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From staff reports

December 10, 2020 Last Updated: December 10, 2020 08:11 AM High School

Mattix Clement is one of three returning starters from Butler's WPIAL Class 6A championship team of a year ago.

County teams hope leaders can spark successful year

Star power.

The 2020-21 Butler County boys basketball season definitely has it.

Devin Carney, Ryan Lang, Mihali Sfanos and Chase Beighley all look to play key roles for Butler, Knoch, Mars and Karns City, respectively. All four of those teams are anticipating successful seasons.

Here is what county teams look like entering this season:

Coach: Matt ClementLast Year: 22-4, WPIAL 6A championThe post-Ethan Morton era has arrived.And it doesn't look too bad for the Golden Tornado.“Obviously, you can't replace someone like Ethan,” Clement said of the standout point guard now playing at Purdue. “But we've still got a number of very good high school basketball players here.”Also gone are starting forward Mason Montag and guard-forward Luke Patten, who missed last year with a knee injury.Included among the returnees are guards Devin Carney and Mattix Clement, along with center Charlie Kreinbucher. Carney averaged 24 points per game while Clement netted more than 12 per game. Both hit plenty of treys. The 6-foot-6 Kreinbucher was a force on the boards who may produce more offensively this season.Raine Gratzmiller figures to start at guard this year as well, joining Carney and Clement as solid ball handlers.“It will be hard for teams to press us,” Coach Clement said.David Leslie, a 6-2 senior, is contending for a starting spot, along with 6-9 junior center Kaleb Proudfoot. Logan Koegler and Colin Patterson are looking for time at guard and forward, respectively.Sophomore guard Madden Clement — who came off the bench to hit 3-pointers last year — now stands 6-2 and figures to see a lot of action.“I like our depth and versatility,” Clement said. “We can put a lot of different looks out there. The team we have out there in December will not look the same as it will in January. That's by design.”

Coach: Chris BellisLast Year: 13-9The Gremlins return three starters — and it's a big three.Senior point guard Chase Beighley, senior forward Nathan Waltman and sophomore forward Micah Rupp all return. Beighley and Waltman are fourth-year starters.“There's a lot of experience and production there,” Bellis said.Beighley averaged 24 points and five assists per game last season, hitting 37 3-pointers. Waltman averaged 11.2 points and eight rebounds per game, Rupp 8.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per contest.“Our challenge this year will be getting a lot of guys from different backgrounds to mesh and play together,” Bellis said.Luke Garing, a junior forward, started a number of games last year while Waltman was out of the lineup with a football injury. Cole Sherwin, a junior who was the junior varsity point guard last season, and sophomore guard Eric Booher are also battling for starting spots.A pair of freshman guards, Luke Cramer and Taite Beighley, will see varsity time for the Gremlins as well.“Our top eight players are two seniors, two juniors, two sophomores and two freshmen,” Bellis said. “We're going to have to develop chemistry.”The coach said Rupp has been more vocal on the floor in preseason and is “already developing leadership qualities.“Counting Luke in there, we have four returning starters and experience is our strength,” Bellis added. “With the adjustment to the District 9 schedule this year, we only play our league opponents once each. That makes those games pretty big.“We want to get to the KSAC championship game. That's what we're after.”

Coach: Adam BaumanLast Year: 19-4A Freeport graduate, Bauman inherits a team that returns only one starter in junior guard-forward Ryan Lang.But the coach isn't fretting.“He's quite a player to build around, for one,” Bauman said. “And we have other guys who have been waiting their turn here who are anxious to show what they can do.”Among them is 6-foot-3 senior post player Zach McMillen, senior wing Tyler Buterbaugh and junior guard-forward Keagan Fraser.Also in the mix for the Knights are 6-5 senior post Cole Green, senior guard Blaze Voltz and junior guard JJ Szebalskie, who was quarterback on the football team.“We have an athletic bunch here and this will be a physical team,” Bauman said.Lang averaged 17 points per game last season and drained 69 treys.“Ryan will have to take charge and help bring everything together,” Bauman said. “We did lose a lot from last year.“The juniors and seniors we have are much-improved and will continue to improve. The goal here is to be competitive and find a way to make the playoffs.“It's about winning the day. Win the day and you get to stay to play. That's how we're looking at it,” Bauman added.

Coach: Rob CarmodyLast Year: 19-7Center Michael Carmody's graduation leaves a big hole in the paint for the Planets. Losing 19 points and 19.5 rebounds per game will do that.But Rob Carmody feels his team can now change its style.“Michael was a great player for us and for a big guy, he moved well, but he was still 6-foot-7, 295 pounds,” he said. “We've always been a team that likes to push the ball up the floor. It was tough to do that with a big guy like Mike. This year, we'll have the chance to pick up the pace.”Leading the way will be junior point guard Zach Schlegel, who started for last year's WPIAL runner-up. Two other players who Carmody highlighted as leaders entering this season are senior shooting guard Mihali Sfanos and junior forward Chris Dvorak.Sfanos drained 41 treys last year and averaged 14.2 points per contest. Schlegel managed 9.5 points and 5.2 assists and drained 37 three-pointers.“Mihali was all-section last year,” said Rob Carmody. “Zach was second team all-section. Chris was a junior varsity guy who just kept getting better and he will move into the middle.“It's their turn to put their mark on the program and we'll lean on them early.”Carmody likes the way the rest of the team is shaping up as well. Tasso Sfanos, a sophomore guard who came on strong at the end of last year, is back. So is senior guard Anthony Vargo, who Carmody referred to as the team's Swiss Army Knife for his ability to play multiple positions.“Bryce Cunningham, Austin Cote, Petey Craska, Jonah Kozora, Nate Roush, Pete Gonzales ... we have some good depth and good options,” Carmody said.“In our section, there's times when you have to grind out wins,” he added. “Zach and Mihali, the voice of the team has to come from them.”

