Author: delcohoops

PIAA Class 6A Girls Basketball: Carroll win over Henderson makes season more special for McFillins

Archbishop Carroll's Maddie McFillin, pictured, and sisters Felicity and Abigail helped Carroll win its opening game in the PIAA Class 6A tournament Friday. (Pete Bannan - The Associated Press)

Archbishop Carroll’s Maddie McFillin, pictured, and sisters Felicity and Abigail helped Carroll win its opening game in the PIAA Class 6A tournament Friday. (Pete Bannan – The Associated Press)

By Matt Smith

Archbishop Carroll sisters Felicity, Maddie and Abigail McFillin have played major roles on the team during the 2023-24 season.

Until now they’ve all lacked experience in the PIAA tournament. First-year starters Felicity (senior) and Maddie (junior) were on the Carroll team that took home the Class 6A championship a year ago, but they did not play a lot of minutes. Abigail is a freshman.

“We are going to remember this season for a long time,” said Maddie, the junior. “We are always together so we don’t always think about it when people bring it up. But we are going to look back when we’re older and say, ‘Do you remember that one time when we were all together?’”

If Carroll goes on to win another PIAA championship, the McFillin sisters will never forget this season, not in a million years. And because they’re important parts of the team, that makes this year’s run in states extra special.

Archbishop Carroll began its Class 6A title defense Friday with a convincing 58-37 win over West Chester Henderson. The Patriots (18-9) will play a second-round game Tuesday.

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Boys: Chichester senior Carlton Gordy III learns to calm the storm inside

From left are Chichester coach Clyde Jones, Chichester senior Carlton Gordy III and Chrisisy Swiggett, Gordy’s grandmother. (Photo: Joseph Santoliquito/CoBL)

By Joseph Santoliquito

A storm always seemed to be swirling somewhere. Carlton Gordy III could never quite understand why. Anything would set him off. Anything would send him into a brooding, quick-trigger rage throwing everything he could get his hands on.

He found solace on a basketball court. The cacophony of bouncing balls and squeaking sneakers had a way of easing an inner wrath he could not comprehend until recently.

The why? The how? The why me?  

The questions used to plague the gifted Chichester 6-foot-3 All-Del-Val League senior guard. He carries the thick, talented bloodlines of his grandfather, former Chester great Carlton “Silk” Gordy Sr. He never knew his father, Carlton Gordy Jr., another Chester hoops alum who played with Jameer Nelson, lost through an unforgivable act that Carlton III has reached into his deep reservoir to forgive.

This year, Carlton III finished his first varsity season as a starter with a team-high average of 15.4 points a game, after scoring 339 points, including dropping 23 in a last-second 47-46 loss at Chester. He is getting looks from Cheyney and Neumann University.  

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PIAA Preview ’23-24: Boys 6A Bracket Breakdown

Chester and Jalen Harris, above, have some potential to make a run. (Photo: Mark Jordan/CoBL)

By Josh Verlin

The PIAA 6A field is always stacked, 32 of the best big-school programs in the state battling it out over five rounds to lift a giant chocolate bar on March 23 in Hershey.

Here’s a look at the boys’ side of the 6A field, including contenders, dark horses, and all the star players to watch:

Chester (District 1-4, 20-4)
The Clippers have had a big bounce-back this season after missing out on the district playoffs entirely a year ago, getting to the semifinals this year after capturing the Del-Val League title. Head coach Keith Taylor has a deep and assertive group led by 6-5 forward Dominic Toy, senior wing Dante Atkinson, sophomore twins Daron and Jalen Harris and more.

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PIAA Preview ’23-24: Girls 6A Bracket Breakdown

By Owen McCue

Only four districts have put forth a large classification PIAA champion in the last decade, and that was three before Archbishop Carroll came out of District 12 last season. Cumberland Valley won three in a row out of District 3 from 2014-16 before District 1 and 7 faced off for the next five championships.

Unless there are some surprises, it looks like the top teams lie in familiar places with District 1, 12 and 7 boasting a few teams who look like they might have potential to make a run to the state crown.

Reigning champion Archbishop Carroll is back after a run to the Catholic League championship game, but there are plenty of worthy adversaries standing in their way of a repeat.

Here is a look at some of the top teams in the bracket: 

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PIAA Preview ’23-24: Local boys stars to know (Class 6A + 5A)

By CoBL Staff
With the state playoffs starting this weekend, we wanted to take a look at some of the area stars who could be in for a couple big weeks ahead. 

Here are some local standouts in the boys’ 5A and 6A brackets who folks around the state might be reading about en route to Hershey:

Dominic Toy (Sr. | F | Chester)
Chester’s multi-sport standout is in his last run of hoops, headed to UConn to play football this fall. A 6-5 hyper-athletic post, Toy is something of a combo ‘3’ and ‘4,’ though he gets most of his production done around the bucket, crashing the glass or using his combination of power and athleticism to get to the rim and finish.

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Girls: Archbishop Carroll’s McFillin trio winding down time together on court

Archbishop Carroll, from left, senior Felicity McFillin, freshman Abbie McFillin and junior Maddie McFillin pose together following a game earlier this season. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

By Owen McCue

Tension and anxiety filled even the neutral observer during the Philadelphia Catholic League girls championship last week.

As the game continued into one overtime and then another, the knuckles were a little whiter gripping two seats in the Archbishop Carroll cheering section.

