It’s been 20 years since Eddie Ohlson’s high school team competed in Hershey for a state basketball title.

Now the first-year head coach is returning to Hershey.

Ohlson guided the Trojans through the state tournament, including wins over two Philadelphia-area Catholic schools in the past two rounds, to get his team to the state title game.

“We had three goals – league championship, district championship, state championship,” said Ohlson. “We’re one goal away. We don’t just work for leagues. We don’t just work for districts. This is part of the process.”

The Trojans secured league and district titles last month before heading to the state tournament where they’ve won five straight games to reach Saturday’s PIAA Class 6A Championship at Hershey’s Giant Center Saturday at 8 p.m.

They will take on District 3’s fifth-place team Central York in the title game. Central York beat defending state champ Reading 79-65 Tuesday.

When Parkland takes the floor Saturday night it will look to play the same kind of team basketball that has gotten the Trojans this far.

Through the postseason the Trojans have relied on different players to emerge as scorers while opponents focus on Davidson-bound guard Nick Coval, the program’s all-time leading scorer.

“It’s one thing we’ve done all playoffs,” said Ohlson. “It’s not just Nick. Obviously he does a good job. He takes so much attention it gives these other guys opportunities. We’ve worked all season on trying to take advantage of them. They figured it out here in the playoffs.”

In Tuesday’s semifinal win over Archbishop Wood, it was Jayden Thomas (16 points) and Robbie Ruisch (12 points) who made sure that the Vikings couldn’t give too much attention to Coval (13 points).

While Thomas slashed to the basket and found ways past Wood’s defenders in the paint, Ruisch found his spots beyond the three-point line to hit big shots at just the right times.

“Once that first shot went in I knew it was going to be a good night,” said Ruisch, who made four of six attempts from beyond the arch.

The first one came less than four minutes into the game and gave Parkland a 5-1 lead and helped set the tone for the game.

Wood went on a 10-2 run after that and by the end of the quarter held a 15-10 lead.

Thomas got hot early in the second period, scoring six points as part of a 10-0 run that flipped a 6-point Parkland deficit into a 22-18 lead with 3:14 left in the first half.

Ruisch hit two more threes in the final two minutes of the second quarter, including one at the buzzer to put his team in front 30-29 at halftime.

Parkland stayed in front throughout the third quarter, stretching the lead to as much as 36-29 on a Connor Johns basket early in the period.

Although Wood never regained the lead in the second half, the Vikings never went away either.

A pair of Viking three-pointers early in the fourth quarter tied the score at 49-49 with 4:04 left in the game before a pair of baskets by Zaire Smaltz put the Trojans in front 53-49 with 1:17 left to play.

A basket by Thomas and four Coval free throws over the final 52 seconds sealed the win.

Playing in the biggest game of their lives against one of the best teams in the state, Parkland didn’t flinch in front of a packed gym at Norristown High School. The game was tight the entire way with Wood making runs every time the Trojans tried to pull away.

“Composure has been our thing through this whole state run,” said Ohlson. “We understand there’s going to be runs by both teams. We try to stay level-headed through them all.

“I thought our guys did a great job responding. We had great contributions off the bench by Blake Nassry and Connor Johns. Really happy with the team effort.”

Nassry, a freshman, and Johns saw some extra playing time as Smaltz and Luke Spang dealt with foul trouble. They each scored six points to help in the team effort that saw six Parkland players score six or more points.

Now Ohlson will make another trip to Hershey, this time as a head coach instead of a player. While it’s an attractive storyline, he prefers to focus on this year’s team rather the past.

“People talk about it more than I do,” Ohlson said of his state 2004 playoff run. “That was my journey. Now it’s their time.”

Quarterfinals

Parkland got to the semifinal game with a 57-50 win over District 12 champ Roman Catholic Saturday at Norristown in a quarterfinal match up.

The Trojans used another team effort to overcome the Cahillites.

While Coval (19 points) and Thomas (15 points) did most of the scoring, contributions from Ruisch (7 points), Nassry (7 points), Smaltz (6 points) and Spang (3 points) were key to the victory.

“We’re a really good basketball team,” said Coval, with emphasis on the word team. “We’re not individuals. We’re a team. Anyone who can be on the court is a threat at any time. We’re just playing together. Everyone worked hard to get to this points so it’s great to see everyone shine.”

Smaltz helped set the tone in the paint early in the game against Roman’s taller front line.

He scored four points in the first half, but the 6-4 senior also pulled down eight rebounds before halftime and made a pair of steals.

“He was one of the difference makers today,” said Ohlson. “He did a great job guarding their best player in the second half. He’s figuring it out offensively, giving us sparks here and there, keeping the ball active. He had a couple really good assists for us today. And he did a great job at the foul line. Obviously he’s a huge part of this and he’s responded every step of the way.”

The teams exchanged the lead a few times in the first half, with the Cahillites leading 27-26 at halftime.

An early third-quarter run put Parkland on top for good.

Ruisch and Coval hit three-pointers in the first three minutes of the second half. A pair of baskets from Thomas and another from Coval gave Parkland its largest lead of the game at 38-29 before Roman hit a three to cut the deficit.

A basket from Nassry at the end of the quarter sent the Trojans to the fourth with a 45-34 lead.

The Trojans made eight of 10 free throws in the fourth quarter to seal the win against the team that knocked them out of the state playoffs a year ago.

“They’re a really good team,” Smaltz said of Roman Catholic. “Beating them on the defensive end, I think we wanted it way more. They thought we’re a Lehigh Valley team so we’re not that good. But we showed them that the Valley is nothing to play with.

“They took us out [last season]. They beat us. To beat them now means a lot. This was a game we had to win to prove we’re the best team in the state.”

Parkland has one more chance to prove that point when it takes the floor Saturday night in Hershey.

Whether the Trojans win or lose Saturday night, they’ll do it the same way they have throughout the postseason: as a team.

“I talk to them all the time about the teams that advance to this point are the best teams, not the teams with the best players,” said Ohlson. “For us to survive we have to lean on each other. Over the last three games we have done a really good job of that. We’re not relying on Nick Coval to do everything. We’re getting contributions from everyone. That’s really what the difference is for us.

“That’s not just offensively. Just really happy with the team’s effort offensively and defensively.”