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Old Forge and Riverside and neighboring school districts are the epicenter of local boys basketball excitement this season.
Both programs have passionate fan bases that traveled in droves to tailgate at Liberty High School on Wednesday, in a forceful show of pride. The teams responded by advancing in their respective PIAA tournaments and will be back in action Saturday afternoon.
Old Forge (20-6) faces Delone Catholic (25-2) in the Class 2A quarterfinals at 1 p.m. at Martz Hall in Pottsville, while Riverside (25-1) challenges the defending PIAA Class 3A champion West Catholic (14-12) at 2:30 p.m. at Bethlehem Liberty High School in the Class 3A quarterfinals.
Last season, Old Forge and Riverside reached this round but lost, so they are looking to avenge those outcomes and advance to the semifinals.
“We know that the team we will face will be big and strong,” Old Forge senior Cameron Parker said. “We want to match everything that they have. We have to play fast. Our defense has been playing great. We held Delco Christian to 17 points in the first half, so that is amazing. That is what we have to do in this round.”
Old Forge is on a roll.
The Blue Devils won seven straight games since throwing a scare into Riverside in a 63-61 loss. They are averaging 67.6 points per game and winning by an average of 24.6 points.
Cameron Parker and Logan Fanning are at the forefront of Old Forge’s success for the last two seasons. Each game, however, the Blue Devils have several players contributing and making valuable plays.
In the second round, Arthur Askew scored 14 points and had three 3-pointers in a 62-53 win. Ryan DeMarco, who runs the offense as point guard, scored 13 points, and Cam Krushnowski and Nick Salerno were solid on defense.
Delone Catholic has had an outstanding season.
The Squires reeled off a 22-0 regular season. They scored more than 90 points three times. York Suburban ended their winning streak in the York-Adams League playoffs with a 51-46 win. Then, York Catholic beat Delone Catholic, 60-45, in the District 3 semifinal.
Luke Rebert averages 20.2 points per game, and Liam O’Brien contributes 15.6. The duo combined for 24 points in Delone Catholic’s 49-47 win over Constitution in overtime.
Delone Catholic last reached the state semifinals in 1989 when it won the PIAA Class 2A championship.
Old Forge is looking to reach the semifinals for the first time since doing it in back-to-back seasons in 2021 and 2022.
Riverside made a fourth-quarter comeback to avoid having its dominant season derailed. Brayden Rose, a junior guard, scored 18 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter to power the Vikings to a 58-51 win over The High School of the Future.
Nico Antoniacci scored 16 points in the win and has 52 points in two PIAA playoff games this season.
Riverside has at least one PIAA playoff game victory in three straight seasons, and has an overall record of 73-8 in the last three seasons.
West Catholic defeated the Vikings in the quarterfinals last season, then defeated Holy Cross, 58-57, on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Jayvon Byrd, who has since transferred to Cristo Rey, a non-PIAA school in Philadelphia.
The Burrs have size inside with 6-foot-7 center Kingston Wheatley, a second-team all-state player who is committed to play at Florida Gulf Coast. He scored 23 points in a 52-47 win over Executive Education in the second round.
Competing in the Philadelphia Catholic League, West Catholic is seeking a state crown with double-digit losses on the season. The Burrs defeated District 1 Class 6A champion Plymouth-Whitemarsh, 63-60, and lost to Catholic League champion Father Judge, 65-59. They have won three straight since a 65-38 loss to Archbishop Wood and are averaging 63.3 points per game.
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Both programs have passionate fan bases that traveled in droves to tailgate at Liberty High School on Wednesday, in a forceful show of pride. The teams responded by advancing in their respective PIAA tournaments and will be back in action Saturday afternoon.
Old Forge (20-6) faces Delone Catholic (25-2) in the Class 2A quarterfinals at 1 p.m. at Martz Hall in Pottsville, while Riverside (25-1) challenges the defending PIAA Class 3A champion West Catholic (14-12) at 2:30 p.m. at Bethlehem Liberty High School in the Class 3A quarterfinals.
Last season, Old Forge and Riverside reached this round but lost, so they are looking to avenge those outcomes and advance to the semifinals.
“We know that the team we will face will be big and strong,” Old Forge senior Cameron Parker said. “We want to match everything that they have. We have to play fast. Our defense has been playing great. We held Delco Christian to 17 points in the first half, so that is amazing. That is what we have to do in this round.”
Old Forge is on a roll.
The Blue Devils won seven straight games since throwing a scare into Riverside in a 63-61 loss. They are averaging 67.6 points per game and winning by an average of 24.6 points.
Cameron Parker and Logan Fanning are at the forefront of Old Forge’s success for the last two seasons. Each game, however, the Blue Devils have several players contributing and making valuable plays.
In the second round, Arthur Askew scored 14 points and had three 3-pointers in a 62-53 win. Ryan DeMarco, who runs the offense as point guard, scored 13 points, and Cam Krushnowski and Nick Salerno were solid on defense.
Delone Catholic has had an outstanding season.
The Squires reeled off a 22-0 regular season. They scored more than 90 points three times. York Suburban ended their winning streak in the York-Adams League playoffs with a 51-46 win. Then, York Catholic beat Delone Catholic, 60-45, in the District 3 semifinal.
Luke Rebert averages 20.2 points per game, and Liam O’Brien contributes 15.6. The duo combined for 24 points in Delone Catholic’s 49-47 win over Constitution in overtime.
Delone Catholic last reached the state semifinals in 1989 when it won the PIAA Class 2A championship.
Old Forge is looking to reach the semifinals for the first time since doing it in back-to-back seasons in 2021 and 2022.
Riverside made a fourth-quarter comeback to avoid having its dominant season derailed. Brayden Rose, a junior guard, scored 18 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter to power the Vikings to a 58-51 win over The High School of the Future.
Nico Antoniacci scored 16 points in the win and has 52 points in two PIAA playoff games this season.
Riverside has at least one PIAA playoff game victory in three straight seasons, and has an overall record of 73-8 in the last three seasons.
West Catholic defeated the Vikings in the quarterfinals last season, then defeated Holy Cross, 58-57, on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Jayvon Byrd, who has since transferred to Cristo Rey, a non-PIAA school in Philadelphia.
The Burrs have size inside with 6-foot-7 center Kingston Wheatley, a second-team all-state player who is committed to play at Florida Gulf Coast. He scored 23 points in a 52-47 win over Executive Education in the second round.
Competing in the Philadelphia Catholic League, West Catholic is seeking a state crown with double-digit losses on the season. The Burrs defeated District 1 Class 6A champion Plymouth-Whitemarsh, 63-60, and lost to Catholic League champion Father Judge, 65-59. They have won three straight since a 65-38 loss to Archbishop Wood and are averaging 63.3 points per game.
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