Staff photo / John Vargo Boardman’s Zach Ryan takes a shot during a practice last week. The Spartans are 5-0 to start the year.

BOARDMAN — A custodian pushed a button as the bleacher on the south end of the Boardman High School gymnasium started to expand.

Unprompted, the Spartans boys basketball team stopped what they were doing and sprung into action. The teenage boys started to grab the metal railings, climb the steps in systematic fashion and place them along the stairway path for an upcoming game.

“It’s awesome to do whatever we can throughout the gym,” said Boardman senior point guard Derrick Anderson, who averages 23 points per game. “This builds team chemistry.”

So far, that chemistry has built a 5-0 record with key non-conference wins over former Federal League opponents Lake and GlenOak, where the Spartans rallied from 15 points down at halftime to win.

“Really proud of our guys keeping their composure,” said Boardman coach Pat Birch, whose team hosts Poland on Friday. “We’re a veteran group this year and they showed that in Game 1. It gave us a chance to relax a little bit.”

The Spartans average around 70 points per game and have an up-tempo offense. Slowing it down is something Boardman needs to work on going forward, Birch said, with opponents like Warren G. Harding, Green, Austintown Fitch and Chaney still on the schedule.

“At some point, you’re not going to turn teams over,” Birch said. “We like to get up and down. You get into a tournament setting, and it’s going to be a half-court battle. That’s probably the No. 1 thing right now.”

Boardman goes about eight deep with seniors Daeone Martin, Connor Miller, Zach Ryan, Tommy Fryda and Charlie Davis.

Junior 6-foot-6 forward Ethan Andersen is a great shot blocker for the Spartans, but they are missing 6-5 sophomore Trey Depietro, who has been out since after the GlenOak game with a foot injury. Birch said he may be back by mid-January.

“We miss him,” Birch said. “He’s a presence inside.”

Most of these Spartan players came through one of the best youth programs in the Mahoning Valley. Birch said these teams were reorganized six years ago so the third, fourth, fifth and sixth-grade teams could teach fundamentals the proper way.

“It comes down to a lot of people teaching the right things, and these kids are learning the right way early on. That carries over,” Birch said. “I was joking the other day. I’d love to take credit for the way Zach Ryan plays, but he’s been playing that way his whole life. He had a motor and knows what’s happening before it happens.”

When this team gets into All-American Conference, Red Tier play, the Spartans know little adjustments go a long way in preparation for games.

“This is a group where the basketball IQ is very high,” Birch said. “Day before the game, try something new and they’ll run it the next day like we’ve been doing it for years.”

It’s just like setting up the bleachers, something unspoken that needs to be done for this Boardman team.

“Anything we need to do to get a win, whatever the team needs,” Ryan said. “Everyone does it.”