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Minersville had the last laugh at Martz Hall on Friday with a 47-44 overtime win over Pottsville to capture the program’s first ever Schuylkill League Championship.
It redeemed the Battlin’ Miners (22-1, 13-1) from a 50-43 loss to Pottsville (18-6, 12-2) in last year’s league championship game.
“We talked about last year, but I told the team it wasn’t about last year, and it’s a new team and a new year,” Minersville coach Chris George said. “Everyone is part of this historic moment and I’m just happy to be along for the ride.”
RELATED: What we learned from the girls’ playoffs
The Schuylkill League boys basketball teams are now getting set to match up in the District 11 playoffs, which tip off later this week.
North Schuylkill (13-8, 7-7) will take on Bethlehem Catholic at 6 p.m. Friday at William Allen High School in the Class 4A quarterfinals.
Two other Schuylkill League teams will play in the Class 5A quarterfinals at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Pottsville will face Jim Thorpe at Blue Mountain, and Blue Mountain (16-8, 10-4) will play Shikellamy at Martz Hall.
“We’ve been preparing all year to be in these situations,” Blue Mountain coach Dustin Werdt said. “I told the kids in the playoffs every game will be tight, and we have to come out and play hard start to finish.”
Below are the biggest things we learned from each team during the 2026 Schuylkill League Playoffs:
Minersville
League champion Minersville is on a 19-game winning streak and has put together a masterpiece first season under head coach Chris George’s watch.
“We really just tried to focus on the fact that this is a new team and we know how to win in the clutch,” George said. “We’ve won in the clutch the last few weeks and I’m really proud of them.”
Minersville will take on the winner of the Mahanoy Area vs. Executive Education matchup for in District 11 3A semifinals next Wednesday, February 25.
Shazier Bethea and Camden Rogers each led Minersville with 14 points, while Jordan Bowers brought in 13 rebounds in the league title game.
“We knew we could get it this year and we just played,” Bethea said. “We really played defense in the second half, and we just had to stay together and keep fighting.”
Pottsville
Pottsville opened the league tournament with a 64-21 win over Nativity before knocking off Tri-Valley 70-44 in the semifinals.
Christian Alvarez led Pottsville with 29 points in the semifinal win over Tri-Valley while Ryder Bowers contributed 14 points.
“We knew we had to come out strong after halftime and we just played our style of offense and defense and it ended up working out,” Alvarez said after the semifinal win. “(Tri-Valley was) the fastest team we played all year.”
Pottsville will now stack up with Jim Thorpe in the District 11 5A quarterfinal playoffs at Blue Mountain Friday at 7:30 p.m.
“Now we’re more familiar with the league teams which should get us ready to go,” Pottsville coach Tyler Heffner said. “We’ve had some senior leaders step up and settle us down.”
The Crimson Tide led Minersville 24-17 at halftime before they were outscored 30-20 the rest of the way.
Blue Mountain
Blue Mountain opened the league tournament with a 64-54 win over Schuylkill Haven before falling to Minersville 50-47 in the semifinals.
Tyeirre Meade closed out the win over Schuylkill Haven with a pair of dunks and, the Eagles outscored the Hurricanes 16-6 through the final five minutes of the game.
“Every game I want to dunk and every time I dunk the ball it gets the crowd going and the team’s energy going and get us more eager to win games,” Meade said. “Anytime I get a dunk, I’ll take it.”
The Eagles loss to Minersville in the semifinals snapped a seven-game winning streak. Cohen Werner and Beck Henninger were also key scoring threats for the Eagles during the league playoffs.
Tri-Valley
Tri-Valley (20-3, 14-0) earned a first round bye with a 20-2 overall regular season record before falling to Pottsville in the league semifinals.
The Bulldogs now get set to take on Moravian Academy in the District 11 Class 2A playoffs next Wednesday at a site and time to be announced.
Tri-Valley got out to a 10-2 lead against Pottsville, but was outscored 32-13 through the rest of the first half as the Crimson Tide slowed down the Bulldogs’ full-court offense. Braeden Doyle led the way with 12 points in the semis, and Trey Porter added 11.
Schuylkill Haven
The Hurricanes (15-8, 9-5) made it close late with big time shots from Alan Evans and Max Heim, but were unable to dig themselves out of a hole in a 64-54 loss to Blue Mountain.
Evans led Schuylkill Haven with 18 points and Heim posted 15 points. The Hurricanes have now lost four of their last six heading to the District 11 Class 3A playoffs.
The Hurricanes will meet Marian Catholic in the District 11 semifinals next Wednesday at a site and time to be announced.
Nativity BVM
Nativity (11-12, 8-7) dropped the opening game of the league playoffs to Pottsville, 64-21, and will face off against Weatherly in the District 11 Class 1A semifinals next Wednesday at a site and time to be announced.
The Hilltoppers snuck into the league playoffs with a 71-68 overtime win against Lourdes, led by Trey Keating’s 34 points and Jake Bowman’s 12 points.
Nativity kept pace with Pottsville in the league playoff opener before the Crimson Tide churned out a 12-0 scoring run to start the second quarter and took a 31-15 lead into halftime.
