Fox Lane reached the sectional semifinals at the Westchester County Center for the first time since 2004, when the team won the section championship. The Foxes earned the No. 2 seed in the Class AA tournament but lost to No. 3 Mahopac in the semifinals.

Head coach Chris Violante started five seniors in all 22 games last year for the first time in his eight-year head coaching career at the school. Violante said this year’s team, which has only three seniors, must learn on the fly to have another successful year.

“I think the challenge is having that experience,” Violante said. “We had five seniors that started that bought into what we were trying to do, which enabled us to really get to that level. This year we’re really young.”

Fox Lane will need to find a way to replace its two big men, Will Trawick and Dylan Peretz. The two anchored the Foxes’ frontcourt and were nightmares for opponents as Trawick stood at 6-foot-4 and Peretz towered at 6-foot-7.

Violante admitted that replacing those two players is a tall order.

“It’s very difficult to do. They’re both playing college ball right now. It’s nearly impossible,” Violante said. “We’re a little bit of a different team. Last year we were big and really pounded it inside. This year we’re more of a guard-oriented team.”

Violante said the Foxes should have a lot of depth this season and hopes to play nine to 11 players per game. James Morales, who emerged as the sixth man for Fox Lane last season, and Tommy Pemberton will be two names to watch.

Last year’s team will always be special, but Violante said that each year a coach must “kind of forget and move on.”

“I like the group I have,” Violante said. “They just have to understand what it takes to succeed and they’ve got to be fast learners because we play in a very tough league.”

Click here to follow Daily Voice Bedford and receive free news updates.

ncG1vNJzZmickZ65usLOopqeZpOkunC6xLBksqeioHyjscOfpqucX6i9sL7TrGafp6hiuaK6xGaZmqubmsGjrculZJ6mpJq%2FtHnSnpisp55ixKrAx2awqK2enHq1scCmZm5tYWuDcXs%3D