WAYNESBORO – The season that essentially began with open gym and then pre-season practices the week before Thanksgiving have ratcheted up to serious preparations for the 2022-23 season opening Franklin County vs. Everyone Tip-Off Tournament at Chambersburg High School on Dec. 9 and 10.
Last season’s squad leaves this season’s group with a tough act to follow. The Indians finished 17-4 a season ago and hosted Wilson in a first-round District 3-6A playoff game. Waynesboro also split the Mid-Penn Colonial Division championship with Shippensburg.
All that work in the weight room and on the hardwood will be put to the test during a season with a lot of expectations for a team that returns a solid core of players. That list includes players with height, agility and an ability to work the floor from the perimeter to the lane.
Seniors Jaylon Bean and Ryan Shaffer were leaders for the Tribe a year ago. They’ll no doubt miss the third player in a dominant trio – Reese Cover – as well as guards Blake Carbaugh and Louis Lindsay.
Bean, a senior who will at forward, led the team in scoring with 11 points per game. He was second to Shaffer in rebounds with five boards a contest. Shaffer, a senior guard, averaged nearly 10 points a game and averaged just under six rebounds a game.
Senior Michael Young, who like Bean and Shaffer is a returning starter, will fill one of the guard positions. The other guard spot goes to Cooper Hough, a senior.
“Tanyon followed up a solid junior season off the bench with a great off-season,” said Waynesboro head coach Tom Hoffman, who begins his 23rd season. “Cooper battled tremendous adversity during his junior season. He has always been under the radar but seems ready to have a great year.”
VARSITY ROSTER
Michael Young (sr., 6-1, guard); Cooper Hough (sr., 5-10, guard); Farin Park (soph., 6-2, forward/guard); Grant Thompson (jr., 6-3, forward/guard); Evan Stein (sr., 6-0, guard); Kellan Smith (jr., 5-9, guard); Will Campbell (jr., 6-1, forward/guard); Ryan Shaffer (sr., 6-2, forward/guard); Tanyon Shaull (sr., 6-5, forward/guard); Jevon Melver (sr., 5-10, guard); Jaylon Bean (sr., 6-3, forward/guard); Alex Torbica (soph., 6-4, forward)
COACHES
HEAD COACH: Tom Hoffman (23rd season)
ASSISTANT COACHES: Rich Davis (junior varsity head coach); Rick Duesler, Kyle Hoffman, Tyler Stoner, Adam Heebner, Connor McFarland
SCHEDULE
Dec. 9, vs. Warwick (Franklin County vs. Everyone Tip-Off Tournament) at Chambersburg HS, 7 p.m.; Dec. 10, vs. Northeastern (Franklin County vs. Everyone Tip-Off Tournament) at Chambersburg HS, 5 p.m.; Dec. 16, Northern York, 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 20, at Big Spring, 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 23, James Buchanan, 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 27, vs. Mechanicsburg (21st annual Sauve Bros. Holiday Basketball Tournament), Mechanicsburg HS, 7:30 p.m..; Dec. 28, vs. TBA (Sauve Bros. Holiday Basketball Tournament, TBA; Jan. 3, at Gettysburg, 7:30 p.m.; Jan. 6, Shippensburg, 7:30 p.m.; Jan. 10, at Greencastle-Antrim, 7:30 p.m.; Jan. 13, West Perry, 7:30 p.m.; Jan. 17, at Northern York, 7 p.m.; Jan. 20, Big Spring, 7:45 p.m.; Jan. 24, at James Buchanan, 7:30 p.m.; Jan. 27, Gettysburg, 7:30 p.m.; Jan. 31, at Shippensburg, 7:30 p.m.; Feb. 3, Greencastle-Antrim, 7:30 p.m.; Feb. 7, at Carlisle, 7:30 p.m.; Feb. 9, at Chambersburg, 7:30 p.m.
