Cocalico Comes ‘Full Circle’ As Eagles Knock Lower Dauphin From District Playoffs, Capture Final Spot In State Tournament Field For First Time Since 1983
Written by: Andy Herr on February 28, 2025
Quick question here, but what’s the best way to get to either Chartiers Valley or Peters Township High School? Sure, while there’s bound to be various twists and turns involved, especially considering the roughly 15 miles that separates those schools apart from one another, your best bet is to simply get on the PA Turnpike and start heading west. Like beyond the city of Pittsburgh type “west.”
That would be one way in which to go. Then again, you could always opt for taking the far more scenic route in order to get there, such as the case that both Cocalico and Lower Dauphin opted to embark on when navigating throughout this year’s District 3-5A field.
Officially, it’s known as the “consolation bracket.” In District 3-5A, it’s the only one of its kind given the sheer number of 5A schools comprised within the massive footprint. And it what it is, much chagrin to some, is that all teams that make the 5A playoff field are never truly out of it, yes, even if you happen to lose your very first game right out of the chute. That said, in the event that you do fall short in your first effort, fear not, as there is one final card in which you can still turn over in the event that you proceed to win your final three games to follow suit and capture the very last ticket into the state tournament dance as District 3’s #9 seed into the PIAA field. Sure enough, following shared successful 2-0 ventures in their first two outings in the aftermath of dropping their respective opening round affairs against the likes of Octorara and Milton Hershey respectively, such was this final opportunity presented to both the Eagles and Falcons on Thursday night at Lower Dauphin High School.
That was the good news. The bad news however was that there was zero margin for error depending on the outcome of this game, meaning that the loser’s season was finished, kaput, over with once the clock hit zeroes. Suffice to say, after traversing all this way up and into the final game that awarded the final spot in the upcoming PIAA-5A field come next Friday night, failure was quite literally not an option for either one of these two ballclubs in this high school basketball version of do-or-die.
And why mention Chartiers Valley and Peters Township you ask? Well, because the winner of this final 5A qualifying effort in District 3’s corner of the universe would then advance and take on the winner of the WPIAL 5A title scrap, a game between those two aforementioned schools which will take place on Saturday night at the Peterson Events Center, best known as the home arena for the Pittsburgh Panthers. Beyond that, the WPIAL champ will have the honor of hosting the opening round game of states on their home floor, opening their doors to either Cocalico or Lower Dauphin, depending on who would go on to prevail by the end of this night in Hummelstown.
So again, which is the right way to get out beyond Pittsburgh? For these two clubs, the only true and correct answer was by going directly through their opposition. And in Cocalico’s case, there was an additional side alleyway involved that signified coming back to LD’s campus. But more on that later.
Needless to say, if you subscribe to the notion of fast starts, Lower Dauphin checked that box off right from the opening tap.
In fact, it took the homestanding Falcons all of three seconds to tear the lid off the scoring seal as a leak-out bucket at the cup following the jump ball was put home by way of Lower Dauphin’s, Evan Deibler, as the senior’s deuce within the first few seconds couldn’t have signified a better start to things for the hosts’ collective perspective.
But as Lower Dauphin would soon discover, Cocalico was warm to the challenge and was more than willing to engage in this particular fight. All night long as a matter of fact.
In fact, the Eagles would have the honors of capturing their first lead of the night after a nice pump fake and jump shot sunk courtesy of 6’0 junior guard, Luke Waas, as Waas’ bucket made it a 7-5 Cocalico lead with the opening quarter starting to careen towards its halfway point.
From there, the man of the hour, Camden Ochs, proceeded to tally his own personal 5-0 salvo not long afterwards following a trifecta and second-effort bucket inside on ensuing trips down the floor, an exchange which in turn propelled the guests from Denver out to a 12-7 advantage with now three minutes and change left remaining in the opening frame. But more forthcoming from the Eagles’ 6’5 senior forward in due time as well.
