Mars school gets letter from WPIAL
ADAMS TWP — Mars Area High School senior and boys basketball standout Michael Carmody could be facing disciplinary action from the WPIAL.
The 6-foot-7, 290-pound center was called for an intentional foul in the third quarter of the Planets' 52-51 WPIAL Class 5A title game loss to Laurel Highlands on Friday.
He also complained to an official about no foul being called on the game's final play and subsequently kicked the basketball. Officials did not penalize him for those actions on the court.
Amy Scheuneman, associate director of the WPIAL, sent a letter to Mars Area High School on Monday about that incident and others.
“The contents of that letter are confidential,” Scheuneman said. “Mars has requested an appeal before our board concerning the letter.”
That appeal will be heard at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.
“People are assuming this action pertains only to what happened at the end of the game,” Scheuneman said. “Unfortunately, there have been other incidents.”
There is a possibility Carmody could be suspended for the Planets' PIAA Class 5A tournament opener against Elizabethtown on Friday night. Carmody is averaging 19 points and 19.6 rebounds per game this season. Both figures lead the team, and he is listed as the top high school rebounder in the country by MaxPreps. Jayden Curl of Mercy High School in Red Bluff, Calif., is second on that list at 19.1 rebounds per game. No other high school player in Pennsylvania is among the nation's top 50 in that statistic.
Mars coach Rob Carmody — Michael's father — declined to comment on the letter received from the WPIAL.
Asked if he felt he had a chance to win Wednesday's appeal, the coach said, “I have no idea. I've never been part of anything like this before. I've never participated in any kind of hearing like this before.”
Mars athletic director Scott Heinauer could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Michael Carmody is headed to Notre Dame on full scholarship as an offensive lineman in football. He carries a 4.0 grade point average and plans to major in engineering.
Carmody played in the All-American Bowl in San Antonio earlier this year as one of the top 100 high school football players in the country.
Mars (19-6) was the No. 3 seed in the WPIAL Class 5A basketball tournament. Elizabethtown (19-9) is the seventh-place team from District 3.
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