Win now, reflect later: OLSH remains locked in with WPIAL win-streak record within reach

MOON TWP. — Overtop the sounds of squeaking sneakers, multiple basketballs pounding on hardwood, and an occasional whistle, loud music can be heard blasting throughout the first hour of practice when the Our Lady of the Sacred Heart boys basketball team goes to work at the Angela Activities Center.

On a frigid Tuesday afternoon, just days after a large snowstorm that has the majority of western Pennsylvania at home, bundled up and relaxing, the Chargers are doing what they enjoy most: getting better.

A solid, cohesive unit, few teams play the game of basketball the way the Chargers do — and the results show it. Winners of the last three WPIAL Class 2A titles and a defending state champion, this OLSH group has a chance this week to add even more glory to its already sparkling resume.

The Chargers are approaching the record for the WPIAL's longest winning streak, a 52-game mark shared by two highly-regarded dynasties: Uniontown (1963-65) and Washington (1983-85).

As the three-man weave drill kicks off the afternoon, one of the first songs on the playlist appropriately describes Mike Rodriguez's team and its current state. The track is titled "Dying Breed," by the Killers. Its opening lyrics go:

There's gonna be opposition

Ain't no way around it

But if you're looking for strong and steady

Well baby, you found it

We'll weather the coldest night

Baby, we're a dying breed

In an age when individuals shine and instant gratification reigns supreme, the Chargers are an exception. Rodriguez's group has every reason to be arrogant, yet when asked about how much the WPIAL record means to them, players and coaches alike share similar answers.

"It's really just one game at a time for us," Rodriguez told The Times on Tuesday. "It's not really something we discuss at all."

"We know not to worry about the streak," junior B.J. Vaughn said. "We worry about our next opponent."

"We take things game by game," junior Bryson Kirschner said. "We don't get caught up in what's ahead. Anyone can come in and beat us any night if we aren't ready."

The Chargers' top priority can be found hanging on the walls of the place where they practice and play. Banners representing the program's three WPIAL titles and the 2021 PIAA championship are a reminder of the winning culture in which they live.

One that took a bit of time to establish.

Learning how to win

Jan. 7, 2020. That is the last time the Chargers felt the agony of defeat.

At that time, Tom Brady was still a New England Patriot, the United States had zero confirmed cases of COVID-19, and Donald Trump was president. The OLSH boys basketball team was the defending champion in WPIAL Class 2A, and according to those around now, the group was just beginning to understand what it took in order to achieve greatness.

The winning standard OLSH holds today didn't develop overnight. This season marks Rodriguez's 14th year at the helm for the Chargers. The front half of his tenure was much different from the back half.

From 2009-16, OLSH essentially relived the same season, over and over. Six of those eight years, the Chargers lost in the WPIAL quarterfinals. The other two years consisted of a first-round loss, and missing the playoffs entirely in 2012.

After getting over the hump in 2017, OLSH would go on to lose in the WPIAL final back-to-back seasons against rival Sewickley Academy. A loss in the 2018 state final to Constitution was next.

In 2019, something clicked. After earning the top seed in WPIAL Class 2A, the Chargers got the job done, taking home the program's first District 7 crown. At that point, OLSH had been introduced to a feeling it would become accustomed to — and the group now understood what it would take to feel that way again.

"Once you win that first championship, once you get past that initial roadblock, you learn how to win," senior Jake DiMichele said. "That's how you become one of those programs that build a winning tradition."

The Chargers have lost only two games since their WPIAL championship win over Serra Catholic in 2019. The first loss came the same season, in the state semifinal to Bishop Guilfoyle, the other in a 73-69 non-conference battle on the road against Aliquippa.

"I still remember that game well," senior Kevin Wilson said. "It was a really heated matchup. I think we had like two or three players foul out. It was a really good battle. It's crazy to think we haven't lost since then."

What followed was 16 straight wins in 2020, a perfect 24-0 record last winter and an 11-0 start to this season. One more victory and the Chargers will have gone from the team that couldn't win the big one, to the team that could win them all.

Monday's game at home against Avonworth will be OLSH's biggest test this season. And it will be their first big matchup since saying goodbye to one of the most important players in program history.

A new chapter

Last season, OLSH became just the 14th WPIAL boys basketball team to win a state championship with a perfect record. They'll aim to do it again this year, with nearly the same roster.

The Chargers lost only two players to graduation from last season's team. One of them, however, was a big piece of the puzzle. While the Chargers have produced players who have gone on to play for major Division I programs and even the NBA, an argument can be made that no player in OLSH history — at least for now — has had a better high school career than Dante Spadafora.

A four-year starter, Spadafora was there for all the big moments that helped OLSH become what it is today: the 2018 state championship appearance, the three straight WPIAL titles, and most importantly the 2021 PIAA championship victory, which happened to be his final high school game.

