Trio of Franklin Co. teams prep for playoffs
Greencastle versus Shippensburg isn't the only rematch set for the first round.
On Tuesday, No. 11 Chambersburg (13-8) heads to No. 6 Central Dauphin East (14-8) for a 6A boys game between two Commonwealth Division foes. CD East swept Chambersburg in the regular season, 66-45 and 74-66.
One of the Trojans' biggest focuses for Tuesday's 7 p.m. game will be defense.
Franklin Co. rematch set for Dist. 3 playoffs
"They're a very well-balanced basketball team, and the two times we've played them, they've played very well offensively," Trojan coach Shawn Shreffler said. "We didn't do a good job defensively on them, so we're going to need a much better effort.
The Panthers top players are 6-foot-9 Brennan Jackson and guards Justin Henry and Evan Chandler.
Chambersburg has been led offensively this season by Cole Christian (14.4 ppg) and Cade Whitfield (10.6), but the Trojans also rely heavily on their depth.
G-A girls ready to rebound: Looking at the first time Greencastle-Antrim's girls team played West York, you'd think it was going to be an uphill battle for the Blue Devils.
But G-A coach Mike Rhine isn't necessarily looking at his team's 52-24 loss in the Lower Dauphin Holiday Tournament as a predetermination.
"Then, we were really trying to feel who was going to play and how we were going to play," Rhine said. "I feel like this time around, we have an identity. They beat us bad, and there's no excuses, but we're entirely different than we were at that time."
No. 9 West York (15-7) has a few solid role players, such as Catie McCarty and Angie Hawkins, as well as an experienced coach in Darrell Wildasin.
For No. 8 Greencastle (18-5), Jenay Faulkner will be a big factor in Tuesday's 7 p.m. game. She scored 34 of the Blue Devils' 47 points in the Mid Penn Conference semifinals against Bishop McDevitt. The Bulldogs held Faulkner to a season-low five points in the first meeting.
'Boro boys look for 1st state bid: Waynesboro's boys hoops team is the only Franklin County squad to face the unknown in the first round.
In Class 5A, No. 5 Manheim Central (19-4) plays host to No. 12 Waynesboro (14-8) on Monday at 7 p.m. with the winner automatically advancing to states. It would be the first-ever PIAA bid for Waynesboro boys basketball, according to coach Tom Hoffman.
The Barons aren't going to make it easy, though. Manheim Central boasts Taylor Funk, a 6-foot-9 St. Joseph's commit who is averaging 23.4 points per game.
But the Indians have been battle-tested recently, taking on playoff-bound teams in five of their last seven games.
"I definitely feel like we've seen a little sampling of everything from the top 16 in 5A," Hoffman said. "It's certainly has a feel of helping us prepare for what we're going to see here in the next week. I don't think there's any fear factor of what we're getting ready to get into."
Waynesboro's offense is led by Cameron Keck (14.4 ppg), Mitch Neterer (10.2) and Evan Hine (9.8).