Methacton makes sacrifices to beat Perkiomen Valley, repeat as PAC champs

ROYERSFORD >> When Methacton’s starting lineup was called out before last year’s Pioneer Athletic Conference championship, Marcus Girardo took the court.

As a junior last season, Girardo was one of the five starters who helped the Warriors claim their first league championship in three years.

On Thursday night, as the Warriors captured their second straight PAC championship with a 67-43 win over Perkiomen Valley, becoming the first team in almost 20 years to win back-to-back league titles, Girardo came off the bench.

Though his role might have been different along with his view to start the game, the Warriors’ senior said the feeling was just the same after another championship win.

“You look at it as what am I doing to make me lose this role, but it’s more of what am I doing for my team,” Girardo said. “And it’s doing what’s best for the team. When you do what’s best for the team, you get results like this. A championship.”

Entering Thursday night, the last Pioneer Athletic Conference team to win back-to-back titles was Spring-Ford in 1999 and 2000. The last team to defend their PAC title in the championship game was Methacton, when it fell to Perkiomen Valley in 2013.

The Warriors brought back all but one member of last year’s championship squad. Though it came into this season as the favorite, Methacton did not definitively look the part of repeat champs through the first half of their season.

Methacton dropped games to Perkiomen Valley and Norristown the first time through the Liberty Division. With a 6-4 record before the start of the new year, the Warriors knew they needed to rally down the stretch.

“After the Lower Merion game (on Dec. 30), we got together as seniors and said, ‘We’re not going out like this,’” senior guard David Duda said. “We’re not going from a PAC championship team to a mediocre team.”

Methacton lost by 10 to Norristown in its first game to start the new year. They then went on to win 13 straight games leading into Thursday night, which included victories of Norristown and Perk Valley and blowout wins over Spring-Ford and Pope John Paul II in their first two PAC playoff games.

Duda led the entire league in scoring last season. The East Stroudsburg recruit netted 38 points in last season’s championship victory. With the emergence of junior Erik Timko and others, Duda’s role has slightly lessened during his final campaign, going from the top scorer in the league to third in scoring on his team. As a result the Warriors have become more balanced and dangerous.

Duda and junior forward Jeff Woodward led the Warriors with 15 points on Thursday, but Timko and junior guard Brett Eberly joined them in double figures and four other Warriors scored.

“I knew when I had six point games and 10 point games, it’s not like last year,” Duda said. “But we have Erik, and we have Owen (Kropp), and Ben (Christian) and Marcus. Guys stepping in. You know what, when you look after you cut down the nets, it’s perfect for me. I’d take this over 20 points any day.”

Like Duda and Girardo, others have given up some parts of their game to fit in. Part of the success of this Methacton team has been its ability to embrace different roles. It was showcased even throughout different parts of the game on Thursday night.

Eberly scored nine points in the first quarter to get the Warriors out in front. Junior Owen Kropp, who scored six points, and Timko helped hold Perkiomen Valley senior Tyler Strechay to just nine points.

Ben Christian grabbed six rebounds. Girardo helped silence any potential Perkiomen Valley comeback by diving for loose balls, picking up steals and assists, and grabbing offensive rebounds in the second half.

“When you have a team with a lot of talented players, there’s sacrifice involved,” Methacton coach Jeff Derstine said. “For each player that might look a little bit different…Any successful team has players buying in and doing that. I think our entire team has done a great job of that.”

Does back-to-back titles make up for any lost points or minutes?

“It makes it all worth it,” Girardo said.