Springdale boys out to maintain program’s standards with young lineup

By: Ted Sarneso
Thursday, November 27, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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In his first year as Springdale’s boys basketball coach, Scott Ruppert had very little time to get to know his players and get them ready for the season.

After last year’s 59-44 loss to Northgate in the first round of the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs, the Dynamos have been consistently in the gym since April, in hopes of getting better and making a return trip to the postseason.

“I’ve got a young, energetic group of kids who are committed to what we call the grind,” said Ruppert. “We changed things up in terms of how we go about things. We’ve done some skills clinics, some camps and things of that nature. I’ve been blessed to finally get to know these kids, create relationships and spend an offseason with them.”

It’s a relatively young group that returns, but they learned a ton from a group of eight seniors who left their mark upon graduating last year.

“All eight of those kids were unbelievable role models, both in the school and the community,” said Ruppert. As a coach, you dream of having a group like that and it’s going to be hard to replace them.”

That group of players, who had never appeared in the playoffs in their varsity careers, was led by captains Pat Wylly, Garrett Myers and John Duku, who set the example of what it takes to be a great player, leader and overall person. Ruppert is confident the lessons they taught this year’s group will stay with them, not just this season, but into next year as well.

“We learned what grit is, what it takes to be resilient, how to fight through obstacles, what it takes to make a playoff run,” Ruppert said. “By playing in the playoffs, preparing for it, we got an understanding of what it takes to be a competitive, playoff team and what it takes to maintain that standard of being a perennial playoff team in 2A.”

Maintaining that standard this year will be a challenge. As Ruppert has said, he’s got a young group this year, but they are also inexperienced because last year’s seniors saw most of the playing time.

Leading the way are junior point guard Robby Simmen and junior forward Liam Dexter. Both saw plenty of action last year, with Simmen leading the team with 12 points per game and Dexter second on the team with 11.

“Robby’s a terrific overall player, and Liam took a monstrous step in terms of size and athleticism this offseason,” said Ruppert. “We’re looking for them to lead by character, being the best on the floor in all aspects: teammate, leadership and composure. They’re the ones that have to learn the most in the quickest amount of time.”

Looking to join Simmen and Dexter in the starting lineup are a trio of fellow juniors in guard Landon Linderman, center Trevor Clark and guard Wes Hickman.

“All three have great leadership qualities, all multi-sport athletes,” Ruppert said. “Those five are going to be a group that we expect to maintain the standard as well as raise the bar that this last senior class set.”

The only senior on the team, Dom Dejesus, will also get plenty of time on the floor. The Dynamos also have a group of sophomores who put in work all summer and some incoming freshmen who could make an impact.

“So far in open gyms and the offseason, they’ve all been committed and worked really hard,” said Ruppert. “They’re ready to go out there and battle every night we’re scheduled to play.”

And there lies the second challenging part of the season for the young Dynamos: their schedule.

Weeks before the start of the season, Ruppert admitted to not doing his team many favors with its nonsection schedule.

Springdale opens the season against Neighborhood Academy, which won the PIAA Class A title last year. Then the Dynamos face Burrell, a solid team, Hopewell, which has a new coach and an excellent sophomore class, is also on the schedule.

Then there are games against Apollo-Ridge and Perry, which has improved year over year, and their home opener is against St. Joseph, which gave the Dynamos a good game last year in a 67-49 win for Springdale.

“We’re trying to go out and play as many challenging teams as we can early to prep for our section,” Ruppert said.

Section 1-2A is one of the toughest, if not the toughest, in Class 2A. Jeannette won the WPIAL last year, Clairton is always in the playoff mix and has a group of athletic guards and Greensburg Central Catholic reloads every year and has a standard of being either a WPIAL semifinalist or finalist.

“For us to be the best, we have to play tough teams early and learn from it,” Ruppert said.

This will be a challenging season in many facets for the Dynamos, and they will face plenty of adversity. But if they can come through on the other end and grow from those tough moments, they could be a playoff team, if not this year, next year and be even stronger.

“What’s most important about this year is that when other teams play us, they know how hard my kids played, no matter what the scoreboard says,” said Ruppert.

Springdale boys at a glance

Coach: Scott Ruppert

Last year’s record: 14-9 (7-7 in Section 1, Class 2A)

Returning Starters: Robby Simmen (Jr., PG), Liam Dexter (Jr., F)

Top Newcomers: Landon Linderman (Jr. G), Wes Hickman (Jr. G), Trevor Clark (Jr., C)

SCHEDULE

Date, Opponent, Time

12.5, at Burrell, 7:30 p.m.

12.8, St. Joseph, 6 p.m.

12.10, Apollo-Ridge, 7 p.m.

12.12, at Clairton*, 7:30 p.m.

12.16, California*, 6 p.m.

12.19, at Bentworth*, 7:30 p.m.

12.20, Perry, noon (NEUTRAL SITE CHECK ON)

12.23, Riverview*, 7:30 p.m.

12.26, TBD+, TBD

12.27, TBD+, TBD

1.6, at Jeannette*, 7:30 p.m.

1.9, at Frazier*, 7 p.m.

1.10, Hopewell, 1 p.m.

1.13, Greensburg C.C.*, 6 p.m.

1.16, Clairton*, 7:30 p.m.

1.20, at California*, 7:30 p.m.

1.23, Bentworth*, 6 p.m.

1.27, at Riverview*, 7:30 p.m.

1.30, Jeannette*, 7:30 p.m.

2.3, Frazier*, 6 p.m.

2.6, at Greensburg C.C.*, 7:30 p.m.

*Section game

+Holiday tournament TBD

Tags: Springdale