Leesburg, Va. — The last four years have been an uphill climb for the Woodgrove High School boys basketball team.
The Wolverines haven’t finished above .500 since the 2018-2019 season when they finished as the 13-11 runners up of the Dulles District. After back-to-back-to-back last place finishes from 2019 through 2022, the Wolverines finished 8-14 in 2022-2023, good enough for the No. 5 seed in the Potomac District.
With the return of six regular players—and a reclassification and move to the Class 4 Catoctin District—the Wolverines are done with complacency.
“We haven’t had much success in years past,” second-year head coach Konstantine Papastergiou said. “We return a lot of players this year, and we’re just trying to change the culture.”
Woodgrove started the season with one-score wins over Class 5 Lightridge and Class 5 Riverside, before cruising past Class 6 Osbourn in a December 16 matinee.
Then, in their first Class 4 test of the season, the Wolverines got a 22-point, 10-rebound double-double from junior center Dane Marsh as they cruised past a young Heritage squad, 65-44, on December 18 in Leesburg.
“They care about each other. They hear the naysayers, but they don’t care what others have to say; they’re just playing for each other,” Papastergiou said. “We’re on a roll right now, but we know we can’t be the kings of December, we have to be the kings of February and then, hopefully, March.”
Marsh got the scoring started when he made his presence known on the first play of the game on a pass from senior forward Steve Richards off the opening tip.
From there, the Woodgrove guards started to establish some rhythm as seniors Colin Fuller and Jack Hill scored the next five Woodgrove buckets to extend the Wolverines’ lead to 12-4. Marsh then closed the first quarter with back-to-back finishes to give Woodgrove a commanding 20-6 lead after the first frame.
We’re on a roll right now, but we know we can’t be the kings of December, we have to be the kings of February and then, hopefully, March.
—Woodgrove head coach Konstantine Papastergiou
The Wolverines didn’t waste any time extending their lead further in the second quarter as senior guard Joey Marcheschi—who scored 14 points off the bench—finished at the rim to make it a 16-point game.
“If you ask me, Joey can start on any team in the county,” Papastergiou said. “He’s the most selfless kid we have, and he loves the sixth man role.”
Heritage—which starts four freshmen—tried to cut into the Woodgrove lead midway through the second when their freshmen scored on five straight offensive possessions, cutting the lead to 32-19 at the half.
Woodgrove’s experience, however, stopped the young Pride in their tracks to open the third quarter. Fuller, Marcheschi, and junior guard Kenny Chicas all scored to re-extend the Wolverine lead to 38-21, before Marsh started to take over.
With the size, strength, and experience advantage, the Wolverines started to feed the middle as Marsh converted on three of Woodgrove’s next four trips to create a 20-point cushion, from which the Pride could never chip in to.
“We knew we had an advantage on the inside but just like any other game, you have to play as hard as you can,” Marsh said. “You’re not just going to blow them out of the water every night.”
With something to prove to each other this year, the Wolverines (0-0, 4-0) will host rival Loudoun Valley (0-0, 4-2) in Purcellville on December 20. The Pride (0-0, 0-6) will look to earn their first win of the season when they travel to Briar Woods (0-0, 2-3) on December 19.
“We have to keep moving the ball and playing hard on defense,” Marsh said. “We have to play as a team. If we play as a team, we’ll continue to see success.”
Kiko Dudley captured 250+ photos at the game!
Woodgrove Stats
| Woodgrove | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Dane Marsh | 22 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 6-for-7 |
| Colin Fuller | 14 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4-for-4 |
| Joey Marcheschi | 14 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5-for-8 |
| Jack Hill | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1-for-2 |
| Kenny Chicas | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| David Richards | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2-for-2 |
| Jimmy Marsh | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Luke Jenkins | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Caleb Roach | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Totals | 65 | 24 | 7 | 13 | 2 | 18-for-23 |
Heritage Stats
| Heritage | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FT |
| Liam Roane | 13 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1-for-3 |
| Tyler Burns | 10 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2-for-4 |
| Jordan Garland | 8 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1-for-2 |
| Alex Cox | 4 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2-for-4 |
| Masyn Miller | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1-for-2 |
| Dylan Williams | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Justin Goulet | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Xavier Missick | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-for-0 |
| Totals | 44 | 31 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 7-for-15 |