March Madness happens to high schoolers, too
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One of the more frustrating parts of being a sportswriter during the PIAA basketball tournament is that you can only be in one gymnasium at a time, and even with staggered start times during some of the weekend games, it's impossible not to miss some classic games or some sad goodbyes.
When schools advance both their boys and girls teams, like Portage did last year and Penn Cambria and Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic did this year, you can at least guarantee yourself two games, but I'm sure many of the people who watched the Penn Cambria boys rally past Yough at Mount Aloysius Saturday had interest in Bishop Guilfoyle's game against Loyalsock Township down the mountain.
I, like many at the Mount that night, didn't make it down for the Marauders' game and was shocked by their 59-57 loss. It was nearly as eye-opening as the Portage boys losing to Cameron County, 50-28, earlier in the day.
BG's Chris Drenning and the Mustangs' Travis Kargo have been two of the best boys basketball coaches in the area over the past decade, especially since the two met in a surprisingly-competitive District 6 Class 2A final in 2020, the year Portage began to find its legs in the PIAA tournament and the year after Bishop Guilfoyle went all the way to the state final.
Knowing how much both of these coaches put into their teams and how hard they both likely took losses on Saturday, it's hard to imagine being in their shoes.
Even tougher for both coaches, they will graduate cornerstones of their programs.
Mason Kargo hasn't put up eye-popping offensive numbers at Portage, though he is a 1,000-point career scorer, but his assist and charge-taking numbers have been through the roof his entire career with the Mustangs and have contributed greatly to their three straight District 6 championships (two at 2A and this year at 1A).
Coach Kargo has now watched his sons Koby and Mason, along with his nephew Kaden Claar, go through the program and contribute to the best seasons the Mustangs have ever had in boys basketball. Another son, Trae, is currently a sophomore.
Drenning didn't lose a son to graduation, but senior Patrick Haigh probably felt like one to him.
Haigh has started for four years and led the Marauders' charge to the PIAA Class 3A semifinals in 2021 before they lost a heartbreaker to Brookville.
Just a sophomore then, it always seemed as though there would be another chance to get back to Hershey for Patrick Haigh, hopefully with his younger brother Jude also contributing. Their sister, Teresa, won a Class 1A girls title with BG in 2021, winning in the semifinals in Rochester the same night the Marauders lost at Brookville.
Patrick Haigh finished his career with 1,744 points, the most by any boys basketball player in the storied history of Bishop Guilfoyle. He's currently undecided on his college future, but the player whose record he broke, Luke Ruggery, is wrapping up a solid career at Division I Saint Francis.
Drenning coached both and will talk for hours about how talented each one is if you ask him and maybe even if you don't.
Despite this year's PIAA playoff runs not running as long as both Drenning, Kargo and a lot of people across the state probably expected, congratulations goes out to these hard-working coaches and the spectacular senior classes all across the area playing the last few games of their careers.
The bright side
While the Williamsburg and Hollidaysburg girls basketball victories on Saturday were expected for the most part, wins by the Penn Cambria girls and Bishop Guilfoyle girls were nice to see.
The Lady Panthers caught some flack for voluntarily moving up to Class 4A away from a very strong Class 3A field in District 6 that included Westmont Hilltop, Forest Hills and River Valley, but a victory over Highlands on Saturday proved Penn Cambria belonged among the best teams in 4A. In fact, the Lady Panthers have a good chance against District 10 champion Fairview in the second round, so while they deserve a pat on the back, they still have work to do and can go even deeper into the tournament.
As coach Keith Saleme said, Penn Cambria was sharpened by a tough schedule in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference that included both Westmont, Forest Hills and Chestnut Ridge, the District 5 Class 3A champion which won a first-round state playoff game.
Another of those solid teams in the LHAC was Bishop Guilfoyle. The Lady Marauders' win over Bishop Canevin was an important step for the program, which already took the first step earlier by making it to the District 6 Class 1A championship game. Bishop Guilfoyle has a very young roster and a lot of talent coming up in the next few years, but experienced leaders like senior Bella Adams and junior Sarah Geishauser are serving as a bridge to connect this group to the one that won a state title in 2021 and showing them the way to future success that becomes closer with each moment of experience this team can soak up during this run.
Michael Boytim can be reached at mboytim@altoonamirror.com or 814-946-7521. Follow him on Twitter @BoytimMichael.