Cross Court Vision: Section 2 Mid Season Observations
Written by: Sterling Cross on January 13, 2025
Ordinarily I’ll use this space to post quick observations from the latest game I’ve seen, along with some game film that is expanded from our quick social media edits. But to start, let’s get up to speed on what I’ve seen so far, through the first 12-15 games of the season. Please note that these views are my own and do not represent the collective thoughts or opinions of LLHoops.com. This is the second of 4 posts and covers Section 2:
As we hit the mid-way point of the season a clear hierarchy seems to be developing in Section 2. Warwick sits on a tier by themselves until further notice, having delivered convincing performances against both Ephrata and CV on their way to a 5-0 start in the league. Ephrata, and Conestoga Valley sit on the next tier as legitimate contenders for one of the section’s two playoff spots. That leaves the underdogs in Cocalico and Garden Spot and the long shots in Solanco and Elizabethtown who would need more than a few things to go their way down the stretch. At this point in the season I like Warwick to win the section and Conestoga Valley to be the second team from Section 2 to make the playoffs, mostly because their recent trajectory compares favorably to Ephrata. If that feels like a hot take, you won’t have to take my word for it for very long – the two are set to collide in Ephrata on Friday night.
Section 2 Team by Team Observations:
Warwick: The Warrior’s finished last season just short of the league championship, and by many accounts entered this season as favorites to return to the championship and maybe even win it. Mid-season results are proving those accounts wise, as Warwick sits atop the Section 2 standings at 5-0. There is nothing not to like about this year’s Warwick team – Caleb Johnson, Ya’Majesty Washington and Parker Horst are the names many league followers will know, but Caleb McCamant and Brody Clausen are both excellent two-way players who round out the starting five. The Warriors have had favorable home scheduling to start, playing both Ephrata and Conestoga Valley in Lititz. I wouldn’t expect opposing student sections or away refs to change that much of what happens on the court, but it’s something to watch in the second half of the season as the Warrior’s hit the road for a stretch. Warwick ranks 3rd out of 25 LL teams in point differential per game (+/-) at +13.9ppg (3rd in the LL in Offensive PPG (OPPG), 6th in Defensive PPG (DPPG)). That’s the best in section 2.
Ephrata: The Mounts might be the most experienced team in the league this year. Their 7-man rotation is made up of six seniors and one junior. It seems like everyone can do a little of everything on both sides of the ball, while still having well defined roles. Cooper Truskey has 28 made 3PTs on the year. Marqus Hardin leads the team in scoring at just under 12 a game from a combination of penetrating drives, a capable jump shot and scrappy second chance points. I could go on about Kopp, Brown and the rest too. That’s why their losses in the section this year have been… surprising. Not so much that they lost, but more how they lost. The mounts posted 29 and 36 point scoring performances in losses to York Suburban and Warwick respectively (both really good teams to be fair), and more recently gave up 62 at home to Solanco. I only witnessed one of those three games, and maybe it was just a few off nights, but whatever the case, they’ll need to avoid that going forward if they want to hang on to second position in the section, and perhaps challenge Warwick at the top. Ephrata ranks 5th in the league in (+/-) at +6.9ppg (16th in OPPG, 1st in DPPG) and 2nd in section 2.
Conestoga Valley: The Buckskins have put together a very nice 4-2 league record behind senior Grayson Fisher, juniors Sawyer Esbenshade and Tony Schaub, sophomore Camryn Bair and freshman phenom Demere Salisberry. Unfortunately, Coach Jim Shipper hasn’t found much production on his bench when the starters need some rest. For the most part CV has lost when they were underdogs and won the games they were favored in. Younger teams have the potential to get a lot better as the season progresses, and CV’s two league losses came in the first half of December against the top of the section. If they are going to make the LL postseason CV will likely have to beat Ephrata. At this moment it’s a toss-up who would be favored in that match up, but it’ll be a marquee game on Friday if both teams can hold serve until then. Conestoga Valley ranks 19th in the league in (+/-) at -6.4ppg (18th in OPPG, 20th in DPPG). That’s the second worst in section 2. Side note: All stats have their weaknesses, (+/-) doesn’t factor strength of schedule and gives outsized importance to blow out wins and losses. I believe CV is much better than this stat suggests on it face.
Elizabethtown: I’ve seen the Bears play on three separate occasions this year and was honestly surprised to find them sitting at 1-4 in the league and 3-10 overall. They play good team defense. Brandon Andrews can absolutely score the ball, Nate Poff might be the best point guard in the section, and as a sophomore Carter Torborg is already a true inside presence with nice touch in the mid-range. You can get caught up watching them and fail to realize that apart from those three, ETown is only getting 10ppg total from the rest of the team. They simply haven’t been able to find enough offense. That’s not an problem I expect them to be able to solve anytime soon. Elizabethtown ranks 21st in the league in (+/-) at -7.6ppg (22rd in OPPG, 14th in DPPG). That’s last in section 2.
Cocalico, Garden Spot and Solanco: I’ve seen each of these teams play just once, and relatively early in the season. I’ll have more to say later in the year once I’ve seen them play more. For now, just the stats for each team.
Cocalico ranks 16th in the league in (+/-) at -4.3ppg (19th in OPPG, 13th in DPPG).
Garden Spot ranks 12th in the league in (+/-) at +1.6ppg (5th in OPPG, 22nd in DPPG).
Solanco ranks 14th in the league in (+/-) at -3.0ppg (15th in OPPG, 16th in DPPG).
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