Scholastic Notebook – 02/24/2017

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, February 24, 2017 | 3:48 PM

It’s unusual for the Canon-McMillan boys basketball team to still be playing in late February. It is certainly a fun time for the Big Macs.

For the Bell family, it’s twice as nice.

Canon-McMillan’s coach is Rick Bell. His son, R.J., is a 6-foot-4 senior guard who has played a big role in getting the Big Macs to the WPIAL 6A quarterfinals. They play No. 1 seed Pine-Richland Saturday.

The younger Bell had six 3-pointers in a first round victory against North Allegheny. R.J. is averaging in double figures.

The victory against North Allegheny was only the third playoff win in school history for Canon-McMillan. The others were in 1996 and 2008. This is only the ninth time the Big Macs have been to the postseason.

Another father-son combination still alive in the playoffs is at Mars. Rob Carmody is Mars’ coach and his son, Robby, is one of the best players in the WPIAL. Mars is in the 5A quarterfinals.

Dave Mislan is in his first year as South Fayette’s coach, coming over from Brentwood. His son, Connor, is a freshman on the Lions’ roster.

Movin’ On Up

The further the Lincoln Park boys and Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic girls go in the postseason, the more Nelly Cummings and Sam Breen move up the all-time WPIAL scoring lists.

Breen, a senior at North Catholic, now has 2,370 points, which ties former Ellwood City star Anne Malkowiak for 14^th . Breen had 31 points in a quarterfinal victory Thursday night. Two spots ahead of Breen on the all-time list is former Hopewell star Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, who had 2,427 points. Walker-Kimbrough now plays at the University of Maryland, and went over 2,000 points there.

For Cummings, he has 2,215 points, which is good for 18^th on the all-time WPIAL list. He is just behind Shaler’s Yuri Demetris (2,221), Beaver Falls’ Lance Jeter (2,243) and Connellsville’s James Hairston (2,245).

Streaking Swimmers

The WPIAL swimming championships are next Thursday and Friday at the University of Pittsburgh with video coverage here on MSA Sports. And for four teams, the championships will be all about trying to extend streaks.

The North Allegheny girls are going for their ninth consecutive AAA championship.

The North Allegheny boys are seeking their sixth consecutive AAA title.

The Shady Side Academy girls are trying for their third AA championship in a row.

The Quaker Valley boys also are going for their third consecutive AA championship.

The swimming championships conclude next Friday at Pitt’s Trees Pool, which is only a stone’s throw away from the Petersen Center. There will be four basketball championships contested at Pitt on Friday, beginning at 3. Needless to say, it will be rather busy at Pitt in the afternoon.

Tomlins Await Eligibility

The sons of Steelers coach Mike Tomlin left Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic in January and transferred to Shady Side Academy. The WPIAL ruled on Monday that the Tomlins are eligible to compete in spring sports, but the league will wait to rule on their eligibility for football.

The WPIAL board of directors tabled the eligibility rulings on the Tomlins. The league said it wants to get more information from North Catholic before making a decision. Michael Tomlin is a sophomore who played football at North Catholic. Mason is a freshman who did not play football, competing only in freshman basketball at North Catholic.

But there are more transfers with Steeler ties who are awaiting football eligibility after also leaving North Catholic. The son and two nephews of Steelers assistant Joey Porter transferred to North Allegheny. Also, the two sons of former Steelers Jason Gildon left and transferred to North Allegheny.

Jason Gildon was fired as Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic’s coach in December and all of the transfers took place after Gildon was fired and Patrick O’Shea hired.

Connellsville Hires Coach

Connellsville has a new football coach as Marko Thomas was hired to take over the Falcons.

Most recently, Thomas was an assistant coach at Franklin Regional. But he also was offensive coordinator at Yough for seven years and also had been an assistant at Hempfield and Penn-Trafford.

Thomas was a standout receiver at Penn-Trafford in the late 1990s and had a highly successful career at Geneva.

Tags: Canon-McMillan, Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, Connellsville, Lincoln Park, North Catholic