His 1,700-plus career points show only a fraction of what he meant to his team, being known more for his leadership abilities on and off the floor. Spadafora's efforts helped OLSH earn the first 40 victories in its current streak. Entering this season, the team knew it would have to go the rest of the way without him.

“Now that I’m gone and watching from the stands, it’s really just nice to see that they continue to win, and everyone else is kind of (growing) into other roles and developing into better and more mature players,” Spadafora told The Times in a recent interview. “I would have never thought last year that they’d continue to be undefeated. … It kind of just shows how good of a coach (Rodriguez) is.”

While there is no replacing Spadafora, OLSH looks to have more than enough firepower to continue its dominance. Leading the charge this season is DiMichele, last season's PIAA Class 2A Player of the Year and a back-to-back recipient of The Beaver County Times Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

Although he admits it's weird no longer having his partner around, DiMichele has perhaps been even better so far in the 2021-22 season, averaging more than 30 points a game and eclipsing 2,000 career points earlier this month.

"I've had to take on even more this year," DiMichele said. "I'm one of the guys who's been around here the longest. It's been a weird but fun adjustment."

DiMichele's role as top scorer continues while others around him are stepping up to do more.

When it comes to running the offense, Dante Spadafora's younger brother Rocco is now the man in charge. A starter last season, Rocco primarily made his efforts felt on defense. Now as a junior, he prides himself on being more of a complete player.

"I want to carve my own path here," Rocco Spadafora said. "We're different people and different players. I worked hard this offseason to become a bigger role in our offense. I want to be up there with the best names in OLSH history when my career is over."

Along with Rocco Spadafora, senior Dawson Summers and junior Bryson Kirschner return down low. Last season marked the first year for both at OLSH. In year two, the frontcourt duo seems to have settled in, with both becoming reliable scoring threats and leaders.

"It's fun playing down low with him," Summers said of Kirschner. "We were new guys coming in last year. Neither one of us knew what to expect, which brought us together. We have learned to play off each other, which is fun."

Senior Kevin Wilson fills out the fifth spot in the starting lineup, while junior B.J. Vaughn works his way back into the rotation after sustaining an injury from football that sidelined him for the Chargers' first eight games.

Bonded by their collective will to win, OLSH has outscored its opponents by an average of more than 30 points per game. The record, along with another deep postseason run, looks all but imminent, however, the focus throughout the Chargers locker room remains one game at a time.

The players say the focus isn't on a winning streak but winning titles and having fun along the way, as was the case for the last team to win 52 straight, dating back 37 years ago.

Different era, similar mentality

To say the game was different the last time a WPIAL basketball team won 52 straight games would be a bit of an understatement.

"For starters, we didn't even have a three-point line," Washington high school basketball coach Ron Faust told the Times on Thursday.

Faust, who is now in his 35th year with the Prexies — 1981-2008 and 2015-present — is perhaps the best person to speak about OLSH's current streak. He knows what it takes to get there after tying Uniontown's record in 1985. He also knows what OLSH is capable of, having faced the Chargers last season in non-conference play.

"They're a well-coached team," Faust said of OLSH. "Anyone who can do what they're doing, winning that many games, that's something special."

Faust says his record-tying team was very similar to today's OLSH program. Both played at a fast pace, both had notable names and both were dominant. Headlined by Brian Davis — the 1985 Parade magazine national football player of the year — the Prexies made up for their lack of size with speed and the ability to create pressure on the defensive end. During their win streak, Washington outscored opponents by an average score of 80-48.

Both teams also happened to come upon similar circumstances in the midst of their streaks. Due to the pandemic, last season the WPIAL had an open tournament creating a bigger field for the Chargers to battle their way through. Prior to 2021, the last time the WPIAL had an open tournament was 1984, the middle of Washington's run.

From 2009-14, Faust stepped away from the game, retiring as both a teacher and a basketball coach. He says each time he looked back through his best moments with the Prexies, it wasn't the WPIAL or PIAA title runs, or even the 52-game streak that would first pop into his mind. Instead, it was the instances where no fans, media or opposing teams were around for.

When asked what his favorite memory will be from the streak, Rodriguez unknowingly delivered a similar answer.

"While it's a wonderful accomplishment, if we get there, to be mentioned alongside those teams who accomplished this feat, I think the memories I'll have will be the locker room memories, the bus ride memories, the memories that we share every day in practice with each other."

Thankfully for Rodriguez, while the chase for the streak will end soon, one way or another, his favorite part of the experience will continue. Loud music at practice and all.

Contact Noah Hiles at nhiles@gannett.com. Follow him on twitter @_NoahHiles.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: OLSH remains locked in with WPIAL win-streak record within reach