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Pennridge juniors lead the way in win over Lansdale Catholic

12/13/2017, 1:30am EST
By Josh Verlin

Sean Yoder (above) has scored 20 points in each of Pennridge's first two games this season. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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In regards to varsity experience, Pennridge’s starting lineup is the inverse of what one might expect.

The five players Dean Behrens puts out at the beginning of each game consist of three seniors and two juniors. Only two are returning starters: Sean Yoder and Jon Post, the two juniors, and two of the team’s three captains.

It doesn’t make for an uncomfortable situation on the Rams’ roster, however. If anything, it puts everybody on equal footing. The juniors are learning to find their voice; the seniors are getting used to being relied-upon members of the Pennridge rotation.

“Both of us...are much more comfortable on the court,” Post said. “Our confidence is up and we’re taking leadership roles.”

“We’re all relying on each other -- who cares about captains, we’re all accountable for each other,” Yoder added. “That’s my big thing.”

Both are going to have to be crucial pieces if Pennridge is to improve upon last season, when it went 11-11 (5-7 SOL Continental) and lost in the first round of the District 1 6A tournament.

Last year, Yoder was the only sophomore member of the SOL-Continental First Team. Anything less than two repeat showings to close out his high school career would be a shock.

Over the summer, he picked up his first Division I offer, from High Point. Lafayette, Colgate and Holy Cross have also been in touch with Yoder, a confident scorer with a smooth 3-point shot; he was 7-for-13 from the floor in the win over LC, and 2-of-3 from the 3-point arc.

“It’s relieving to know that all the hard work is paying off,” Yoder said of his first scholarship offer. “it’s visible now, you can see the hard work is paying off.”

Post, a second team all-league selection a year ago, is the son of former Temple big man Jan Post, a 7-footer who played 15 games for the Owls in the early 1990s.

Though the younger Post said he’s got the advantage over his dad in the mobility department, there’s still plenty his dad can teach him.

“Sometimes I rush my moves, I pre-determine them,” Post said, “and he knows my moves so he’ll go stop it and I’ve got to figure other stuff out, and that’s really helped me improve.”


Jonathan Post (above) had 11 points and nine rebounds in Tuesday's win over Lansdale Catholic. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

So far, their season’s off to a good start. Yoder scored 20 points on the nose for the second game in a row to open the season, leading Pennridge to a 53-47 win over Lansdale Catholic on Tuesday evening. Post, a 6-5 forward, was the other member of the Rams in double figures, with 11 points and nine rebounds, as they improved to 2-0.

“Obviously a lot of accolades go to Sean and Jon...but everything that we do is obviously team-oriented,” Behrens said. “It’s not just about them, we’ve got four seniors who have been in the program the last four years.”

Those seniors certainly had an impact in the win over Lansdale Catholic.

Tyrese Lewis, a 6-5 senior, had nine points, four rebounds and three blocks. Michael Molettiere, a 6-2 forward, had eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers as Pennridge turned a 16-7 deficit after one quarter into a 27-23 lead at halftime. Ryan Warner, a 6-0 guard and the third senior in the starting lineup, didn’t fact into the final score but had four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Brett Henofer came off the bench to grab five rebounds.

“We need to continue to keep sharing the ball, I feel like a lot of our role players are hitting big shots,” Post said. “If we keep moving the ball, they’re going to get open shots...it’s really important.”

Post got the game started and finished it off. Pennridge went to the 6-5 forward on its first two possessions and he made them count, hitting a tough bucket on one and getting to the foul line on the next, though he missed both freebies.

Those misses seemed to throw Post off for a quarter or so, but he came back strong when his team needed it with two put-back buckets in the fourth quarter to help Pennridge hold off Lansdale Catholic.

“I know he was a little frustrated not hitting his shots,” Behrens said, “but as the game went on, we kept wearing that team down and Jon made some really nice moves to the basket.

“I thought this was a good, quality win for us,” he added. “(Lansdale Catholic) just got two nice wins over at the Souderton tournament this weekend. I’m really pleased, I thought it was a good team win.”


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