CLARION — Elk Catholic built a 20-point lead and never looked back, cruising to all-time district championship No. 23 Saturday, downing rival Johnsonburg 62-44 at Clarion University.
The win gives the Crusaders back-to-back Class A championships after a four-year title drought.
“Some of the years we were in this championship and some of the years we weren’t. We were at home,” Elk Catholic coach Aaron Straub said. “You can’t take championships for granted.”
Gabe Kraus and Nate DaCanal led the offensive effort for the Crusaders, scoring 17 and 16 points, respectively. The two did most of their damage in the first half. DaCanal’s layup in the final seconds of the first half increased the lead to 37-16 before Johnsonburg’s Tyler Singer drained a 3-pointer before the halftime buzzer.
Kraus drained a trey in the third quarter to extend the lead to 26. The Rams’ Ryan Kilhoffer made two more deep shots, but the Crusaders’ advantage never became less than 20 down the stretch.
Johnsonburg, the seventh and final seed in the Class A bracket, beat second-seeded Cameron County in the quarterfinals before knocking off Otto-Eldred after a furious fourth-quarter comeback in Tuesday’s semifinals.
Rams’ head coach Bill Shuey knew his team was going to be a major underdog in the game. In the second half, he was able to rotate players in to gain experience on the bigger court as the Rams now move forward in Friday’s state playoffs.
“We told them at halftime we weren’t worried about the score,” Shuey said. “We told them to stay focused on what’s important and that is to take every possession as if it’s your last and take every defensive stand as if it’s your last.
“At some point in time, you’ve got to recognize that you’re playing a better team. We just tried to do our best.”
Both teams are in action Friday, with Elk Catholic drawing the fifth-place team from District 7 and Johnsonburg drawing Jamestown, the second-place team from District 10.
At Clarion
Johnsonburg (44)
Ryan Kilhoffer 6 0-0 14, Raubenstrauch 2 0-0 5, Akers 2 2-2 8, Singer 2 2-2 7, Green 1 1-2 4, Lobaugh 1 0-0 2, Schloder 1 0-0 2, Freeburg 1 0-0 2. Totals: 16 5-6 44.
Elk Catholic (62)
Dippold 2 0-0 5, Stauffer 3 0-0 7, Kraus 7 0-0 17, Newton 3 0-0 6, DaCanal 7 1-1 16, Hofman 2 3-3 7, Braun 2 0-0 4. Totals: 26 4-4 62.
Johnsonburg 6 18 29 44
Elk Catholic 21 37 55 62
Three-point goals: Johnsonburg 7 (Kilhoffer 2, Raubenstrauch, Akers 2, Singer, Green); Elk Catholic 6 (Kraus 3, Dippold, Stauffer, DaCanal)
Fouled out: none
