Staff photo / Neel Madhavan Chaney senior Jason Hewlett (1) and juniors Cliffton Scott (14) and Jashaun Holcomb (20) hold up four fingers for four district titles after the Cowboys’ win over Canfield on Saturday at Boardman.

YOUNGSTOWN — The Chaney boys basketball program hasn’t had to go through the same kind of growing pains that are common for new or returning programs.

Since the school returned to being a traditional high school in 2017 and athletics returned in 2018, the Cowboys have now managed to win four straight Division II district championships, the most recent coming this past Saturday in Chaney’s 44-36 win over Canfield.

Like with anything, it all starts with “hard work.”

“We start off during the summer and we don’t take any breaks,” head coach Marlon McGaughy said. “We’re in the gym all summer and we have a close-knit team. We have football players mixed in with basketball players, so we’re always (active) doing something. I think that’s where all the accomplishments start.”

As one of the team’s five seniors, Jason Hewlett has been a part of all four of Chaney’s district title teams, but this year’s has been particularly special.

“This year, I played all year, and this means more to me than any other one,” Hewlett said.

Hewlett didn’t get much varsity playing time as a freshman. Then, as a junior he was coming back from an injury he sustained during football season and was still trying to get back to 100 percent. But this year, Hewlett has been the heart and soul of this Cowboys team.

Whenever Chaney has needed some motivation or inspiration, Hewlett has often been the source of it, whether with his actions or with his words. For example, when the Cowboys were down late in the district semifinal against Alliance, Hewlett made an impassioned plea to his teammates in the huddle during a timeout. The Cowboys would rally back and eventually pull out the win in overtime.

“Jason is like another coach for us,” McGaughy said. “The players follow him and his lead. He always gives 110 percent on every play.”

Hewlett and the rest of the seniors have gotten to learn from the likes of Quincy Jones, Cam Lawrence, Davinci McDowell and Clive Wilson during their time at Chaney — a group of former players who have all played a role in laying the foundation for the program’s success.

“The guys that were here my underclassman years and even last year, they groomed us and not a lot of people expected us to be in this spot,” Hewlett said. “Everybody wrote us off because we didn’t have any big-name hoopers, but we just knew what we had to do and we stuck together.”

Coming into the year, Hewlett and fellow senior Josiah Gonzalez were expected to be the focal point of the team. But Gonzalez suffered a torn meniscus after coming down awkwardly on his knee while playing AAU basketball during the summer.

“I had to get surgery and it took a couple months of recovery,” Gonzalez said.

As a result, despite the months of rehab and recovery, Gonzalez wasn’t able to play right away to start the season.

Throughout the year, the Cowboys eased him back into the rotation and his minutes increased throughout the season as the strength in his knee returned and he slowly got back into game shape.

“All Glory to God — my teammates, my family, everybody was in my corner,” Gonzalez said. “They helped me get back to the position I’m in now.”

It’s been an adjustment for Gonzalez, not necessarily having the same explosiveness and athleticism that he used to, but he’s made the most of it.

“Unfortunately it’s not the case anymore,” Gonzalez said. “But I feel really good — I have come a very long way and it was a very hard journey. I’m excited and I’m very happy and proud of myself.”

Now, he’s been a key part of Chaney’s run to its fourth-straight district title and has been playing some of his best basketball over the latter part of the season — scoring 20 points against Alliance in the district semi and then leading the Cowboys with 13 points in the district final against Canfield.

“We knew him coming back was big for us,” Hewlett said of Gonzalez. “We knew his first few games he wasn’t going to be (himself). But we tell him every game, you’re the best player on the court at all times, no matter who we play. If I’ve got No. 3 standing next to me, I’ve got full faith in us because that’s just how special he is. I swear, I tell him he’s the best player every time and I don’t just say that, I mean it.”

Now in the regional round, Hewlett, Gonzalez and the rest of the Cowboys are chasing their first regional title in program history. They will face Akron Buchtel on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Canton Memorial Civic Center. The Griffins are looking for their seventh regional title in program history, with their most recent coming in 2019.

“We’re going to take things one game at a time,” McGaughy said after Saturday’s win over Canfield. “We’re going to get some rest and then we’ll worry about the next one.”