New Castle and Mt. Lebanon are two of the top programs in the WPIAL’s largest classification and both are off to unbeaten starts.
These Class 6A championship contenders also have something else in common: Their early success has been powered by a freshman standout.
Both New Castle and Mt. Lebanon feature impact freshmen that have already carved out starting roles and posted impressive performances.
Kai Cox is a 6-foot-1 guard who leads New Castle (3-0) in scoring with 20.3 points per game. Cox has scored in double figures each game and pumped in 28 points in an 84-52 win against Warren JFK, Ohio.
“He’s been really solid, especially from the perspective of being a ninth grader,” New Castle coach Ralph Blundo said. “He’s scored on all three levels and has just been very solid overall.”
Jacob Zaber is a 5-9 point guard who is averaging a team-best 19.5 points a game for Mt. Lebanon (2-0). Zaber had quite the high school debut as he poured in 28 points, including the winning basket in the closing seconds, in a 64-62 triumph against Allderdice.
“You can’t ask for anything better from a freshman,” Mt. Lebanon coach Joe David said. “As a coach, I want him to experience all sorts of stuff. He’s going to be with me for four years, so the more situations he gets himself into, the better he understands and the better he’ll be.”
A freshman starting at either school is rare. Blundo is in his 15th season at New Castle and said that the only other player that he has had that has started the first game of their freshman season was Isaiah Boice in 2019. David has been at Mt. Lebanon since 2001 and said he believes that the only other freshman point guard to start for him was Luke Hagy in 2008. Hagy finished his career as the school’s all-time career leader in assists and steals.
Cox, who plays AAU for New York Lightning, comes from good bloodlines. Older brothers Sheldon and Drew were both standouts at New Castle. Drew graduated in 2019 and Sheldon in 2021. Both won multiple WPIAL titles.
“He’s really strong for a ninth grader,” Blundo said. “He’s a good finisher. He can shoot. He’s a developing player who has all the tools to be very good.”
Zaber is a three-sport athlete as he also plays football and baseball. He might not be very tall, but he has done a great job of getting to the rim and he showed off his outside stroke by knocking down four 3-pointers against Allderdice. The Blue Devils will need his scoring punch as they play without junior guard Liam Sheely, last season’s leading scorer who broke his right hand in a recent practice and will be out until January.
“He’s a competitor,” David said of Zaber. “I don’t know if I want to use Luke Hagy’s name because Luke was a special dude, but Jacob fits that mold in that he wants to win and will do anything to help the team out. Whether it’s on offense, defense, communicating, being a leader, he’s got the whole package.”
Former New Castle stars to clash on MNF
Very few high school football coaches will ever get the opportunity to watch two of their former players go head to head in an NFL game.
Blundo is not a football coach, but rather a basketball coach, but he will get the chance to do it Monday.
Blundo, along with many others in New Castle, will be glued to their TV’s when two of the city’s native sons, Malik Hooker and Geno Stone, duke it out on Monday Night Football. Hooker plays for the Cowboys and Stone for the Bengals. Both are safeties. Hooker is in his eighth season and Stone his fifth. This is the first time they are playing one another.
“I’m so excited. I just got done scheduling practice around it,” said Blundo, who will be watching with his family. “It’s going to be great. I watch them every week. I get butterflies every time someone throws it deep. I almost have a panic attack because I don’t want them to get beat deep. There are 32 starting safeties in the NFL and two of them are from New Castle. How about that?”
Hooker, a 2014 graduate, and Stone, a 2017 graduate, were both outstanding basketball players at New Castle. Hooker averaged 21.9 points per game his senior season when he led New Castle to a 31-0 record and its first PIAA title. Hooker helped New Castle win three WPIAL titles in his career and Stone two. The Red Hurricanes won a WPIAL title Stone’s senior season when he averaged a team-best 16.4 points per game.
“Every Sunday is so exciting,” Blundo said. “Both have played night games this year. When Malik got introduced [on TV] the one game, instead of saying his college, he said he was from New Castle High School. That meant so much to the community and so much to the kids here. It’s just nerve wracking because we want them to play well so bad. It’s just a lot of fun for the whole community. There are a lot of Geno Stone and Malik Hooker jerseys around here. Maybe even more than Steelers jerseys. And the best part is it’s grown men and not just kids.”
Holzer one away from 500
Danny Holzer guided Upper St. Clair to the WPIAL Class 6A championship last season. Holzer’s next victory won’t bring the Panthers another title, but it will be a milestone victory for one of the WPIAL’s top coaches.
Holzer, who is in his 30th season, picked up his 499th career win Saturday when Upper St. Clair throttled Bethel Park, 82-23. That means that Holzer’s next triumph will be No. 500. He will get his first shot at reaching that feat Tuesday when the Panthers (3-0) host Norwin (2-1) in the Class 6A Section 2 opener for both teams.
Holzer has a career record of 499-231. Since taking over in 1995, he has led the Panthers to four WPIAL titles and 10 section titles and has guided them to the playoffs 25 times.
Ellsworth’s shooting
When Isaac Ellsworth unleashes a 3-point attempt, it’s often well worth it for Uniontown.
Ellsworth is a 6-foot junior guard and one of the WPIAL’s top perimeter shooters. He’s off to a terrific start to the season, too, as he has drilled 18 3-pointers in Uniontown’s first three games. The majority of those triples came when he connected on 10 in a season-opening 81-63 win against Thomas Jefferson. Ellsworth was 10 of 18 from deep on his way to a career-high 37 points.
Ellsworth then drained four 3-pointers both in a loss to Belle Vernon and a win against Elizabeth Forward. He’s averaging a team-high 22.3 points per game for Uniontown, which is 2-1.
Three-point shooting is Ellsworth’s specialty. While he has made 18 3’s this season, he has connected on just four 2-point baskets. Last season, he made 40 3-pointers compared to 14 2-point buckets.
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.