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.