And while LD would promptly retaliate to the tune of drawing within the slimmest of margins at 15-14 following a triple dialed up via the handiwork of 6’4 senior forward, Landon Miller, an equally timely 4-0 spurt from Ochs — all while en route to 12 first quarter points — helped to build the margin back up in Cocalico’s favor at 19-14, before a final two-point Falcons’ incision into that deficit helped to lower the curtain on a sultry shooting opening stanza displayed from both sides which eventually concluded with Cocalico holding serve by virtue of the 19-16 count at the end of one.
To anyone in attendance, it was obvious by that point that Camden Ochs had arrived at Lower Dauphin’s house with nothing besides that of ill-intentions for the team found sitting on the opposite bench considering his collective first quarter exploits on Thursday evening. Perhaps that was in due in part to the Eagles’ senior looking to become the program’s 8th 1,000-point career scorer in school history, a feat that required an 18-point outing prior to the start of this contest. Perhaps it was also, if not exclusively connected to the fact that this could be the final game of his Cocalico career if he and his fellow troops fell short by the end of the night. Yet whatever for his true impetus was, rest assured that anyone found wearing Cocalico blue will gladly take more of that version of Camden Ochs from here on out.
In fact, Ochs began the second stanza just as emphatically as he had done throughout the first period, highlighted by his third triple of the opening half, a 3-ball which obviously brought even more good juju to a Cocalico camp that already hit their previous point total found in their last trip over to Lower Dauphin back in 2021, a crushing 24-22 district championship game defeat on this very same floor which in turn ended the Eagles’ season journey given the stipulations that came with playing scholastic sports amid a pandemic that season.
Yet nevertheless, Lower Dauphin seemed to be relatively undeterred all things considered as the second quarter continued to take shape.
Case in point, a 5-0 swing in the Falcons’ favor following a take to the cup courtesy of Brady Hofsass which preceded a trifecta nailed by Luke Brown on the hosts’ ensuing trip down the floor respectively, a key salvo from the senior and junior tandem which trimmed the Cocalico cushion down a penny, 24-23, with a tick over five minutes remaining in the opening half by that juncture.
But while Ochs may have stolen the show for Cocalico in the opening quarter, the second act proved to be Ty Wealand’s starring role as things took shape.
After being held scoreless throughout the opening eight minutes and then some with Lower Dauphin on the verge of potentially stealing the lead back for themselves for the first time since the first quarter’s infantile stages, Cocalico’s junior guard, the son of the last Eagles’ head coach as a matter of fact, proceeded to make up for lost time once he got his legs under him.
All told, Wealand would proceed to tally eight of the Eagles’ baker’s dozen found inside the second frame in terms of scoring, not the least of transpired in the 5-0 variety past the midway point of the second act in the aftermath of a smooth pullup jumper sunk prior to Wealand then sinking one from bonus distance the next time down the floor, all of which were buckets which helped to usher the guests into the halftime clubhouse with the Tradewinds found in that of the 32-27 lead ripping behind them to aid them in their travels with all of 16 minutes remaining.
And for a first half that arguably was on the Eagles’ short list compiled yet so far this season in terms of best offensive firepower and pure point-production, the initial stages of the second half weren’t half bad either.
In fact, it couldn’t have started out much better considering how Cocalico junior sniper, Timmy Hambright, traded in his offensive flamethrowing capabilities for that of engaging as a defensive pest on the Eagles’ first defensive possession come the start of the third quarter as the 5’10 underclassman’s pilfer and layup in transition kick-started Cocalico right out of the chute.
But then there was history to make.
Remember that earlier distinction that came with being dubbed the unofficial ‘Man of the Hour’ in this game? For that particular leading role, Camden Ochs seemed to emerge right out of Central Casting as the Eagles’ senior big man continued his stellar night’s worth of work – postseason in actuality quite frankly – as his trademark bull in the China shop move en route to the hoop not just made it a 40-33 Eagles’ lead with 5:37 left to play in the third, but it also cemented Ochs’ legacy in Cocalico lore all-time as he had eclipsed the 1,000-point career total over the course of his career wearing Eagles’ garb in joining his now-assistant coach, Tucker Lescoe, in being the program’s last two members of the distinguished club of just eight total members.
