York Town Square

The William Penn Senior High School boys ….

… and York Catholic’s state title runs are detailed in forthcoming York Daily Record/Sunday News’ books. For details on these books or accompanying DVDs, visit www.inyork.com/booksales. Background posts: Will Autumn Lau gain top area basketball scoring record? It’s possible. and Red Lion’s Scott Fitzkee ranks as York/Adams Greatest Athlete.

A York Daily Record/Sunday News editorial put the recently passed local basketball season into perspective:

“This has been one of the best YAIAA hoops seasons in recent memory. Today, the York Catholic girls are playing for another state championship, potentially the team’s fourth in a row. To reach the title game, York Catholic had to beat another YAIAA team, Delone Catholic.
Saturday night, the William Penn boys will play for a state title; the city team hasn’t played for a state championship since 1949.
York County could have two state championship basketball teams, a remarkable achievement.
… We can all take some pride in the accomplishments of these student-athletes. And we can learn some lessons from them… .

For years, York County basketball — save the dynastic York Catholic teams — drew little respect outside of the county. York County basketball was down. It was said that William Penn couldn’t win the big games and that York County players were not in the same class with their counterparts elsewhere in the state.
In a way, it’s a reflection on York. Once a center for manufacturing — and, to some extent, still a place that earns its living by making things — York has had some hard times. Certainly, the current difficult economic times have caused a lot of pain in the county. But we know that with hard work and commitment, we can come back.
The York Catholic girls, for instance, were given little chance of winning a fourth straight title after losing key senior starters from last season’s championship team. But here they are, a credit to the team’s hard work and commitment to excellence.
Look at William Penn. Twice in the state tournament, the Bearcats could have been left for dead. They needed triple overtime to get past one opponent and had to fight back from a 14-point deficit to get to the semifinals.
They scraped and fought and worked. They kept their composure. They didn’t let set-backs get them down. They never gave up.
When the team’s head coach, Troy Sowers, describes his players, the word he most frequently uses is “character.” While that word gets thrown around a lot when speaking of athletes, it is the right word when you talk about these Bearcats.
“These guys are winners on and off the court,” the coach said.
They are.

To observe these accomplishments, the newspaper is publishing books profiling the William Penn and York Catholic seasons – campaigns in which both teams scored state second-place finishes.
A newspaper release states:

Coming quickly on the heels of “Friday Night Bulldogs” – a celebration of West York’s District 3 championship football season – the York Daily Record/Sunday News and GameTimePA.com have two more books about local high school sports in the works.
“The Comeback Bearcats,” a look at William Penn’s recent boys’ basketball season, and “An Irish Dynasty,” a look at four dazzling seasons of York Catholic girls’ basketball, are being published as books and DVDs that should be available sometime in May.
Both books will be 56 pages.
The William Penn book will contains stories and photos from the Bearcats’ remarkable 32-2 campaign. It will also have section on the greatest boys’ teams in William Penn hoops history.
The York Catholic book will be split into four sections and celebrate the 2006, 2007 and 2008 state championship squads and the 2009 state runner-up squad.
Each book will have its own companion DVD available, featuring short features that were originally available on .
In a special pre-sale that runs through May 8, the William Penn and York Catholic books will cost $11.95, each DVD will cost $9.95 and the book/DVD combo will cost $18.95.
After May 8, the price of each book will be $13.95, the DVD will cost $10.95 and the book/DVD combo will cost $21.95.
For more information and to order any of these sports books or DVDS, go online to www.inyork.com/booksales.
These books will also be available at select Rutter’s convenience stores and at the York Newspaper Co., 1891 Loucks Road, York.