Runnin' Red Hurricanes Report           1/24/02

By Hurricanes Assistant Coach Ron DePorzio

More Reports -  11/25 | 12/03 | 12/12 | 12/24 | 1/7 |

Hello Canes fans!!!! The Canes are still rolling strong and are continuing to work hard at achieving their goals. We are still undefeated in section play as well as overall. With only 5 games left, all section games, it looks as if the Canes will win the section once again. Barring some unforeseen circumstance, it will be the 8^th section championship in the last 10 years. That is a remarkable statistic. Not too many programs can say they had that kind of success. That is a tribute to the present and former players, but also the never-ending hard work of the coaching staff. Behind all good teams are good coaches. Over the last 10 years our school has been blessed with both.

This year’s team is rolling strong and has the first of our three goals in their sight. The first goal is to win the section. Although we are undefeated we only hold a 1 game lead in the standing. This is no time to let down. I think the Pine-Richland game was an example of letting down, but we still won. I think that was a learning lesson and I really believe our kids learned from that. That was evident at Mt. Lebanon. The Canes came out and hit the Devil’s right over the head before they knew what hit them. Marky DeMonaco and Dante Spino emphasized that by coming out on fire from behind the arc. The relentless play of Hoover Gibson underneath allowed the team to get so many good looks from the outside. Dom Joseph has been playing extremely hard as of late. Dom is also stepping up as a leader, not just by example, but vocally as well. Leon Ward has been working very hard and deserves a lot of credit. He comes to practice and really gives everything he has, that why he is and will continue to be successful. Chris Cain and Joe Carter are very athletic and give good minutes off the bench. Most other teams would love to have these two kids because they would not only be starters, but they would be other teams stars. Although the regular season is winding down, the play off-season is about to begin.

The Canes stand atop Quad-A with an undefeated record, but still are ranked #2 behind Uniontown. The article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette claims Uniontown is in a class of their own. Well I have a special bulletin: New Castle is also in a class of their own. What more do we have to do. I know everyone knows who we are, but they still will not give us as much respect as they do to every other top notched team. The more we look at it the better the situation seems. If people do not think this team has the capability of being a champion, then we still have more to prove and our guys will embrace the challenge. Not only the team but also the coaches, fans, and community will also do the same. We only worry about what we as a team can control. We will continue to do so all they way through the playoffs. Look forward to seeing all the fans the rest of the way through.

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