Tigers are hungry for another TVL crown

BY GREG WILLIAMS Sentinel reporter gwilliams@lewistownsentinel.com

COCOLAMUS – The East Juniata Tigers are back on the court with a veteran squad that has its sights set on another Tri-Valley League title.

The Tigers are coming off a 2021-22 season in which they edged rival Greenwood by one game in the standings with a 13-3 TVL record and 15-7 overall. East Juniata swept twogame home and home series with the Wildcats and county nemesis Juniata.

The Tigers also advanced to the District 2-A playoffs where they lost to Northwest in the quarterfinals.

“We have a lot of experience back,” said third-year Tigers head coach Justin Hazel said. “We do lose two of the top players from our team last year, but we expect to be right back at the top of our league this season.”

Those top players included Tanner Barth, a first team TVL All-Star last season who ranked 10th in the league in scoring at 11.9 points per game. They also lost Rowan Smith, who averaged 8.3 points and 5.5 rebounds a year ago.

East Juniata returns a strong group of upperclassmen, including nine seniors and one junior, that will look to help the Tigers get back to the postseason.

“We will be about 9 to 11 deep at the varsity level this year,” Hazel said. “We return three three-year starters and lots of other experience coming back.”

Among the upperclassmen is senior guard Jake Brackbill, a second team TVL All-Star last year. The

5-10 Brackbill ranked seventh in the league in scoring at 13.5 points per game and seventh in rebounds at 8.2 boards.

He also finished fifth in the league by dishing out an average of 3.2 assists per game and was eighth with an average of 1.8 steals.

“Our biggest team goal is winning the league backto-back, but some of our other goals are just to improve from day-to-day and enjoy the time that we get to spend together and really cherish the moments of high school sports,” Hazel added.

The Tigers will also rely on senior guard Owen Dressler, who ranked among the league leaders in several categories. The 6-2 Dressler was 12th in the TVL in scoring at 10.6 points. He also had the sharp-shooting touch from the outside as he ranked second in the TVL with 40 three-point field goals. Dressler’s 84 percent freethrow percentage stood third overall.

Senior Dylan Wagner also returns as a force in the paint. The 6-9 center averaged 1.6 blocks a year ago to stand third among TVL leaders.

“In order to be successful, we will have to continue to take good shots, take advantage of our skill-set players and stay together as a group in order to have a great season again,” Hazel added. “We need to keep playing our style of defense and make things very frustrating for the other teams in order to be successful this season.”

Senior Brady Roe saw varsity action a year ago. The 5-9 guard averaged 1.0 point and 1.0 rebound per game.

Rounding out the stable of guards are seniors Caden Geedy and Nate Freed. Both saw limited action. Geedy stands 5-9, while Freed is 5-6.

Vying for time at the forward spot is senior Donte Martin, who played in 11 games a year ago. The 6-0 Martin averaged 1.6 rebounds.

Hazel could also turn to senior Jack Hoffman, a 6-1, who can play either forward or center. He averaged 1.4 boards last season. There’s also senior Walker Stutts, a 5-10 forward, who played in two games.

Depth is certainly one of the Tigers’ strengths as well as experience up and down the roster.

Junior Clark Ritzman is also back. The 5-10 forward averaged 4.3 points and 2.9 boards a year ago.

Rounding out the roster are freshmen Sammy Kopacki and Wrett Smith. Kopacki is a 5-8 forward, while Smith is a 5-7 guard.

As the reigning champions, Hazel knows the Tigers will have a target on their back. “I see Greenwood, Juniata, St. Joseph’s, Halifax, Millersburg and us as the top teams,” Hazel said. “It will be a battle all season long.”

A total of three games separated the top five teams in the TVL standings. At 13-3 in the TVL, the Tigers edged Greenwood by one game to capture the crown and Juniata and Upper Dauphin by two games. Line Mountain finished fifth at 10-6.

East Juniata ranked second in the TVL in scoring

See Tigers / Page 19