THE MIGHTY COUGARS “2017 PIAA DISTRICT 3 Class 6A CHAMPS” by Trey Erdman

THE MIGHTY COUGARS  “2017 PIAA DISTRICT 3  Class 6A CHAMPS”  By:  Trey Erdman (3/4/17)

HERSHEY, PA (Giant Center) — Coming off of a 16-point win against the No. 1 seed Reading, starting senior guard Chris Whitaker was ready to lead the No. 4 seed Harrisburg Cougars to a District III 6A title.

Meanwhile, No. 7 seed Hempfield, led by senior guard Ryan Moffatt, had beaten the No. 2 seed and No. 3 seed Lebanon, a game in which Moffatt scored 29 points.

Danny Walck, coach of the Black Knights, keeps his Hempfield boys playing at a slow pace throughout their games, making it hard for uptempo opponents like Governor Mifflin and Lebanon to play their style. This tactic did not stop the Cougars.

Harrisburg started the game on a 16-5 run to end the first quarter. At halftime, Hempfield was held to 3 field goals and faced a 31-9 deficit.

By the end of the third quarter, Harrisburg held a 48-25 advantage with Whitaker scoring all but four points for his team in the quarter. “My grandmom always bugs me about having fun when I play but I didn’t wanna smile the whole game. It was a business trip,” said the 6-foot-3 guard when asked about his 13-point quarter.

Harrisburg went on to win 67-40. Chris Whitaker racked up 25 points along with 9 rebounds while junior forward Micah Parsons added 14.

Asked about what Harrisburg will do to start preparing for the state tournament, Coach Kirk Smallwood quipped, “Right now, I just wanna go somewhere and eat a sandwich.”