By Terry Thomas
Coach Taylor will embark on his 5th
season as Head Coach with a very young and inexperienced squad. The defending
Del Val League and District-1 Champions enter the season with two returning
starters in senior point guard Qadir Lowrie and power-forward Isaiah Freeman.
The Clippers will also look to seniors Nasir Madison and Olayinka “Yanks”
Itabiyi along with sophomore Larenzo Jerkins returners from last season to be
the catalyst for their run to the States. You see at 9th &
Barclay or the “Clip Joint” regardless of who dons the “Orange & Black” on
the Fred Pickett Gymnasium floor; the ultimate goal remains the same – State
Championship.
Chester’s roster will consist of 1
freshman, 5 sophomores, 3 juniors and 5 seniors. The goal of Coach Taylor is to
mold this new mixture into a fine-tuned machine as only five of the latter
actually played Varsity basketball as a Clipper in the previous season. He
understands his opponents will be linking their chops at the opportunity to
face such an inexperienced group of Clippers and he expects his young troops to
mature quickly. With that being said, the Clippers will open on the road at
Lancaster’s J.P. McCaskey on Saturday, December 11th, before
returning to the Clip Joint for the “City Championship” on Tuesday, December 14th
against Chester Charter Scholars Academy. The schedule includes games against
Philadelphia Catholic League’s Archbishop Carroll and Cardinal O’Hara,
Delaware’s Newark and Christiana and New Jersey’s Paterson-Kennedy. Mixed
within their Del Val opponents will be Coatesville, Downingtown West, York,
Bartram and a home date with defending 6A State Champion Reading Red Knights.
The players have worked hard over
the last three weeks preparing for the season knowing they can garner minutes.
Sophomores Dante Atkinson and Kevin Rucker who saw significant minutes on the
JV squad are expected to be impact players. Juniors Terrence Cobb and Breilyn
White are high energy explosive teammates. Sophomore big men Vincent Coleman
and Jerry Young look to make their presence felt inside the paint. Senior Lenny
Camacho returns bringing his defensive intensity looking to spark the second
unit. Rounding out the squad are junior Nazir Berry and freshman Dallas
Thompson with contributions expected at both ends of the court.
Unlike last
season where the season opened without fans, this year will be different. The
season will open with fans. If you are in the neighborhood, come on out to 9th
& Barclay and show your support for C-Pride. Let the Season begin.
DATE DAY TIME PLACE OPPONENT RESULTS
11 DEC SAT 5:30 Away J.P.
McCaskey @
8th
ANNUAL FRED PICKETT CLASSIC, Chester High School – City Championship
14 DEC TUE 5:00 Home Chester
Charters Scholars Academy @
16 DEC THUR 3:30 Away Newark (DE) @
WILMINGTON
PLAY BY PLAY CLASSIC – 76’ers Fieldhouse, Wilmington, DE
19 DEC SUN 6:15 Away Archbishop
Carroll (PA)
WILMINGTON
PLAY BY PLAY CLASSIC II, 76’ers Fieldhouse, Wilmington, DE
23 DEC THUR 1:45 Away Downingtown West
16th ANNUAL
PETE NELSON HOLIDAY CLASSIC, Widener University, Chester, PA
28 DEC TUE 8:00 Away Cardinal
O’Hara (PA)
30 DEC THUR 8:30 Away Coatesville
08 JAN SAT 2:00 Home Bartram
@
11 JAN TUE 5:30 Home Penn
Wood *@
12 JAN WED 5:30 Home Reading
@
13 JAN THUR 5:30 Home Chichester *@
3rd ANNUAL
STAND AGAINST VIOLENCE SHOWCASE, Chambersburg, PA
15 JAN SAT TBA Away TBA
16 JAN SUN 4:30 Away Cumberland
Valley
20 JAN THUR 5:30 Away Interboro *@
22 JAN SAT 1:00 Home York
#
25 JAN TUE 5:30 Away Academy
Park *@
27 JAN THUR 5:30 Away Penn Wood *@
29 JAN SAT 1:00 Home Christiana
#
01 FEB TUE 5:30 Away Chichester
*@
27th ANNUAL BATTLE BY THE BAY, Atlantic City High
School, Atlantic City, NJ
05 FEB SAT 5:00 Away Paterson-Kennedy (NJ)
08 FEB TUE 5:30 Home Interboro
*@
10 FEB THUR 5:30 Home Academy Park *@
DEL VAL LEAGUE:
OVERALL
RECORD:
NOTE: District-1 5A Tournament – Seeding
Meeting: Sunday, February 13, 2022.
20 D1 Teams / 12 D1
Playoff Qualifiers / 6 PIAA
Qualifiers.
Tournament Game
Dates: February 22, 25, March 1 with Championship on Friday, March 4
State 5A
Tournament – March 11, 15, 18, 21 with Championship on Friday, March 25,
2022