By Gary Fauber
Register-Herald Assistant Sports Editor
BECKLEY — When the season started, Fayetteville coach Larry Spangler wasn’t exactly sure what to expect.
The Pirates had some starting experience, but it came with an asterisk.
“Some of the starters we had, one became ineligible and another was injured,” Spangler said. “So we had three guys step in their places.”
Just how Dylan Young, Brandon Doyle and Corey Goodman would respond to beginning the year in the starting lineup was the question. Three months later, it looks like they passed the test.
Fayetteville (11-7) will play in the state tournament this week for the first time since 2002. The Pirates are seeded seventh in Class A and will take on No. 2 Parkersburg Catholic at 1 p.m. Thursday.
“At the beginning of the year,” Spangler said, “I didn’t think we would be at this point. But we got a couple of road wins and we played more consistently throughout the season. The kids started playing together and got some confidence in themselves.”
Young, Doyle and Goodman, all juniors, have teamed with four-year starters Nich Carte and MichaelAngelo Hernandez to get Fayetteville into the tournament for just the second time in school history.
Goodman, a 6-foot-2 forward, averages 13.0 points per game and a team-high 8.5 rebounds per game for the Pirates. He also leads the team in blocked shots.
“He has to score inside for us, but he can also step outside and score,” Spangler said.
Doyle, also a 6-2 forward, is finally starting to feel comfortable.
“He is just now getting a little confidence in himself,” Spangler said. “He can shoot the ball and we have told him that all along. He stepped in last year and did a pretty good job for us.”
Young is a fundamentally sound 5-10 guard.
“He has been a good ball handler and plays good defense,” Spangler said.
Leading the way have been Carte and Hernandez. Carte, a 6-0 senior guard, is the team’s top scorer at 21.0 points per game, while Hernandez is at 7.0.
Their experience has been invaluable for the Pirates this season.
“Every year his (Carte) point average has gone up,” said Spangler, who has coached the Pirates since the 1994-95 season. “We try to get Nich open. The kids know he has to score, and they do a good job of setting ball screens and getting him open.
“He and Mac (Hernandez) are co-captains. They have been through it. They know what to tell the young guys to get them through it.”
Fayetteville has played well defensively in the postseason. They have held three opponents to an average of 38.3 points per game, including a 41-33 win over Meadow Bridge in a Class A Region 3 co-final last week.
“We play mostly a 2-3 zone and we press a little bit,” Spangler said.
Offensively, the Pirates don’t exactly light up the scoreboard, largely because they are selective.
“I think our team has been working well together about staying pretty patient and waiting for the shots to come,” Spangler said. “That comes with MichaelAngelo Hernandez playing at the point for four years. Having that quarterback (the position Hernandez played in football) out there helps.”
Doyle and Young both average 6.0 ppg for the Pirates.
Spangler knows his team will have its hands full with the Crusaders (20-3). Among Catholic’s victories is a 64-37 dismantling of Charleston Catholic, although that was back on Dec. 26. Charleston Catholic is the top seed in this year’s tournament.
The Crusaders, winners of seven straight, also defeated Ravenswood, last year’s Class AA champ, 51-42.
Leading Parkersburg Catholic is senior Cole Cwynar, a 6-1 wing averaging 21.0 ppg. Junior John Padden, a 6-1 point guard, is at 15.5. Spangler also said 6-1 senior post Jason Williams is a good player.
He said Swynar and Williams were leaders on the Crusaders football team that was beaten by Fayetteville in the regular season.
Among the many things Catholic does well, Spangler said, is that it utilizes a 1-3-1 defense, a la West Virginia University.
“They can run the floor and they can slow it down,” he said. “They are so good at defending the perimeter, then you try to take the ball inside and they have two 6-6 guys in there (senior Dylan Reifsteck and junior Nick Fisher).
“We will have to be patient, work the ball, set some screens and hopefully find somebody open.”
— E-mail: gfauber@register-herald.com
