Another year, another one seed in the District 11 4A tournament for the Parkland boys basketball team. For the third time in a row, the Trojans (22-3) are the top seed and will look to bring home an unprecedented fourth straight district title.

Parkland has won 20 games in a row after a thrilling 82-74 win over Allen in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference final last Friday night.

“Winning a fourth straight title would be incredible,” said Trojan head coach Andy Stephens. “Winning one is hard enough, so for four in a row, it would be amazing and a credit to the kids who have come through here the past few years.”

That overtime thriller last weekend against the Canaries may be a defining point and a real strength to the Trojans over the next month and a half.

“It was great for them to play in a close game and show no signs of panic,” said Stephens. “I want them to be challenged, and to step up in tough situations, because that’s what we need and what you need to win in big games. That’s why our nonconference schedule was the way it was this year.”

Parkland played nonleague games against Philadelphia-area teams such as Roman Catholic, Imhotep Charter and LaSalle College Prep.

Parkland will have a little over a week off before its next game. The Trojans have a bye into the quarterfinal round where they will face the winner of a first-round game between No. 9 Liberty and No. 8 Nazareth. The quarterfinal game will be played at 8 p.m. Saturday at Freedom High School.

“The week off has been good for them, getting their legs back underneath them and getting some rest,” said Stephens. “We’re going to start looking into Liberty or Nazareth Wednesday. They are both very good teams and well-coached, but are very different. We look forward to the challenge of playing either of them in districts.”

The Trojans have a strong starting lineup with a lot of experience, as all five players are back and in the same spot as a year ago.

Junior Sam Iorio is leading the way, averaging 23.5 points in the last two games. Senior Kenny Yeboah has also scored in double figures the previous two games.

EPC Most Valuable Player Kyle Stout is always a threat to put up big numbers. And All-EPC Second-Team player Devante Cross is the facilitator of the offense. The fifth starter, senior Jack Dreisbach, has a high basketball IQ and makes the team go by setting up and calling out plays on both ends of the court.

If the Trojans get by in their quarterfinal round matchup, it will set up an enticing semifinal matchup against a rival and one of the top teams in the Lehigh Valley in Emmaus, or a rematch of that conference final game in Allen, as the Green Hornets and Canaries battle it out in the first part of the doubleheader at Freedom.

“Allen and Emmaus are two great teams, but also two different teams,” Stephens said. “We’ve played Emmaus three times so we know them, and we just played Allen so we know what they bring too.

“If we are fortunate enough to play either team in the semifinals they would be great games. Although I think most would want to see an Allen rematch after watching last weekend’s game.”

District 11 4A play began Wednesday night with first round matchups.