Mars boys lacrosse cruises to 19-3 WPIAL title win
MOON TWP – Quaker Valley had a chance to do something not easily done – gain an early lead on a Mars boys lacrosse team that many consider to be the best in the state.
That chance went by and, from there, the Planets zoomed by.
Both Austin Cote and Wesley Scurci notched hat tricks in the first 12 minutes and combined for 11 goals by halftime of a 19-3 WPIAL Class 2A title game romp over the Quakers.
In three postseason district games, the Planets (19-1) throttled their opponents – Shaler, South Fayette, and the Quakers – by a combined 66-7 score on the way to repeating as champions.
It was that senior tandem of Cote and Scurci that first dented the scoreboard with a man-up advantage. Just before three minutes had gone by, Scurci found the back of the twine on a Cote assist. The seal-breaker followed a Mars penalty kill shortly after the game got underway.
“We just know, from the power of our offense, that once we get the ball, we’re going to be fine,” Scurci said. “We stay calm in all of those situations.”
Not a minute later, Cote scored his first. The Planets held a 7-0 lead at the end of the initial quarter, stretched to 13-0 by the halftime break. Planet goalie Jonathan Grieco didn’t have to turn away a single shot in that span.
“Our whole goal was to come out fast like we did against South Fayette,” Mars coach Bob Marcoux said. “Get up early, set the tone, and set the pace.”
Mars outshot their opponent 26-7 in the opening 24 minutes, which Scurci closed the book on by netting three markers in the final 4:17. He’d go on to notch another not long into the third period, finishing with a game-high seven goals. Cote had five goals and four assists, Jack Dunham a pair of tallies and four assists.
Quaker Valley (16-2) spoiled the shutout when Archer Eubanks deposited a marker with 9:04 remaining. Henry Wagner made it two in a row for the Quakers three minutes later.
Jack Dunham added a pair of scores and four assists. Kyle McEwen, Dylan Phillips, and Enzo Grieco also recorded goals.
“We’ve just kept our momentum from last year,” Scurci said. “We go into every game like it’s a new game and play our hardest from start to finish.”
The Planets now advance into the phase of the schedule they’ve been most looking forward to.
“We’ve been kind of planning the season in three sections,” Marcoux said. “The first section was the regular season, the second section was to get here.”
The Planets get Cocalico, District 3’s fourth-place finisher, at home on Tuesday. Marcoux will be looking for his 100th victory.
“The most important thing for us to do is just take off from where we ended last year and just keep that chip on our shoulder,” Cote said. “People will say that Western Pa.’s lacrosse isn’t as good, so we’ve just got to keep that chip.
“Same mentality.”
Quaker Valley coach Chip Hansen declined comment.
