Brendan Duddy BMHS PrideTime Reporter NORWALK - Friday night, the lady Senators had suffered a loss at Staples High School in Westport resulting in their eighth consecutive loss, so it was no surprise that Saturday morning, the lady Senators were eager to bounce back and set out to put an end to their recent misfortune with the hopes of securing a win against the Bassick Lions of Bridgeport in McMahon’s Kehoe-King Gymnasium.
“We were hyped and pumped before the game, but second half we started slacking a lot. I think if the game wasn’t on a Saturday, and if it wasn’t so early, we would've played better.” Said starting junior center, Aija Andrews (‘19) when asked if the team felt fatigued after playing in a game less than 18 hours before. McMahon, who to this point has had a subpar season, held their own through the first quarter of play ending the quarter only down by two. In the second quarter, the narrative changed as the Lions only tacked another six points onto their lead, but otherwise dominated the quarter. With nine seconds left in the first half, a scary moment. McMahon’s Kassandra Scott collided with a group of players all bidding for a rebound resulting in Scott plummeting to the hardwood and hitting her head. As McMahon’s athletic trainer (Ashley Labrador) rushed to her aid, the crowd sat silent waiting to see how bad things were. As she was helped to the locker room to be further evaluated, fans supporting both teams clapped in a show of support. Scott wouldn’t return to the game, and unfortunately, she wasn’t the Senator’s only injury. Late in the second half, with only two and a half minutes left in the game, senior Jescie Holmes (‘18) went down with a sprained ankle. McMahon went on to finish the game adding to their losing streak with a 34-42 loss, extending it to nine consecutive losses. However, while it has been a tough stretch of basketball, there has been a few bright spots for the future of the team, one of which being Andrews who recorded seven blocks and altered many others. “Typically I have the most blocks on the team, mostly because of my wingspan, so I feel like I hold the team down with my defense.” says Aija Andrews (‘19.) The next chance the Senators have to snap their losing streak is Tuesday, January 30th, when they face off against Trinity Catholic High School of Stamford (6-8.)
0 Comments
Did you know that only about 2 percent of high school athletes win a sports scholarship with NCAA universities every year? That 2% chance has hit our local high school where former senior varsity football captain, Cameron Kelly, has committed to Southern Connecticut State University to continue his football career. Cam states “ I had started to play football in the fourth- fifth grade. I played all kinds of sports.. Hockey, soccer baseball, every sport you can think of. Football was the sport that stuck with me.”. Cameron’s Aunt had unfortunately passed away when he was only 9 years old but he used this tragedy as a triumph on the football field to display leadership and hard work. Cam said “ you know everyone has their story as to the reason why they go harder in something and she was my reason.”. Cam was captain of the freshman football team and has followed through with his leadership skills by being named senior captain of the varsity football team for the 2017 season. During Cam’s junior year of high school, many colleges reached out to him interested in his football talent. Schools such as Villanova, University of New Hampshire, Southern Connecticut State University, Fordham University, Central Connecticut State University, and some other division 3 schools were all interested in Cam Kelly. His senior year, Southern, Central Connecticut State University, and Fordham had stayed in contact with him with possible offers. Southern was the school that grabbed Cameron’s attention the most, offering close to a full ride to play football. Cam says he had stayed overnight at Southern and experienced what it was like to be a football player in the locker room and on the field. Cam now has the vision to achieve making it to the pro’s. His goal he said is “ to be different… to break records ,be a starter , get bigger and stronger.” Cameron says “Everyone's goal is to make it to the NFL. Connecticut is not known for football and I want to break that barrier.”. Kelete Sherald BMHS PrideTime Reporter Brien McMahon Boys Basketball team is already 11 games into the season holding a 4-7 record and still hoping for a chance to make playoffs. The team lost the first two games followed by four wins. Unfortunately, they went into a drought losing 5 straight games.
