Two Lawrence County schools located just three miles apart will play for WPIAL titles on Friday.
The teams, both gritty and undersized, will be underdogs, with No. 2 New Castle (21-3) taking on top seed and defending champion Upper St. Clair (22-2) in the Class 6A championship at 9 p.m. at Petersen Events Center, and No. 8 Union (19-6) facing No. 3 Jeannette (22-2) in the Class 2A final at 5 p.m.
New Castle and Union have a lot in common, and one of the other similarities produces what is one of the best storylines in this year’s championships — both teams are powered by standout senior guards and 1,000-point scorers who off the court call their coach “dad.”
New Castle features Ralphie Blundo, son of Red Hurricanes coach Ralph Blundo. And Union is led by Lucas Stanley, son of Scotties coach Mark Stanley.
Ralph Blundo, who can become the fourth coach to win eight WPIAL titles, said that having his son along for the ride has made this championship journey all the more special.
“You want the best for your team, the best for your son,” Blundo said. “Doing it together, it’s a lot of years in the making. A lot of practices. A lot of workouts. A lot of film sessions. A lot of car rides home. So to put ourselves in this position of having an opportunity to win a championship, it’s special.”
Ralphie Blundo is a 6-foot senior guard and New Castle’s second-leading scorer at 15.6 points per game, while Lucas Stanley is a 6-2 senior guard who leads all Class 2A players in scoring with 24.8 points a game. Blundo is a four-year starter, while Stanley has been starting for three seasons.
Both sons are trying to win the first WPIAL titles of their careers. New Castle, which has claimed 14 titles (tied with Aliquippa for most all time), last won a title in 2021, back when Ralphie Blundo was in eighth grade. Lucas Stanley wasn’t even born yet when Union captured its only title in 2003. He did previously play in a WPIAL title game, though, as he scored a team-high 15 points off the bench when Union lost to Imani Christian in the 2023 Class 1A final.
While Ralphie is the first of Ralph Blundo’s two sons to play for him in high school, Lucas is the fourth Stanley brother to play for Mark Stanley, joining Mark Jr., Anthony and Matt. Matt is Union’s all-time leading scorer.
“With him being the youngest, playing in those driveway games, he was always getting knocked around,” Mark Stanley said of Lucas. “But he was always with them. He was the youngest kid in the gym, but he was always there with his brothers. He knew no different. He took his lumps, and as he says, now he can pass them out a little bit.”
Growing up so close to one another, Ralphie Blundo and Lucas Stanley have known each other for years, and just this past summer played in a few AAU events together on a loaded PK Flash team that also included Avonworth’s Rowan Carmichael, Chartiers Valley’s Jayden Davis and Beaver’s Brady Mayo.
Ralphie Blundo scored 25 points to lead New Castle to a 67-56 win against Mt. Lebanon in the semifinals. But getting to that number will be difficult against a tall and talented Upper St. Clair team that gives up only 39 points per game, which ranks among the top marks in the WPIAL. Led by 6-10 senior center and Miami (Ohio) recruit Tyler Robbins, the Panthers limited their first two playoff opponents to 41 and 39 points and have surrendered more than 51 points just twice in their past 15 games.
“They have a great rim protector, they have good on-ball defenders, they’re smart, and Danny [Holzer] is an outstanding coach. Put it all together, and it’s allowed them to be successful,” Ralph Blundo said.
Upper St. Clair, which has been the team to beat since the preseason, is trying to become the first team to repeat as WPIAL champion in the largest classification since Pine-Richland in 2016 and 2017.
“I’m really proud of our kids,” said Upper St. Clair coach Danny Holzer, who has won four WPIAL titles and owns more than 500 career wins. “To be preseason ranked No. 1 and to get to the final, it’s not an easy thing to do at any level. It takes an awful lot of hard work and belief.”
In addition to Tyler Robbins (he had 22 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks in last year’s final), the Panthers also boast big-bodied 6-7 sophomore Ryan Robbins and 6-6 senior Kaamil Jackson. New Castle’s tallest starter is 6-3 senior guard Damian Harrison.
“We’ll see if we can’t get our guys to grow 5 or 6 inches over the course of the next few days,” joked Ralph Blundo, whose team has won nine in a row. “There is size and there is size. It’s significant. You just have to watch a lot of film and take good angles. Defend them appropriately in the post based on where the ball is, and keep them off the boards. It’ll be a big challenge for us.”
New Castle’s top scorer has been Kai Cox, a 6-foot freshman guard averaging 17.1 points per game. Harrison has emerged as another excellent scoring option and has also been the team’s top rebounder.
“They’re very athletic, they’re obviously extremely well coached, they have a lot of weapons, and they can score in a lot of ways,” Holzer said. “The freshman, Cox, can score at all levels. Ralphie is a veteran player who can shoot the lights out. Harrison can score and is an outstanding offensive rebounder. And they play aggressive and play tough defense.”
Class 2A
Greensburg Central Catholic and Sewickley Academy were the top two seeds in the Class 2A playoff bracket. But instead of those teams meeting for the title, the championship matchup features the teams that upset them.
Union, the No. 8 seed, stunned No. 1 Greensburg Central Catholic, 44-42, in the quarterfinals, while No. 3 Jeannette knocked off No. 2 Sewickley Academy, 45-25, in the semifinals.
Just as Union is seeking its first title in 22 years, Jeannette is aiming for its first since winning its only title in 2008, Terrelle Pryor’s senior season. The Jayhawks had previously reached the final twice since then, finishing as runner-up in 2009 and 2015.
“[Making the final] means everything because we’ve been talking about this since we lost to Fort Cherry in [last season’s PIAA] playoffs,” said Jeannette coach Adrian Batts, who was an assistant on the 2008 team. “We wanted to get back here. Even when we lost in the WPIAL playoffs to Northgate, we wanted to get back. The majority of the guys play football, and they found a way to beat Neshannock [in the WPIAL playoffs] and upset GCC before they ran into Fort Cherry. These guys have put in the work.”
Jeannette, which finished second behind Greensburg Central Catholic in Section 1, has won 11 of its past 12 games. The Centurions handed Jeannette both of its losses. The Jayhawks own the No. 1 scoring offense (67.4 points per game) and No. 3 scoring defense (40.2 ppg) in Class 2A. Sophomore forward Markus McGowan (15 ppg) leads the team in scoring. Junior guard Xavier Odorisio-Farrow was the star against Sewickley Academy, scoring a team-best 15 points, including a huge dunk over 6-8 Mamadou Kane.
“They’re athletic, they play hard, and they’re well coached. They’re just a good basketball team,” Mark Stanley said. “When I was watching film for another game, they jumped out at me. It’s going to be a challenge, but it’s one we’re looking forward to.”
Union, which moved up from Class 1A to Class 2A this season, is the Cinderella team of this year’s playoffs, as the Scotties are the lowest seed to reach any of the six championship games. The Scotties have won 6 of 7. After taking down Greensburg Central Catholic in the quarterfinals, the Scotties avenged a pair of regular-season losses by beating No. 4 Neshannock, 60-56, in the semifinals. Lucas Stanley scored 24 points, and senior guard Maddox Thompson added 13. Sophomore guard Landon Eckert is second on the team in scoring with 10.5 points per game.
“We play Union, who’s very good,” Batts said. “They obviously beat GCC and they beat Neshannock, who beat them twice. I’ve been saying all year that we never look past any opponent. We’ve been focused on everybody we play. The kids have been great and have just gotten better every day.”
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.