Keith Pompey: Carroll boys, girls win state titles

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - It is a great time for everyone associated with Archbishop Carroll High athletics.

That's because Carroll has the best combined basketball program in Pennsylvania. The Patriots proved that at this weekend's PIAA state championships at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center.

The Carroll boys' team throttled Greensburg Salem, 75-54, in Friday's Class AAA championship game. The Carroll girls' team followed that up by pummeling Lampeter-Strasburg, 68-45, in Saturday's Class AAA girls' final.

In the league's first season as an active PIAA member, the teams became the first Philadelphia Catholic League squads to win state titles. They also became the first District 12 teams to win Class AAA state titles. And Carroll is the seventh school in PIAA history to win boys' and girls' state titles in the same season. Kennedy Catholic (Class A) and Trinity (Class AA), both in 2001, were the last schools to do it.

"It's been amazing over last month to be a part of this," Patriots athletic director Fran Murphy said of the state-tournament experience. "And I think one thing it has done, it's brought our entire school community together.

"We were a tight school to begin with for a smaller school. But it's brought alumni back. It brought the local community in. Everybody has become a Carroll fan in the last month or so."

That was obvious at Penn State.

Carroll had hundreds of screaming fans at both championship games. Numerous cars in hotel parking lots had "Go Patriots" or "Good Luck AC" painted on their windows.

"I had 32 text messages on my phone from recent alumni, who weren't even basketball players, congratulating us on last night's win," Murphy said Saturday. "And they said they were coming tonight. So it's really been a thrill for everyone involved."

Three things about last week

1. Another Johnson moment. Girard College point guard John Johnson showed, once again, why he is one of Southeastern Pennsylvania's elite basketball players regardless of grade or classification. The 6-foot-1 sophomore had 30 points, seven steals and four assists in Friday's 80-70 Class A state championship victory over Kennedy Catholic.

2. It wasn't a misprint. The Mount Lebanon girls' basketball team actually did defeat heavily favored Cardinal O'Hara in the Class AAAA state championship game. The Lions are ranked fifth in the nation, according to USA Today. They were widely considered a lock to win the state title.

3. Historic event. Caitlyn Sullivan scored two goals to lead Radnor to a 5-2 victory over Conestoga in Saturday's inaugural Flyers Cup girls' hockey championship game.

Two things about this week

1. Get your popcorn ready. The Public League coaches' 34th annual senior all-star affair is tonight at Southern High School. The Public League A Division all-stars will face the C Division all-stars at 5:30 p.m. The B Division standouts face the D Division all-stars at 6:30 p.m. Then the top 20 overall seniors will square off at 7:30 p.m.

2. State title time. The West Chester Rustin (Class A), Council Rock South (Class AA), and La Salle (Class AAA) boys' hockey teams will represent the area in Saturday's Pennsylvania Cup. Those three Flyers Cup champions will face their classification's winners of Tuesday's Penguins Cup titles (Western Pennsylvania) for the state crown.

Pompey's Super Seven

Here are the final rankings for the top seven winter teams in Southeastern Pennsylvania, regardless of sport:

1. Archbishop Carroll girls' basketball. The Patriots, ranked fifth nationally by ESPN Rise Fab 50, finished the season with 22 consecutive victories.

2. Penn Wood boys' basketball. The Patriots made history Saturday night, winning the first Class AAAA state title in school history.

3. Swenson girls' indoor track and field. In addition to winning the state title, the Lions are nationally ranked in the 4x55-meter shuttle hurdle and 4x200 relays.

4. La Salle hockey. The Explorers nabbed their second consecutive Class AAA Flyers Cup title Saturday.

5. Germantown Academy girls' swimming. The Patriots are the standard when it comes to girls' swimming in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

6. Imhotep Charter boys' basketball. The Class AA state champion Panthers capped this season with a 31-game winning streak.

7. Cardinal O'Hara girls' basketball. The Lions dropped five places after suffering a heartbreaking defeat to Mount Lebanon in Friday's Class AAAA state final.