PEQUEA VALLEY BRAVES
COACH: Steve Twardowski (3rd season).
ASSISTANT COACHES: Ehren Graybill, Kyle Neff, Chris Twardowski.
LAST SEASON: 4-12 Section 4, 6-16 overall.
KEY PLAYERS LOST TO GRADUATION: Tyler Schmitt (8.6 points per game), Zach Stoltzfus (3.9, 7 3-pointers), Chad Tyson (9.3, 13 3-pointers).
KEY PLAYERS RETURNING: F Scott Cain (Sr., 4.1, 10 3-pointers), G Josh Farrell (Sr.), C Brian Lindquist (Jr., 2.6), G Kevin Lockard (Sr., 6.6, 7 3-pointers), F Mike Stoltzfus (Sr., 5.0), F Jordan Willard (Sr., 1.8).
PROBABLE STARTERS
G - Kevin Lockard
G - Josh Farrell
F - Mike Stoltzfus
F - Jordan Willard
C - Brian Lindquist
STRENGTHS: Experienced post players.
WEAKNESSES: Experienced depth.
NOTABLE: Braves lost a trio of vets - Tyler Schmitt, Zach Stoltzfus and Chad Tyson put in a lot of mileage for the program - but a solid nucleus returns, including a trio of experience front-court players: Big-men Mike Stoltzfus, Jordan Willard and Brian Lindquist all have plenty of varsity minutes on their sneakers. … More good news: Kevin Lockard returns to the backcourt to be a catalyst and perimeter leader. His running mate, Josh Farrell, scored 0 points in six varsity appearances last winter, so he’ll be learning on the fly. … Also keep an eye on shooter Scott Cain, who also returns to help out from the wing, and newbie Tyler Goodyear will provide a spark in the frontcourt off the bench. There are a lot of parts in Kinzers.
REINHART SAYS: Of the four sections in the L-L League, Section 4 appears to be the most wide open. Reigning champ Lancaster Catholic lost some key kids. Reigning runner-up Columbia is coping with a key injury in the early going. Lancaster Mennonite lost its top scorer. Annville-Cleona lost the second-leading scorer in the league. Lebanon Catholic took some lumps last season and is hoping the youth movement is moving forward. A lot of storylines in Section 4. And no reason to believe with so many experienced kids back in the mix - including several post players, which is key - that the Braves can’t be in this race. You know the “Red Zone” will be loud. Braves should be tricky. Don’t sleep on this crew.
JEFF REINHART: jreinhart@pennlive.com
ON TWITTER: @JeffReinhartPN