By Bob Grotz
Chester High coach Larry Yarbray wasn’t in the mood to talk about reaching the 20-win mark for the seventh time in the last nine seasons following a 48-45 triumph over Springfield Friday night.
Not after the Clippers blew almost all of a 16-point halftime lead by going scoreless in the third quarter. Preliminarily, the Clippers haven’t been blanked in a quarter in at least 26 years, and possibly longer, according to a statistician who obviously didn’t have those scoresheets handy.
Whether the Clippers are playing for fifth-place in the District 1 Class 5A playoffs, which was the case with the Cougars, or the district championship, a goose egg for Chester High is unbearable.
“We scored zero points and the defensive intensity was flat,” Yarbray said. “But we get a chance to play next Friday in the states. So that’s the positive thought in my brain. And we’ve got a week to get there. A win’s a win right now. But we’ve got to want it more.”
The next chance the Clippers (20-6) get to show they can play four full quarters of basketball is against Milton Hershey, the third seed in District 3.
It’s hard to believe Milton Hershey has the perimeter shooting stroke of Springfield (15-11), which plays the winner of the District 2 title game between Abington Heights and West Scranton.
The Cougars made 11 three-point shots, including four in that infamous third quarter to slice a 32-16 halftime lead to just four points entering the final frame.
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