity Summer League and was unbeaten in the tournament until the last game.
“What a day,” said ACCHS assistant coach Kevin Keeler who was the lead voice on the bench through the weekend. “Every game we were fighting for our lives. We were down five or 10 at halftime and won games by two or four. We are fortunate to be deep because Jahrel was our MVP and he couldn’t hardly run because he was going down with cramps. We had another guy go down with cramps. It shows our depth and the pride of these guys.”
After losing 44-42 to Muhlenberg Township in the morning, Central battled its way through Berks County teams to get another shot at the Muhls.
They rallied late to beat Reading 38-34 and Wilson West Lawn 41-39 and beat Eastern Pennsylvania Conference rival Freedom 33-27 in the elimination bracket to get a second shot at Muhlenberg Township in the final. The tournament is double-elimination throughout the weekend, except for the final game. The team that emerges from the elimination bracket only has to beat the unbeaten team from the winners bracket once and that’s what ACCHS was able to do.
“I watched this tournament for years from home after we were knocked out and I used to pity the teams going through the loser’s bracket to have to play all of these games on a Sunday,” said Keeler, who was the head coach at Quakertown for 35 years before coming aboard as an assistant at Central in 2018. “But we got through it today. Muhlenberg Township is really good and we couldn’t score for awhile. But our press was really effective and changed the tempo. We got some steals here and there and once we got up our defense was tremendous. We closed out on their 3s. We live and die with our defense and it was a great defensive game. I’m just happy for the kids.”
Keeler said that in bringing teams down to Cedar Beach for years, he always told his kids to put their feet in the creek on the hottest days.
“I even used to play down here in my 20s and 30s and I used to go over there and put my feet in,” he said. “That’s what the kids did. They loved it. In fact, Jahrel almost put his whole body in there. It was about perseverance and our kids survived. They’re gritty. We didn’t have Griffin Patridge or Cole Cook this morning because they were at a baseball event, but it was good that they came back and helped us out.”
Man for all seasons
Patridge had a busy weekend, but in the end he was happy to be a champion again.
“I was at RIT [Rochester Institute of Technology] for baseball on Friday and Saturday and then this morning I was at a Lehigh football camp,” Patridge said. “But I really wanted to be back with these great teammates. Winning a championship is always special. It’s not our season, but it’s a good stepping-stone to get us going. Last summer, we didn’t win a lot, We had people missing. So to help us get going into next season, this is huge.”
Patridge loves sports and he’s a role model to kids in showing them that they play as many sports as they want and be successful in each.
“I love playing sports and showing the younger kids that they can play multiple sports and enjoy each one of them,” Patridge said. “I’m excited for my senior year because I think we can be successful in every sport.”
Whitehall wins JV tournament
Soon-to-be-sophomore Tommy Lloyd, son of former Whitehall star Jerry Lloyd, scored 13 points and was named the MVP as the Zephyrs won the JV tournament with a 47-36 win over Emmaus in the championship game played Sunday night at Cedar Beach.
Whitehall, whose varsity team went 7-15 last year, has shown signs of improvement throughout the offseason and the JV title signifies an uptick. The Zephyrs won five games overall and beat Allentown Central Catholic 59-19 early in the day and edged Whitehall 43-40 early in the afternoon and then won the rematch more decisively in the title game.
“It’s a great group of kids with great families,” said JV coach Erik Dogmanits. “It’s a team. It reminds me of the old Whitehall days when everybody plays hard and they come together and they’re scrappy. We preach Whitehall tradition and I’m just really proud of them for going out and winning this thing. We’re starting open gyms and lifting [Monday] and this should give them a boost into that. I always say get to the highest level as fast you can. Work your tail off and that’s these guys do. They worked extremely hard in this tournament and I’m proud of them.”
Mason Roberts and Talon Dogmanits had seven apiece for the Zephyrs.
Jack Lloyd, Tommy’s younger brother, and Brandon Bird, each hit big 3s.
Jack Csensits, nephew of Central Catholic coach Dennis Csensits, led Emmaus with 10.
All-tourney team
Big School Division — Luis Valentin (Muhlenberg Township); Jahrel Vigo (ACCHS); Greg Guidinger (Central York); Nick Ellis (Freedom); Josh Washington (Freedom). 6th Man: Nico Pulieri (ACCHS). MVP: Vigo (ACCHS).