Scholastic Notebook – 01/16/2015

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, January 16, 2015 | 2:11 PM

The Mars boys basketball team doesn’t have one senior in the starting lineup. That might lead you to believe the Planets are maybe a year away from making their mark on WPIAL basketball.

But this Mars team has figured, why wait?

Mars takes a 14-1 record into Friday night’s home game against Burrell. Mars is fresh off a 21-point victory Tuesday over a Hampton team that was previously undefeated and the MSA Sports No. 1 WPIAL Class AAA team.

This Mars team has been a handful for opponents because of its all-around talent. John Castello is a 6-foot-5 junior who is as good an inside player as anyone in Class AAA. He had 24 points and 20 rebounds against Hampton. Alex Gruber is a 6-4 junior who also is a strong inside player, but good on slashes to the basket. He had 16 points against Hampton, despite playing with a mask for a broken nose. Gruber was scheduled to have surgery on the nose yesterday (Thursday) and might miss a game. But he put off the procedure until after the Hampton game.

One of the other top players for Mars is freshman Rob Carmody. He’s the son of coach Rob Carmody. Although he is only a ninth-grader, Carmody is 6-3 and averaging 14 points a game.

“We don’t necessarily walk on the floor and look imposing with athletes, but we’re a fairly athletic team,” said Carmody the coach. “I’ve been here 17 years and this is the first time we have had players with the length and bounciness that our guys have. Those guys just don’t come around too often. … We’ve never had so many guys who look like this, who look like basketball players.”

Look at what Mars is doing this year, and look at what the Planets have done in recent years, and it’s clear that Rob Carmody the coach is building something notable on the WPIAL basketball front.

Two years ago, Mars won only its second section title in school history, but the first outright (without a tie). That team also made it to the WPIAL semifinals for the first time in school history.

Last year, Mars tied for the section title. Now this team.

“You look at guys like [Hampton coach] Joe Lafko, and [Chartiers Valley’s] Tim McConnell and [Upper St. Clair’s] Danny Holzer and you wonder how they do it year after year,” said Carmody the coach. “It’s because they have a program. That’s what we’re trying to build here.”

Weiss for 2,000

McGuffey girls basketball player Sammie Weiss surpassed 2,000 career points Thursday night and is only the 38^th player in WPIAL history to hit 2,000.

Blackhawk’s Chassidy Omogrosso reached 2,000 earlier this year and the 2,000 club could have another member within the next few weeks. Vincentian Academy’s Brenna Wise has 1,887 points.

Showdown at Geneva

The Hoops For A Cure event will be Saturday at Geneva College. It is a four-game event, with three boys games and one girls contest. The final game is the most interesting.

Lincoln Park plays New Castle at 8 p.m. Lincoln Park is a top Class AA team while New Castle is 11-2.

Vestal to Seneca Valley

There was a significant coaching change in WPIAL football this week. Dave Vestal resigned at Hopewell to become Seneca Valley’s coach.

Things were tough on Vestal at Hopewell the past two seasons as his teams went 0-9 and 1-8. But before that, he had an outstanding program, He had a 92-59 record in 14 seasons with three WPIAL championship game appearances. He won one WPIAL title, a PIAA championship, and made the playoffs nine times.

Vestal takes over a Seneca Valley team that had high hopes this season, but finished 2-7. Coach Don Holl resigned after the season.

Seneca Valley plays in the tough Northern Eight Conference against, among others, Central Catholic, Pine-Richland and North Allegheny. But Vestal should be used to playing in a tough conference. Hopewell played in the Parkway Conference, which was usually extremely tough from top to bottom, although it was a little down this year.

“You think about the Parkway Conference, think of where I’m coming from and where I’m going, it’s the same sort of thing. It’s just a change of scenery,” said Vestal. “This is a Quad-A program I’ve always looked at, and for a few years now I always thought might be a great destination for me if the opportunity ever came.”

Pat Tarquinio was one of the winningest coaches in WPIAL history when he coached Beaver and he has been an assistant for Vestal for a number of years. Tarquinio might be at Seneca Valley with Vestal.

“Pat will always be with me in some capacity,” Vestal said with a laugh.

Tags: Blackhawk, Hopewell, Lincoln Park, Vincentian Academy