Then, following the fanfare and stoppage that came along with such a momentous occasion, there was still work left to tend to. And it seemed as if Lower Dauphin wanted to be the first when it came to putting their stamp on things.
In that regard, after surrendering a triple knocked down by way of Cocalico’s Gavin DeLuca not long prior which had made it a somewhat emphatic 45-37 Eagles’ lead, an three-point play of the old-fashioned variety that came via the efforts of Evan Deibler a few minutes of gametime later just as quickly trimmed the difference down to a pair, 45-43, with 9:47 remaining in a game that was still clearly up for grabs by that point.
Up for grabs perhaps, but still well within the Eagles’ talons by and large.
True to form, District 3’s #12 seed from out of the 5A fray continued to look like they were anything but down the stretch of this one against Lower Dauphin, but especially inside the waning stages of the third frame on Thursday night most of all as Cocalico proceeded to write the final half dozen points within the final 1:47 of play that came part in parcel with a tough take to the tin from Ethan Stradling before a timely Hambright turnaround J that came mere moments before the third quarter horn, helping to seal the deal on a 51-43 Cocalico cushion that the visitors could carry with them into the final stanza.
Yet speaking of Stradling, for a sophomore guard who has blossomed into his position amid the Eagles’ overall team rotation this season, he seemed anything but phased by the magnitude of this particular affair, but especially within the opening moments of the fourth quarter most of all.
There, after knocking down a pair of dead-eye triples which helped to usher Cocalico out of the starting blocks – all en route to Stradling’s solid 10-point bucketing – it almost seemed as if one could argue that Cocalico’s existing 57-48 lead at the time might actually be enough to withstand over the final few minutes left outstanding.
And without having to worry about the need of a shot clock being involved to disrupt their overarching plans, Cocalico certainly had the distinct advantage when it came to bleeding away precious gametime while also trying to play keep away from the Falcons, something obviously aided and abetted by Lower Dauphin being well below the foul-to-give limit by that stage of the final frame.
Yet once it was time to toe the charity stripe after LD had exhausted their full complement of four fouls prior before sending the Cocalico troops to foul line following their fifth, Camden Ochs, well on his way to a 23-point and historic evening altogether to pace all scorers, knocked down both in his offering as the pair of Ochs freebies pushed the margin back up towards double figures, 62-54, with roughly one minute left to play and the Falcons obviously having to trek incredibly uphill.
Then again, if Landon Miller had the means to sink a much-needed triple, which the Lower Dauphin senior would proceed to do immediately following the Ochs free throws, all the better for the Falcons’ contingent as Miller’s three-point addition to his 14-point evening clipped the deficit down to a modest five-point hole at 62-57 with all of 49.1 seconds left outstanding.
However, that would be all the closer that the home team would get within that final minute.
And it once it became inevitable – thanks in no small part to a 4-4 display of foul shooting down the stretch by Timmy Hambright who was well on his way to a 16-point showing – the Eagles’ underlying emotions within became next to impossible to contain. For them, this was more than a business trip fulfilled that came in the form of a 66-57 triumph against Lower Dauphin to steal the last bid into the state tournament on Thursday night. Instead, this was trying to right a wrong they personally experienced inside this very same venue just four years ago. The 42-year-old gorilla living on their back might need to be given last rites as well.
But that was a different team. One that didn’t have Camden Ochs on it. No, Ochs was just an 8th grader that school year, eager to walk in the footprints left behind from guys like Carter Nuneville and Trey Rios, two of the key cogs on that 2021 Cocalico bunch that not only came within a few seconds on winning the district title that year, but also would’ve been all of three victories away from a possible state title to boot given the bracket format. And now, with at least one more guaranteed game left in his high school career, the newest member of the Cocalico 1,000-point club was as appreciative for that more than anything else.
