Three more to go.

Chester needs to win three more games to successfully defend its PIAA Class AAAA crown. Next up on the docket: Coatesville.

The Clippers (29-0) will face the Raiders Saturday in a PIAA quarterfinal game tentatively slated for 3 p.m. at Norristown High School. (Those details are according to Chester High sources and are pending PIAA approval.)

Per Chester AD Randy Leggette, tickets to the game can be purchased at the high school athletic office Thursday and Friday from 3 to 7 p.m. either day.

Chester defeated visiting Coatesville, 79-66, Dec. 9 on the first night of the season. Darius Robinson scored 19 points, Shanier Cottman dropped 12, Erikk Wright had 11 and Richard Granberry totaled 10.

The Clippers last played the Raiders in the PIAA tournament in the semifinal round of the 2002-03 season. Chester won the game, 61-55, before falling to State College in overtime of the championship game.

The day after Chester's big win over Lower Merion, in the District One Class AAAA championship game, here's another glimpse of the action through the lens of Daily Times staff photographer Robert J. Gurecki:


Chester's Darius Robinson drives the lane for a second-quarter layup.


Chester's Rondae Jefferson draws a blocking foul against Lower Merion's Justin McFadden.


Lower Merion's Yohanny Dalembert goes up for a shot contested by Chester forwards Rondae Jefferson and Erikk Wright.


Chester's Shanier Cottman takes a bit of his district-championship medal.


Chester coach Larry Yarbray puts a district-title medal around the neck of Rondae Jefferson.


Chester's Erikk Wright puts on display the Clippers' district-championship trophy.

Chester did it again.

The top-seeded Clippers used a superb outing from Rondae Jefferson to defeat second-seeded Lower Merion, 61-53, Friday night to claim the District One Class AAAA championship -- the program's 21st district crown.

The Daily Times sports staff was in full force at the game, with Matt Smith giving us a recap of what coach Larry Yarbray's reserves -- like Shanier Cottman, pictured -- mean to the success of the Clippers (27-0), who have won 53 straight games.

Meanwhile, columnist Jack McCaffery details just how dominant Chester's defense was, in limiting Lower Merion to 53 points, holding its leading scorer, B.J. Johnson, to 2-for-15 shooting, and forcing the Aces into 23 turnovers.

And then there was Jefferson, who was all over the map. The junior forward/point guard had 13 points, 21 rebounds, six assists, four steals and three blocked shots in 32 minutes. He was exceptional when the Clippers needed him most.

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Chester (27-0) will face J.P. McCaskey (22-7), District 3's seventh seed, in the first round of the PIAA Class AAAA tournament, which begins Saturday, March 10. The Clippers should have footage of their familiar foe, a team they schedule annually. Chester defeated McCaskey, 71-61, on the road Dec. 13.

Tickets to the game will be available at Chester High's athletic office Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, from 3 to 7 p.m. each night.

(Times staff photo / ROBERT J. GURECKI)

Losing Wednesday night in the Catholic League semifinals should have been the first and immediate thing on Shep Garner's mind. Instead, he was thinking states.

A sophomore at Roman Catholic, which lost to Neumann-Goretti, 73-56, Garner said he's looking forward to next month's PIAA Class AAAA tournament. Not for the chance to win a state title, but for the chance to see his hometown team -- Chester High.

"I'm real excited because I'm from Chester, so it's good to know we could run into them along the way," said Garner, who had 20 points in Wednesday's loss. "I'm friends with the whole team – Darius (Robinson), Rondae (Jefferson), Kareem (Robinson), Richard (Granberry), Tavaune (Griffin), everybody. I'm with them every weekend. It's good to think about playing against your childhood friends, guys you played in the Biddy League with."

Garner said he considered "staying home" and attending Chester High will all of his childhood friends, but in the end, he said "Roman was just the right fit for me."

"That's his home, so I expect him to be excited about that," Roman Catholic coach Chris McNesby said of Garner. "With these guys, I'll play against anybody. They're a good group of kids."

In related news, Chester senior Shanier Cottman was spied at the Palestra Wednesday for the Catholic League semifinal doubleheader. He said he was there to see Chester natives like Garner of Roman, as well as Archbishop Carroll's Yosef Yacob, Isaiah Warren and Francis Jackson.

Carroll lost to St. Joseph's Prep, 59-48, in the other semifinal. The Patriots will play Philadelphia Electrical next Wednesday in the District 12 Class AAA third-place game at Archbishop Ryan High School.

(Photo courtesy Scout.com)

Part II had a familiar feel to Part I.

Chester beat Penn Wood handily Thursday night, using an 80-57 victory at the Clip Joint to all-but-officially clinch the Del Val League championship. It would take Penn Wood (11-7, 6-2) winning out and Chester (19-0, 8-0) losing out to force a tie, but that's unlikely to happen.

