DANTE’S INFERNO
An intense fire burns within OLSH’s senior point guard
After his Our Lady of the Sacred Heart teammates had just won a third consecutive WPIAL title, Dante Spadafora talked about how this one was the best because it meant he might be starting to secure his legacy.
When told of Spadafora’s comments, Mike Rodriguez gave a good laugh.
“I don’t think he has to worry about his legacy,” Rodriguez said.
True. It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say Spadafora already has established a legacy as one of the most accomplished players the WPIAL has seen in years.
They have been staging WPIAL championship games for 109 years. In all those years, the title games have had only one other player like Spadafora.
When they threw the ball up to start the WPIAL Class 2A championship last Saturday at Peters Township, Spadafora became only the second known player to start four championship games. The other was Keeno Holmes of Lincoln Park, who started four from 2016-19.
Spadafora, the intense, 5-foot -11 senior point guard who puts the charge in the Chargers, started his first championship game in 2018 at Pitt’s Petersen Events Center against Sewickley Academy. He scored 16 points in an OLSH loss. For the next three years, Spadafora walked away from the title game with a gold medal around his neck. He scored a game-high 25 points this year as OLSH beat Greensburg Central Catholic, 7152.
OLSH became only the 10th boys team in WPIAL history to win three consecutive championships and only the 20th since 1950 to win a WPIAL championship with a perfect record. The Chargers are 21-0 heading into the PIAA playoffs.
“He never lost a home game in his career,” Rodriguez said. “As a freshman, he led us to the state final. He won three straight WPIAL titles. I think he already has a pretty good legacy.”
But there’s even more impressive statistics to Spadafora’s legacy. It’s been Dante’s inferno at OLSH many times the past four seasons:
• During his four years as a starter, OLSH has a 98-8 record.
You can bet not many WPIAL players have started on teams that won close to 100 games. If OLSH wins two PIAA games, Spadafora will get 100.
• He has 1,743 career points. If COVID-19 wouldn’t have stopped last year’s season after the PIAA second round and if this season hadn’t been shortened, Spadafora would’ve had a good shot to score 2,000. He is averaging 19 points a game this season.
• He has helped the team to a 37-game winning streak, one of the longest streaks in the WPIAL in a number of years.
• In four championship games that he started, Spadafora scored 67 points.
• He also will be known as one of the most potent onetwo punches in WPIAL basketball history. Jake DiMichele is a junior guard who also has more than 1,700 career points. That’s more than 3,400 points between two players.
But about that Spadafora legacy. What exactly does he want it to be after he plays his final game in the purple and gold?
“Honestly, finishing off the third WPIAL championship was nice, but I just want to be known as a winner,” Spadafora said. “Hopefully, I can try to make that all-state team because this would be my fourth year for that. We lost in the state championship my freshman year. Hopefully, we can get back there again. If I am in in the state championship again, there’s no way I’m losing this time.”
Spadafora believes he is a much different player now than his freshman year – at least mentally.
“I’m more mature,”
Spadafora said. “Once I started to mature, I started to take on more of a leader role.” But part of that leader role is still carrying a fiery attitude. And sometimes trying to light a fire under his teammates. In the first quarter of the championship Saturday, the score was close. Greensburg Central Catholic had just gotten a few offensive rebounds and a Greensburg Central player was getting ready to shoot a free throw. Spadafora was standing near half court when he raised his voice at his teammates who were on the foul lane. “Hey guys, you gotta want it,” Spadafora said loudly. In the end, OLSH got it. Now it’s on to the PIAA playoffs. OLSH will play a quarterfinal game at home Saturday against the winner of Wednesday’s game between Karns City (22-2) and Conemaugh Township (145). If OLSH would win that game, the Chargers would play in the semifinals Tuesday against the winner of the game between Kennedy Catholic (22-2) and Portage (20-2). “After we lost in the WPIAL and state finals (in 2018), I remember seeing the tears of my teammates,” Spadafora said. “After seeing that, I don’t want that to happen again.” But as Rodriguez pointed out, no matter what happens in the PIAA playoffs, Spadafora already has a special legacy. It’s already cemented. And after OLSH, maybe there is another legacy to be established at West Liberty University, a top NCAA Division II team. Spadafora has signed with the Hilltoppers. “West Liberty is getting a steal,” Rodriguez said.