Mars caps monumental run with marquee win
Mars has been the WPIAL Class 2A standard-bearer ever since the PIAA split boys lacrosse into two classifications in 2017.
Coming into the season the Planets had four state playoff appearances that amounted to one trip to the quarterfinals, two to the semifinals and one to the championship match. But no titles.
Not anymore.
On Saturday, Mars completed its journey to the top with a 9-6 victory against District 1 champion Marple Newtown to capture its first PIAA Class 2A boys lacrosse title.
It was a signature win, to be sure, but its significance goes far beyond Adams Township or the WPIAL.
Prior to this season, lacrosse was dominated by schools in Philadelphia. Since the PIAA began contesting state championships in 2009, District 1 had won 24 combined boys and girls titles and had 19 runners-up with 14 of the 32 total finals comprised solely of teams from that district. In addition, District 12 had 12 finalists and six titlists and, in 10 of those finals, its opponent was from District 1.
It’s also what made Mars’ victory such a statement. Not only did the Planets win, they beat a team from District 1, albeit a school that was making its first finals appearance.
“This team, in general, left an imprint on the whole western side of the state,” Mars senior attacker Austin Cote said. “Just the fact we were able to get there two years in a row which nobody had ever done and win it, it put
Western Pennsylvania on the map in a sense.”
It’s about the defense. Really.
Mars put up its share of eyepopping numbers during its run to the state championship.
In 24 games, the Planets rolled up 424 goals, an average of 17.7 goals per game. They had eight games where they put at least 20 in the back of the net with a high of 26 in a win against Knoch.
Yet, through it all, even with some of the best attackers in the
region, including Division I recruits such as Cote, Wes Scurci and Josh Stepp, it was the team’s ability to win faceoffs and its play in its own end that allowed them to win.
Consider that Scurci, who scored seven goals in the WPIAL final against Quaker Valley, was held to one goal by Marple Newtown and that came with 39.3 seconds remaining in regulation to close it out. Also, the nine goals Mars scored against the Tigers was its second-lowest output of the season.
Only one other time did Mars fail to score in double -digits and that was a 13-8 loss to Ohio powerhouse Upper Arlington on the eve of the playoffs.
“I mentioned it to one of my assistant coaches that, if you had told me beforehand that we would only score nine goals, I would have said we’d come home with another runner-up,” Marcoux said. “I can’t give enough credit to our defense because they were incredible and really stepped up to the challenge.”
Junior goalkeeper Jonathan Grieco made 11 saves, some of the sensational variety, but the stop he made on Marple Newtown attacker Joey Yukenavitch with Mars leading 8-6 and only 1:01 left to play may have sealed the win.
Senior defender Quinn Fuller, a Jacksonville recruit, also made a key strip in the fourth quarter with the Tigers on the attack that he helped convert into a Jack Dunham goal that turned what could have been a 7-6 game into an 85 Planets cushion.
Then again, it really shouldn’t be that surprising.
Mars did not allow a Pennsylvania team to score 10 goals against it all season. Peters Township was the only school to get nine and only North Allegheny and Penncrest in the state semifinals netted eight.
Who cares about 100?
Marcoux picked up the 99th win of his coaching career when the Planets defeated Quaker Valley for their sixth consecutive WPIAL title.
He got No. 100 in the opening round of the state tournament with an 18-2 win against Cocalico.
But the win he will never forget is No. 103, which was the state championship game.
“I’ll remember 103 for sure,” Marcoux said. “I wasn’t even conscious of the 100 wins because we were totally focused on 103.”