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Friday, March 21, 1997 Page: 1B
WVC battles hardened Meyers for state tourney
The Meyers boys basketball team reached Saturday’s PIAA Class AA
championship game the old-fashioned wayThe Mohawks earned it.
It’s meat and potatoes for these guys with the gravy on the side. No
fat-free dressing for their salads.
They are a no-nonsense group that loves to break a sweat. They love to get
down and dirty.
In its first state championship game appearance, Meyers (28-5) faces
District 7 third seed Aliquippa (27-3) at 3 p.m. Saturday at Hersheypark
Arena. The Mohawks are looking to become the first Wyoming Valley Conference
boys team to win a state title since Nanticoke won the crown in 1961.
This gritty group, led by coach Joe Caffrey, managed to wipe out four
District 3 teams in succession to advance in the state tournament, including a
thrilling double-overtime victory over Trinity on Wednesday.
In the last three games, the Mohawks needed some soul-searching at halftime
and some second-half gut checks to come from behind to pull out the victory.
“This group works extremely hard in practice,” Caffrey said. “They are fun
to be around. They’ve given me everything they’ve got. I can’t ask for any
more.”
While the state playoff ride has been a rough one for Meyers, the regular
season was no picnic. There were several bumps along the way.
Entering the 1996-97 season, the Mohawks were three-time defending Wyoming
Valley Conference Division II champions who were favorites to win again.
“The target on our backs just got bigger every year,” senior Damon Moore
said.
Meyers won five of its first six exhibition games, losing only in the
closing seconds on the road at District 11 AAAA Stroudsburg, 55-53.
Caffrey’s club found out just how tough it was going to be to repeat,
losing its third league game at Bishop Hafey, 45-43.
“There were nights when our offense wasn’t very good,” the coach conceded.
“Some nights were worse than others.”
After losing in the CYC’s McGrane holiday tournament to league-rival
Hanover Area, the Mohawks looked to refocus as ’97 approached.
“We felt we had the talent,” senior point guard Josh Mericle said. “It just
took longer for some guys to learn their roles offensively.”
The Mohawks won their next five games — including a hard-fought 56-52
victory over Hanover Area — to force a playoff for first-half honors with the
Hawks.
Meyers prevailed in the third meeting between the schools, 42-28. In any
game in which a championship was on the line or the situation was
win-or-go-home, the Mohawks gave up an average of 33.8 points per game.
“We’ve always managed to step up our defense when we needed to,” Mericle
explained.
Meyers lost twice in the second half. Eventual District 2 Class A champion
Bishop O’Reilly dealt the Mohawks their worst loss of the year, 65-41.
The following week, Northwest Area overcame a 17-point, third-quarter
deficit in Wilkes-Barre to embarrass Meyers with a 30-4 run. The result was a
63-60 loss and a playoff for second-half honors.
“Some games, we didn’t seem to have the focus or the energy,” Mericle
candidly said. “But, we managed to battle through those games. It made us
stronger.
“Against Northwest, (the Rangers) really got into our heads. We didn’t have
Julius (Perry) playing, they were ranked first in their class in the state and
we still almost pulled it out. That game gave us the confidence that we could
play with anybody.”
Meyers won second-half and overall titles in Division II with a 47-35
victory over Wyoming Area.
Three victories — including a pair by two points — gave Meyers its
first-ever District 2 championship.
Four victories in the state tournament allowed the Mohawks to establish a
school record for victories and advance to the state finals for the first
time.
“There was more uncertainty coming into this season, not with us, but
others because we lost (Dave) Jannuzzi, who was such an integral part of our
offense,” Mericle said. “We knew we had the talent. When we came together, we
became the best team we could be.”
Tom Housenick is a Times Leader sports writer.