Scholastic Notebook – 01/02/2015

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, January 2, 2015 | 5:34 PM

As WPIAL basketball heads into the new year, two of the best teams – record-wise – are the Southmoreland boys and the Jefferson-Morgan girls.

Say what?

Yes, it is unheard of the past few decades for the Southmoreland boys and Jefferson-Morgan girls to be doing so well in the same season. Winning isn’t associated much with the two teams. But get this: There is only one loss between them.

The Southmoreland boys are 10-1 and the Jefferson-Morgan girls are 10-0.

The Southmoreland boys are a big turnaround story, maybe the biggest in the WPIAL this season along with Bishop Canevin. Southmoreland won two games last season and did not win a game two years ago. Since moving from Class AA to AAA in the 2006-07 season, Southmoreland hasn’t finished above .500. Southmoreland started the season with 10 wins before losing to Belle Vernon, 58-50, on Tuesday.

The Jefferson-Morgan girls’ turnaround hasn’t been as profound from one season to another. A year ago, the Rockets won 12 games and 10 two years ago. But in the 19 years before that, Jefferson-Morgan won eight games or fewer in 18 seasons. There were four seasons with one win and an 0-23 season in 1999-2000.

True, Jefferson-Morgan has not exactly played a tremendous schedule, but what the Rockets have done is eye-opening, just considering the past. Defense has been a staple for this team as the Rockets are allowing only 34 points a game.

Maybe the Southmoreland boys and Jeff-Morgan girls aren’t big threats to win WPIAL titles, but what they have done so far is cause for excitement in their communities.

Undefeated Showdown

The number of undefeated teams in WPIAL boys basketball will shrink by one Saturday.

One of the most interesting games of the season so far will be a non-section contest with Indiana playing at Hampton at 12:30. Both teams are undefeated. Hampton is No. 1 in the MSA Sports Class AAA rankings and Indiana No. 5.

There are six undefeated teams in WPIAL boys basketball. Besides Hampton and Indiana, the other four are North Allegheny, South Fayette, Aliquippa and Sewickley Academy.

Freshman Phenom

Jefferson-Morgan is the alma mater of possibly the greatest wrestler in WPIAL history – Cary Kolat. Now, Jefferson-Morgan has another wrestler who might be headed for greatness.

Gavin Teasdale is only a freshman at Jeff-Morgan. He’s not big physically, but he’s already gigantic in wrestling circles. How good is he? Well, Intermat does national high school rankings and Teasdale is ranked No. 2 in the country at 106 pounds.

Teasdale is 17-0 this season and earlier this week won the 106 championship at the prestigious Powerade Tournament.

National attention is nothing new for Teasdale. He won national championships earlier this year in the Cadet National Freestyle and the FILA Cadet Nationals. He has talked about possibly winning four PIAA titles.

Top Swimmer Dies

A sad story in Western Pennsylvania sports earlier this week. Judson Shiffler, a senior at Hempfield, died Tuesday morning from injuries suffered in a car crash Monday morning.

Shiffler was a WPIAL champion swimmer. Last year, he won the WPIAL Class AAA 50-yard freestyle title and also was a part of Hempfield’s 200 medley relay team that won a title.

DiNucci, Wade Get National Attention

Football players Ben DiNucci of Pine-Richland and Lamont Wade of Clairton have made numerous all-star teams on the district and state level. But DiNucci and Wade recently made national all-star teams.

DiNucci, who set a state record for passing yards in a season, was named a second-team USA Today All-American. The selection was a little surprising. Despite DiNucci’s statistics, he is not rated highly among scouting services and he is not headed to a big-time college. DiNucci will play at Pennsylvania of the Ivy League. But his success and statistics this year attracted attention.

Meanwhile, Wade was a second-team selection for the MaxPreps.com sophomore All-American team. Wade made it as a defensive back. Wade also is a talented running back, setting a WPIAL record this year for rushing yards in a season. Wade already has a few scholarship offers from Division I schools.

Ravenstahl Retires

The man who guided Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic to the only WPIAL and PIAA football titles in school history has stepped down.

The school announced this week that Bob Ravenstahl has retired as coach. A year ago, Ravenstahl was selected the Pennsylvania Class A coach of the year after North Catholic won WPIAL and PIAA Class A championships.

Ravenstahl is a 1972 graduate of North Catholic. He started his coaching career at the school as an assistant coach, but became the head coach in 2006. After two mediocre seasons, he got the Trojans moving and won at least eight games five times in the past seven seasons. His team this year was 11-1, losing in the WPIAL semifinals. His teams last year and this year had a 27-game winning streak, seventh-longest in WPIAL history.

Ravenstahl is a district justice on the North Side an also the father of former mayor Luke Ravenstahl. The elder Ravenstahl finished with a 74-30 record. With North Catholic opening a new school in Cranberry this school year, and with enrollment at the school increasing, the job should attract a number of applicants.

Tags: Aliquippa, Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, Clairton, Hampton, Hempfield, Indiana, Jefferson-Morgan, North Catholic