Eagles’ seniors laid the groundwork for more championships to come
By Sean McBryan — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
HERSHEY — Exeter’s seniors have laid the foundation for the basketball program to have continued success heading into the future after returning to the state championship for the first time since 1974.
Anthony Caccese and Zyion Paschall played as sophomores on a team that went 3-14. That record improved to 13-15 last season.
Caccese led the team in scoring and rebounding and Paschall manned the point while averaging double-digit points as the Eagles (27-6) hit a crescendo this season, which ultimately was ended by a national powerhouse with a player that had Kentucky head coach John Calipari watching from the sideline.
So what changed from those sophomore and junior years?
“I think people started playing together a lot more,” Caccese said after the 78-40 loss to Imhotep Charter Friday in the PIAA Class 5A championship game. “We really started meshing and it really got into everyone’s head that this is a team game.
“We all need to work together and it doesn’t matter who’s scoring the points. All that matters is that we have more points (than the other team) at the end of the game. It was just everyone fighting for the guy beside him and not for themselves.”
The 6-6 Caccese led the Eagles with 12 points and eight rebounds as Exeter fell to the star-studded Panthers Giant Center. The loss shouldn’t diminish one of the best seasons in program history.
The Eagles’ success is only more impressive when realizing Penn State’s 6-7 tight end football recruit Joey Schlaffer didn’t take the hardwood this season because he enrolled early in college. Exeter lost a double-digit scorer and key defender yet continued to build.
“We play at the park and in the gym together all the time,” Paschall said. “So it was just chemistry that we had already built.”
The Eagles fell 70-63 in heartbreaking fashion after being outscored by 15 in the fourth quarter to Reading High in the Berks championship. They rebounded to win eight straight playoff games, including their first district title, over Manheim Central, before the uphill battle against Justin Edwards, the 6-7 Kentucky commit and ESPN’s No. 1 recruit in the nation, and Imhotep, the No. 5 ranked high school boys basketball team in the nation according to MaxPreps.
“We accomplished two of our goals in winning the district and making it to states,” Paschall said. “I wish we won the county. For this to be my last high school game, that really hurts.”
Edwards isn’t the only D1 recruit on the Panthers (30-3). Senior point guard Rahmir Barno is headed to Florida Gulf Coast; junior 6-2 point guard Ahmad Nowell has offers from Tennessee, Auburn, Kansas, Memphis, and more; junior 6-7 forward Makye Taylor also has D1 offers.
“Their length is crazy,” Caccese said. “They’ve got a lot of depth on the bench. They’re rolling guys in and their subs are great. Edwards is going to come up and meet the rebound at the rim every single time. They’re just a really physical, fast, long team and it’s tough to compete with that.”
Still, the Eagles didn’t back down and played to the final whistle. The lessons of perseverance, hard work, and emphasizing team chemistry are just a few of the many positives returning players Kevin Saenz, Reece Garvin, Alex Kelsey, and Aidan Dauble will be able to build upon moving forward.
Plus, the experiences of a deep playoff run and going up against one of the best teams in the nation are things only a select few of teams can learn from.
“Hopefully these guys next year can come out and win the whole thing,” Paschall said. “It’ll hurt that we’re not a part of it, but we are a part of it at the same time.”
Caccese and Paschall led by example and helped create the blueprint for more playoff runs for Exeter in the future.
Caccese, who will head off to Delaware to continue his football career, and Paschall were part of a sports renaissance at Exeter that saw the football and basketball teams win their first District championships and the basketball team head to the state final for the first time in nearly 50 years.
“(Imhotep) is a really good team. A lot of people are down, but I definitely take it as an accomplishment to be second place.”
They showed it’s possible for one of the best basketball teams in all of Pennsylvania to be located in Reiffton.
“A whole lot of good memories, man,” Caccese said of what he’ll take from this season. “It just goes to show that if you work hard, you can do anything. I bet you nobody thought we’d make it this far in the beginning of the season. But look at what we did. We put in the work. We played as a team and we beat a lot of good teams.