“Coach Sigman was telling me before the game, ‘You have to focus on winning first,’ Ochs said of his coach’s instructions to him prior to tip against LD. “That was my focus too and my first goal too was to win this game,” said Ochs. “That was a bit of (personal) goal to where I had it in the back of my mind, so I was a little extra aggressive with shooting the ball,” he then remarked of what spurred his lightning-quick start of the gates against Lower Dauphin in trying to secure enough points in his Cocalico career to where a comma is needed. “I just got hot.”
“I really knew that I could get there after the Manheim Central game,” Ochs then explained of when he himself first thought this was a realistic possibility of perhaps obtaining. Oh, by the way, it should be duly noted that had he not scored the game-winning basket to beat the buzzer against the Barons on Tuesday night to then vault them into this affair, none of this would have come to pass and everything would’ve been rendered totally moot. “After the Conrad Weiser game, I think it was like 38 points or something that I needed. I was like, ‘Eh, I don’t know.’ But Coach Lescoe has just been telling me to play defense, get rebounds, play my game, and then the points will come.”
Ironically, “Coach” Lescoe is still admittedly a bit of a culture shock to utter out loud considering it wasn’t even ten years ago now when arguably one of the best Eagles ever, Tucker Lescoe, was routinely seen pulling up from NBA range career before ending his career as the program’s all-time leader with 1,534 points in 2016, the last member to join the fraternity prior to Thursday night and Ochs’ welcoming. And for this year’s senior, he is more than happy to share such a relationship with one who has walked this same path before.
“I spend a bunch of time with him in practice,” said Ochs of Lescoe. “Even though he was a point guard, he’s our big man coach. He does all the stuff with our bigs and teaches us all the moves. He shoots with me, rebounds for me,” he added. “He’s definitely a big part of the reason for my success for sure.”
And now, aside from having his first and last name be written up on a banner in school’s gym for the rest of time, there was the other historical element surrounding this night for Ochs and his teammates—seeing Cocalico enter the statewide bracket for the first time since 1983.
“This means a lot,” Ochs explained of being a part of the first team to make it there in the 21st century. “We started the season off at 0-3, but we just kept fighting. Even after we’d lose three, win two, lose two again,” he shared of the season’s roller coaster journey. “After that (opening round) Octorara game especially, we just fought for ourselves. We got put in the consolation bracket and we go on and beat the #1 seed (Manheim Central). That was a crazy game…It’s kind of like a Cinderella story honestly.”
Not a bad deal for someone who was in this same spot, both literally and figuratively, four years ago after seeing his team’s historic playoff run go up in smoke in on fell swoop after a Tyson Hofsass 3-ball with inside of ten seconds remaining in the District 3-5A title fight. Cinderella, yes, but maybe Goldilocks most of all. Yes, this had to be the place that made Thursday night feel “just right.”
“1983, the year I was born,” the Cocalico alum turned head coach, Seth Sigman, said after helping to usher his program into states for the first time in essentially two generations. “I was sobbing like a baby in there,” Sigman said without fear of judgement while pointing back at the team locker room. “They get it, but they just don’t get it,” he said of his team’s youthful bliss and what they had just accomplished. “40 years? They can’t comprehend that, you know? Just explaining it to them, I was getting choked up saying, ‘Our coaching staff stood right here in this locker room four years ago and this feels a whole lot different right now.’ It really does feel like a full-circle moment for us,” Sigman said reflecting back to March 11th, 2021, an eerily similar unseasonably warm and sunny day regarding the outside conditions included to that of this day. In fact, this was the very quote Sigman offered back on that gut-wrenching night while this time standing just a few inches away from the exact same spot.