Many may be wondering what’s going on with McMahon this year compared to the previous year when the record was flipped around and Brien McMahon Boys Basketball Team was 7-4. “You win some games and you lose some games, you can’t win them all. If my brothers that I go on that court with every game day are giving it their all, then why would I be mad about a loss?,” says senior captain Xavier Rojas (‘18). Although the boys have been losing, Rojas doesn’t care if they come out with a win or lose as long as they have been playing with the same energy levels. Rojas also says that the number one problem with the team this year is that they are having trouble working as a whole. Rojas feels that the team has all of the pieces to be a succesful team but they just don’t know how to put the pieces together yet. Everyone can agree that team bonding is needed in any situation whether it’s for sports or in a workplace. According to TeamBonding.com, teamwork boosts performance levels and helps other players have a general idea of eachother’s strengths, weaknesses and interests on and off the court. Knowing this will help players work better together. “I don’t think we have much of a family bond. Everyone kind of stays to themselves. We have a couple of guys that hang outside of school but most of the players stay to themselves,” says Rojas. If they could break this barrier, Rojas is confident that his team will be able to get back on track. With the current record, Saikwon Williams (‘19) still believes that the team has a shot at making playoffs. “I think the boys and I are ready for anything. We live for these moments.” However, he still thinks that getting back on track won’t be easy. The most important variable missing from the equation is trust. Williams says that the team must remain optimistic and have trust in eachother for the last 9 games left in the season. Although there is a lot of pressure, it’s not impossible. With all the pressure on these boys shoulders, support is needed. Be sure to go to the last games and support them the whole way. The next home game is Friday, January 26th, against Staples High School at 7 p.m. Michelle Perea BMHS PrideTime Reporter The Brien McMahon Girls Basketball team, like other sports at McMahon such as Field Hockey, have been having their own form of “study hall” after school before their 4 o’clock practice.
The first week of December, 2017, Coach Derek Sellers decided to have his own “study hall”. His goal is to have each player have time to work on their homework in order to raise their grades as well as their GPA. Most of the girls have positive feelings towards the idea. “I don’t have any negative feelings towards study hall. It keeps people out of trouble and gives them a place to go after school,” says Michelle Menard (‘19). Players themselves believe that this is beneficial for the team on and off the court. Coach Sellers believes that sports and school work are two big responsibilities, especially when it comes to girls reaching the minimum GPA required. Study hall allows some time for the players to get on top of their school work and still make time to improve each day in practice. “Study hall allows us to all have time for our work, there’s hasn’t been a problem lately with girls having to leave the team because they didn’t meet the minimum GPA requirements, and I think study hall has a big impact on that,” says Meagan Bombace (‘19). However, not every player is the same. Some use that time effectively to work on their assignments while others talk amongst each other not focusing on their school work. Each player has different thoughts about study hall. Some believe that they shouldn’t be in there due to them not having a problem with their school work, and others believe that it is beneficial because it allows bonding and working together outside of basketball. Although many believe that sports can have a negative effect on academic performance, that actually isn’t the case. According to crystalandcomp.com, those who play sports will see an improvement on their focus and cognition. The article called “How Does Playing a Sport Affect Your Grades,” explained that for the most part student athletes have the resources to perform better than their classmates. “One research study found that the more time a student spent playing a sport, the better they understood the classroom and homework material.” They are capable of high performance but people are busy after school and don’t have the time to complete assignments before the due date which leads to a drop in grades. This study hall has been said to help out the girls who really need the time to complete homework. With the study hall before practice, the girls have time to communicate with teachers that are still at school and seek extra help. Not only that but the girls can help each other out with certain subjects that they’re having trouble with. The study hall can improve communication and bonding within the team. “I think that our team preaches so much about being a family and helping each other out, that some players should be there to help the girls that are struggling,” says Michelle Menard. BY: Jescie Holmes and Stefani Mccollum Pridetime Reporters Track Basic Nutritional Guidelines for Track and Field Athletes
Savannah Brom ('19) says, "Before meets I eat pasta sometimes with chicken. I try to eat carbs the night before a meet." Hockey Strength and conditioning exercises for hockey athletes
Anna Bean ('18) says, "I run a lot to maintain good cardio so I'm not gassed on the ice." Basketball Before practice routines
Caleigh Porter ('21), says, "The after practice cool down routines make my body feel more relaxed." Wrestling
Proper Nutrition meal plans for wrestlers
Jonathan Davila ('19), says, "A lot of people who don't do wrestling think we do many harmful things like not eating to lose weight, but thats not true. We are just persuaded to eat better things like fruit and drink lots of water. We're putting good fuel in our bodies instead of bad things." Chris Clemens BMHS Pridetime Reporter The Brien Mcmahon Boys basketball team fell to the Darien Blue Wave on Friday, January 12th by a score of 58-52.
