http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/
FROM KEITH GROLLER
No one loves his school more than Eric Snyder. He may not like that the still relatively new high school building is located in Northampton, but Eric Snyder is as proud a Catasauqua High alum as you'll find. And as a proud alum, he roots for all Rough Rider teams.
But there's no doubt that the success of the Catty football team this fall will hinder the potential success of Snyder's boys basketball team this winter
Snyder is used to not getting his kids until after Thanksgiving. This year, Catty is playing two days after Thanksgiving against Imhotep in the state playoffs and if, somehow, some way, the Roughies shock the Philadelphia charter school, they might still be playing in the state finals on Dec. 14 in Hershey.
And if that's the case, then most of the Roughies basketball team won't be in place until Christmas, and not in sync until mid-January, and by then the season is two-thirds over. Such is life at a small school where athletes must be shared.
Snyder (seen looking pensive in photo) has dealt with it many times before, but this year is at an extreme level.
Even when he gets back his kids, the question is will they be healthy? Some key potential players like Ra'von Burton and Brandon Purrone have been impacted by injuries. Burton is lost for the season while Purrone is expected to be at less than 100 percent.
It's going to be a major challenge for sure for Catty, which came on strong with 10 straight wins at the end of last season to make it to the District 11 2A title game.
Here's a closer look:
CATASAUQUA
Coach: Eric Snyder (22nd season, 293-242)
Last year: 17-7, 12-4 CL.
Postseason: Beat Williams Valley 84-56 in district semis, lost to Notre Dame 59-49 in title game.
Staff: JV coach Tom Falzone; freshman coach Scott Case; volunteer coaches Jeremy Eberhardt; Matt Morton; Josh Yoo; Eric Longenhagen. Volunteer manager Tom Reap. Brett Zeiber left to become JV coach at Palmerton.
Scrimmages: Had one on Monday against Moravian Academy; Tuesday, Dec. 3 at 4 p.m. vs. Jim Thorpe.
Openers: Friday, Dec. 6 at Nazareth; Tuesday, Dec. 10 at Palmerton.
Players to watch: Sr. F Derrick Bond; Sr. G Ra'von Burton; Sr. F Paryss Marshall; Sr. G Brandon Purrone; Jr. F/C Andrew Gehringer; Jr F Rickey Houser; Jr. F Brandon Keks; Jr. F Sean Klobosits; Jr. G Jacob Kober; Jr. G Dakota Schiffer (transfer from Dieruff); Jr G Dave Wetherhold; So. F/C Kevin Bond; So. G/F Cory Hicks; So. F Shaquon Mason.
What's to like: Difficult question to answer for Snyder at this point when most of his team is not available to him. With Purrone suffering a torn ACL, his status is questionable even after football ends. He was one of the best point guards in the Colonial League last year. Derrick Bond was one of the top players off the bench last season, possessing a nice outside shooting touch. He will be asked to play inside this year.
What's not to like: The fact 11 of the 14 players expected to be with the team are not available right now, and some like Burton may not be available all year because of injury. Snyder is pressing forward at the moment with good kids, but many who probably won't be on the roster later on.
Quotable: "Well, what we did expect and what may or may not happen could be any number of things," Snyder said. "First of all, I did expect our point guard Brandon Purrone to be at full strength as the only returning starter from last year and he was 2nd team all league. With his torn ACL and his availability up in the air, Schiffer and Wetherhold and others now have more to take on in all aspects, if he is there or not. If he is there, he could be limited and if he is not there than we will have to adjust. Our depth will be challenged.
"I really believed that we could challenged for our division title and get into districts and hopefully get back to the final in districts again this year. However, due to the injuries and loss of players, and the extremely late start our kids will have due to football and lack of rest in between football and basketball, I really don't know what to expect for now. We are just hoping the kids that are healthy stay healthy and are not injured during these next two football games.
"We had a very good summer and the kids played very well and we competed hard and we were looking forward to this year. However, the injuries that have been sustained to key seniors and the fact that we have to hold our breath until football is over have forced us to re-think and make adjustments already and we have not even started yet."
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