Quite a Handful
MOON TWP — Mars junior attack Wes Scurci snapped a chest-high shot Chartiers Valley goalie Cameron Kyle didn't have a prayer of stopping.
Less than a minute after the Colts tied the score in the second quarter of the WPIAL Class 2A championship game Thursday night at Joe Walton Stadium, Scurci and his teammates put the hammer down.
Scurci scored to give the Planets the lead back, then a few minutes later, Mars scored three goals in 35 seconds to take the momentum it would never lose in a 18-4 win.
The Planets have now captured five consecutive WPIAL crowns. Mars will play the fourth-place team from District 3 in the first round of the PIAA playoffs Tuesday at a site and time to be determined.
The Planets — especially after missing a year due to the pandemic — didn't take winning the district for granted.“Never, ever, ever,” said Mars coach Bob Marcoux. “Especially after what we went through last year. It feels really good. It has made the whole year special. Everyone appreciates it a little more than what we had.”Mars, which scored 20 goals or more in nine games this season, never trailed, but didn't come out of the gates clean.The Planets (19-0) went 5 minutes, 4 seconds before Austin Cote opened the scoring.Nicholas Crowley, who finished with five goals, doubled Mars' lead with 2:21 left in the quarter.A bizarre bounce turned things around for Chartiers Valley (15-5) as a long pass in front of the net bounced in with 1.2 seconds left in the quarter, resulting in a goal for Jackson Fodor.Thomas Nomides then scored 28 seconds into the second quarter to tie the game for Chartiers Valley.Scurci, who scored a team-high six goals, felt the Planets needed to wake up.“I know our coach was yelling from the sideline, 'This isn't us,'” Scurci said. “We just wanted to keep going.”Scurci put Mars up for good, 3-2, when he scored with 10:30 minutes left before halftime. Two minutes later, Scurci scored twice and Crowley added another to stretch the lead to 6-2.“We are good when we move the ball and we move off the ball,” Marcoux said. “We started moving the ball, dodging and getting back in the flow. When we do that, we can score goals in bunches.”Austin Cote also scored four goals for the Planets.Chartiers Valley never seriously threatened the Planets' lead after that. Colts coach Don Tolomeo was pleased with their effort.“We saw we could play lacrosse with them,” Tolomeo said. “That was the big thing. We came out here and there were a lot of periods throughout the game where it was an evenly-matched game.”Mars found its mojo after a slow start.Now the Planets can pursue their first state title.“We needed to get some more energy,” Marcoux said. “We came out, I don't know if we were tight or nervous. We didn't play with the same energy we normally play.”
