Photos/Videos: Mike Nance, Kathy Leister & Rich Flanagan
By: Rich Flanagan
CHESTER,PA – Watching John Mosco on the sideline and you will hear the word, “why” used quite often. He will yell it when a player turns the ball over on a crosscourt pass. He will say it in a more mild candor when providing instruction, even after one of his Archbishop Wood Vikings has scored a basket.
“Why” is at the epicenter of everything Mosco has done since taking over and why does he constantly harp on so many different aspects of the game? Because it’s about more than simply basketball; it’s about building something that will last. That’s precisely what Mosco has done in Warminster. A year after leading the Vikings to their second Philadelphia Catholic League title in program history along with a trip to the PIAA Class 6A title game, Mosco is ensuring this season’s team understands so much of what the 2021 class did en route to prolific careers.
Archbishop Wood head coach John Mosco - PSD Photo by Mike Nance
Rahsool Diggins left Archbishop Wood as its all-time leading scorer and plays at UConn. Marcus Randolph came in as a junior and turned himself into more than a scorer, which turned into a scholarship to play at Richmond. Daeshon Shepherd blossomed as a sophomore and is finding his way at La Salle. Jaylen Stinson entered as a sophomore and went from knock-down shooter to complete guard then moved on to James Madison.
Add in Muneer Newton, now at William Penn College, and Mosco has created an environment where players succeed then pass on what they learned to the next group of Archbishop Wood players.
“All summer, Rahsool, Marcus and even Keith Otto and Collin [Gillespie,] those guys, [Matt Cerruti,] came back and talked to them, and they just play their hearts out,” Mosco said. “They give everything, and we’ll see where the chips fall.”
Mosco has established a tradition of excellence but he’s also racking up victories in the process as another one came Friday night against another Philadelphia Catholic League contender. Carson Howard posted a double-double with 17 points and 16 rebounds while Drexel commit Justin Moore added 15 points as the Vikings started strong and never looked back on their way to a 71-61 win over Devon Prep.
The victory was the second in a row over a team that could potentially make a run to the Palestra following Wednesday’s nail-biter against Roman Catholic. Archbishop Wood (7-3, 3-0 Philadelphia Catholic League) escaped with that one and kept things rolling over the Tide. The Vikings ran out to a 15-2 lead at the end of the first quarter and limited Devon Prep to one field goal on 1-for-8 from the floor. A suffocating defense led the way but Howard controlled the glass with eight boards in the first eight minutes.
The 6-foot-7 junior forward, who transferred in from Lacey Township (N.J.), scored the first three points of the game and crashed the boards time and again by simply out-hustling the Tide, whose biggest player was 6-4 junior Lucas Orchard. Late in the second quarter, Moore drove and drew two defenders then easily found Howard for a two-handed slam to put the Vikings up, 22-10.
While still raw, Howard is evolving into a formidable big man in the same manner as former standout Seth Pinkney and the atmosphere he felt on Friday night is what attracted him to the Philadelphia Catholic League.
“I was looking for great competition and it’s here in the PCL,” Howard said. “We’re having good success so far and our goal is to win in the Palestra. We’re looking like we have a good track right now. I’m bringing energy to our team and my teammates feed off that.”
After taking a 12-point lead into the locker room at halftime, Mike Knouse converted an and-one to begin the third then a few possessions later Howard scored off a nice seal to push the lead to 31-20 with 5:57 remaining in the quarter.
Senior Tyson Allen scored five consecutive points down the stretch of the third to help the Vikings maintain a double-digit lead. He finished with 12 points.
Archbishop Wood vs. Devon Prep - PSD Highlights by Rich Flanagan
Moore, who began his career at Cheltenham and Bishop McDevitt and has continued a long line of talented point guards, scored 11 points in the fourth, including the opening basket of the quarter. Later, he put together a string of eight straight points which included two seismic slams to push the lead to 61-47 with under three minutes left to play. “Justin has kept all the young, inexperienced guys together,” Mosco said.
Devon Prep (8-2, 2-1) had every run halted by the Vikings all night but with little time remaining, it finally found some life. IV Pettit (18 points) hit two three-pointers in three possessions then Orchard, who finished with 22 points, seven rebounds and five steals, nailed two free throws to cut the deficit to 63-54. Pettit hit two more shots at the line then Orchard hit the biggest shot of the night on a trey from the wing and it was down to a four-point Archbishop Wood lead. That was as close as the Tide would come as the Vikings hit six free throws and scored on a late put-back to seal the win.
While the last two victories came early in the league season, they hold weight in playoff seeding down the road and having them be over quality opponents helps Howard and the Vikings’ confidence moving forward.
“The Roman game was awesome,” Howard said. “It had a great atmosphere with the home crowd, and we got out of there with the win. The coaching staff is amazing and have brought me in. It’s just a great atmosphere and I’m happy to be here.”
Winning meaningful games has become a regularity for Archbishop Wood under Mosco and his ability to profess concepts that extend outside of the basketball gym has earned a lot of those.
Wood vs. Roman Catholic - PSD Photos by Kathy Leister
“After beating Roman, we could have been too high, but we came in here for senior night, place is packed, it’s a great atmosphere,” Mosco said. “If you can’t play this way in a high school basketball game, you shouldn’t be dressing. They listened and trusted us.”