Apr 20, 2015 4 min read

It was a remarkable season for some of the basketball programs in the area.

On the girls side, California had its first PIAA win in school history, a first-year head coach took Chartiers-Houston deep into the playoffs, and Jefferson-Morgan had its first playoff win in decades.

On the boys side, Washington welcomed a familiar face back, South Fayette got into the WPIAL and PIAA playoffs and Monessen won a WPIAL title.

Chris Minerd of California, Laura Montecalvo of Chartiers-Houston, and Chris Niemiec of Jefferson-Morgan on the girls side; and, on the boys side, Rich Bonnaure of South Fayette, Ron Faust of Washington and Joe Salvino of Monessen are finalists for this year’s Coach of the Year award.

The six will be honored, and the winner announced in girls and boys basketball, at the Tri-County Athletic Directors Coach of the Year Banquet at 5 p.m., Sunday at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Meadow Lands.

Tickets for the banquet are $35 each and are on sale at Washington High School, 201 Allison Avenue, Washington, Pa., 15301. Reservations can be made by calling athletic director Joe Nicolella at 724-223-5085, ext. 2091.

All proceeds from the banquet benefit Special Olympics.

Bonnaure led South Fayette to the Section 5-AAA title with a 12-0 record. South Fayette, with a senior-laden lineup, had an eight-game winning streak in the middle of the season.

In the WPIAL playoffs, South Fayette disposed of Steel Valley in the first round before falling to Beaver Falls in the quarterfinals. The Lions came through the play-in process to defeat Highlands and earn a berth in the PIAA playoffs. South Fayette had its season ended in the first round of the state tournament in a close loss to WPIAL champion Indiana.

Faust’s return to coaching Washington was a success as the Prexies finished second in Section 3-AA with a 12-2 record, a game behind Seton-La Salle.

Faust, who retired from coaching five years ago, decided to return after Mark Gaither left. He led the Prexies on an 11-game winning streak at the end of the season. The Prexies lost a two-point game to Neshannock in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs. Washington finished with a 15-8 record, pushing Faust’s career mark to 535-200.

With a team that included just two senior starters, Salvino guided the talented Greyhounds to another playoff season, and a WPIAL championship in Class A.

Monessen began the season 5-5 against a schedule that included schools from Class AAAA and AAA. The tough competition benefitted Monessen in section play as the Greyhounds won 17 out of the next 18 games. Monessen won the WPIAL title with 73-57 win over Jeannette and advanced to the PIAA quarterfinals, where the Greyhounds fell to Kennedy Catholic. Monessen finished with a 22-7 record.

Under Minerd, California made school history this season by winning the first PIAA playoff game with a victory over Venango Catholic in the first round.

California went 14-0 to win the Section 3-A title. After an opening-game, non-conference loss, the Trojans won 22 games in a row before dropping a WPIAL quarterfinal game against Riverview. The Trojans won the next two to earn a state playoff berth. After beating Venango Catholic, the season ended for Cal with a loss to North Catholic. California, which finished with a 25-3 record, will return three starters next season.

What better way to begin a high school basketball head coaching career than leading your team to the state playoffs. That’s what Montecalvo did with the Bucs, who earned a WPIAL playoff berth by finishing third in Section 3-AA with a starting lineup that included three freshmen and a sophomore.

The Bucs beat Mohawk in the WPIAL’s first round before losing to Burrell in the quarterfinals. They earned a PIAA berth in the play-in bracket with a stunning win against Neshannock. The Bucs won two games in the PIAA playoffs before losing to Bishop Canevin in the quarterfinals – the furthest the program advanced in the state playoffs. Chartiers-Houston had a 19-10 record.

Niemiec put Jefferson-Morgan back into contention in girls basketball, leading the Rockets to a second-place finish in Section 3-A and producing the first WPIAL playoff win in decades. The Rockets went 20-2 in the regular season, losing both games to section champion California and finishing in second place with a 12-2 mark.

Jefferson-Morgan rolled past Cornell in the WPIAL first round then fell to North Catholic in the quarterfinals. The Rockets were eliminated with a third loss to California and finished with a 20-4 record.