Matt and Maureen McFillin had their nerves tripled with not just one, not just two but sometimes three daughters — Felicity, Maddie and Abbie — out on the floor at the Palestra at the same time of what ended up being a double overtime loss in the Catholic League title game for the Patriots. 

It’s a moment they’ll never forget though, Matt ensuring even in the most stressful seconds of the thriller to appreciate it.

“I said look up, look at this,” Matt recounted. “It’s packed in here. This will never happen again for these girls, all three of them on the same court in front of a sold out Palestra. I said enjoy this.”

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PIAA Preview ’23-24: Local girls stars to know (Class 6A + 5A)

By CoBL Staff

With the state playoffs starting this weekend, we wanted to take a look at some of the area stars who could be in for a couple big weeks ahead. 

Here are just a few of the local standouts in the girls’ 5A and 6A brackets who folks around the state might be reading about en route to Hershey:

Molly Rullo (Jr. | F | Cardinal O’Hara)
Rullo, a 1,000-point scorer, was a first team All-PCL selection for the second straight year. The 5-10 wing/forward was also a second team all-state selection last season. Rulllo has a versatile game but she has to play big for a Lions team that doesn’t have much size.

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2023-24 PIAA boys basketball brackets announced

 

By CoBL Staff

The PIAA boys basketball brackets, times and pairings were officially unveiled on Sunday. The 5A, 4A and 1A  tournaments begin Friday followed by the 6A, 3A and 2A tournaments on Saturday. 

Here are links to the six brackets followed by the times and pairings of the 37 local games on the schedule. All games at top seed unless otherwise noted:

6A

Sat., March 9
1-1 Lower Merion vs. 3-6 Cedar Crest, 1 PM
1-3 West Chester Henderson vs. 2-2 Hazleton Area, 1 PM
1-4 Chester vs. 3-4 Reading, 1 PM
1-2 Garnet Valley vs. 3-5 Central York, 1 PM
12-1 Roman Catholic vs. 1-11 Downingtown West, 2 PM @ St. Joe’s Prep HS
11-2 Liberty vs. 1-6 Coatesville, 3 PM
12-2 Lincoln vs. 1-8 Springfield Delco, 3 PM
11-1 Parkland vs. 1-10 Plymouth Whitemarsh, 3 PM
3-1 Cumberland Valley vs. 1-12 Bensalem, 3 PM
2-1 Scranton vs. 1-9 Spring-Ford, 4 PM
12-3 Archbishop Wood vs. 1-5 Methacton, 5 PM @ Cardinal O’Hara HS
3-2 Chambersburg vs. 1-7 Central Bucks East, 5 PM

(click on this link for all the brackets and games)

2023-24 PIAA girls basketball brackets announced

 

By CoBL Staff

The PIAA girls basketball brackets, times and pairings were officially unveiled on Sunday. The 6A, 3A and 2A tournaments begin Friday followed by the 5A, 4A and 1A tournaments on Saturday. 

Here are links to the six brackets followed by the times and pairings of the 36 local games on the schedule. All games at top seed unless otherwise noted:

6A

Fri., March 8
12-3 Dobbins Tech vs. 1-5 Haverford, 5:30 PM @ Archbishop Ryan HS
12-2 Cardinal O’Hara vs. 1-8 Upper Dublin,  6 PM
12-1 Archbishop Carroll vs. 1-11 West Chester Henderson, 6 PM
1-1 Perkiomen Valley vs. 3-6 Manheim Twp., 7 PM
2-1 Hazleton Area vs. 1-9 Pennsbury, 7 PM
11-1 Parkland vs. 1-10 Downingtown East, 7 PM
3-2 Dallastown vs. 1-7 Central Bucks East, 7 PM
1-3 Conestoga vs. 3-4 Wilson, 7 PM
3-1 Central Dauphin vs. 1-12 Kennett, 7 PM
11-2 Easton vs. 1-6 Garnet Valley, 7 PM
1-4 North Penn vs. 11-3 Emmaus, 7 PM
1-2 Spring-Ford vs. 3-5 Northeastern, 7 PM

(click on this link for all the brackets and games)

Boys: Lower Merion’s District 1 title run could be Downer’s best coaching job

Lower Merion coach Gregg Downer stands on the sidelines during Saturday’s District 1 6A championship game at the Liacouras Center. (Photo: Mark Jordan/CoBL)

By Joseph Santoliquito

Gregg Downer came out damp from being doused by his team celebrating Lower Merion’s third PIAA District 1 Class 6A championship in four years Saturday evening in the bowels of Temple’s Liacouras Center.

Back in November, the Aces’ legendary coach was not supposed to be here. Lower Merion was not supposed to get out of the Central League, let alone win the championship of one of the state’s toughest districts. But there he was again, doing what Downer has done for the previous 33 years—win.

Only this season comes with a caveat: The 2023-24 Aces are 27-1 and not one college coach has inquired about one player on his team.

The Aces continue to prove they have talent by their 57-49 victory over Garnet Valley in the District 1 championship on Saturday, the fourth district crown for Downer, who guided the Aces to District 1 titles in 1996 (Kobe Bryant’s senior year), 2021, 2022 and now 2024. He has three PIAA state championship crowns, 1996, 2006 and 2013, being the last PIAA District 1 team to win a state title.

But this season may be Downer’s greatest coaching job yet.

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