2 state hoops titles? For Mars, it's possible
ADAMS TWP — In a season full of ups and downs and back-and-forth battles, a high school team making it to the championship game is a monumental feat.
Having two teams? That's nearly unprecedented.
This week the girls and boys basketball teams from Mars will take the court for the last time this season, with hopes of claiming PIAA state titles.
The boys will take on Abington Heights at 8 p.m. Tuesday, while the girls are set to battle Archbishop Wood at 6 p.m. Wednesday. Both games will tip off at the Giant Center in Hershey.
School Board President Dayle Ferguson said members of the board and the community are proud and excited for the games.
“The community is rallying behind them,” she said. “It's the buzz of the town.”
On Monday, students at the high school held a pep rally for the teams, and also sent the boys team off to Hershey. District Superintendent Wes Shipley said though winter weather postponed games last week and left planning in a state of flux, the excitement couldn't be dampened.
“It was a really easy choice for us,” he said of Monday's rally. “It's tough to make it to this level of competition, and to know they've played so well and earned themselves this opportunity is incredible.”
Though district officials were hoping for a weekend game, they have adapted, and Shipley said a fan bus will head to each game. They also will make accommodations to ensure all interested students can attend.
Shipley said the teams' success is a “testament to the dedication” they've shown throughout the season.
“It speaks loudly about the type of character we have at the school,” he said.
“The community is really up for this one,” Mars Mayor Gregg Hartung said, adding there is a “quite a crew” of supporters making the trip to Hershey. “It's nice to see the basketball programs back at the top.”
As for the games themselves, and the outcomes, Ferguson said she is confident the teams will be victorious.
“When the stars align like this, the Planets will prevail,” she said.
The championship games will cap playoff runs that have seen the Planets dispatch some of the state's elite teams.
The girls' team finished the regular season 17-5, though they lost to Oakland Catholic in the WPIAL semifinals. However, they seized an opportunity after qualifying for the PIAA playoffs, beating Obama Academy, Thomas Jefferson, Gateway and Archbishop John Carroll on their way to the title game.
It's the team's first appearance in a state title game since 1977, when they lost to Carbondale, 62-42, in the 2A championship game.
The boys team, meanwhile, hopes to cap a record-setting setting year in which they finished the regular season 18-4 before winning its first WPIAL title. They defeated Hampton, Trinity Area, Highlands and Milton Hershey en route to the title game.
The boys' team also played for the state title in 2016, when they lost to Neumann-Goretti, 99-66.
