Man in the Middle
ADAMS TWP — As a student-athlete at Mars High School, Dan DeMarco wanted to be involved as much as possible.
Playing inside linebacker for the varsity football team and catcher on the baseball team helped the 2003 graduate scratch that itch.
On the gridiron, he paced the Planets in tackles during his junior and senior seasons and was named First Team All-Allegheny Conference both years. He was a three-year starter at catcher for Mars baseball and graduated with the program record for career RBI with 56, which remains the standard at Mars.
From 2001-03, he had the highest cumulative batting average, highest slugging percentage and most stolen bases on the team.
Excelling in two sports paved the way for DeMarco’s spot in the Mars Athletic Hall of Fame as part of the latest induction class.
"I preferred baseball over football,“ he said. ”I liked being in charge and really enjoyed it. I was on a tournament team when I was 9. Nobody wanted to be the catcher and my dad said, ‘If you want to play, be the catcher.’“
DeMarco stuck with the position and was ready to take over as the varsity starter his sophomore year.
"His leadership skills were through the roof," said former Mars baseball coach Andy Bednar. "He was well-respected by his teammates and was clutch as can be.
"Those were my early years as a head coach and I was spoiled, having someone like him on the team."
DeMarco extended his baseball career to the next level at Geneva College, where he started and was the team’s cleanup hitter as a junior and senior. He helped the Golden Tornadoes win the conference title in 2007. Twice during his time at Geneva the team made the quarterfinals of the National Tournament of Christian Colleges.
His lasting memory of playing football at Mars was not a single moment or game, but rather an impressive turnaround in 2002.
“That team was supposed to be very good, but we were just 3-3 after six games and in danger of not making the playoffs,” said DeMarco. “All the seniors sat down together and said ‘Enough is enough! Let’s get our heads out of our butts and start playing like we know how.’”
The result was three straight wins to end the regular season by a combined score of 132-30. The Planets then defeated Riverside, Jeannette and Beaver to earn a trip to Heinz Field for the WPIAL Class 2A championship game against Seton-LaSalle. That’s where the run ended, but DeMarco still has fond memories of what he and his teammates on defense contributed to that team and the bond they formed.
“We did speed training every week and were a very quick group,” he said. “We were self-motivated and it was a heck of a lot of fun.
“We were very tight, ended up in each others’ weddings and I’m still friends with those guys to this day.
“As a 17-year-old kid, you may think you know a lot about football, but really, you only know so much. Our coaches were the best human beings and they got the most out of us, DeMarco added.
DeMarco and his wife, Courtney, a 2004 Mars graduate, are involved in local real estate ventures. They reside in Adams Township with their three children: Elizabeth (10), Addyson (9) and Cole (5).
