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Cade Whitfield has a big night in honor of his brother


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Chambersburg's Cade Whitfield has found his groove at just the right time.

But for Whitfield, his third straight 13-point game meant a little more in the Trojans' 59-54 overtime boys basketball win over Central Dauphin.

For Autism Awareness Night on Friday, Whitfield was playing in honor of his autistic brother Bryce, a 2016 Chambersburg graduate and supporter of the Trojan basketball team.

"This game just meant a lot because of the autism awareness, so I was just trying to lay it out there for my brother," Whitfield said. "That's what I told the guys and they responded really well, so that was fun to watch."

The Trojans donned puzzle-piece warmups, while the cheerleaders, pep band and team officials wore ribbons to raise awareness. Last season was the first Autism Awareness night at Chambersburg, but Whitfield was injured and unable to play all-out. He said this time around was a different mentality.

Despite fouling out early in the overtime period, Whitfield was a big spark for Chambersburg in a tight Mid Penn Commonwealth Division battle with the Rams. The Trojans trailed by five entering the fourth quarter, but after a back-and-forth battle, Whitfield had a big putback with 1:49 left in regulation for a one-point lead that the team never surrendered.

"(In overtime after I fouled out) I told them before I walked off the floor to go get this for my brother, and they pulled through again," Whitfield said.

"He plays with tremendous will and heart and passion, and tonight was an important game for him with Autism Awareness night," Chambersburg coach Shawn Shreffler said. "I think that gave him a little extra incentive tonight and I thought he played really well. He right now is our lunch pail recipient and I thought he brought his lunch pail. He really worked hard tonight."

With the seconds ticking off the clock in regulation, Central Dauphin's Chase Arnold got the ball in his hands at the right time, sinking a three with two seconds left on the clock to tie the game at 47. But after the break, Chambersburg came back ready. Early buckets by Seth Brouse and Cole Christian, followed by a host of free throws, gave the Trojans (11-7, 4-7 MPC) the edge it needed in overtime to vindicate an earlier loss to the Rams.

"I was so proud of our guys out there (before overtime). We had guys diving on the floor, doing everything they could to control the basketball," Shreffler said. "The effort they gave was tremendous, but unfortunately the ball landed in their best shooter's hand with no one around and he did what he does really well, which is knock down a three. For our guys to come back and regroup after that, I was really, really proud of them."