Here's another glance at what happened Thursday:

OBSERVATIONS
****Penn Wood opened up a number of six-point leads in the first half. The reason? The Patriots shot 9-for-16 in the opening half. In the second half, they shot 11-for-27 -- not nearly as scorching.
****No one seems to pay attention to Tymier Butler (pictured). The Chester senior had nine points, six boards and four steals, on 3-for-8 shooting. "No one was bothering with us, really," Butler said. Fellow second-stringers also had big games Thursday.
****In the first half, Chester used three different players to defend against Malcolm Richardson, who shot 7-for-16 from the field, 7-for-10 from the foul line and finished with 21 points. "He's a matchup problem, isn't he?" Pats coach Clyde Jones said.
****Chester junior Rondae Jefferson didn't knock down a shot until the third quarter.
****Chester senior Erikk Wright got hit in an, umm, unforgiving location in the third quarter, forcing him to exit. He got back into the game in the fourth quarter feeling "a lot better than I did earlier," Wright said.

QUOTABLE
"This was my career-high tonight. Well, at least my career-high since I've been here. I had a lot of fun tonight. A lot of fun."
---Chester senior Shanier Cottman (pictured), who scored 16 points. Cottman, who at times looked unguardable while knocking down teardrop shots in the lane and uncontested layups, said he scored a career-best 22 points last year at New Beginnings Academy.

NEWS + NOTES
Penn Wood coach Clyde Jones told me two Patriots alums playing at Harcum could find their way onto Division I rosters in the near future. Tyree Johnson, the 2009 Daily Times Player of the Year, and Darian Barnes have garnered interest from Cincinnati and Temple, respectively. Johnson, a point guard, is sitting out the year due to transfer rules while Barnes, a big man, is in his freshman year.

FACES IN THE CROWD
The usual Chester alums were there, with Mo Nelson, Laquan Robinson and Rahlir Jefferson all sitting together across the court from the benches. Villanova assistant coach Doug West took in the game from the West corner of the bleachers. And Kareem Robinson watched the game from the bench. The senior point guard missed his second straight game due to a weak back.

(Times staff photos / ROBERT J. GURECKI)

Not even the absence of Rondae Jefferson can slow down Chester.

Without their leading scorer for four of the last six games, the Clippers ascended to No. 4 in the latest USA Today Super 25 national boys basketball poll, which was released Monday night.

Chester (17-0), which is riding a 43-game winning streak, hasn't been ranked this high in any national poll since the Clippers closed the 2007-08 season at No. 3 in the USA Today poll.

Without Jefferson, their leading scorer who has been sidelined by dehydration, the Clippers have found ways to win. Kareem Robinson, Shanier Cottman and Erikk Wright have taken over scoring duties in the interim

Tuesday, Chester visits Interboro for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff. Thursday, the Clippers host Penn Wood at 7 p.m. in a rivalry game.

Last night christened the 2011-12 boys basketball season. There were buzzer-beaters, overtime thrillers, tournament openers and lopsided victories. If there's anything we learned from opening night, it was these five things:

***Penncrest can shoot the 3. The Lions - between Jim Allen, Ed Baxter and Alex Graham - had 10 of their 12 3-pointers. Penncrest needs to work on holding its leads, though. It posted a 23-3 edge after the first quarter and a 21-point advantage early in the second quarter, before holding on for dear life at the end.

***Springfield is poised for a run. The Cougars, who completely dismantled Interboro in their respective openers, placed 10 scorers in the statbook. Furthermore they open the year with 11 of 14 games at home, a nice advantage for Kevin McCormick's crew.

***Sun Valley doesn't need to rely on Billy Hudson. The Vanguards' leading scorer last winter, Hudson sat out their opener due to a pair of personal fouls in Sun Valley's Thanksgiving Day football game, a PIAA carryover rule. Nonetheless, the Vanguards opened the game shooting 15-for-20 after two quarters and 20-for-30 after three, before emptying the bench. Kevin Kelly's team has weapons in Drew Giampietro and Sean Nelson.

***Glen Mills' wild-card roster is just that. Because of the school shuffling court-adjudicated students in and out, Bulls coach Tony Bacon never knows what's in his cupboard. But Xavier Couthen, the lone holdover from last year, had a double-double, football star George Walker had a big game and Duishawn Mack's only bucket was the game-winner. Could be a nice season for the Bulls.

***Chester is Chester. Sounds simple enough, right? We knew the Clippers would be good, but...hanging a 79-spot on Coatesville in the opener? Whoa. Darius Robinson, a 3-point option off the bench last year, posted 19 points. His brother, Kareem, isn't much of a scorer, but he had six assists. Rondae Jefferson, Shanier Cottman and Erikk Wright led a balanced scoring attack, as well. Look out District One.