Seniors George Shimko and Keating are making their final postseason push.
Continue reading...
It redeemed the Battlin’ Miners (22-1, 13-1) from a 50-43 loss to Pottsville (18-6, 12-2) in last year’s league championship game.
“We talked about last year, but I told the team it wasn’t about last year, and it’s a new team and a new year,” Minersville coach Chris George said. “Everyone is part of this historic moment and I’m just happy to be along for the ride.”
RELATED: What we learned from the girls’ playoffs
The Schuylkill League boys basketball teams are now getting set to match up in the District 11 playoffs, which tip off later this week.
North Schuylkill (13-8, 7-7) will take on Bethlehem Catholic at 6 p.m. Friday at William Allen High School in the Class 4A quarterfinals.
Two other Schuylkill League teams will play in the Class 5A quarterfinals at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Pottsville will face Jim Thorpe at Blue Mountain, and Blue Mountain (16-8, 10-4) will play Shikellamy at Martz Hall.
“We’ve been preparing all year to be in these situations,” Blue Mountain coach Dustin Werdt said. “I told the kids in the playoffs every game will be tight, and we have to come out and play hard start to finish.”
Below are the biggest things we learned from each team during the 2026 Schuylkill League Playoffs:
Minersville
League champion Minersville is on a 19-game winning streak and has put together a masterpiece first season under head coach Chris George’s watch.
“We really just tried to focus on the fact that this is a new team and we know how to win in the clutch,” George said. “We’ve won in the clutch the last few weeks and I’m really proud of them.”
Minersville will take on the winner of the Mahanoy Area vs. Executive Education matchup for in District 11 3A semifinals next Wednesday, February 25.
Shazier Bethea and Camden Rogers each led Minersville with 14 points, while Jordan Bowers brought in 13 rebounds in the league title game.
“We knew we could get it this year and we just played,” Bethea said. “We really played defense in the second half, and we just had to stay together and keep fighting.”
Pottsville
Pottsville opened the league tournament with a 64-21 win over Nativity before knocking off Tri-Valley 70-44 in the semifinals.
Christian Alvarez led Pottsville with 29 points in the semifinal win over Tri-Valley while Ryder Bowers contributed 14 points.
“We knew we had to come out strong after halftime and we just played our style of offense and defense and it ended up working out,” Alvarez said after the semifinal win. “(Tri-Valley was) the fastest team we played all year.”
Pottsville will now stack up with Jim Thorpe in the District 11 5A quarterfinal playoffs at Blue Mountain Friday at 7:30 p.m.
“Now we’re more familiar with the league teams which should get us ready to go,” Pottsville coach Tyler Heffner said. “We’ve had some senior leaders step up and settle us down.”
The Crimson Tide led Minersville 24-17 at halftime before they were outscored 30-20 the rest of the way.
Blue Mountain
Blue Mountain opened the league tournament with a 64-54 win over Schuylkill Haven before falling to Minersville 50-47 in the semifinals.
Tyeirre Meade closed out the win over Schuylkill Haven with a pair of dunks and, the Eagles outscored the Hurricanes 16-6 through the final five minutes of the game.
“Every game I want to dunk and every time I dunk the ball it gets the crowd going and the team’s energy going and get us more eager to win games,” Meade said. “Anytime I get a dunk, I’ll take it.”
The Eagles loss to Minersville in the semifinals snapped a seven-game winning streak. Cohen Werner and Beck Henninger were also key scoring threats for the Eagles during the league playoffs.
Tri-Valley
Tri-Valley (20-3, 14-0) earned a first round bye with a 20-2 overall regular season record before falling to Pottsville in the league semifinals.
The Bulldogs now get set to take on Moravian Academy in the District 11 Class 2A playoffs next Wednesday at a site and time to be announced.
Tri-Valley got out to a 10-2 lead against Pottsville, but was outscored 32-13 through the rest of the first half as the Crimson Tide slowed down the Bulldogs’ full-court offense. Braeden Doyle led the way with 12 points in the semis, and Trey Porter added 11.
Schuylkill Haven
The Hurricanes (15-8, 9-5) made it close late with big time shots from Alan Evans and Max Heim, but were unable to dig themselves out of a hole in a 64-54 loss to Blue Mountain.
Evans led Schuylkill Haven with 18 points and Heim posted 15 points. The Hurricanes have now lost four of their last six heading to the District 11 Class 3A playoffs.
The Hurricanes will meet Marian Catholic in the District 11 semifinals next Wednesday at a site and time to be announced.
Nativity BVM
Nativity (11-12, 8-7) dropped the opening game of the league playoffs to Pottsville, 64-21, and will face off against Weatherly in the District 11 Class 1A semifinals next Wednesday at a site and time to be announced.
The Hilltoppers snuck into the league playoffs with a 71-68 overtime win against Lourdes, led by Trey Keating’s 34 points and Jake Bowman’s 12 points.
Nativity kept pace with Pottsville in the league playoff opener before the Crimson Tide churned out a 12-0 scoring run to start the second quarter and took a 31-15 lead into halftime.
Seniors George Shimko and Keating are making their final postseason push.
Continue reading...
