Lancaster Mennonite’s Excellent Schedule (Kehler On Hoops)
Written by: Andy Herr on February 5, 2026
(Article by David Kehler)
The view from here is that a team with championship aspirations should play a championship level non-conference schedule to prepare for difficult post-season matchups in the league, PIAA district, and PIAA state championship playoffs. Non-conference games should be scheduled thoughtfully and strategically to face well-coached opponents, opponents with various styles of play, and to have a contest or two in a hostile environment. The non-conference schedule is a chance for a team to play against some unfamiliar kids in some unfamiliar settings. Scheduling is a critical component of preparing a team for a championship run. From this perspective, this season’s Lancaster Mennonite non-conference schedule is as intelligent as any Pennsylvania boys high school team has played in this century.
Lancaster Mennonite competes in Section 4 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League. As of this writing, the team is undefeated in conference play, has an 18-2 overall record, and has won 17 games in a row. Mennonite is one of the main contenders to capture the league crown. Classified 3A by the PIAA, Mennonite is currently ranked second to Trinity in the PIAA District 3 Class 3A rankings. Mennonite has good prospects in both the district championship and the state championship tournaments.
Seven games in Mennonite’s non-conference schedule this season stand out: wins over Murrell Dobbins Tech, Devon Prep, Cardinal O’Hara, Chester, and Unionville and losses to Spring-Ford and Trinity.
Mennonite opened their 2025-26 campaign with a 48-45 loss to Class 6A Spring-Ford. Spring-Ford, located in Royersford, has an outstanding coach, Joe Dempsey. Dempsey is in his fourth season at Spring-Ford, following many seasons at the helm of LaSalle, a member of the Philadelphia Catholic League, which is, by far, the top boys basketball conference in Pennsylvania. Dempsey’s record at LaSalle was 208-147, and his 2013-14 LaSalle unit advanced to the PIAA large school state championship game, where they were defeated by New Castle. Dempsey’s Spring-Ford team has a creative offense, plays with discipline, and utilizes several different defenses. He is a heady coach, and Spring-Ford is a heady team.
In Mennonite’s third game of the season, they lost 77 to 58 to Trinity, of Camp Hill. As of this writing, Trinity has a 17-1 record and is ranked #1 in the PIAA District 3 Class 3A standings. Larry Kostelac has coached Trinity’s basketball team since 1982 and has over 800 career wins. Over the years, his Trinity teams has won 15 PIAA District 3 championships and several state titles. Kostelac is one of the greatest Pennsylvania high school basketball coaches ever, and Trinity’s outstanding squad reflects his terrific coaching. Trinty is one of the leading contenders for the PIAA Class 3A state championship this season.
Mennonite’s first non-conference win this season was a 70-58 victory over Murell Dobbins Tech, of the Philadelphia Public League. Dobbins is a Class 4A school. The Dobbins squad is quick and athletic, and they push the ball up the court. It was good experience for the Mennonite players to compete against a team comprised of big city kids.
Then, Mennonite won two consecutive games against members of the Philadelphia Catholic League, Devon Prep and Cardinal O’Hara. Devon Prep won PIAA state championships in three of the past four seasons, although they suffered heavy graduation losses from last season’s Class 4A championship team. Devon Prep’s coach, Jason Fisher, was selected by the Pennsylvania Sportswriters as the Pennsylvania Class 3A Coach of the Year in both 2022 and 2024 and as the Pennsylvania Class 4A Coach of the Year last season.
Following the win vs. Devon Prep, Mennonite won 54-51 at Cardinal O’Hara. O’Hara has been inconsistent this season, but they are the only Philadelphia Catholic League team with a win over Archbishop Wood, the league leader, and they lost by just four points to defending PIAA Class 5A state champion Neumann-Goretti.
The Philadelphia Catholic League is the gold standard in Pennsylvania boys high school basketball. It is, by far, the most competitive league in the state, and it is one of the very best leagues in the country. Mennonite’s consecutive wins over Devon Prep and O’Hara are a remarkable achievement. No other team in Pennsylvania has two non-conference wins over Philadelphia Catholic League squads this season.
Chester is a difficult place for visiting teams. Chester’s gym, dubbed the Clip Joint, can be raucous. Chester’s team, every season, plays an up tempo, fast breaking offense combined with high octane pressure defense. Mennonite defeated host Chester 50-48. It was a signal win. Chester’s PIAA classification is 6A.
Unionville’s style of play is dramatically different from Chester’s. Unionville plays a variant of Pete Carril’s Princeton offense, a plan of attack developed by the late Carril when he was a high school coach at Reading. Mennonite won 45 to 37 at Unionville. Unionville’s coach is Chris Cowles, and the view from here is that he is one of the top high school coaches in the state, although he receives little publicity. This is his ninth season at Unionville, which is located in Kennett Square and classified 5A by the PIAA.
With these seven games, Lancaster Mennonite defeated two teams from the state’s top league, faced teams coached by several of Pennsylvania’s best pilots, and competed with teams that employ a wide array of styles of play. And, Mennonite won five of the seven! Their exceptional non-conference schedule is one of the reasons why Lancaster Mennonite is a team to watch this post-season.
On X (formerly Twitter): @david_kehler
LLhoops.com contributor David Kehler chairs the Pennsylvania Sportswriters’ selection of the Pennsylvania boys All-State basketball teams.
Follow LLhoops on Twitter @LLhoops
