Coatesville fans proud of Raiders despite state semifinal loss
Williamsport >> Although Coatesville suffered a disappointing 75-69 loss to Kennedy Catholic in the PIAA 6A boys basketball state semifinal Tuesday, the rabid Raider fans who packed the Williamsport High School gym were glad they made the 3 ½ hour trip to support their community.
“I’m proud of how our public school kids battled the private school recruited kids,” said Tina Hall, who has seen all 32 of the Raiders’ games this season. “I’m honored to support our team.”
Coatesville English teacher Debby Herman, who, like Hall, has been to every Raider game this winter, said, “These boys are our kids – Coatesville kids. I’m so proud of them.”
“Our fans have been great all year,” said Coatesville head coach Fred Thompson. “They’ve been so great for us all year, supporting us, we really appreciate their support and that’s what this Coatesville community is all about. We don’t take them for granted – we know they are a great fan base and they always support us.”
Before the game, the gym and the lobby was dotted with pockets of fans attired in Coatesville red.
Coatesville fan Yogie Johnson, whose cousin is Raider senior Dymere Miller, said, “We brought five or six buses of Coatesville fans up here for the game. … Our team is [relatively] little, but we have a lot of speed.”
As the players were warming up, Coatesville Sports Hall of Famer Pat Langa Sr., who comes to all of the Raider games, said, “This should be a good game – we’ll show up.”
In the first half, Coatesville gave their fans plenty to cheer about.
After falling behind 7-0, Coatesville went on a 21-0 run, a rarity for a PIAA state basketball semifinal, for a 21-7 lead late in the first quarter.
Kennedy Catholic, ranked among the top 25 teams nationally, committed 13 turnovers in the first half as the Raiders went into the locker room at halftime with a 37-32 lead.
But in the second half, Kennedy Catholic’s 6-foot-5 senior guard Maceo Austin got hot, scoring 18 points after halftime. And 6-foot-10 senior center/forward Oscar Twshiebwe grabbed 11 rebounds in the second half despite picking up his third personal foul just after halftime.
The Raiders trailed 53-51 at the end of the third quarter, and while they never led in the fourth quarter, kept the game tantalizingly close, trailing 69-66 with 49 seconds.
In the Coatesville locker room after the game, Thompson said, “I told the players to take some time off, and after we settle down and go through these emotions, we’ll look back on this year and see what we did and appreciate it.”
As Raider fans filed out of the Williamsport gym, Coatesville athletic director Matt McCain said, “The fan support we got tonight was unbelievable. The best thing about Coatesville is that we show up for every game. It’s overwhelming, the support. Everywhere we go, we’ve got three-quarters of the gym, it’s unbelievable to see. I think our players really take to it as well. They love playing for their community – it’s means the most to them.”
Maria Meade, a Coatesville High School alum who teaches English to the ninth- and 10th-graders at the school, said, “We’re so proud of these boys – they had an amazing season.”