“We talked with them to enjoy this moment because you may never get this moment ever again,” said Sigman of what he implored on his troops. “We as a program, me as a coach, them as players, it’s rare. It’s not common to get to the district final, you know? We haven’t been in a final since 1983, so it’s frustrating. It’s frustrating knowing that we could’ve been hosting a state playoff game. We’ll give ourselves some time before we try to analyze everything, but you’re aware of the situation. I’m crouched down there watching us play defense and I’m thinking, ‘I think Lower Dauphin has only hit one 3 in the second half. Let’s get a stop here and we’re going to the state playoffs.’ It just didn’t work out. It stings. It stings pretty bad right now….Regardless of what happened, win or lose, it doesn’t change how we feel about them. We’ll still love them 15 years from now. We said, ‘We know it hurts right now. It’s really painful right now, but give it a little time and you’ll be able to look back on it with a little perspective to know this was a good run we went on.’ We won a lot of games, did a lot of things people didn’t think we could do. We just didn’t quite finish the job. That’s just what happens sometimes.”
“40 years is a long time,” Sigman then said going back to this evening found in the year 2025. “And we have a pretty good basketball tradition at our school too. A state championship, district titles, things like that. For us to not play in the state playoffs since 1983 with a tradition like ours, you almost can’t fathom it,” he remarked. “I knew when it got to about 30 seconds left and we were up by seven, I knew then. I started feeling it and my ears started tingling,” Sigman detailed of when the waves of victory came washing over him. “But I did tell myself, ‘There’s no way I’m going to cry out here. That can’t happen,’” he said with a laugh.
“It if wouldn’t have been here, it probably wouldn’t have been as emotional,” he said of having the highest of highs now take place where he had experienced his lowest of lows, a site also known as Lower Dauphin High School. “Just the way it all happened for us, it meant a lot. It meant a lot.”
And while they might’ve taken the road far less traveled to finally make amends, rest assured that Cocalico doesn’t feel the slightest bit of guilty of the detour they eventually took in order to get there.
“I would say that it definitely matters to us,” Sigman wryly said when asked about the overarching narrative that comes along with meandering through the consolation bracket for the last ticket in, a bracket that never really receives much, if any attention as the district playoffs at large unfold around it. “I would say that it probably matters to Manheim Central too,” he continued of his team’s foremost rival which they had knocked out of the postseason just two days prior.
“It does matter. It’s like new life. Many people hate that if you lose your first game that you’re still alive. Well, I know for a fact that people hate it, but we didn’t decide that,” Sigman said. “(District 3) said, ‘You’re the 12-seed and you’re going to play at Octorara,’ We lost that, so then they said to go and host Weiser….We just followed the bracket and did what they told us in trying to win every game after that. Guess what? We did. So, we’ll take it. We’re not apologizing to anybody. They set up the bracket. We just found our way to the end of it. We didn’t back-door our way in. We went through the gauntlet.”
And as a result, he and his team will play in the state playoffs come next Friday somewhere west of Pittsburgh for a game in which Cocalico has not partaken of since Pong was the entertainment of choice. But forgive them in advance. This is all still a bit new to them.
“I did not know that. This is all new information I am receiving, so that changes some things. We’ll see what my wife thinks about it,” Sigman joked after being asked if he planned to make a scouting trip out to Pittsburgh on Saturday night to look at his upcoming opponent playing in the WPIAL championship game on the Pitt University campus. “I thought they were playing tonight too,” he explained.
“It might be a case of, ‘Hey, does anyone want to go?’ But we haven’t had this opportunity before,” he said of possible plans involving these next seven days and the itinerary around it. “We’re going to take advantage of every bit of it that we can.”
So, to answer the original question off top, maybe there will be two four-hour one-way trips. Maybe just the one for the game itself next week. That can all be sorted out. But either way, no matter what route they took as a means to get there, the Cocalico Eagles are back on the state’s basketball expressway for the first time since 1983. Ironically enough, it just so happened that the previous exit ramp they had known to be Lower Dauphin had since been reconstructed into the on ramp for them. And they’ll take it. No matter if the project itself took four or 42 years in order to complete.
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