Ligonier Valley tandem Paola, Marinchak out for redemption

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, January 19, 2018 | 3:52 PM

Every day he walks into the gymnasium at Ligonier Valley, Michael Marinchak stares at a blank banner with hope. Marinchak, only a sophomore but already one of the unquestioned leaders of the school's basketball team, hopes he can help to lead the Rams to something significant enough to start filling that void.

They came close last season but fell short of their expectations, despite 17 victories and an 11-2 mark in the Heritage Conference.

“We like to think of this year as our redemption year,” said Marinchak, a 5-foot-10 point guard, who is the team's second-leading scorer (18.3 ppg) and leader in assists (5.8 apg).

Ligonier Valley leads the conference with a 7-0 mark entering Friday night's game at Saltsburg, which ousted the Rams in the Heritage championship game a year ago.

“Our goal definitely is to win a championship, whether it's the Heritage Conference, or District 6, or something even bigger,” he said. “It's our motivation.”

Ligonier Valley (10-4) has lost two games to WPIAL opponents, including an overtime decision in the opener against Greensburg Salem.

When Ligonier Valley visits Saltsburg (6-7, 3-4) in a rematch of an 84-60 victory over the Trojans on Dec. 19, Marinchak and 6-6 junior Marrek Paola, who averages a double-double (26.8 ppg, 13.2 rpg), will carry on the business of trying to help the Rams stay perfect in league play.

The goal, remember, is to put that blank banner to use back at Ligonier Valley.

“Mainly, the starting five that we have now has been playing together since sixth grade,” Paola said. “We have pretty good chemistry.”

But both players join coach Todd Hepner in at least one common theme that the Rams, for their own sake, hopefully have embraced.

“Those two guys are the targets,” Hepner said. “Every team tries to figure out how to stop them. They work well together because they've been playing basketball together for a long time. But we have other threats. I truly don't think we're just a two-man team. There are some other guys who have come a long way.”

While Marinchak also plays baseball and Paola competes in track and field, they generally don't immerse themselves like they do in basketball.

“The focus for Michael and I is mainly basketball year-round, but we're just about the only ones on the team like that,” Paola said.

Neither Marinchak nor Paola played for the Ligonier Valley football team, which reached the PIAA Class 2A semifinals in 2016 and the quarterfinals in 2017.

But two of the football team's stars — senior Jackson Daugherty and junior Aaron Tutino — rejoined the basketball team late after recovering from injuries and have played in just six games each.

And while they aren't among the team's statistical leaders, their presence are perceived as invaluable, all seem to agree.

“Those guys have a lot of experience in important situations,” Paola said. “In some instances, they can calm a person down if the game gets intense. They've been in those high-pressure situations more times than the rest of us.”

Hepner considers Daugherty as the team's leader.

“Michael runs the offense, and he does a great job, especially as a sophomore,” Hepner said. “And Marrek is a force down low. He scores at will sometimes, and he's a tenacious rebounder. But you need a senior leader out there. Jackson Daugherty is that guy.”

Hepner said that Daugherty, Tutino and others offer their own unique qualities.

“Aaron Tutino is very quick, a heck of a defender,” Hepner said. “Jackson can jump and rebounds well.”

Hepner, like most any coach, wants everyone involved. He's constantly tinkering with the Rams lineup. But there are times you must look to your leaders.

“Coach likes to mix it up in practice,” Marinchak said. “He's always putting different guys out there with Marrek and me. That way, all those guys can get experience, and that's crucial for when we get into the playoffs and the competition gets tougher.

“He wants to know he can count on everyone and not just a couple of guys.”

Paola is excited about being a part of a high-profile, frontcourt/backcourt duo.

“We work well together,” he said, “but we know our teammates are there, even the guys on the bench. We've got a great group, and we're able to count on everyone for contributions.”

Senior Andrew Pleskovitch (9.8 ppg) and sophomore Jaxon Ludwig (9.5) are close to giving Ligonier Valley four double-figure scorers through 14 games, and Pleskovitch is the team's second-leading rebounder (7.3 rpg), behind Paola.

Dave Mackall is a freelance writer.

Tags: Ligonier Valley