Salisbury head coach Jason Weaver spent Monday evening collecting uniforms from his players after what was a unique and condensed winter season. Like every year, there was sadness after culminating another season, but there was also a great sense of accomplishment.

For the first time in this senior class’s four-year history, Salisbury won a playoff game with its 52-29 victory over Palisades in the District 11 Class 3A Tournament. The win was actually the first league or district playoff victory for any Falcon boys program over the past four years.

“When we beat Palisades, I think it was the first time those seniors won a playoff game in any sport at Salisbury,” Weaver said. “I really wanted them to enjoy that moment. It was short-lived because we played Executive Academy less than 48 hours later, but when we gathered together in the old gym, the look on their faces was awesome. I was really happy for them.”

The Falcons finished the season 12-7 after their loss to Executive Academy Charter School in the district semifinals. But Salisbury, which went 7-3 in Colonial League play, made its way back to the league tournament after a one-year hiatus.

There were also a number of other impressive victories for the Falcons in 2021. Most notably was a 60-52 win over Bangor, which went on to win both the Colonial League and District 11 Class 5A titles. The Falcons also took down nonleague foes Emmaus and Oley Valley.

“We got to the league playoffs,” said Weaver. “We got to districts and we won a playoff game for the first time in four years. Could we have beaten Palmerton in the [Colonial League] semifinals and had another opportunity? Perhaps. We played hard. The guys got better and improved.”

And with the season in limbo just a few weeks before its original scheduled start date, Weaver is just happy they had a chance to play basketball this winter.

“First off, we played 19 games, which was amazing,” Weaver said. “Back during the shutdown, I wasn’t sure if we were going to play any games at that point. So to be able to play 19 games was huge. We were healthy. Every game that we had scheduled we played. The kids followed all of the safety protocols.”

He was especially happy for his group of seniors - particularly Quinn Warmkessel and Quintin Stephens, who have been full-time starters since their sophomore seasons - that they were able to have a season to end their high school careers.

“I was just hoping for the seniors that we’d have a chance to get back on the court,” Weaver said. “There was no summer league. There were no tournaments. All of the things that we normally do in the offseason, we missed out on that. I’m so happy for those guys, especially Quinn Warmkessel and Quintin Stephens, who have been in the program for four years, to be able to get those games in as seniors.”

Warmkessel began starting halfway through his freshman season and played in 81 games for Weaver over the past four years, which is second-most during Weaver’s 13-year career.

Stephens was inserted into the starting lineup as a sophomore and finished with over 600 points for his career. He averaged 12 points per game this season as a Colonial League Second-Team all-star.

Danny Scialla (7.3 points per game), Kenyo Herrera (6 points per game, 17 made 3-pointers) and Baxter Reihman round out a senior class that will be tough to replace for Weaver next season.

“I couldn’t take [Scialla] off the court because of his defense and his ball-handling,” Weaver said. “He had 12 points against Executive and was our leading scorer. He was our most improved player I would say from last year to this year.”

Also during that jersey collection time, Weaver spent a few minutes with the expected returning players and spoke about the future. A solid foundation returns for Weaver’s 14th season, led by Kyle Artis, who hit 27 three-pointers this winter.

“There’s a good group of seniors returning,” Weaver said. “A bunch of them have played together since they were young, and they are looking forward to their opportunity to step up. I’m looking forward to it.”