Mcmahon got off to a red-hot start by opening the game on a 15-0 run. Junior Latrel Stewart led that raging hot start with back to back threes which really got the crowd jumping.However, The blue wave came surging back to silence the crowd and took the lead at the end of the 1st quarter 17-15. Justin Jordan stole the show for Darien by shooting absolutely lights out in the first half.Jordan had 20 of his teams 28 points at the half. “Jordan is one hell of a player and it was tough to find an answer to stop him.”[Justin Longo ‘19] However Mcmahon did end up “finding an answer” for Jordan as he had just five points for the rest of the game.As for Mcmahon, Saikwon Williams led the charge for the with 16 points and was an absolute force to be reckoned with on the boards with 9 rebounds.Despite Mcmahon choking up a 15 point lead they went tied into the fourth quarter with the blue wave at 48 a piece. Late turnovers and missed free throws were the kryptonite for the senators as the late comeback bid fell just short. Look for the senators to return to their winning ways at home when they return to the M January 23rd to take on the Danbury hatters.Be there,Be Loud, Be the Senate. Brendan Duddy BMHS PrideTime Reporter NORWALK- After starting the season with a respectable 2-1 record, the McMahon girls varsity basketball team has been on a 5 game losing straight losing their fifth straight in a match up against Stamford High Tuesday night at 5:30 pm in McMahon’s Kehoe-King Gymnasium.
When asked what happened to McMahon’s offense in the first half, starting junior point guard, Michelle Perea(‘19), said “I think it was decent, I mean we only scored 4 points in 16 minutes, (the entire first half) like that’s bizarre.” She went on to say “I know my team is capable of so much more and we have potential. We’re not the typical McMahon team we used to be but we didn’t execute and there were just rushed shots.” McMahon was shut down in the first half being out scored 26-4 and scoring a total of zero points in the second quarter. Fortunately, the senators were able to turn it around in the second half. After the players talking to each other to figure out the problem without the coaches input, McMahon’s change in energy level was apparent. With a strong fourth quarter push, the Senators closed the gap but weren’t able to make a full come back falling short to the Black Nights 46-34. “Towards the end of the third quarter, our energy level really got up and we were able to close the score a lot but we just didn’t have enough time.” -Tatiana Arias(‘18) The lady Senators laceup for their next home game Friday, January 19th against Ridgefield High who is currently on their own four game winning streak. Kelete Sherald BMHS PrideTime Reporter
Jack Keller (18’)
Kelete: How do you feel this year is going and did you meet your goals this season? Jack: I feel like this year is going well. You know, I’ve been looking forward to indoor since the end of Track and Field last spring. I set two goals for myself: to get into FCIACS and do well in it. I achieved the first part of my goal and that was getting into FCIACS. Now, I need to achieve the second part of my goal and hopefully, I can do well. Kelete: Being a senior/captain, do you feel like there’s a little bit of more expected out of you than others? Jack: Most definitely. If you want someone to follow your lead, you have to show them the right way. I get sometimes you get tired, even captains get tired, but being a captain and this being my senior season, this is my last chance to show what I’m made of. Kelete: Do you think track should be recognized more? Jack: Of course. I mean why wouldn’t anyone want to do track? It’s not all about running. It’s about competing with yourself and making friends and working as a team to get as many points in your event to win. I feel like track is the best place to meet friends. I made so many friends myself at track. I love my track team and I get along with them. Kelete: What