Gateway unified bocce teams rolling toward sectional playoffs

By: Michael Love
Sunday, February 2, 2025 | 11:01 AM

The Gateway unified bocce teams hosted Fox Chapel on Thursday at the Furrie Sports Complex in front of a large contingent of junior and senior students.

The special start time of 2 p.m. allowed for a vast cheering section for the two Gators teams in the thick of the chase for the playoffs in the Allegheny East Division of the Three Rivers Region Unified Bocce League.

“The one thing that Unified Bocce wants us to do is to find as many whole-school engagements as we can,” Gateway unified bocce coach Jay Scarcelli said.

“We try to do a number of those type activities. (Athletic director) Don Holl and (principal) Justin Stephans thought it would be good to get the whole school involved in an actual bocce match. It gives accolades to a lot of students who wouldn’t otherwise have that.”

More than two dozen Gateway students, a mix of general education and special education students at the high school, have come together to play bocce in the club’s third season in the league hosted by the Special Olympics of Pennsylvania.

The competitive nature of the games mingles with the camaraderie and friendship among all the teammates.

Gracyn Fry, a senior and a three-year member of the team, didn’t know much about bocce when she joined the team as a sophomore. But that has changed to where she can’t imagine not being a part of the team.

“I’m not that great at it, but I really do love it,” said Fry in a recent article written for the Gateway School District’s staff newsletter.

“I love meeting all sorts of different people. General education, special education, it’s so interesting meeting everybody and talking with them and learning about their lives. And people from other schools as well, everyone is so friendly and it’s such a positive environment.”

From players like Fry in her third year to others just new to the sport, the connections made have strengthened the bond among team members.

From the competition side, it has created a pair of strong teams who are closing in on qualifying for the sectional playoffs which are set to begin Feb. 24 at North Allegheny High School.

The top five teams from the division advance to the section playoffs. One of Gateway’s teams entered Thursday’s match with Fox Chapel as the top seed in the Allegheny East standings at 6-0 with sweeps of Deer Lakes, Plum and Burrell.

Gateway’s other team was 4-2 and the No. 3 seed.

“Even though both teams have the Gateway name, they are totally independent of each other,” Scarcelli said.

“If both teams make the playoffs, they could end up playing each other.”

The Gators close out regular season play this Thursday against Riverview.

All six teams in the division field two teams, so 12 total teams are eligible to qualify for the playoffs.

The players on each 10-member Gateway team remain with that team throughout the season.

“We had to set the rosters for each team back in November,” Scarcelli said.

“Once those rosters are set, you can’t move players around. There’s a new rule this year that you are allowed to have two alternates, and they can be switched in and out every week.”

Because there are so many Gateway students who wanted to be involved, Scarcelli said there are six additional practice-squad players who are at practices and games.

“They will sometimes help out as officials or help design posters,” he said.

“Some kids are in charge of social media and others who are photographers. We have the kids involved with a lot of things.”

Scarcelli hopes that at least one Gateway team can qualify for the regional tournament at Geneva as one did in the first year of the program in 2023.

The top two teams from regionals advance to the state finals in Hershey.

“Our teams have athletes who can just drop the ball on a dime,” Scarcelli said.

“It’s not really something we can teach. It just comes down to whether they have a touch and a feel and good vision or they don’t. Whether they are an athlete (special needs) or a partner (general education), we have a good mix on both teams that just have it.”

Gateway Unified Bocce team members are Fry, Balaji Varadarajan, Nick LoCoco, Maeva Matza-Samazo, Connor Valentine, Patrick Mandreza, Abby Griffith, Ryan Valentine, Brandon Maldonado, Reilly Griffith, Alyssa Fritz, Piper Benson, James LoCoco, Gianna D’Agostino, Trey Treadwell, Amar Burrell-Merriweather, Nathan Marucci, Meghan Marsh, Je’Zel Sanford, Anna Walter, Daryn Madreza, Bret Rossi, Thomas Tuskan, Camden Simon, Saad Naveed, Conner Evans, and Noelle Simon.

“You see a lot of encouragement from the partners to their athletes throughout the matches and the practices,” Scarcelli said.

“They are always positive and push the athletes to be their best. Everyone is getting better in his or her own way. We had some newbies that went from never picking up a bocce ball before to now talking strategy with a throw. They go in with so much confidence. In matches, you see a lot of talking and collaboration amongst the team members.

“Olivia Garbett, one of the coaches of the teams, and Brooke Ruby, another coach, decided to start a club in the school outside of bocce to get interaction between regular education students and special needs kids. That is something you will see growing throughout the years. The hope is to do more things than just bocce.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Gateway