WPIAL teams in action Friday night savor the moment, worry about what’s next
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Saturday, December 12, 2020 | 1:37 AM
Mars’ Zach Schlegel scores against Knoch on Friday, Dec. 11, 2020, in Adams.
Mars’ Mihali Sfanos works against Knoch’s Ryan Lang during their game on Friday, Dec. 11, 2020, in Adams.
Mars head coach Rob Carmody watches his team during a game against Knoch on Friday, Dec. 11, 2020, in Adams.
The Mars girls basketball team huddles in an empty gymnasium at the start of its game against North Catholic on Friday, Dec. 11, 2020, in Cranberry.
Mars head coach Dana Petruskas talks with her team during a game against North Catholic on Friday, Dec. 11, 2020, in Cranberry.
North Catholic head coach Molly Rottmann watches her team during a game against Mars on Friday, Dec. 11, 2020, in Cranberry.
Mars head coach Rob Carmody (left) talks with his team during a timeout against Knoch on Friday, Dec. 11, 2020, in Adams.
Mars’ Mihali Sfanos drives past Knoch’s Keagan Fraser during their game on Friday, Dec. 11, 2020, in Adams.
Mars cheerleaders cross their fingers during a Planets’ foul shot in the second half against Knoch on Friday, Dec. 11, 2020, in Adams.
North Catholic’s Alayna Rocco (top) battles Mars’ Madeleine Horvath for a rebound during their game on Friday, Dec. 11, 2020, at N orth Catholic.
In all of his years as the Mars boys basketball coach, Rob Carmody has never celebrated an undefeated season.
Not until now, said Carmody, who was in a deprecating mood Friday night after Mars won its season opener over Knoch, 79-59. He joked about hanging a banner in the gym, before turning serious.
“This was my 551st game coaching here at Mars,” he said. “I don’t know if I’ll have 552 this season.”
The Planets and every other high school team in the state now enter a three-week “pause” ordered by Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration to mitigate rising covid-19 cases. But the governor’s order didn’t take effect until 12:01 a.m. Saturday, leaving open a window many teams exploited Friday.
“The fact that we’re playing tonight is wonderful,” said Mike Rodriguez, boys coach at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. “The kids have worked hard. It’s been a roller coaster for them.”
Some WPIAL schools chose to cancel their game, leaving opponents scrambling for an alternate matchup. Others couldn’t play because they hadn’t completed the requisite 15 preseason practices. But those that did compete walked off the court grateful for the opportunity and also skeptical about the future.
“It was awesome,” Mars senior Mihali Sfanos said, “but at the same time kind of sad, hoping that we can come back in January and still play. It was definitely good to get out there. If this was our last game, we played hard, we played together.”
Zach Schlegel scored a career-high 25 points and Sfanos had 19.
“We said we’re going to play it like our last game together,” Sfanos said. “We had fun out there.”
There were 22 boys games and 17 girls games involving WPIAL teams Friday. The Neshannock boys played an entire four-team tournament in one day, split between two gyms, with games at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Some schools required players to wear masks on the court. At many venues, the athletes not in the game sat in chairs spaced apart for social distancing. There were few fans — if any — in the stands. The game officials wore masks and some wore gloves.
But in many ways, the sights and sounds were familiar.
“Credit to our administration, the Knoch administration, the three officials, to the kids, the families, the coaches for getting this game in,” Carmody said. “I’m thrilled we got a game in, but I’m devastated for our seniors, the Knoch seniors and everybody in the WPIAL.”
The question now becomes: What’s next?
North Catholic girls coach Molly Rottmann admitted she has “the same sick feeling” in her stomach that she felt in March.
At that time, her basketball players were preparing for the state semifinals when the PIAA tournament was delayed two weeks and never restarted. For now, teams are scheduled to resume practice Jan. 4.
“I don’t want to be like Debbie Downer, but I just don’t think we’re going to start on the fourth,” Rottmann said. “I’m hopeful that they’ll let us practice at least a little bit, but I think it will be four weeks, five weeks.
“It depends where we are (with covid-19 cases),” she added. “It’s safety first, but it’s hard on these kids. It’s hard mentally, physically. It’s a tough situation.”
“Some people were saying, ‘Oh, why play one game?’” said North Catholic girls basketball coach Molly Rottmann.
The defending WPIAL champions made their season debut tonight before the governor’s shutdown takes effect #HSSN pic.twitter.com/r0fH7WsxrF
— Chris Harlan (@CHarlan_Trib) December 12, 2020
North Catholic, a reigning WPIAL champion, opened its season with a 55-39 victory over Mars. Sophomore Dacia Lewandowski led the Trojanettes with 16 points and freshman Alayna Rocco had 13.
Rottmann scrambled to find an opponent by sending a barrage of text messages. Originally, North Catholic was scheduled at the McKeesport tournament, but that was canceled. Matchups with Norwin and Woodland Hills also fell through before making a connection with next-door neighbor Mars.
“Some people were saying, ‘Oh, why play one game?’” Rottmann said. “My thought was we’re really young. It’s been a lot of practice. Let’s just let them play.
“I feel like now, when I’m in there talking to them about how important working out the next three weeks on your own is, it sticks a little bit.”
After the girls game, the OLSH boys defeated host North Catholic, 80-74. Jake DiMichele had 37 and Dante Spadafora added 21 for the defending WPIAL Class 2A champion Chargers.
They’ll now return to virtual workouts.
“It’s going to be difficult,” Rodriguez said. “But we have some kids that are resilient. All the kids in the WPIAL and the PIAA, they just want to play. We just hope we have a season, whenever it is.”
Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.
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