'99-00 SCHEDULE

Dec. 4 -- Cochranton      7-- Union      10-- at Neshannock      11-- at Lakeview      14-- Slippery Rock      17-- Kennedy Christian      21-- at Wilmington      27-28 -- at Farrell Tournament Jan . 4 -- at West Middlesex      7-- Commodore Perry      11-- at George Junior      14-- at Greenville      18-- Reynolds      21-- at Mercer      25-- at Commodore Perry      28-- Hickory Feb. 1-- Wilmington      4-- West Middlesex      8-- at Kennedy Christian      11-- George Junior      18-- at Reynolds      22-- Mercer.

By The Herald Sports Staff

Last year, the Blue Devils made it to the playoffs for the first time since the 1995-96 team qualified for states. However, the team fell to Girard in the quarterfinal game of the District 10 AA playoffs, 55-32. This squad is loaded with seniors and looks to make it back to the postseason and take the program to the next level.

"We went 17-8 last year and made the AA playoffs, but we were disappointed in the Girard game," said Blue Devils coach Chris Anglin. "That's where we would like to get back to, but it's going to be a battle."

The seniors include Brad Allen, Mike Anglin, Tom Burich, Jay Cattron, Jeff Donatelli, Chad Haggerty, Mike Mazurek, Justin Napotnik and Jay Scott. The only underclassman to crack the varsity lineup is sophomore Bill Stiger.

The Blue Devils return their top three players in Cattron, Mazurek and Anglin. The 6-2 forward Cattron led the team with 331 points last year, Mazurek, another 6-2 forward, supplied 10.4 points per game average and The 6-0 forward Anglin was right behind Mazurek with 10.3 points per game average.

Among departed players from last year, Mike Abbott's 126 points will be missed. So, too, will Joe Johnson's senior leadership, though he didn't see much playing time.

"If you look at the stats, believe it or not, the last three years we've been a pretty good defensive team, county-wise," said Anglin.

His team allowed 1,137 points defensively for an average of 45.5 points per game allowed.

"We play a lot of man-to-man, and we plan on continuing to do that," Anglin added. "We'll play a lot of half-court man-to-man, but we need to score some more points and become a little better in terms of shot selection. I think that could be a key for us, if we're able to play a better percentage with the shots. Defensively, we're not too bad and we have been pretty decent the last couple of years. We don't have a lot of secrets. We're going to run our man-to-man offense and we might throw in a couple of wrinkles here and there."

The team on most MCAC AA coaches' minds was at the forefront of coach Anglin's when asked about his competitors.

"Obviously, George Junior is always pretty strong," he said. "I haven't seen them, but I hear they've got some players coming in. I think Greenville is going to be a good team.

"People have to understand one thing about AA: There's a lot of good athletes in AA. Look at Wilmington, Greenville and Mercer. Then look at the coaches like Nicky Cannone and Chad Mild will do a good job down in West Middlesex. We play 12 league games, and it's probably the closest thing to a real competitive league (from top to bottom). I know the other leagues are competitive, but not in terms of all 12 games. It's a tough road, and it will be very exciting. If we can match 10-2, wow.

"Wilmington has some football players coming out, so that will improve them, and Reynolds will improve with (Randy) Conley; the kid's 6-7 and he's not bad. I know Greenville's going to be much better, and what else can you say about Dave Cook in Mercer? They're always good. Throw in Middlesex, George Junior and us, and it's going to be tough. There's going to be some surprises.

"We've got nine seniors and seven returning lettermen this year. We're expected to be in the hunt, and I expect us to be in the hunt."

Coach Anglin will be assisted this year by Bob Donatelli.