The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Perry prevails in sectional final; East Palestine’s resilience lauded
The Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine that released hazardous chemicals into the town’s ground and water supply has upended the lives of its citizens and become international news for the past three weeks.
It was far from certain that the East Palestine basketball team, some of whom were evacuated from their homes for several days and unable to attend school for two weeks, would be able to finish its season.
The Bulldogs were eventually able to complete their regular season and traveled to Perry for a Division III sectional final Feb. 23.
The No. 2 seed Pirates, 17-5 and CVC Lake Division champions, were heavy favorites over No. 30 seed East Palestine, which came in at 4-17. The game played out as might be expected, as Perry was in control start to finish in a 50-9 victory behind a smothering defense and opportunistic offense.
But for the Bulldogs, just being able to be together, make the trip up to Perry and play a postseason game helped take their collective minds off the upheaval back home and give back a sense of normalcy.
“It was awesome to be able to continue a season when there were those who didn’t think we would have it,” East Palestine coach Tristan Reynolds said. “It was awesome to be able to play one more time, and we were able to get senior night in last week, too. Our administration has been awesome
in getting us on the court and fighting for us.
“It’s not the way we wanted to go out, but I still think our boys played hard. I think Perry has a legit chance of (winning) districts, and I wish them all the best. That’s a tough team.”
Reynolds said Norfolk Southern paid for two chartered buses so East Palestine could have transportation to Perry and also paid for preand post-game meals.
“You’ve got to think, these are 16- and 17-yearold kids, and to be put in front of a camera like some of them have is challenging, but they’ve handled it really well,” Reynolds said. “We always hang our hat and tough times don’t last, but tough people do. These kids are tough, and the maturity level I’ve seen out of them is awesome.”
All 10 Pirates on the roster got into the game, and Jake Cubbison’s 15 points and Brayden Richards’ nine led the way.
“I give them a lot of
credit just to come up here and play with all the disruption they’ve had,” Perry coach Al Iacofano said. “I was asked probably a dozen times in the last week or so if they were playing this game, with everything going on down there. They came an hour and 45 minutes up here and they competed and played hard.”
Perry has an outstanding season, going 17-5 overall and capturing an unbeaten, outright CVC Lake Championship, and beating rivals Madison and Riverside.
Cubbison, a senior, has averaged 21.8 points per game and sank 55 3-pointers coming in to Feb. 23. Richards, a junior, came in averaging 16.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 4 assists. Owen Tomasic, Walter Moses, Owen McKoon, Charlie Rockwell and Datone Washington all play key roles.
“There’s a number of things that have carried us,” Iacofano said. “We’ve got great seniors. Jake Cubbison has led all year, and for four years as a starter, and that always helps the cause. We have a great point guard (Richards) who is extremely experienced and in his third year starting.
“Then we have some excellent guys around those guys that can help relieve pressure, score when they get the basketball, and accept their roles.”
Perry has been in Division II for a number of years, but this year has dropped to D-III. The Pirates will play a distinct semifinal Feb. 28 at Niles McKinley against the winner of Newton Falls and Waterloo.
“The guys in the locker room remember, this round of game the last couple years has been against a really good Chardon team two years on a row in the sectional final,” Iacofano said. “The division change may give us a different competition level early on, but then that’s it. We know we’ll be walking into a very competitive, tough game at a neutral site.”
Perry athletic director T.J. Rockwell led the crowd in a standing ovation for East Palestine during a timeout late in the fourth quarter, and made an announcement afterward.
“I give them a ton of credit, to come up here and travel an hour and 45 minutes on a Thursday night to play as a sectional game,” Rockwell said. “Obviously their community has bigger things on their plates right now.
“The biggest thing we thought about was this could happen anywhere. It happened in East Palestine, it could happen here in Perry. We communicated with our community that we were going to do a fundraiser for the East Palestine athletic department. I’m so proud to be from Perry — we raised over $2,000 tonight to give to their athletic department.”