Beware the Green
Ridley dominates Frankford in 1st round victory
by Marcus Wright
Sunday, March 2nd, 2008

South Philadelphia High School, PA - So, what happens when you have a very good team from one league play a very good team from another league?

Apparently, not too many of us know.

The buzz heading into Saturday’s 1st round state playoff contest between Central League co-champion Ridley and Public League runner-up Frankford was that it would be a close contest.  The powers that be who put together the state rankings had Frankford as a 1 seed and Ridley as a 7.  So when the smoke cleared and the Ridley Green Raiders put the finishing touches on a 76-37 rout of Frankford, it left more than a few people surprised.

“State playoff teams are a much higher caliber than what you see during the regular season,” Ridley guard Steve Egee said after the game.  “You have to practice harder and play harder.”  

Ridley played hard, but smart is something that could apply too, and there is no question that Ridley played smart in this contest.  The biggest key defensively was the lockdown of the interior.  The player who led this charge was center Dan Robinson, whose 6-7 presence and keen ability to slide-help effectively in the frontcourt made it seem like the middle was never open for Frankford to drive in.  Egee said that this was the plan, “[Frankford’s] been getting in the lane a lot this year; we wanted to close up the lane and make them shoot threes.”

The shots didn’t fall for Frankford, and neither did the layups.  But good defense isn’t enough to win in the state playoffs; you need good offense as well, and Egee provided this with 12 points in the first half and 26 for the game.  He drove to the basket with ease, connected shots from various spots on the floor, and showed everyone how sound he is as a basketball talent.  If Frankford ever contained Egee, Robinson was right there, scoring 19 of his 25 points in the second half.  And if those two weren’t scoring, guard Shamar Harris was, chipping in 16.  Even though Ridley does not use much of their bench, the team looked stronger as the game went on and showed no signs of fatigue.  Frankford looked visibly frustrated from the middle of the third quarter on, a testament to just how well Ridley played.

While everyone should have known Ridley was a good team coming from a tough league before the game, everyone has no choice but to pay attention now.  Next up for Ridley: Central Dauphin East (24-5) of the Mid-Penn Commonwealth League on Wednesday.  Will it be a close game?  Let the predictions begin.  But as this game showed, there's only one forecast people can truly make for the next game:

A very good team from one league will be playing a very good team from another league.