HERSHEY, PA –Let’s cut to the chase while simultaneously dismissing a little snippet of political correctness.
In Friday night’s PIAA Class AAA boys’ state championship at the Giant Center in Hershey, Neumann-Goretti was facing a team with the name of… wait for it… Mars High School.
Let the puns commence…
So when the game was mercifully over and the Saints had clobbered their foe, 99-66, it was fair to say that the Saints …. played out of this world. That they sent their opponent… into another galaxy, that… planet Earth stood still as the winners established a record for the most points in a PIAA state championship game, that it would have taken… a horde of extraterrestrials to thwart a Saint squad that tied a PIAA 97-year old record for the largest margin of victory in a championship.
“Our offense plays best when we’re hitting our threes,” said Neumann-Goretti coach Carl Arrigale. “We were unselfish and moved the ball well. When we do that, we’re at our best.”
Neumann-Goretti game highlights, player interviews and award ceremony from the PIAA AAA State Championship
See interviews from Saints head coach Carl Arrigale, and players, Zane Martin and Vaughn Covington in the adjacent video.
Arrigale will get no argument out of Mars coach Rob Carmody, whose team (23-7) is nicknamed the FIghtin’ Planets – hey, you can’t make this stuff up.
“When they’re shooting the ball from the outside like that, they have to be one of the best teams in the country.” said Carmody. “They are very strong and physical. They don’t have any weaknesses.”
The Saints occasionally struggle with their long-range shooting, but against Jupiter, er, Mars, Neumann-Goretti nailed 20 of its 28 tries in the first half and 9 of 15 from… long distance.
Ahead 53-33 at halftime, the Saints never allowed Mars to even think about a dramatic comeback.
“We just kept playing our game,” said senior Zane Martin after an electric 33-point performance. “We didn’t slow down. Just kept coming at them.”
N-G junior Quade Green was a force, with 25 points and nine rebounds. Senior Rasheed Browne added 18 points, helping Neumann-Goretti to its third straight crown and sixth in seven years.
To label such dominance as a dynasty can’t be argued. It’s a…. universal truth.
(John Knebels can be reached at jknebels@gmail.com)