gets you pumped about going to track everyday? Jack: I’m not always pumped for track, but the reason why I love going to track is because the people and our coaches. We just have the best group of kids and if you take some time to get to know them, you will slowly find out that they are hard workers. Coach Bradley, Coach Albano, Coach K are amazing guys and really cool and they all will help you with anything. Jack has been doing indoor track at Brien McMahon since his freshmen year. He’s been around good teams and he’s been around bad teams but this year he's going to make sure that his team is 100% committed and make sure that he leads them in the right direction. Emily Pinto BMHS PrideTime Reporter Wrestling is more than just two people getting beat up on mats - wrestling takes a lot of skill and training to know how apply the right move at the right moment. The BMHS wrestling team graduated seven seniors in 2017 and is still kicking butt. Coach Mark Jackson says, “The team is a lot different this year due to losing most wrestlers. This makes a difference when running a program as you have to retain a lot of the new people and we only have three seniors from last year’s group that are returning. So this has been a growing year compared to last season. Photos from Nick Marsan Wrestling is much different from other sports, as it is more of an individual sport. It is one athlete against the other trying to see who gets the most points in the match. At the end, the team with the most points added up from each individual wins. Our wrestling team does not get much recognition as it is not a “main” sport in the school. Senior, Nick Marsan (‘18), says, “Wrestling obviously isn't a ‘main sport’ such as football or basketball, and we’ve come to terms with that as a team. Our families and close friends come to support us and that’s more than we could ask for. Nevertheless, it’s always nice to have some McMahoniacs in the crowd hyping us up.”
The team won an unexpected match against Staples this past Saturday, January 13th. As they are one of the best teams in the FCIAC, the Senators pulled through and won an amazing match. “Our best match so far was when we wrestled Staples and defeated them. It was not a match we were planning to win which was nice to see how everyone stepped up and did their part,” Coach Mark Jackson says. Tsai Zoe BMHS PrideTime Reporter McMahon vs DarienKey PlayersLast GameThe Round UpThe game will go with the Senators coming out with a strong press and the Blue Wave not having answer for it till later on in the game. Senators will take the first quarter, but in the second quarter the Blue Wave will make a comeback because they will find out how to break the press and make the score closer going into the half. If the Blue Wave want to have a chance to win this game, they will have to limit turnovers and stop the three ball and stop fast break points. If the Senators want to win, they will have to make open shots, play defense, and stop the easy layups. I think overall the Senators will come out on top.
Off-season training has shifted into gear as the Football, Baseball, and Lacrosse teams share the weight room to train. Every year, during the winter season, varsity teams are allowed to sign up for time slots to increase their athletic potential and grow as a team. For several years they’ve worked on their own schedule and stayed together in their own groups. However, for the off-season of 2018, they plan to use the weight room as one big group, bringing together the unique talents of football, baseball and lacrosse. Brian Ehlers (20’),who plays both varsity football and varsity baseball, says, “This seems like a great idea. It can bring sports teams together.” Although all sports are played differently, every team comes to the weight room with the same work ethic. Brian says, “The environment is different with more teams. I feel like there is a lot more energy with having multiple teams there at once all working hard.”
