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Packed gymnasiums. Streets lined with students and basketball fans. Police and fire truck escorts.
High school’s version of March Madness took hold Wednesday both in Johnstown and Berlin.
The festivities highlighted enthusiastic send-offs held in support of two area teams vying for a girls basketball state championship Thursday in Hershey.
PHOTO GALLERY | Bishop McCort Catholic | Girls Basketball Pep Rally
District 6 champion Bishop McCort Catholic (26-4) will face District 5 champion Berlin Brothersvalley (27-2) in the PIAA Class 2A girls title game at noon in the Giant Center.
“We talked with the coaches and the girls about how special this is and to enjoy it and take everything in,” said 25th-year Crushers girls basketball coach John Hahn during a Wednesday morning rally held at the Osborne Street high school.
Berlin-McCort girls PIAA title game matchup 2nd involving both teams from District 5 or 6
Thursday will mark the second time two teams from District 5 or 6 will face each other in a PIAA girls basketball championship game.
Bishop McCort hasn’t won a state championship in 40 years. The Crushers finished as state runner-up in 1986, 1988 and 2017.
Students and players’ family members filled the stands, as music blared and cheerleaders created a lane for the girls basketball players and state champion Crimson Crushers wrestlers to run through during the program.
“It’s honestly so surreal, a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Bishop McCort senior 1,000-point scorer Cami Beppler. “I’m so excited. We just need to play hard on Thursday, come out and play some defense.”
WATCH VIDEO | PHOTO GALLERY | 'Lights out' Emma Preuss scores career-high 27 points, leads Bishop McCort girls into PIAA final
Hahn said after the junior guard scored a career-high 27 points in Bishop McCort’s dramatic 55-53 victory over Penns Manor at Central Cambria High School.
In a symbolic gesture, four state champion Bishop McCort wrestlers led the girls players to the bus. In addition to the individual boys gold medalists, the Crushers finished as team runner-up during the PIAA wrestling championships earlier this month in Hershey.
Berlin Brothersvalley, the 2019 PIAA Class 1A champion, will try to win its second state crown in seven seasons.
Coach Rachel Prosser’s Somerset County team has won 25 straight games entering the state final, including a 56-49 victory over Bishop McCort Dec. 12 in the Mountain Cat Tournament at Pitt-Johnstown.
PHOTO GALLERY | Berlin Brothersvalley | Girls Basketball Pep Rally
The Mountaineers held a send-off celebration that included hundreds of students from elementary school through high school grade levels Wednesday afternoon.
The lights dimmed as Berlin Athletic Director Doug Paul introduced each player and brought elementary students into a single spotlight to ask the varsity players questions about their favorite foods or teachers.
PHOTO GALLERY | Coral Prosser, Berlin Brothersvalley girls pull past Mountain View for berth in PIAA Class 2A title game opposite Bishop McCort
With the Mountaineers locked in a tight battle against District 2 champion Mountain View, Prosser scored all 16 of her team’s points in the fourth quarter to hold off a late Eagles charge and give Berlin Brothersvalley a 41-38 victory at Mechanicsburg High School.
“Every year is different and you can’t count on anything, so we’re just taking this year as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and will play as hard as possible,” said Berlin’s Prosser, who coaches her two daughters, sophomore 1,000-point scorer Coral and freshman Bryn.
Fire engines, police cars and ambulances, with sirens blaring, escorted the team bus onto Main Street in Berlin. A line of supporters extended a block on both sides of the street.
“I definitely think we have a great program and a bunch of amazing coaches, and definitely a great community that comes together to make this such a great basketball program,” Berlin junior Mercy Sechler said.
Continue reading...
High school’s version of March Madness took hold Wednesday both in Johnstown and Berlin.
The festivities highlighted enthusiastic send-offs held in support of two area teams vying for a girls basketball state championship Thursday in Hershey.
PHOTO GALLERY | Bishop McCort Catholic | Girls Basketball Pep Rally
District 6 champion Bishop McCort Catholic (26-4) will face District 5 champion Berlin Brothersvalley (27-2) in the PIAA Class 2A girls title game at noon in the Giant Center.
“We talked with the coaches and the girls about how special this is and to enjoy it and take everything in,” said 25th-year Crushers girls basketball coach John Hahn during a Wednesday morning rally held at the Osborne Street high school.
Berlin-McCort girls PIAA title game matchup 2nd involving both teams from District 5 or 6
Thursday will mark the second time two teams from District 5 or 6 will face each other in a PIAA girls basketball championship game.
Bishop McCort hasn’t won a state championship in 40 years. The Crushers finished as state runner-up in 1986, 1988 and 2017.
Students and players’ family members filled the stands, as music blared and cheerleaders created a lane for the girls basketball players and state champion Crimson Crushers wrestlers to run through during the program.
“It’s honestly so surreal, a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Bishop McCort senior 1,000-point scorer Cami Beppler. “I’m so excited. We just need to play hard on Thursday, come out and play some defense.”
WATCH VIDEO | PHOTO GALLERY | 'Lights out' Emma Preuss scores career-high 27 points, leads Bishop McCort girls into PIAA final
Hahn said after the junior guard scored a career-high 27 points in Bishop McCort’s dramatic 55-53 victory over Penns Manor at Central Cambria High School.
In a symbolic gesture, four state champion Bishop McCort wrestlers led the girls players to the bus. In addition to the individual boys gold medalists, the Crushers finished as team runner-up during the PIAA wrestling championships earlier this month in Hershey.
Berlin Brothersvalley, the 2019 PIAA Class 1A champion, will try to win its second state crown in seven seasons.
Coach Rachel Prosser’s Somerset County team has won 25 straight games entering the state final, including a 56-49 victory over Bishop McCort Dec. 12 in the Mountain Cat Tournament at Pitt-Johnstown.
PHOTO GALLERY | Berlin Brothersvalley | Girls Basketball Pep Rally
The Mountaineers held a send-off celebration that included hundreds of students from elementary school through high school grade levels Wednesday afternoon.
The lights dimmed as Berlin Athletic Director Doug Paul introduced each player and brought elementary students into a single spotlight to ask the varsity players questions about their favorite foods or teachers.
PHOTO GALLERY | Coral Prosser, Berlin Brothersvalley girls pull past Mountain View for berth in PIAA Class 2A title game opposite Bishop McCort
With the Mountaineers locked in a tight battle against District 2 champion Mountain View, Prosser scored all 16 of her team’s points in the fourth quarter to hold off a late Eagles charge and give Berlin Brothersvalley a 41-38 victory at Mechanicsburg High School.
“Every year is different and you can’t count on anything, so we’re just taking this year as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and will play as hard as possible,” said Berlin’s Prosser, who coaches her two daughters, sophomore 1,000-point scorer Coral and freshman Bryn.
Fire engines, police cars and ambulances, with sirens blaring, escorted the team bus onto Main Street in Berlin. A line of supporters extended a block on both sides of the street.
“I definitely think we have a great program and a bunch of amazing coaches, and definitely a great community that comes together to make this such a great basketball program,” Berlin junior Mercy Sechler said.
Continue reading...
