Chartiers Valley beats Peters Township to cap breakthrough season with WPIAL title
By:
Saturday, March 1, 2025 | 9:01 PM
Chartiers Valley celebrates with the trophy after beating Peters Township in the WPIAL Class 5A championship game Saturday at Petersen Events Center.
Chartiers Valley’s Danny Slizik fouls Peters Township’s Ben Miller during the WPIAL Class 5A championship game Saturday at Petersen Events Center.
Chartiers Valley’s Jayden Davis scores over Peters Township’s Jake Wetzel during the WPIAL Class 5A championship game Saturday at Petersen Events Center.
Chartiers Valley’s Danny Slizik scores past Peters Township’s Lucas Rost during the WPIAL Class 5A championship game Saturday at Petersen Events Center.
Chartiers Valley’s Jayden Davis pulls down a rebound against Peters Township during the WPIAL Class 5A championship game Saturday at Petersen Events Center.
Chartiers Valley celebrates beating Peters Township in the WPIAL Class 5A championship game Saturday at Petersen Events Center.
Chartiers Valley’s Julius Best scores over Peters Township’s Jake Wetzel during the WPIAL Class 5A championship game Saturday at Petersen Events Center.
Chartiers Valley’s Jayden Davis drives the ball up court against Peters Township’s Ben Miller during the WPIAL Class 5A championship game Saturday at Petersen Events Center.
Chartiers Valley’s Jayden Davis steals the ball from Peters Township’s Lucas Rost during the WPIAL Class 5A championship game Saturday at Petersen Events Center.
Chartiers Valley’s Julian Semplice scores past Peters Township’s Jayden Greco during the WPIAL Class 5A championship game Saturday at Petersen Events Center.
Chartiers Valley went from being a basketball program in turmoil to a WPIAL champion in a little over a year.
Led by first-year coach Corey Dotchin and prolific senior scorer Jayden Davis, fourth-seeded Chartiers Valley finished off its turnaround Saturday night by defeating No. 6 Peters Township, 73-66, in the WPIAL Class 5A final at Petersen Events Center.
Davis scored a game-high 28 points as the Colts led from start to finish.
The WPIAL title was Chartiers Valley’s seventh overall and first since 2015. It was a much better finish than last winter, when a troubled season led to a first-round loss.
“When I met them, the very first thing that I told them was they had too much talent to be an 11-12 team,” said Dotchin, who was hired in May. “And if they bought into what we preached and what we were going to do — and they worked hard — the sky was the limit for them.”
A 5-foot-11 guard with more than 2,000 career points, Davis led the Colts offense with an 11-for-17 shooting night and nine assists. After falling short before, Davis said winning a WPIAL title became his focus.
“I knew after last season, I was going to come in over the summer and work hard,” he said. “And I was going to come in here (to Petersen Events Center) and get it.”
Chartiers Valley (23-3) entered the finals as one of the WPIAL’s highest-scoring teams, averaging 70 points per game. Julian Semplice added 13 points, and Jake Lewis and Julius Best scored 10 points each.
The Colts ran out to a 12-2 lead, were ahead by double digits for much of the night and stayed composed when a third-quarter rally had Peters Township within five.
A 3-pointer by Jayden Greco cut the Colts’ lead to 40-35. Yet Chartiers Valley answered with a basket by Davis and a 3-pointer by Luca Federico in a 30-second span to push the lead back to 10.
“We were chipping away,” Peters Township coach Joe Urmann said. “We kept talking to our guys about getting three stops in a row. It seemed like maybe we’d get two and one would get away from us.”
Chartiers Valley led 17-10 after one quarter, 34-24 at half and 54-41 after three.
Ben Miller led Peters Township (18-8) with 18 points, Nick McCullough scored 17 and Dylan Donovan had 10. The Indians lost 6-foot-8 sophomore Jake Wetzel to an ankle injury early in the third quarter.
A disappointing start at the foul line put Peters Township in a double-digit hole. The Indians drew 12 fouls in the first half but converted only 4 of 15 free throws. They finished 7 for 22 from the line overall.
“That’s been a bit of a bugaboo for us this year,” Urmann said.
Chartiers Valley made 14 of 20 foul shots.
Eight WPIAL teams from Class 5A qualify for the PIAA playoffs. Chartiers Valley plays Cocalico (14-12), the ninth-place team from District 3. Peters Township hosts District 3’s Spring Grove (11-14), the eighth-place team. The first round is Friday.
“We’re going to enjoy this tonight and tomorrow,” Dotchin said. “We’ll get back at it next week.”
Chartiers Valley’s previous coach resigned in February after finishing last season on administrative leave. The district then hired Dotchin, who’d led Highlands to a 55-22 record in three seasons. Dotchin already had WPIAL championship experience having won a title as a Golden Rams assistant in 2020.
The players’ first introduction to him was a workout during the hiring process.
“There were a lot of good guys coming for this job,” Colts junior Logan Helfrick said. “But as soon as he put us through this 30-minute workout, I knew we were going to do something special.”
Special, as in celebrating Chartiers Valley’s first title in a decade.
“We had a ton of kids up in those stands who got to see what we’re trying to build here,” Dotchin said. “This is really program changing, culture changing.”
Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.
Tags: Chartiers Valley, Peters Township
More High School Basketball
• Quaker Valley graduate Adou Thiero declares for NBA Draft after junior season at Arkansas• Sewickley Academy coach, players reflect on special season, PIAA runner-up finish
• Valley’s Allen wins MVP, East boys win Cager Classic in overtime
• West girls team rallies after slow start to win Cager Classic
• Riverview’s Katerina Tsambis named Valley News Dispatch girls basketball player of the year