Coach: Mike JewartLast Year: 9-10The Warriors are going to run.And run.And run.That's because Moniteau is short on height.The tallest projected starter is 6-foot-4. No one else on the roster is taller than 6-2.“I don't have the guys I can pound the ball inside with,” Jewart said. “I just don't have it.”So, Jewart will improvise.What he does have is quick, athletic guards who can get up and down the floor. He also has a freshman class of sharp shooters.“They can shoot the ball,” Jewart said. “They are probably the best shooters I've ever had. I'm hoping if they shoot in games any way like they've shot in practice, we're going to have a step up in our 3-point ability.”Kyle Pry, a 6-1 junior, will run the point. Quinton Scriven, a 6-4 senior, is penciled in at forward.The rest of the starting five — Mason Mershimer, Tanner Williams, Chance Diaz and a slew of others competing for the fifth spot — are all 6-foot or shorter.“I really expect us to be putting shots up within 10 seconds of getting the ball,” Jewart said. “We're going to be putting a ton of shots up. It'll be up and down, no doubt about it. There's going to be nights when we're going to be shooting lights out and then there are going to be nights when we can't hit the side of a barn.”Jewart is just hoping to get a chance to play.With the coronavirus pandemic raging, Jewart knows the season is fragile.Moniteau also has a mask policy in practice.“The bad thing with the pandemic is some kids I thought were going to play aren't playing because of the whole mask thing,” Jewart said.The ones who stayed have begun to adjust to the policy.“The kids have done a really good job following the guidelines,” Jewart said.“Our goal this year is just to play,” he added.

Coach: Dave DeGregorioLast Year: 26-2After graduating six key members from last year's WPIAL championship team, a lot of different players will see significant minutes for the Trojans this season.Don't expect any changes in style, however.“We fit kids into our system,” said DeGregorio. “We'll make adjustments, but we're always going to be fast and aggressive.”While the starting lineup is still in the works, North has a slew of players who should contribute, including seniors Isaiah Jackson and Andrew Ammerman, at guard and forward, respectively.“They were two of our top eight last year and played quite a bit,” said DeGregorio. “They could be in our starting lineup, but we may not have a set starting five this season.”Connor Maddalon, Owen DeGregorio, Matt Gregor, Kyle Tipinski, Andrew Maddalon, Max Rottmann and Tom Molenda are the other top players. Tipinski is the only one of that group listed as a forward.But Andrew Ammerman is 6-foot-7 and Dave DeGregorio isn't concerned with his team's ability to get rebounds.“Rebounding is an effort thing,” he said. “We have guards who have good size and kids who want to box out. We'll be fine.”The Trojans' only two losses last year came against teams outside of the WPIAL — West Chester East and St. John Paul (Va.). North's season didn't end with a loss. It was preparing for a state quarterfinal playoff when the remainder of the tournament was canceled due to COVID-19.DeGregorio is confident his players can step into new roles and make the Trojans a very tough out once again this season.“I feel good about this group,” he said. “These guys have put in the time and waited for their turn. In our program, sometimes you have to wait until your senior year to move into a leading role.”

Coach: Kevin TrostLast Year: 4-17The key to turning things around following a difficult season is obvious for Trost.“In a lot of games last year, we had one bad stretch, gave up a big run,” he said. “Our guys fought the whole time, but we dug ourselves a hole too many times.“We need to execute for a full 32 minutes. If we can do that, hopefully we'll start to see different results.”The Raiders graduated star forward Mason Bush, who averaged 19 points per game as a senior. But returning starters this year are point guard Connor Lyczek and shooting guard Cole Brooks.The duo averaged 9.1 and 13.8 points, respectively, last year. Brooks drained 71 treys and Lyczek added an average of nearly five rebounds and three assists.“They're two good players, both seniors, and they have the most experience on the team,” said Trost. “Cole was second team All-Section last year and Connor was an honorable mention.”Another senior guard, Ben Hicks could move into a prominent role.The rest of the starting lineup and the top reserves are to be determined.“We have a lot of guys who are in the same boat and still figuring out their roles,” said Trost. “We feel like we have 12 guys we can run out there, so a lot will be contributing. We will hang our hats on our depth and how hard we play.“At the end of games, we want to be able to say we were the hardest working team.”Editor's Note: Freeport, Slippery Rock, A-C Valley and Union are not starting their seasons until a later date. They will be previewed in coming weeks.

Karns City senior point guard Chase Beighley — already a 1.000-point scorer — looks to lead the Gremlins toward the KSAC and Distruict 9 championship this season.