The Bishop O'Connell Knights are having a stellar season in 2004. The "Royal Blue and Silver", coached by Joe Wootten (fifth season), traveled to Petersburg and won the prestigious 2004 Virginia Independent Schools Division One Boys Basketball Championship.

The Knights defeated Paul VI Catholic High School 72-62 at Richard Bland College to win their second VIS title in three seasons. O’Connell was led by one of its most decorated senior classes in school history, which included Erik Smith (tournament MVP), Freddie Stanback, Ernie Lomax, Jeremy Trimble and Noah Rogers.

In Division 2 action, Notre Dame Academy in Middleburg won the title with a 45-39 victory over Roanoke Catholic. "NDA" is coached by Larry Cullinane, one of the most successful coaches in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Paul VI, coached by Levi Franklin, jumped to an early 2-0 lead, courtesy of standout senior forward Darryl Proctor's jumper.

O'Connell three-year starting forward Freddie Stanback took a charge from Proctor nearly a minute later and the momentum drastically changed.

"We put a lot of pressure on them tonight [defensively]," said Stanback.

Before the first quarter was halfway through, Stanback scorched the Panther defense by knocking down three consecutive treys to give the Knights a 9-4 lead and O'Connell never looked back.

"We were kind of on our heels early on. We didn't box out and we didn't match-up on their shooters very well," said Franklin.

The "Royal Blue and Silver" led the "Black and Gold" 24-18 after a high octane first stanza, which unfortunately was witnessed by only 150 spectators or so.

"We came out strong. The seniors on this team have really come up big this season. They knew that this was their final game in this particular tournament," said O’Connell junior forward Dave Neal.

The Knights, who won the WCAC title one week earlier by defeating Gonzaga, blistered Paul VI with a 12-0 run to open the second quarter. O'Connell took a commanding 36-18 lead and coasted to a 40-23 advantage at halftime.

The Panthers fought back and closed the deficit to 52-44 on senior Ryan William’s jumper.

"We went on the attack mode in the third and fourth quarters more successfully than we had done earlier," said Franklin.

To their credit, Paul VI never gave up, said Stanback.

"We knew that Paul VI was going to hang in there. They are a good team," said Neal.

O'Connell led by double digits the duration of the game, spearheaded by junior guard Bryant Majors’ four free throws which pushed the Knights lead to 67-53.

The remainder of the way PVI outscored O'Connell 9-5 to account for the final margin.

It was the third victory this season for the Knights against the Panthers. Last season, it was PVI that had a banner year, finishing as WCAC runners-ups to Gonzaga.

Neal led O'Connell with 19 points, followed by Stanback (18), Smith (11), Lomax (nine), Majors (six), junior guard/forward Marcus Ginyard (five) and guard Jeremy Trimble (four).

"It has been our goal all season to not only win the WCAC Championship, but also to win the VIS Championship as well as the City Title and the Alhambra Tournament," said Stanback.

Williams led PVI with 18 points, followed by Proctor (16), senior guard Evan Donegan (eight), senior guard Sanders (eight), sophomore guard Cajou (five), sophomore forward Danny Sumner (three), junior forward Art Dabney (two) and senior post Brandon Davis (two).

Paul VI completed the season with an overall record of 20-9, including 9-5 all WCAC regular season/postseason games.

"I want to commend every senior on this team. It takes more than one player to be successful. They have all bought into our system here at PVI. Ryan (Williams) has shot the ball very well. Darryl (Proctor) is probably our best all-around player. David (Sanders), Evan (Donegan), Brandon (Davis), Alex (Hrovat), Brandon (Dukes), Geoff (Schutta) and Michael (Billingsley) have all contributed," said Franklin.

O'Connell's overall record stands at 26-3. The Knights will square off with DCIAA powerhouse Cardozo March 13 at George Washington University’s Smith Center for the 2004 City Title.

Following that outcome, Wootten's squad will attempt to defend its title at the prestigious Alhambra Tournament in Cumberland, Md.

"To win the City Title, we can't afford to change anything. We need to keep running our stuff," said Stanback.

"It's going to be a crazy environment at the City Title Game. We're going to have to stick together as a team and we're going to have to move our feet quickly," said Neal.