Published Thursday, March 18, 1999 
On Wednesday night, first-year Farrell High School head basketball coach Bill Michaels showed Sto-Rox something new from his bag of tricks -- a 1-2-2 half-court trap -- and the ploy proved pivotal to the Steelers' 60-44 PIAA Class AA second-round victory.
"It's something we'd been working on. We haven't shown it all year and they may not have had a chance to prepare for it,'' Michaels said regarding the trap. "We'd been saving that and it paid off for us tonight. We thought we could pressure their guards a little bit. Their point guard's a sophomore (Eddie Peterson), and also we thought if we were in some foul trouble, that might help us out a little bit -- we could fall into our 2-3 zone from that -- so that really is the main reason we worked on it.''
At intermission, the teams were tied at 27, but the Steelers stifled Sto-Rox, vanquishing the Vikings by allowing only 17 points in 16 second-half minutes. Farrell forced 10 second-half Sto-Rox turnovers and a 6-for-21 shooting performance.
"Our kids did a great job,'' Michaels praised. "That team really came out to play tonight. They played hard. I thought both teams played real, real hard, and our kids showed a lot of poise and maintained their composure and won the game.''
Rashawd Josey, who was shackled into a 2-for-8 shooting performance and limited to seven points, scored at the 5:57 mark of the third period, providing Sto-Rox with a 29-27 lead, but that would prove to be the Vikes' last advantage.
Urbie Flint, who snapped a recent scoring slump with a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double, scored on a traditional 3-point play at the 4:32 juncture for a 30-29 Farrell lead, and the Steelers never trailed again.
Sto-Rox did draw even at 34 with 2:20 remaining in the third quarter on a Darnel Smith trey, but the Vikings did not score again until the 3:59 mark of the fourth frame on a Corey Simmons' put-back -- a 6:21 drought -- by which time they trailed 46-36.
They never dented that double-digit deficit for the duration.
In addition to Flint, Jackson Jones posted a game-high 21-point performance for Farrell, tallying 15 second-half points and finishing with 9-for-11 marksmanship from the free-throw line, Billy Dungee orchestrated the offense and slashed his way to 10 points, and Demond Bell led the Steelers to a 39-31 edge on the boards as he hauled down a game-high dozen caroms.
"The kids realized that, this was it,'' Michaels related. "We had four seniors (Flint, Jones, Bell and Richard Young) on the floor, and if they wanted to live to play another game, they had to give all they had and try to get the win, and they did that.''
Farrell's first-half performance stood in stark contrast to its post-intermission play, as the Steelers labored through a dozen turnovers and a 9-for-25 shooting effort. Flint's 10-point, 6-rebound outing and Bell's 6-point, 5-rebound line were the lone salvation, but were offset by five points apiece by Josey, Smith and Wade Laux.
Jones' score with 2.8 ticks left enabled Farrell to close within 12-11 after one period, then Bell's bucket via a Dungee pass with 3.1 ticks remaining drew the Steelers even at the break.
Like the teams of his legendary predecessor, Eddie McCluskey, Michaels feels this year's Steelers edition will succeed on the strength of defense.
"Absolutely, and we've been preaching that all year long,'' Michaels began. "That team (Sto-Rox) scored 44 on us tonight and we haven't given up 50 yet in the playoffs, and we're real proud of that. It's something we focus on -- trying to keep teams in the 40s, preferably the low 40s. Shady Side had that 49-point game against us (in the WPIAL championship game) and that cost us.''
The Steelers, as Michaels related, were literally carrying the banner of the school's proud tradition.
"(Assistant coach Frank Sincek) pulled out a sign from 1952, the first state championship, and talked to the kids about that a little bit. So him being there is definitely a big plus to help carry on that tradition,'' Michaels concluded.
Notes: Farrell (26-4) will meet Quaker Valley, a 55-51 winner over Aliquippa in the nightcap of Wednesday's twin bill at the Ambridge Field House, on Saturday at a site and time to be determined. ... Sto-Rox (19-6) finished 16 for 50 (32 percent) from the floor and committed 21 turnovers, one more than the Steelers. ... Simmons' 10-point, 7-rebound outing and Karl Council's eight rebounds led the Vikes, who lost to Farrell, 60-45, in the second round of the WPIAL playoffs. ... Michaels also said that junior J.J. Wilson is no longer with the squad following a flagrant foul in the recent Karns City contest. Michaels chose to elaborate little on the decision, but indicated it was not the result of the isolated incident, but due to multiple recent situations.
* * *
PIAA AA SECOND ROUND
FARRELL 11 16 9 24 60
STO-ROX 12 15 7 10 44
FARRELL -- Flint 6-4-6-17: Jones 6-9-11-21; R. Young 3-0-1-6; Dungee 3-4-7-10; Bell 3-0-1-6; Gordon 0-0-0-0; Wright 0-0-0-0; Barlow 0-0-1-0. 3-pt. goals: Flint 1. Totals: 21-17-27-60.
STO-ROX -- Josey 2-3-4-7; Council 0-2-2-2; Peterson 1-0-0-2; Smith 3-0-0-8; Simmons 4-2-5-10; Mosley 0-0-0-0; Tosadori 2-0-0-4; Landa 2-2-3-6; Laux 2-1-2-5. 3-pt. goals: Smith 2. Totals: 16-10-16-44.
