Meet Parkland: Central York's title game opponent resembles familiar local foe
Central York basketball and Parkland have no common opponents and haven’t played this season.
But that doesn’t mean the Panthers will be completely blindsided by the Trojans in Saturday’s PIAA Class 6A boys’ basketball final. Because Parkland is similar to a team Central defeated in early February ... Cumberland Valley.
That’s according to Chambersburg coach Shawn Shreffler, who likened Parkland to the Eagles shortly after his team fell to the Trojans 61-46 in the second round of the state tournament. Chambersburg lost three times to CV this season, including in the district final.
“They’re really good,” Shreffler said. “If I would compare them to somebody that we’ve played against, I would say Cumberland Valley. They play well together, they have a really good player, but they’ve got great pieces around him.”
That “really good player” is Davidson recruit Nick Coval, who lit up Chambersburg for 27 points despite missing nearly six minutes of the second quarter.
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How Parkland beat Chambersburg
It didn’t take Parkland long to make a statement against the District 3 runners-up. Coval scored 14 points in the first quarter as the Trojans jumped out to a 21-10 lead. They didn’t allow Chambersburg’s first field goal until midway through the quarter.
Chambersburg mounted a comeback in the second quarter, but Parkland put the game out of reach with their traditionally strong third quarter. The Trojans average nearly twice as many points in the third quarter as the other quarters, and that held up against Chambersburg.
Zaire Smaltz put back offensive rebounds and ignited the crowd with a pair of thunderous dunks to put Parkland in charge with an 18-point lead.
“They’re really hard to guard,” Shreffler said. “They got that lead, and we weren’t able to get some buckets. I thought we had some good looks. We just couldn’t get a bucket to stop the momentum that they had.”
About Parkland
The Trojans are making their second PIAA final appearance. They lost to Penn Hills in the 2004 Class 4A final, then the largest classification.
That was also the last time a Lehigh Valley team played in a final in the largest classification.
Parkland (25-5) has won three straight District 11 Class 6A titles.
Meet the Trojans
Parkland used seven players in Tuesday’s 59-51 semifinal win over Archbishop Wood. They are the same players the Trojans rotated through against Chambersburg until making a mass substitution in the closing minutes.
Uniform numbers are in parentheses.
Nick Coval (2): A 6-foot-2 senior guard who averages 21.4 ppg, Coval is the top scorer in program history and the sixth boys’ basketball player in Lehigh County history to hit 2,000 points, a milestone he hit with a layup on Feb. 29. Coval rocked Chambersburg with 27 points, scoring on a variety of shots inside and outside the arc and from the free throw line. Two baskets came on the end of coast-to-coast plays that started with his steals.
Jayden Thomas (3): A 6-2 senior guard who averages 11.4 ppg, Thomas fueled the Trojans’ win over Wood with 16 points. He can be a presence down low but can also be effective well beyond the arc. He can hurt you if you don’t keep a hand in his face. He combines with Smaltz to handle rebounds on both ends of the floor.
Connor Johns (4): A 6-3 senior who moves seamlessly between guard and forward positions, Johns is the ultimate well-balanced athlete. A future football player for the University of Pennsylvania, he also is a high jumper and long jumper for the track team. His role is more support than scoring, although he can knock them down when needed. He scored six points against Wood.
Robbie Ruisch (13): A 6-2 senior guard, Ruisch is the Trojans’ best 3-point threat, hitting 53 this season. He’s not afraid to mix it up inside on defense but tends to stay outside on offense. He was handed the duties of guarding Chambersburg’s all-everything player, JJ Kelly, who had him by 4 inches. Knowing Kelly popped for 40 points in the first game of the state tournament, Parkland was prepared for his scoring ability. Ruisch held Kelly to 18 points.
Luke Spang (15): A 6-0 senior point guard, Spang is more likely to direct traffic than score. A skilled passer, he has no problems finding the open player whether it’s with a deft bounce pass or sneaky alley-oop. The Muhlenberg College football recruit is the Trojans’ defensive stopper.
Blake Nassry (21): A 6-2 freshman guard/forward, Nassry is the Trojans’ first player off the bench. He played a variety of positions against Chambersburg but was mostly slotted as a shooting guard or small forward. He’s not a player you want to send to the foul line.
Zaire Smaltz (24): A 6-5 senior forward, Smaltz handles the low post and rebounding duties. Smaltz scored 15 points against Chambersburg but just six against Woods.
Shelly Stallsmith covers York-Adams high school sports for GameTimePA and the USAToday Network. Connect with her by email mstallsmith@ydr.com or on X, formerly Twitter, @ShelStallsmith.