Trojans Leapfrog to Quarterfinals

Two wrongs don’t make a right, but for the Hershey boys basketball team, the result is an unchallenged path to the state quarterfinals.

Without breaking a sweat, coach Paul Blackburn’s Trojans have reached the Elite 8 of the PIAA 5A championship, and they have two teams to thank: Uniontown and Meadville. The first-round game between the Red Raiders and Bulldogs came to an abrupt close last weekend when a brawl involving fans and players erupted late in the fourth quarter.

After a long weekend of deliberation, the PIAA announced the removal of both teams from the postseason and further sanctions for next year if the programs do not adhere to a five-point plan of action.

The PIAA decision means that Hershey (23-3), which opened its tournament with a 52-43 victory over Penn-Trafford on Friday, March 7, has no opponent for the second round and will advance to the state quarterfinals against West York, which beat Peters Township in the second round. Friday’s game will mark the first time the Trojans have advanced to the Elite 8 in Blackburn’s 15 years at Hershey.

“I feel the same way I felt when I watched it all unfold after our game Friday,” Blackburn said. “I have no control over what happens, so I’m not going to worry about it. My message to the team was the same.

“We did what we were asked to do, and we are advancing. Hershey is in.”

The controversy – which may not yet be over, as Meadville considers legal action against the PIAA, per the Erie Times-News – casts a dark cloud over what had been an entertaining opening round. This includes Hershey’s back-and-forth victory over Penn-Trafford.

In what Blackburn called a “physical and ultra-competitive” game, Hershey raced out to a 17-11 lead after one quarter. The Trojans were fueled by Cameron Sweeney, who scored 10 of his 22 points after the opening whistle. Unfazed, Penn-Trafford (14-13) chipped away in the second quarter and swiped the lead from Hershey. The Warriors led 27-24 at halftime, with a lay up from Hershey’s Aidan Miller cutting the lead to three points just before the break.

“We started off slow, but we got things going in the second half to beat a very good Penn-Trafford team,” Miller said.

Things indeed got better for the Trojans in the second half. They tightened up on their defense and rebounding and leaned on the transition game and star power of Sweeney, who posted 12 points over the final two quarters. Hershey was able to play relentlessly on fresh legs thanks to a quality effort from reserves Jaiden Waynes, Grant Later and Jack Zakovitch.

“We got great minutes from our bench, which was a great lift,” Blackburn said. “And Aidan Miller, Drew Grana, James Campbell IV, and Roman Panko did what starters do – they played defense, shared the ball and stayed connected all night.”

After building a 38-31 lead through three quarters, the Trojans kept the Warriors an arms-length away for the remainder of the game. One of the decisive moments in the fourth quarter came when Miller poked away a steal and dished to Grana, who then unleashed a crowd-pleasing dunk.

Blackburn noted the performance of Sweeney, who recorded 13 rebounds and four assists, saying, “He really makes things happen for our team.” Also cracking the scoreboard for Hershey was Panko (9), Miller (6), Campbell (6), Zakovitch (5), Later (2), nd Grana (2).

“Penn-Trafford was a well-coached, tough group of players,” Blackburn said. “It was a great state win. We are happy to still be playing basketball in Hershey.”

Editor’s Note: Sports reporter Lloyd Reigel contributed to this story. You can read more here!