Defending a high school basketball championship is never easy.

When a team loses all five starters, the task can be downright treacherous.

But according to Pelham head coach Todd Kress, the pieces are still in place for the Pythons to make another title run.

“Obviously, as far as oncourt experience, we have very little, but what these other young men have been able to do is sit back and observe how to be successful,” said Kress.

While small and fast is their makeup and game, with only two 6-footers, the Pythons aren’t afraid to get physical, as they proved in their opening game on Dec. 12, a 77-73 win against Hollis-Brookline, the 2005 Class I champs.

Pelham went to the free throw line 37 times compared to 17 H-B attempts, though the Pythons were undersized at nearly every position.

“You can basically look at any of our teams the past couple of years and that’s something different,” said Kress.

A seesaw second half finally went Pelham’s way behind the three-pronged attack of Justin Hojlo, Mark Catalano and Ricky Costa, who combined for 52 points.

In their second game, on Friday, Dec. 15, the Pythons hit the accelerator early, taking a 32-14 lead after the first quarter, then coasted to a smooth 72-56 victory over Laconia.

Hojlo scored 15 of his game-high 17 points on 7-for-8 shooting in first quarter before Kress decided to play his starters sparingly for the rest of the contest.

“Once they got down by 18 it was in our control from that point on. It was just a back-andforth game, ho hum game that was never really that close,” said Kress.

Hojlo’s unselfishness and maturity were on display, said Kress, noting the sophomore’s willingness to take a back seat in a blowout.

“Justin, as far as I’m concerned, is one of the best players in Class I basketball because he makes teams adjust to him. But the greatest thing about Justin is he makes other players better because they feed off of him.”

Though Hojlo was the team’s secret weapon in last year’s postseason, he is no longer an unknown.

Kress does have another one lined up, though.

“Hojlo and Catalano are going to show up on a lot of radar screens, but I think a lot of people are going to be surprised by Ricky Costa,” said the coach.

The 5-foot-10 junior, whose older brother Tim starred for the Pythons two years ago, is expected to be one of the team’s top three scoring sources.

“Ricky can (shoot well from the perimeter), but he loves going to the basket and loves the game to get physical,” said Kress.

Catalano, a 5-foot-7 guard, and 6-foot-4 center Christ Fournier, both four-year members of the program, are team captains.

“I know what goes on on the floor, but a lot of times you worry about what goes on off the court, especially with a young team, so I’m really looking for them to exert their influence in both areas,” said the coach.

Fournier, ranked among the top five in the senior class academically, came into the program four years ago knowing little about basketball, said Kress, though he has since become a great student of the game.

“He now has to take all the stuff he has absorbed at practice and take it onto the court, and what I have to do, as a coach, is be very patient with him,” said Kress. “Hopefully by the postseason, he can be someone for us that a lot of coaches aren’t keeping in mind.”

Kress added he needs Fournier to adapt to his runoriented schemes.

“As we’re trapping and gambling along the perimeter, it will be very big for us to have him down in the inside intimidating the other team,” said the coach.

The team’s speed and winning mentality will make the Pythons dangerous should they reach the Class I quarterfinals and larger court at the University of New Hampshire’s Lundholm Gymnasium.

“I know I wouldn’t want to play us once we get to the tournament,” he said.