CHAMBERSBURG – When the Chambersburg boys basketball team hosts Wilson on Friday in the quarterfinal round of the District 3-6A playoffs, it will be a battle between squads with a rich playoff history.
In one corner are the Bulldogs, the 2019-2020 district champions, who have qualified for the postseason every winter since the 2017-18 season. And in the other corner are the eight-time district champion Trojans, who are chasing their first title since the 2011-12 season.
Both teams have already qualified for state by virtue of wins in the first round, but we expect an intense battle as each of these squads would love to further cement their place in District 3 lore. For this reason, we’ve selected this high-octane matchup as our Game of the Week.
In the weeks and months to come throughout the high school sports season, we plan on spotlighting multiple teams and sports with our Game of the Week. Any big upcoming games we should know about? Send suggestions to Andy Sandrik via email at [email protected].
District 3-6A Quarterfinals
Wilson at Chambersburg
Tip-Off: Friday, 7 p.m., at Chambersburg.
Records: Wilson is 17-5, while Chambersburg is 18-3.
Last game: The No. 5-seed Bulldogs advanced past the first round of districts on Tuesday with a 50-41 win over No. 12 Cedar Crest, while the fourth-seeded Trojans moved on with a 66-46 victory over No. 13 Carlisle.
Last meeting: Chambersburg and Wilson last met in the 2020-21 season, with the Bulldogs toppling the Trojans by a 71-43 score.
What’s at stake: The winner of this contest advances to the district semifinals and will face either No. 1 Central York or No. 9 York on Tuesday. The loser drops to a four-team consolation bracket, where the squads will battle to determine fifth through eighth place.
Meet the Bulldogs: Wilson, coached by Matt Coldren, is coming off a regular season that saw the Bulldogs play to a runner-up finish in Berks Division 1 … Wilson, the district’s No. 5 seed, is averaging 58.7 points per game, while allowing 46.2 points per night … The Bulldogs have a senior-heavy lineup that is led by 5-foot-11 Madyx Gruber (18.3 ppg) and 5-foot-10 Correll Akings (10.4 ppg), two sharp-shooting guards who have combined for 91 3-pointers this season … Gruber and Akings have a capable supporting cast that includes Tommy McFadden (6.0 ppg), Jon Etim (4.7 ppg), Michael Glover (3.7 ppg), and Cameron Zullinger (3.4 ppg) … Wilson already has a better playoff showing than last year, when it was eliminated in the first round … With a win, the Bulldogs would keep alive a chance to become Berks County’s fifth large-school district champion over the past six years.
Meet the Trojans: Coach Shawn Shreffler’s Chambersburg squad has been a portrait of strength and consistency, as the Trojans find themselves in the quarterfinal round for the fourth-consecutive season … Chambersburg, the district’s No. 4 seed, is averaging 60.1 points per game, while the defense is allowing 46.0 points per contest … The Trojans are led by 6-foot-6 guard JJ Kelly, a Division 1 commit to the Ohio Bobcats … Kelly is averaging 23.3 points per game, which ranks him as the top scorer in the Local.News1 coverage area, as well as No. 5 in all of District 3 … When opponents focus on shutting down Kelly, it opens opportunities for Landon Buhrman, a 6-foot-6 forward, and Colton Cornwell, a 6-foot-4 guard, who are each averaging 11.6 points per game … The Trojans will also be relying on clean play from 6-foot-3 guard Eli McDonald (4.3 ppg), 6-foot-1 guard Josh Rudy (3.4 ppg), and 5-foot-11 guard Ayden Sylvestre (2.0 ppg) … Chambersburg and Wilson have two common opponents: Central Dauphin and Harrisburg. The Bulldogs went 2-0 against those opponents, while the Trojans went 2-2 … Chambersburg enters this quarterfinal game on a seven-game winning streak … The Trojans have won districts eight times, with those championships coming in 1944, 1945, 1947, 1951, 1954, 1997, 2001, and 2012.
Sandrik’s pick: Chambersburg by 4.
