Past teams at Loyalsock laid groundwork for this year’s team
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When Loyalsock coach Curtis Jacobson and his staff arrived at Loyalsock nine years ago, winning the District 4 Class AAA championship was the ultimate goal.
Honestly, it was pretty much that way for every District 4 team back then. Deep state tournament runs, let alone state championship runs, seemed like they were reserved for teams outside the district.
Thursday at Hershey’s Giant Center, Loyalsock faces Shady Side for the state championship. What a climb it has been. And each team Jacobson has coached has laid another brick in the foundation which has helped the Lancers (29-2) build toward this game.
"In our area back then, I made the statement many times that winning a district title is like winning a state title for a central Pennsylvania school," Jacobson said following last Friday’s 65-46 state semifinal win against Imhotep. "At that point, the league got so good and teams started making runs in states and we started building something."
Loyalsock had a lot of building to do. The program endured five straight losing seasons before returning to the playoffs but losing in the district tournament’s first round in 2016. Jacobson was hired that offseason and he, the staff and the players went to work transforming the program. What a rise it has been with Loyalsock reaching states in each these nine years since.
That initial season, Loyalsock won two district playoff games and reached the state tournament, giving perennial power York Catholic a tough first round game. The first level was in place and the foundation grew stronger the following year as Loyalsock overcame the loss of Maddie Fox and Cassie Gee to season-ending injuries and captured the HAC Tournament championship while defeating Trinity for its first state playoff win since 2010.
The next step was taken in Year No. 3 as Loyalsock romped its way to its first district championship in nine years. From there, the Lancers defeated Holy Redeemer in states before losing to Imhotep, 48-39. Despite again losing in the second round, the deficit dramatically decreased from 48 the year before and Loyalsock started thinking bigger.
"You start getting some state tournament experience and we started inching closer and closer," Jacobson said. "We didn’t get the rewards but those players and those experiences were huge moments for them and huge moments for me as a coach to see what it takes. You’re constantly seeing what this team is doing and thinking, ‘What do we have to different? What’s our offseason going to look like?’ "You start putting a lot of time into it to make it a reality."
State tournament wins followed the next two years, as well as a 2021 district championship. That year, Loyalsock took laid down the next layer in this foundation and reached the state quarterfinals for the first time since 1984. There, they gave eventual champion West Catholic its toughest postseason game.
And the same day West Catholic won its state title, so did Mount Carmel, becoming District 4’s first state champion since Lourdes in 1994. It was an important convergence because Loyalsock defeated the Tornadoes, 63-35 that season. A District 4 team, a familiar foe no less, had finally stormed through that wall which so often seemed to block teams and Loyalsock started believing more than ever that it could reach Hershey.
"You see Mount Carmel win it and then Southern Columbia goes the next year and we’re competing against those teams every year in our league," Jacobson said. "It starts to feel more real."
Still, Loyalsock had to make it happen. The 2022 team repeated as district champions but was bounced in the state tournament’s opening round as was a younger 2023 team which returned to the district final. After Hughesville edged Loyalsock in last year’s district championship, it felt like maybe Loyalsock was leveling out.
Turns out construction was entering an accelerated phase. Loyalsock turned a negative into a positive, defeated the same Columbia team that battered it in the opening round of states a year earlier, then thumped Lake-Lehman and Redeemer to reach its first Final Four. There, Loyalsock rallied and took a fourth quarter lead before Lancaster Catholic pulled away in the final two minutes en route to capturing the state crown three days later.
Now, playing for the state title literally was closer than ever. Loyalsock could almost taste the chocolate. The Lancers committed themselves to relentlessly working throughout the offseason and into the season to reach their ultimate destination.
"We’re in the gym day in and day out and we work out butts off to try and get to where we are right now," guard Addie Bastian said. "It paid off for sure."
That work produced profits against a demanding schedule which included the usual District 4 heavyweights as well as 5A state semifinalist Crestwood. Being a state semifinalist the previous season but a target on Loyalsock’s collective back, but it rallied from 11 down in the third quarter to edge Hughesville for the district championship, then routed Biglerville in the opening round of states, defeated West Catholic and pummeled 24-win Dunmore.
Just one obstacle remained on the path to Hershey and it was a big one. Imhotep was taller and quicker, but Loyalsock would not be denied a second straight season. The Lancers dominated the last 2 ½ quarters, every player did her part and what once felt so out of the realm became reality as Loyalsock reached its first state final.
"We always strive to do better and better, and we did better this year than we did last year," guard Jillian Kennedy said. "Now, it’s a matter of trying to win our last game."
While only the 2025 Lancers will play Thursday, all those who have participated in the program since 2016 have their fingerprints upon this success. Whether they were all-state players like Summer McNulty or Allyia Kennedy; 1,000-point scorers like Fox, role players or hard-working players who pushed the starters at practice, each contributed something vital in this building project.
This current team has built off what all those who came before them constructed the previous eight seasons. This state final run belongs to all those who wore the uniform since Jacobson became coach.
"All those girls deserved this, too. They put in the time and they deserved to be in this game," Jacobson said. "We’ve had great, great players. I owe a lot to those players, personally. They still come back and there are many that would love to be here now who can’t make it.
"As much as it is for this group, it’s for everybody."
From where it stands now compared to where it started, Loyalsock has quite a view. But this team remains unsatisfied. This group has laid a foundation which can support a mansion but it wants to plant a flag there.
It has scaled some mighty heights but the climb continues and Loyalsock has its eyes fixed toward the summit.
"I appreciate all the kids’ efforts," Jacobson said. "They’re committed to being great and they’re going to keep working at it."