Senior Ben Berdine was the Dragons’ leading scorer and rebounder for the second straight season and voted a first-team all-star for the second year in a row.

Averaging 17.2 points per game and close to 10 rebounds, Berdine is joined on the first team by Harbor Creek seniors Sam Howell and Cody Smith as well as Fairview juniors James Sitter and Logan Frazao.

“Just thinking about all of this makes me realize that hard work really pays off no matter what anyone tells you,” said Berdine, who will attend Mercyhurst in the fall and play Division II baseball. “If I were to be looking for an all-star player, the first thing I would look for is a good, positive attitude and a want to get better and work harder then everyone else. You can be good at something but why would you want someone that is good when there is a kid out there that wants to be better than just good and works hard. So the main thing that I would look for is a hard worker.”

His head coach and father, Jeff Berdine, said Ben is “one of the few back-to-back first-teamers I have coached.

Times Observer File Photo Warren's Parks Ordiway

“Ben put together outstanding junior and senior years in terms of scoring, rebounding, and shooting percentage,” coach Berdine added. “Our win totals the last two years (15 and 17, respectively) reflect that. He also stepped up his game and meshed well with our new players who were looking for some senior leadership this year. Team success isn’t something that comes without individual effort to make both himself and his teammates better. He embraced and excelled at that role. Myself and next year’s Dragons will miss him.”

One teammate Ben meshed with was sophomore Parks Ordiway, voted a second-team Region 5 all-star. Joining him were: Fort LeBoeuf seniors Brandon Drayer and Marquis Richmond; Corry junior Logan Joncas; Fairview junior Tyler Shultz; and Harbor Creek senior Ryan Whitman.

“Parks had a phenomenal year in terms of scoring the ball from the 3-point line,” said coach Berdine. “He was one of the top shooters in D10. He really stepped up his scoring when the team needed him to due to injuries. He was one of the keys to us getting hot in the second half of the year and having an extended winning streak. Parks puts a lot of time in outside of the season getting better. It showed this year. When you look at his improvement from his freshman year, it was impressive.”

Ordiway wants Warren’s success to continue.

“Looking back at the season, it definitely feels good knowing other coaches noticed me especially on our team, which I felt was very talented this year,” he said. “Scoring (nearly 14 points per game) obviously plays a big role in people noticing you, but you can tell with some people that they put in a lot of work off the court to perform the way they do on the court. I’ve always been friends with all the guys on the team and after the first few games to get rid of the jitters we definitely were all comfortable with each other and that helped tons down the road. As for the future, I feel very confident about what we can do even after losing Ben and Payton (Barnes); we’re returning a lot of players from last year and I think a lot of the JV guys and current freshmen are going to improve by leaps and bounds come next year.”

Times Observer File Photo Wyatt Lookenhouse

Berdine wasn’t the only retuning all-star from the county as Youngsville senior Brady Olewine — a Region 2 second-team all-star as a junior — was voted a first-team all-star this season. It may be extra special to Olewine given his season and high school career ended with a knee injury and surgery.

“It definitely feels great that I may have been feared a little by other teams and coaches for sure,” said Olewine, who was always more concerned with “team” than “individual.”

Joining Olewine on the Region 2 first team are Cambridge Springs senior Jayden Shinsky and junior Nathan Held; Union City junior Matthew Bennett; and Cochranton senior Jon Gallo.

Eisenhower’s Wyatt Lookenhouse is a second-team Region 2 all-star as a sophomore, joined by Saegertown senior Max Fuller, junior Jaden Wilkins and sophomore Brady Greco; Cochranton junior Jaiben Walker; and Iroquois sophomore Ben Burkhardt.

Olewine averaged 11.5 points per game but the big blow of the season may have been 16 second-half points in a dramatic comeback win over Eisenhower.

Times Observer File Photo Youngsville's Brady Olewine

Lookenhouse averaged 10 points per game but came into his own at the end of the season, including 29 points in a loss to Union City and 25 points in a win over Maplewood.

Region all-stars are by a vote of region coaches and coaches may not vote for their own team’s players.