By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
With the girls preview in the books, it will be time for the boys basketball squads of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference to take to the hardwood on Friday night. Peebles High School will be the host for the 2024-25 SHAC Boys Preview, where fans will get their first glimpse at what their teams might have to offer this winter.
Just as with the girls, the match ups for this Friday’s preview were set by a coaches poll taken at the annual C103/SHAC Basketball Kickoff Dinner. The action will begin at 5 p.m. with each contest consisting of two quarters, where coaches typically don’t want to show “too much” to their future opponents.
The 5 p.m. match up will feature the West Union Dragons, led by first-year head coach Adam Barr, who will be making the huge jump from seventh grade coach to varsity head man. Ironically, the Dragons’ opponent on Friday will be the Ripley Blue Jays, who also have a first-year head coach in Jeremy Bennington, a West Union High School graduate.
At 6 p.m., the Whiteoak Wildcats and Coach Greg Patton will face off with the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs. The Mustangs are coached by Kyle Pertuset, who returns to the SHAC where he once coached the Manchester Greyhounds.
Speaking of the Greyhounds, who are coming off a district tournament appearance last season, they will be in the 7 p.m. contest with Coach Austin Kingsolver and his troops battling another Adams County squad, Coach Josh Arey and the Peebles Indians, a team that many say could surprise a lot of people this upcoming season.
At 8 p.m., two teams that played in the district tournament last season will match up, one of those coming off back-to-back district championships, the North Adams Green Devils. The Devils return a world of talent but will have a new face roaming the sidelines as first-year head coach Austin McCormick takes over for long-time head man Nathan Copas. The Devils will face the Fairfield Lions, coached by Quentin Williams, in two quarters of what has become an intense rivalry in recent seasons.
Finally at 9 p.m., the two teams chosen by the coaches to be the tops in the conference will close out the night. From the big school division comes the conference’s longest-tenured head coach Rob Beucler and his Eastern Warriors, who will battle the Fayetteville Rockets from the small school division. The Rockets also have a veteran head coach in Joe B. Stewart, who will be bringing his 500 plus victories and making his debut in the SHAC.
Admission for the boys preview will be $7 for adults and $5 for students and those tickets are good for the entire night. No passes will be accepted.
