The Bishop O'Connell Knights continue to have a standout season thus far. The Knights, coached by Joe Wootten (fourth season), weigh-in with an overall record of 12-1 - and are currently ranked second in the Washington area by the Washington Post.

The Knights started the season ranked first and in the top spot throughout the entire month of December. But the Knights stubbed their toe for the first time this season by dropping a narrow decision to McQuaid Jesuit (N.Y.) in the finals of the prestigious "Beach Ball Classic."

The holiday tournament, featuring 16 teams from across the country, was played in late December in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

The Knights defeated Myrtle Beach, St. John Neumann (Pa.) and Christ the King (N.Y.) before dropping the championship game to McQuaid Jesuit (ranked 21st in the country by USA Today).

Prior to Christmas O'Connell traveled by air to Portland, Ore. and won the "Les Schwab Invitational." The Knights defeated three Oregon high schools before defeating Westbury Christian (Texas) for the championship.

Both junior point guard Erik Smith and junior center Brian Johnson made the All-Tournament team in both tournaments. Smith averaged just under 15 points per game and converted 55 percent of his shots from the floor during the eight tournament games.

Other players that played well included: juniors Freddie Stanback and Ernie Lomax and sophomores Dave Neal and Marcus Ginyard.

The Knights will begin a full slate of WCAC games in early January, starting with a Jan. 7 game against DeMatha. They would like to claim their first ever WCAC regular season title when the regular season concludes in February.

The Paul VI Panthers began the season ranked #2 in all of Northern Virginia by the Journal Newspapers, but have dropped out of the "top 10" in recent weeks.

The Panthers, coached by Levi Franklin (second season), traveled to Baltimore and competed in the "Lake Clifton Mixer" during the Christmas break.

PVI defeated Towson Catholic 42-35 on Dec. 27. Leading the "Black and Gold" were seniors Joe Cascio (12) Nick Grant (eight) and Steve Proctor (eight), junior Darryl Proctor (seven) and senior Sam Ellis-Johnson (four).

The Panthers lost their final game in Baltimore to Lake Clifton 61-50 on Dec. 28. Currently the Panthers record stands at 5-4 overall. PVI visited Good Counsel Jan. 7 and squares off with DeMatha Jan. 9 at Marymount U.

The Bishop Ireton Cardinals have nearly matched their win total from last year already in the current young season. The Cardinals, coached by Pete Hamer (seventh season), competed in the prestigious Mount Vernon Invitational Dec. 26-28. Ireton finished sixth, dropping a 63-54 game to St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes in the quarterfinals.

The Cardinals defeated Stonewall Jackson (Manassas) 67-65 in the "consolation semifinals." They went toe-to-toe with West Potomac for most of the contest, but were outscored 8-3 down the stretch and dropped a 73-65 contest to the Wolverines.

Seniors Peter DelaCruz (21 points), Trey Blincoe (12) and Matt Coleman (12) and junior William Villo (11) paced the well-balanced Cardinal attack.

Blincoe needs a little more than 300 points to reach 1,000 in his high school career.