William Penn guard Ryan Matthews is tired of trailing in the first quarter.
The Bearcats were down 16-2 in their quarterfinal game against Parkland and then down 11-2 in their semifinal game against Plymouth-Whitemarsh. William Penn still managed to win both games, but the team wants to make sure it doesn't fall into an early hole in tonight's state title contest against Penn Wood.
"The slow starts are crazy," Matthews said. "We just have to maintain are composure in the beginning and come out strong. We have to come at them before teams come at us. We do that and stay with our game plan, we should win the state championship."
The upside to trailing so much early on? It helps the Bearcats believe that they can get the win no matter what the scoreboard says, even down 17 midway through the fourth quarter. Sophomore Kelvin Parker said William Penn's ability to recover early against Plymouth-Whitemarsh gave them confidence down the stretch.
"We showed ourselves we could play with them," Parker said. "Once we showed ourselves that, we just brought it more, played as a team and came out ahead."
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