Published: March 01, 2007 11:43 pm      

Mountaineers claim D5 title

When Berlin and Rockwood met twice earlier this year, the Rockets won both games by a combined five points.

So when the No. 4 seed Mountaineers pulled out to a 12-point first half advantage, things seemed out of the ordinary, not quite the close contest a packed house at Pitt-Johnstown’s Sports Center expected for the District 5 Class A boys championship game on Thursday night.

But with tempers flaring and bodies flying, the Mountaineers earned a tough, 49-29 victory to claim the district title heading into the PIAA’s first round on March 9 against the fourth-place team from District 7.

The Rockets (18-10) will face the No. 3 team from District 7 the same night.

Ethan Suder scored a game-high 15 points for the Mountaineers (17-10), who upset Conemaugh Township and Rockwood en route to the championship.

Berlin won its first district championship since the 2000-2001 season.

Ben Myers tallied 10 points for the Mountaineers, and helped control the boards and paint against a physical Rockwood squad.

Anthony Sanner scored a team-high 12 points for Rockwood, but fouled out with 6:27 left in the fourth quarter.

The team’s leading scorer, Seth Foreman, was held to only two points, a product of the Berlin defense that the Mountaineers spend much of their time working on.

“It’s been defense all season,” said Suder, a gold medal dangling around the senior’s neck. “That’s what we talk about, that’s what we work on, and that’s why we won.”

The Mountaineers took a 16-4 advantage during the early stages of the second quarter, then held a six-point halftime lead.

But the third and fourth quarters were even more impressive, as Berlin held Rockwood to 11 second-half points, while scoring 25.

“We went five games earlier this year holding teams under 40,” Berlin coach Tanner Prosser said. “The first game was against Rockwood, and we lost, but then we won the next four. I tried to stress that this week, holding teams to under 40.”

It was again a UPJ disappointment for the Rockets, who fell to North Star in the WestPAC championship at the Sports Center in late February.

“They fought so hard to get to this point,” Rockwood coach Jim Wagner said of his players. “The community was really jumping on the bandwagon, really giving them a lot of support. It’s been a long time since a district championship has come to Rockwood and there was a lot of pressure on their shoulders. I don’t know if they felt it, but it was in the air.”