A new opponent. A new goal.

The Seneca Valley boys basketball team’s bid for a WPIAL Class AAAA title ended with a loss to eventual champion New Castle Feb. 27.

The Raiders (17-8) have turned their attention to making a run in the state playoffs. That journey begins Saturday when SV faces District 10 champion Cathedral Prep. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at General McLane High School in Edinboro.

“They have a good tradition,” said SV coach Victor Giannotta of the Ramblers. “It’s going to be challenging to go up to their backyard and beat a No. 1 seed.

“We took four days off after the New Castle game and got back to practice Monday,” Giannotta added. “We’re ready to go.”

That’s a good thing, considering the Raiders will be playing a Ramblers’ squad fresh off the program’s third straight District 10 title. Cathedral Prep (21-2) defeated rival McDowell for the crown by a score of 64-46 last Saturday. It was Prep’s third win over the Trojans in as many games this season.

The Ramblers carried high hopes into this season.

“We were one of the last four teams in the state last year and brought back a lot of experience,” said fifth-year Prep coach Mark Majewski.

A big reason for the team’s lofty expectations was the return of senior shooting guard Sheldon Zablotny, who currently has 1,313 points in his varsity career and is averaging 19.1 points per contest this year. He scored 16 points and had 13 rebounds in the district championship game.

“He’s a three-year starter and makes good decisions with the ball,” Majewski said. “We depend on him for leadership on the floor.”

But Zablotny is by no means alone as a scoring threat. Prep also features junior guard Matt Harris (13.7 ppg) and senior center Conor Colpoys (11.5), who also leads the team with over six rebounds per game.

Running the show at point guard is senior Chris Francis (3.3 assists per game), a two-year starter at that position.

Majewski knows that his team will be facing a Seneca Valley defense adept at playing both zone and man-to-man schemes.

“They like to mix things up defensively,” he said. “That presents a challenge for any team preparing to play them because you don’t know what they are going to throw at you.”

“We’ve found that when we go to the half-court trap on defense, it seems to help us on offense,” said Giannotta. “The kids seem to have more hop in their step.”

Seneca Valley’s offense is led by guard Easton Bazzoli, who has put up nearly 15 points per contest during his senior campaign. He also leads the team with 35 three-pointers.

Senior forward R.J. McCauley is also in double figures in points at 11.1.

Majewski was impressed from what he saw on tape.

“Seneca is a well-coached team and they have a solid lineup,” he said. “He (Bazzoli) has a good inside-outside game.”

With only two Class AAAA teams to compete against in District 10, Cathedral Prep scheduled games against schools from Philadelphia, New York, Alabama, Virginia, Mississippi and Ontario, Canada, this season.

The team’s two losses came against Homewood (Ala.) and Imhotep Charter.

“We try to get competition that will help prepare us for tough playoff games, which is what we expect Seneca Valley to give us,” said Majewski.

The game’s survivor will face the winner of Saturday’s clash between Hampton and Perry Traditional Academy on Wednesday.