PIAA STATE FINAL Eagles' goal: 1 for thumb

Kennedy Christian easily defeated Fairfield 87-45 for its fourth staight Class A title.
By BRIAN RICHESSON
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
HERSHEY, Pa. -- The quest for number four left little doubt.
The Kennedy Christian High basketball team became part of PIAA history Friday with an 87-45 victory over Fairfield in the Class A state championship game at Hersheypark Arena.
With the win, the Golden Eagles became only the second team in Pennsylvania history to capture four straight state titles. Carlisle won its four in Quad-A between 1985-88.
"We didn't talk very much about it," Kennedy Christian coach Joe Votino said of the possibility of four straight titles.
Votino said the Golden Eagles (27-5) centered on that topic minimally in the past year.
It was brought up after they defeated Bishop Hannan in last season's title game and then when the 2000-01 season began.
"The next time we talked about it was when we beat Duquesne," said Votino, of the Golden Eagles' PIAA semifinal win Tuesday at the Community College of Beaver County.
Sixth overall: Kennedy Christian, which captured its sixth championship in Votino's 19-year tenure, seemed to have everything in its favor -- experience, talent and tradition.
Fairfield (18-15), however, was in awe of its first berth to Hershey. The Knights' foray into the PIAA tournament was its first since the 1972-73 season.
The contrasts between the two teams were apparent right away.
"We had a lot of confidence coming out of the gate," junior Nolan Reimold said. "We knew they were a Cinderella team and we didn't really know how much intensity they were going to have."
Kennedy Christian opened an 18-7 first-quarter lead and proceeded to hold Fairfield scoreless for a nine-minute stretch bridging the first and second quarters.
That allowed the Golden Eagles to take a commanding 34-7 lead with 3 minutes, 5 seconds remaining in the first half.
"The last three weeks our defense has improved tremendously," Votino said.
Fairfield, which went without a field goal in the second quarter and scored just three points, had trouble containing Kennedy Christian's playmakers.
Led way early: Namely, senior Keenan Christiansen, who wasn't fazed by the Knights' 2-3 zone. Christiansen's 10 first-quarter points paved the way for his game-high 27.
The outside threat made five 3-pointers, including a four-point play that gave the Golden Eagles a 57-23 lead with 1:30 remaining in the third quarter.
"I don't know how many 3-pointers they hit [nine], but it was a ton," Fairfield coach Ken Brown said.
Christiansen's output was balanced by the inside prowess of senior Gary Satterwhite, who had 10 of his 17 points in the second half. He constantly altered Fairfield's shots, finishing with seven blocks and nine rebounds.
"We knew they didn't have an answer for Gary," Votino said.
Christiansen said, "That's what Kennedy's known for -- we find those errors in [opponents] and we just break them down."
Junior Dan McElhinny added 12 points and Reimold had 10 points and seven rebounds for Kennedy Christian, which prepared itself by playing regular-season games against top teams such as Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary, Schenley and Bishop Hannan.
Fairfield was led by junior Andy Winebrenner with 25 points.
Kennedy Christian's other titles have come against Reading Holy Name in 1998 and Bishop Hannan in '99 and '00.