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  • Mechanicsburg 63 Hershey 47: Boys 5A Championship: Wrap via David Bray Jr
 
Mechanicsburg 63 Hershey 47: Boys 5A Championship: Wrap via David Bray Jr
 

Mechanicsburg 63 Hershey 47: Boys 5A Championship: Wrap via David Bray Jr

Written by: Dell Jackson on March 1, 2024

 

PIAA Section 3 5A Championship:
Battle of the Keystone Division
By: David Bray Jr

The PIAA Section 3 5A title game was one for the books and it couldn’t have been made possible without the hard work of the Hershey Trojans and the Mechanicsburg Wildcats: 2 Mid-Penn Keystone teams that made it all the way to the championship for their third meetup of the year. Let’s take a look through the game and recap quarter by quarter the 5A Championship.

This game was a huge game for the two teams; not only because it was a championship game, but the game almost felt like the division deciding game, as Mechanicsburg and Hershey shared the top spot for the Keystone Division. Hershey won the bid for the Mid-Penn tournament based on overall record, leaving Mechanicsburg with the #2 seed in the tournament. For a little bit of background, Hershey had their first game against Warwick, who they battled with until the very end, pulling out a narrow 4 point victory. Hershey then got their rematch against Greencastle-Antrim, who they had beaten previously in the Mid-Penn tournament, and it was yet another win for Hershey as they took their second playoff game at home and got to the final. Mechanicsburg in their playoff efforts got the better of Exeter Township by a narrow 9 points after Exeter had previously upset 7 seed Lampeter-Strasburg. Mechanicsburg got the chance to rematch a non-divisional opponent like Hershey, however York Suburban had beaten Mechanicsburg by 18 in the regular season. Mechanicsburg was able to pull out on top by 9 points and punch their ticket into the final.

To begin the game, Mechanicsburg strayed away from their traditional starting lineup, including Landon Mark instead of Calvin Cavada to begin the game. Mechanicsburg opened up the scoring with a 15 foot jumper. Derek Guzman was the first to highlight for Hershey’s strong defense as he was face guarding Chance Yanoski in the first quarter. That didn’t stop Yanoski as he started heating up with 2 mid-range jumpers of his own. Isaiah Danner picked up some foul trouble early into the game with 2 fouls in the first quarter, however Blackburn elected to keep him in the game, as his paint presence is a vital piece for Hershey’s offense. Mechanicsburg began on a huge 22-9 run to end the first with 2 straight steals for scores on the other end. In the second quarter, Justin Bardo began with an and-1 to continue their momentum, however Hershey’s scoring began heating up. Mechanicsburg picked up 4 quick fouls, including Bardo’s second foul as well as Liam Owens’ second foul. Guzman for Hershey began shooting lights out as he hit 3 three-pointers in the quarter to push Hershey to a 7 point deficit. Hershey’s strong defense was shown when Cameron Sweeney and Guzman began face guarding Josh Smith and Chance Yanoski and Mechanicsburg couldn’t find an answer. When the lights shine the brightest, the stars light up and the crowd erupted as Josh Smith hit a 3/4th court shot from the opposing free throw line. Because I am a huge statistics guy, I calculated the estimated shot to be around 54 feet from the basket and it is one of the most ridiculous shots I’ve ever seen. 

 

Mechanicsburg headed into the half with a 10 point lead and momentum on their side, however, Coach Blackburn and Coach Gaffey have been notable for their ability to make halftime adjustments, so it wasn’t a comfortable lead just yet. 

Both teams have kept a relatively clean game when it comes to turnovers at this point, with 3 a piece, however the Hershey defense came alive in the second half with 6 forced turnovers including a couple Guzman steals for scores. Mechanicsburg continued battling foul trouble, with Smith gaining his 3rd foul and Owens picking up his 3rd and 4th fouls of the game, forcing Gaffey to have him sit on the bench, not wanting to risk a valuable asset for the team. Guzman began heating up, leading Hershey with scoring and taking control over the game. Blackburn’s defensive halftime adjustments kept Hershey within this game as their defense was forcing missed opportunities for Mechanicsburg on the offensive end. That being said, Hershey’s point guard, Sweeney picked up his 4th foul, bringing in Aidan Miller and leaving Miller and Guzman to man the offense. Beginning the fourth, Hershey brought the pressure to Mechanicsburg, forcing them to take a timeout early in the quarter and force them to adjust. Hershey’s defense in the second half brought out a lot of turnovers, which could be seen in many of the regular season games this year. Liam Owens checked back into the game while Cavada went to check with the trainer for his ankle, who I assume is fine after he was jumping after their win. It was a 9 point game when Hershey began fouling with 2 minutes remaining. Mechanicsburg sealed their win with free throws and brought in their bench to be part of this championship team on the court as well. Mechanicsburg finished the game winning 63-47.

For being a relatively smaller sized team, Mechanicsburg out-rebounded Hershey 9 to 1 in the first quarter and 11 to 2 in the fourth and remained relatively even through the 2nd and 3rd. What really led them to victory tonight was the momentum with the first quarter and fourth quarter scoring runs with 22-9 in the 1st and a 11-2 to end the game. Mechanicsburg was led by Chance Yanoski who had 22 points, followed by Justin Bardo with 19 points and Josh Smith with 14 points. I got the chance to talk to Mechanicsburg coach, Mike Gaffey after the game who said that he is “really happy for our kids because when you try to win championships, you have to embrace a certain culture which means there’s some things you’re asking teenage kids to do.” Coach Gaffey commented about how “unselfish” Mechanicsburg is and how “they like each other and get along” which contributes to winning basketball. According to Gaffey “one of our players said Monday night was the best night of his life and for high school sports it doesn’t get any better than that because at the end of the day, we’re all coaches but we’re also mentors and that made my season tonight just like a double cherry on top.” When asked about their outlook into the state championships, Gaffey stated that “these guys can compete with anybody and we need to make sure we’re grounded and focused again like tonight and we don’t get too full of ourselves, and that’s my job.” As of right now, the outlook for Mechanicsburg seems to be against Gateway for the first round matchup for the PIAA State Championships.

Hershey, despite their strong defense and great offensive effort by Guzman who had 21 points, could not come up with the win. I also got the chance to speak with Hershey coach, Paul Blackburn who said that “[We] didn’t get the outcome we wanted but we’ll have to learn from it and move on. We have a high seed in the state tournament and we will have to regroup ourselves and come back and play good basketball.” Blackburn remarked by saying “There’s no shame in losing to a really good Mechanicsburg club and battling them for years and tonight they got the best of us.” Hershey will most likely take on Bethel Park who pulled off an upset as the #11 seed in the WPIAL tournament and took a narrow victory. Despite this loss, Hershey is in a good position in the state tournament, with most of the Section 3 teams who they have also beaten in the same section of the bracket. 

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