IN Canon-Mac Spring 2019 | Page 53

Ring the Bell: Big Macs Basketball Breaks Through, Makes History board members said to me I was taking over one of the worst programs in the state. I don’t know how you measure that. “I’m not saying we were the worst but it was in pretty bad shape.” Not anymore. In 2017-18, the Big Macs went 20-3 before losing in the WPIAL quarterfinals. They also lost in the 2016-17 quarterfinals. A pattern of success is being established and this season, a big step was taken. “Taking that next step is a big deal,”Bell said. “We’re proud of it. The kids persevered and never quit. It’s a great group of kids and was an awesome experience. We didn’t want the journey to end.” Unfortunately, the season came to an end for Canon-McMillan in the opening round of the PIAA tournament, a heart- breaking, 61-58, overtime loss to City League champion Allderdice. Key members of the team were seniors Drew Engel, Ethan Beachy, Elliot Waller, Luke Palma and Tyler Crawford and junior Tommy Samosky. Bell, who has been head coach at Canon- McMillan for 18 years, after 13 seasons at Peters Township, stressed how special his group this season is to him and to the program in general.