LESSONS LEARNED
The foundation for Beaver’s perfect season was laid two decades ago
Beaver coach Greg Huston spoke about trust when addressing his team prior to last Friday’s WPIAL Class 4A championship game — trust in each other and trust in their coaches.
It was similar to the speech delivered to Huston by a legendary coach two decades earlier when, as a player, Huston won his second WPIAL title.
That trust showed in Beaver’s play, as the Bobcats beat Quaker Valley to earn the program’s first WPIAL title after falling just short two of the previous three years.
For this Huston, there was certainly not a problem.
Beaver continued its perfect ways, improving to 20-0 after taking down section rival Quaker Valley, 45-29, at Peters Township. The Bobcats became just the 20th team to win a WPIAL title with an undefeated record.
The third time was a charm for Huston and his team, who fell to North Catholic on a lastsecond shot in the 2018 championship and to Mohawk in last season’s final.
“The biggest feeling was relief,” said Huston. “After losing two the last couple of years, we really wanted it bad. We knew we had a great team coming back. To get it felt really good.”
As a player at nearby Blackhawk, Huston won a lot when he played for John Miller, who captured eight WPIAL titles, four PIAA titles and won 657 games overall before retiring in 2005. Huston, a 2000 graduate, was a WPIAL champion his junior and senior seasons, and a PIAA champion his junior season. He came off the bench his junior season and was a starter as a senior. Brandon Fuss-Cheatham was the star of those teams.
If you watch closely, many of the plays Beaver runs are old Miller plays. Huston said about 90% of them, actually. The big difference is personalities. In that area, Miller and Huston are nothing alike.
“Our personalities are probably 100% opposite,” said Huston, 39. “Our styles with the kids are a little different. But when it comes to the game itself, everything I know about basketball is from him. I’m calm and laid back, but the focus and the desire when the lights come on, I think a lot of that style comes from him, too.”
Huston said Miller sent him a congratulatory text over the weekend. Miller attended one of the BeaverBlackhawk games this season, Huston said.
There were also some congratulatorytexts sent between Huston and Neshannock coach Luann Grybowski, whose team won the WPIAL Class 2A title Saturday. Huston spent four seasons at Neshannock (one as an assistant and three as head coach) prior to coming to Beaver in 2009.
The calling card of this Beaver team continues to be defense. The Bobcats give up just 25.1 points per game, by far the top mark in the WPIAL. They gave up an average of 26.7 points in four WPIAL playoff games. In the championship, the Bobcats held Quaker Valley without a field goal in the second quarter and without a point in the third.
“We emphasize it and it’s a big part of what we do,” Huston said. “One of the best ways to win a game is to keep the other team from scoring. That’s the philosophy of it, but the girls have to buy in and they have. The second part is we have a bunch of tall, long-armed, fast, athletic kids. You can want to do it, but if your kids can’t physically do it, it doesn’t work.”
Huston isn’t short on talent. Beaver has a star in point guard Emma Pavelek, a Navy recruit and four-year starter who is one of the WPIAL’s best players. The senior class also includes twins Kenzie and Maddie Weiland, Anna Blum and Natalie Priest. Junior Payton List is the lone underclassman starter.
“We’ve had some great groups come through here,” said Huston. “Lexi Posset’s group and Bella Posset’s group. Those were great groups. I have nothing but fond memories of them, but this group is the one that gets to say they took it all the way and got it done. I’m so proud of this group.”
Huston, who won a PIAA title as a player, will now try to guide Beaver to its first state championship. Only five WPIAL girls teams have won a PIAA title with an unbeaten record. The Bobcats reached the quarterfinals the last two seasons. They will host District 10 power and fellow undefeated Villa Maria (18-0) in Saturday’s quarterfinals.
“We know what they’re like traditionally. They’re always good and are always going to be good,” Huston said. “You know they are going to be well prepared and you know it’s going to be tough.”