basketball

Diocesan Teams Jockey for Post-Season Position

By David Steinbacher
Special to the HERALD
(From the Issue of 2/1/07)

In recent boys’ diocesan high school basketball action, Paul VI Catholic High School currently is the ninth-ranked team in the Washington area. In the Panthers most recent contest, they defeated St. Mary's Ryken 69-49 to improve to 14-5 overall (7-3 WCAC).
PVI, coached by Levi Franklin, came out of the blocks strong and led the Knights from Leonardtown, Md., 41-21 at halftime.
Paul VI was paced by Calvin Mainor (22 points), Donald Johnson (13), Luc Atangana (eight), Adrian Mills (eight), Ricardo Bailey (six), Ron Burks (six), Kevin Ford (five) and Joshua Artis (two).
Prior to the Ryken victory, PVI dropped a 69-62 overtime contest to St.
John’s (currently ranked fourth in the area). Six of the WCAC's 10 teams are currently ranked by the Washington Post.
St. John’s led the Panthers 31-29 at halftime. The "Black, White and Gold" outscored the Cadets 30-28 during the third/fourth quarters to force overtime.
St. Johns, coached by former Ireton head coach Paul DeStefano, outscored PVI 10-3 in the extra four minute period to claim the victory.
The Panthers were paced by Atangana (21), Mainor (13), Mills (11), Artis (eight), Johnson (four), Bailey (two), Burks (two) and Ford (one).
Bishop O'Connell is currently the 20th ranked team in the metro area. In the Knight’s most recent game, they dropped a 57-48 contest to St. John’s and subsequently dropped to 11-8 overall (5-6 WCAC). Just a few weeks ago the Knights were ranked in the top 20 nationally by the USA TODAY. It is not out of the realm of possibility that the Knights could be relegated to WCAC "play-in" status regarding the upcoming playoffs if they don’t finish the season strong.
Versus St. John’s, O'Connell trailed 25-24 at halftime. The Knights were outscored 32-24 over the game’s final 16 minutes.
The Knights, coached by Joe Wootten, was paced by Jason Clark (24 points), Kendall Marshall (seven), Zach Crimmins (five), Frank Ben-Eze (four), Doug Howard (four), Derek Baker (two) and Zalmico Harmon (two).
Prior to the St. John’s loss, the Knights dropped a 72-62 contest to St. Mary's Ryken. Ryken came out of the blocks strong and led 30-20 at halftime. O'Connell battled 42-42 in the second half, but the first half offensive struggles proved too costly.
O’Connell was paced by Clark (19), Kevin Jones (13), Ben-Eze (seven), Jason Burns (five), Dave Eismeier (five), Marshall (five), Harmon (four), Howard (two) and Keith Mitchell (two).
Bishop Ireton continues to struggle. The Cardinals most recently dropped a 55-37 contest to Gonzaga.
With the loss, Ireton dropped to 3-15 overall (0-10 WCAC).
"It's been a frustrating season," said Ireton’s first-year head coach Mark Vincent. “It's a process. From my perspective, it takes time to build a winning program."
The "Cardinal and Gold" trailed the Eagles 23-13 at halftime. Ireton was outscored 32-24 over the games final 16 minutes. The Cardinals were paced by: Javorn Farrell (11 points), Casey Sutherland (eight), Mike Williams (six), Kyle Snodgrass (five), Jordan Baber (two), Salim Fauras (two), Andrew Rodriguez (two) and Jaz Hicks (one).
Prior to the Gonzaga loss, Ireton dropped a seven-point contest to Good
Counsel - exact details were not made available.
"For the most part, we've been in every ball game. It all goes back to
execution and making a couple of plays," said Vincent.
As of Jan. 30, DeMatha (9-1), St. John’s (8-3), McNamara (either 8-3 or 7-4), Paul VI (7-3), Gonzaga (7-5), O'Connell (5-6) and St. Mary's Ryken (either 5-5 or 4-6) are the league’s top seven teams. One of these teams, along with Carroll, Good Counsel and Ireton, will be relegated to the leagues "play-in" bracket.
A win in the "play-in" game will be necessary to advance to the WCAC quarter-finals.
In diocesan girls’ basketball action, all three teams have hit bumps in the road in recent days. Paul VI Catholic, coached by Scott Allen, soundly defeated St. Mary's Ryken 73-26 in its most recent outing. Prior to that, the Lady Panthers dropped a 63-54 decision to St. Johns. The Panthers have a 12-8 record (7-5 WCAC).
Bishop O'Connell, coached by Jimmy Brown, dropped a 68-31 decision to St. John’s in its most recent outing. Prior to that, the Lady Knights defeated St. Mary's Ryken 57-49. O’Connell’s record stands at 6-12 (2-7 WCAC).
Bishop Ireton, coached by Mike Hutton, dropped a 61-24 decision to St. John’s. Prior to that, the Lady Cardinals dropped a 69-54 contest to Holy Cross. Ireton has a 7-13 record overall (1-9 WCAC).

O’Connell’s Liz Carroll Honored Again
Eleven diocesan student/athletes were recognized by the Washington Post for their fall accomplishments. O'Connell's Liz Carroll was named player of the year in girls’ soccer.
Girls’ Soccer: (Second-Team) - O'Connell's Ali Pont and Kika Toulouse;
(Honorable Mention) - O'Connell's Danielle Corey.
Boys’ Soccer: (Honorable Mention) - O'Connell's Tom St. George.
Football: (Honorable Mention) - Paul VI's D.J. Mangas.
Cross Country: (Honorable Mention) - O'Connell's Megan Fitzpatrick and Katie Walls.
Volleyball: (Honorable Mention) - Notre Dame Academy's Kim Nuckols and
O'Connell's Jen Katz and Lauren Luxenberg.