Franklin Regional boys hold heads high entering PIAAs

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, March 3, 2018 | 3:36 PM

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Franklin Regional made Mars earn every inch of its first WPIAL boys basketball championship Friday night.

It was that self-assurance that allowed Panthers players to walk out of Petersen Events Center with their heads held high, appreciation for the opportunity they had and effort they gave outweighing the disappointment that came from not seizing it.

They gave the top-seeded Planets a fight.

“Oh, there were some tears,” Panthers coach Steve Scorpion said after a 54-44 loss. “But we have tough kids. It will be tough to get back up, but I have confidence in our guys. They want to see Mars again, and they know what they have to do to get there.”

Both teams would have to win two PIAA playoff games to face off again, in the state quarterfinals.

The Planets (21-4) won the day, but Franklin Regional (20-5) feels it can rebound for the PIAA playoffs, which begin Friday. The Panthers open against — who else? — Section 3 rival Highlands (18-5) at a time and site to be determined.

The state brackets are pre-slotted, and the WPIAL runner-up gets the district's fourth-place team.

Franklin Regional will have to make it three out of four against the Golden Rams to keep the season going.

“We know Highlands, and they know us,” Scorpion said. “They don't like me, I'm sure, and that's okay. If we do our jobs, we can beat them again.”

The Panthers, who pride themselves on defense with their matchup zone and help-side grittiness, held Mars star Robby Carmody to 11 points. But the Notre Dame recruit, battling flu-like symptoms, got help from his teammates as Andrew Recchia (14), Cade Hetzler (13), Brandon Caruso (9) and Michael Carmody (7), a Division I football prospect, combined for 43 points, one fewer than Franklin Regional.

“We did a pretty good job against a future ACC player,” Franklin Regional senior guard Mike Bartolacci said. “We knew they had some other guys who could step up, and that's what they did.”

Franklin Regional senior forward Hunter Stonecheck scored 15 points and was the only player from his team in double figures. Senior guard Nate Leopold had 15 rebounds in the loss. Junior Nick Leopold scored nine.

“We have to take the pain we feel and transfer it (to the state playoffs),” Bartolacci said. “We have to go at Highlands and take it to them strong.”

Mars used a just-so mix of defensive stops and offensive finishes to get past the Panthers.

“Coach Scorpion runs a good program,” Mars coach Rob Carmody said. “They are similar to us in a lot of ways. Their length and physicality really made us have to grind it out.”

Franklin Regional, plagued by minimal offense in the fourth quarter during the playoffs — it has a grand total of one field goal (Nate Leopold's basket Friday) in the final quarter over three playoff games — hopes to strike up a spark in the final quarter.

The Panthers had a seven-point lead in the third quarter but only scored four field goals from that point as Mars flipped the advantage to eight in its favor with 1 minute, 18 seconds to play in the fourth.

“I needed to be better at the end. It's on me,” Scorpion said. “We did a great job on (Carmody), but their other guys stepped up. There was some mismatches that we could have went at, and I didn't. I didn't put these guys in a position to succeed, and it came back to bite us.”

That said, “I'd go to war with my guys any day. I am proud to say they're my players,” Scorpion added. “I have been a part of some really good teams, but this is my favorite group of kids to be around. They're a special group.”

Franklin Regional upset Moon in the PIAA first round last year for its first state playoff win since 1997.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.

Tags: Franklin Regional