Having the mindset for utilizing all the teams is the one of the main reasons Q is the perfect teacher for the job. Q says, “We set it up like this to meet kids from other teams that aren’t on the football team, so I can work with athletes that aren’t mine. I want to help fix the slump male teams in the school. Football lifts heavy weights and the strongest kids are on the football team. You look at lacrosse they have good footwork. Baseball has different hand-eye coordination than football does. With that being said we can help other athletes get stronger. Lacrosse helps with footwork, baseball helps with hand-eye coordination, everyone helps each other out and establish new friendships.” By: Aija Andrews Pridetime Reporter Michelle Perea (The clumsy One) Michelle Perea is a junior at Brien Mcmahon High School. She has been on varsity since her Freshman year playing with the number 2 on her jersey. “Sometimes I don't even realize how fast I'm going. One minute I'm dribbling up the court and the next I'm on the floor.” According to teammate Bryanna Perez, “She dribbles and runs so fast down the court that she doesn't know how to stop and control herself. She always ends up falling at the end.” Bryanna Perez (The positive one) Bryanna Perez is a junior at Brien Mcmahon High School. Since her freshman year, she has played on both JV and Varsity wearing the number 12 on her jersey. “I try to remain positive on and off the court. I believe that people's energy rubs off onto someone else. If we all keep a positive mindset we will all play with positive energy on the court and do well together” According to teammate Angelica De Los Santos, “She is always the one to make sure everyone is on task.” Kassandra Scott (The nice one) Kassandra Scott is a senior at Brien Mcmahon High School. Scott played on Jv her freshman year and varsity her sophomore, junior, and senior year(s). She wears the number 23 on her jersey. Kassandra has also been captain since her sophomore year. “I try my best to help my teammates out when needed.” According to her teammate Shaniya Mesilien, “Whenever I am down, she always finds a way to cheer me up.” Shaniya Mesilien (The hyper one) Shaniya Mesilien is a senior at Brien Mcmahon High School. She played on JV her freshman and sophomore year(s) and Varsity her junior and senior year(s). She wears the number 5 on her jersey. “I think being hyper and having a lot of energy keeps me going, that's when I play my best.” According to teammate Meagan Bombace, “When Shaniya has a lot of energy it helps the rest of the team keep up the momentum.” Shaniya Francis (The quiet one) Shaniya Francis is a senior at Brien Mcmahon High School. She has been on JV her freshman and sophomore year(s) and Varsity her junior and senior year(s). She wears the number 22 on her jersey. “It's not that I'm anti-social or anything, I'm just not as loud as everyone else.” According to her teammate Stephanie Skidmore, “Shaniya may be the quiet one but when she gets on that court she isn't worried about being loud.” Tiffany Scott (The mean one) Tiffany Scott is a senior at Brien Mcmahon High School. She played JV her freshman and Varsity her sophomore, junior and senior year(s). She wears the number 3 on her jersey. “I guess my face just naturally has a mean look to it. I'm not mean to anyone on my team but I can be to our opponents.” According to teammate Michelle Perea, “Tiffany is very aggressive during games, it always seems like she's going to fight someone.” Meagan Bombace (The one with the attitude) Meagan Bombace is a Junior at Brien Mcmahon High School. She has been playing on both JV and Varsity since her freshman year. While being one of the four captains she wears the number 11 on her jersey. “My facial expressions don't define who I am as a player.” According to teammate Jescie Holmes, “Having an attitude can be a good thing when it comes to playing, you don't want to be too comfortable when going against your opponent.” Tatiana Arias (The emotional one) Tatiana Arias is a senior at Brien Mcmahon High School. Arias has only played basketball at Mcmahon for three years. Her freshman year at Mcmahon she played for both JV and Varsity. Her sophomore year she transferred to Norwalk High School and played as a bear. With a great return her junior year, she has been playing on Varsity wearing the number 15 on her jersey. Arias has been captain since her junior year. "I do get emotional during and after games. Its part of playing, if you don't show emotions, do you really love the game?" According to her teammate Tiffany Scott, “You can really tell Tatiana has a lot of love for the game. She gets very emotional whether we win or lose.” Aija Andrews (The dumb one) Aija Andrews is a junior at Brien Mcmahon High School. She has been playing on varsity since her freshman year playing with the number 44 on her jersey. "Sometimes I just don't know whats going on or don't understand something as fast as others." According to teammate Kassandra Scott, “Sometimes Aija can be a little lost during basketball practice and fool around but it's funny so it doesn't matter.” Jescie Holmes (The dramatic one) Jescie Holmes is a senior at Brien Mcmahon High School. For her freshmen and sophomore year(s) she attended school at Kolbe Cathedral where she also played basketball. Her junior year, Jescie had to sit out for 10 games because of her transferring schools. As soon as she was given the opportunity to play, Jescie gave it her all. She now plays center and/or power forward in the paint wearing the number 14 on her jersey. "I personally feel that my strong suit is defense. So when it comes to fouls I like being extra because that's what the girls at the other schools do to me. I'm just trying to go to the free throw line." According to teammate Aija Andrews, "She can be a little dramatic when it comes to fouling and other little things. She makes it look like a bigger deal than what it actually is." |
Archives
February 2020
|