Yoder and Croyle continuing family legacies at Pennridge
EAST ROCKHILL >> For eight seasons, the names Yoder and Croyle have been synonymous with Pennridge basketball.
The Yoder boys — Kyle, Sean and Luke — and the Croyles — Bobby and Paul — were mainstays in the rotation for the Rams’ boys program until this winter, when both last names disappeared from the team roster. A couple turns down the hallway, the girls program has its own Yoder and Croyle making their marks.
Katie Yoder and Anna Croyle are keeping their family lines going strong, leading the way to the Rams’ 2-0 start after Saturday’s 52-20 win over Southern Lehigh.
“I watched them when I was little and I wanted to be like them, so it’s been fun having that chance to actually do it,” Yoder said.
Katie Yoder, a junior, is a three-year varsity player while Anna Croyle, a sophomore, is in her second year on varsity. Friday night, they went for 21 and 11 respectively against Council Rock North then kept the act up on Saturday with 19 and 10 against the Spartans.
Being the little sister did not bring any mercy in family competitions, however. Yoder said her brothers still don’t give her any slack if they’re playing family pick-up or working out together, but she appreciates the tough love approach.
It’s the same for Croyle, who like her brothers, is a multi-sport athlete at Pennridge. Bobby (Susquehanna football) and Paul (Moravian baseball) didn’t give up free passes but Anna, already a two-time first team All-SOL selection in soccer, knows it made her tougher.
“There’d be days I’d leave the driveway crying because I was losing and now, it’s only made me stronger in the end,” Croyle said. “They helped teach me how to be tough and to never give up.”
Both Anna and Katie have more than proven themselves in their time at Pennridge, but they’ve both had to deal with following their older brothers.
“I always feel like I’m known for being their sibling,” Yoder said. “I always felt like I had to live up to those expectations but as soon as I got here freshman year, I also started to work toward making my own name.”
Rams coach Mike Elton joked he wished all his players had older brothers to grow up playing against and noticed the impact it’s made on Yoder and Croyle. There’s always pressure following an older sibling that was part of a successful team or in the case of Sean Yoder, now playing at Navy, graduating as the school’s all-time leading scorer but Elton feels his duo has earned respect because of who they are, not who they’re related to.
“I think they’ve got that now,” Elton said.
Croyle and Yoder haven’t experienced the same team success in basketball that their brothers did, at least not yet.
“We haven’t had those great seasons like the boys have had, but I think we have a lot of potential this year,” Yoder said. “I’d like to brag about it too. My brothers always brag they made a state championship so I want something to brag back about.”
Yoder and Croyle aren’t the only experienced players on the team either and the Rams are hoping to capitalize on their returning core. Grace Rosica, Emma Pyne, Ryan Hodder and Ava Unzicker all played a good amount of minutes last year, giving Pennridge a quality amount of minutes coming back to an SOL Colonial Division that looks to be very competitive top to bottom.
Players are more comfortable together and it’s showing. Hodder, a senior, didn’t score Saturday but led with five of the team’s 13 assists while Ava Fantaskey had nine points off the bench.
“We’re not a one-dimensional team,” Croyle said. “We have people for each part of it and together, we make one really good team.”
PENNRIDGE 52, SOUTHERN LEHIGH 20
PENNRIDGE 21 17 6 8 – 52
SOUTHERN LEHIGH 7 4 2 7 – 20
P: Anna Croyle 5 0-1 10, Katie Yoder 6 5-5 19, Ava Unzicker 2 0-0 4, Emma Pyne 1 1-2 4, Ava Fantaskey 3 1-2 9, Emma Brown 3 0-0 6. Totals: 20 7-10 52
SL: Lewis 2 0-0 5, Weirer 2 0-2 4, MacIntosh 2 0-0 4, McInhold 1 2-2 4, Vande-Bunte 0 1-2 1, Seagreave 1 0-0 2. Totals: 8 3-6 20
3-pointers: P – Yoder 2, Fantaskey 2, Pyne; SL – Lewis.
