Division IV showdown

Youngstown Christian vs Youngstown East

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Youngstown Christian vs Youngstown East Jan. 27, 2009.

By Joe Scalzo

YCS, JFK set for rematch

There’s a buzz of excitement at both schools over the regional tournament.

On Feb. 7, the Youngstown Christian High boys basketball team went on the road and romped past Warren JFK 81-67.

It was one of the biggest wins in school history. And as his team heads for a rematch with JFK in the Division IV regional semifinals tonight, YCS coach Dolph Carroll plans to ignore it.

“I’ll be honest — I can’t afford to take anything from it,” said Carroll, who is 34-9 in two years at YCS, including the first district title in school history. “It was a long time ago. And I discovered a long time ago that the level of intensity in a tournament game is a lot different.

“It’s really a completely different game than the one we played the first time.”

JFK coach Bruce Timko, who has Kennedy in its first regional tournament since 1985, saw his team fall behind 10-0 in the opening minutes against YCS and 70-45 before making the score respectable in the final minutes.

JFK (16-7) had played East the night before and didn’t have much energy in that game, but Timko said that wasn’t the biggest reason his team lost.

“The biggest reason is they’re [YCS] a very talented basketball team,” said Timko. “We needed our maximum amount of energy and we didn’t play well at all.

“We didn’t handle their pressure. I know they’re going to feel good about their opportunity.”

Although YCS doesn’t have a high basketball profile, the district championship wasn’t a huge surprise. Because it competes as an independent, Youngstown Christian was able to load up its schedule this season with bigger and more established programs such as East (a Division I school which finished second in the Steel Valley Conference), Chaney (also Div. I) and Mooney.

“Most of our games were against real quality teams,” said Carroll. “Our schedule has been very tough and our guys have had to come and play every night.”

JFK’s schedule was even tougher this winter, with wins over Hubbard, Kennedy Catholic, Ursuline and Mooney, along with games against Newton Falls, Warren Harding and Howland.

“We have some big wins against some very good opponents,” Timko said.

Of course, the teams’ talent made those schedules possible.

First team all-district selection Olonzo Johnson, a senior who averaged 19 points and eight rebounds per game, has been the YCS’s best player, but the team’s key has been balance.

Junior John Pecchia (12 points per game) is a terrific outside shooter, while 6-foot-5 sophomore Anthony Walker (10 ppg, 7 rpg) supplies a strong inside presence.

“It’s kind of an old-school philosophy of mine not to clear it out and have one guy take over,” said Carroll, a former assistant under John Robic at YSU who has spent most of his coaching career in the college ranks. “My best teams have always had five guys averaging very close to double figures.”

JFK does have one clear standout in 6-7 senior Nick Brown, the district co-player of the year who has more than 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in his three-year career. But the team has balance, too, with 6-4 senior Steve Procopio (11 ppg, 6 rpg) and Boo Timko (who has averaged 13 ppg since switching to shooting guard over the last eight games) giving it a similar inside-out threat.

“Nick has been great all year, obviously, but we don’t win with just Nick Brown,” said Timko. “We have a lot of talented players complementing him throughout.”

One other similarity between the teams is the buzz around school. This is the first district title in any sport for YCS. JFK, meanwhile, has had plenty of success in football, but has never made it to Columbus in basketball. Both teams are two wins away.

“It’s kind of unbelievable,” said Carroll. “It’s been the talk of the school all morning. It’s kind of like we’re going to the [NCAA’s] Big Dance.

“The guys are pretty level-headed, so I don’t think getting them refocused is going to be hard. I hope it’s not. But it’s so new to all of them, it takes a while to kind of sink in. We’re all going through this together.”

“It’s been great,” added Timko. “We’ve had a lot of buzz, obviously at Friday’s game and afterward. We’re excited to be going to Canton.”

scalzo@vindy.com