They had hoped to accomplish more during the playoffs, leaving some of the Yorktown Patriots disappointed.
But in reality, there was much for the squad to celebrate.
“We did accomplish a lot, and 20 wins is a good season,” second-year Yorktown head coach Joe Keimig told ARLnow. “To win 20 in our second season shows everyone bought into what we wanted to accomplish to build a program, and that’s a credit to the guys.
With a versatile scoring team, Yorktown finished the high-school campaign with a 20-5 record and an 11-1 regular-season mark in the Liberty District. That earned Yorktown the top seed in the district tournament and a first-round bye.
The Patriots were upset by McLean in the district semifinals, then went 1-1 in the following 6D North Region tournament, ending their season.
“That loss to McLean was a huge bummer for a day, then we had a great day of practice the next day to get ready for the region,” Yorktown senior guard/forward Brennan Pilot told ARLnow.
Yorktown was eliminated in the region tournament by the Concorde District tournament champion Westfield Bulldogs. That came after a first-round home blowout victory over the Oakton Cougars, a team that enjoyed its best season in recent years.
The 20 wins tied Yorktown’s total for the most in a single season. Yorktown last won 20 games in the 2019-20 season, and last reached the region-tourney semifinals in 2020-21.
“It was super-nice to go 20-5 and tie the record for most wins,” Pilot said. “The team chemistry was good right from the start, and we shared the ball well.”
After such a strong regular season — which included victories over perennial region contenders Centreville, Madison, Marshall, South County and Westfield — the Patriots were hopefully, perhaps even confident, they had the potential for a strong and long playoff run.
The regular-season victories over Westfield and Madison were significant because those teams reached this season’s region semifinals. Also during the regular season, Yorktown lost close games to region champions South Lakes and Woodson.
As far as games against Arlington County rivals this season, Yorktown swept the competition with a 4-0 record, winning each by comfortable margins. It had been years since Yorktown achieved such a regular-season sweep of those opponents.
The Patriots also won a holiday tournament on the road this season.
Individually for Yorktown, Jake Coulam and Brennan Pilot were chosen first-team all-region with Jack Rubin making second team.
Coulam was selected as the Liberty District’s Player of the Year, with Pilot the league’s Defensive Player of the Year. Coulam, Rubin and Pilot were selected first-team all-district, with Austin Barbieri making second team.
Keimig was chosen as the district’s Coach of the Year.
