Monday, February 19, 2007

Their First

After being exclusively an all-girls school dating back to the early 1900's, St. Mary's of the Valley High School in Beaverton, Oregon began admitting boys in 1991 and changed its name to Valley Catholic. As enrollment for boys increased over the years, the sports programs have steadily gained in strength. The boys basketball program reached a major milestone the first week of February when their convincing 55-36 home victory over Dayton High School secured the program's first ever West Valley League title.

After edging Dayton on the road by only one point earlier in the season, Valley Catholic head coach Jeff Gallagher expected the game to be tight. However, the team's up-tempo play wore Dayton down, and after a solid second-half performance broke the game loose, the Valiants celebrated after the final horn with their first net cutting ceremony.




Sunday, February 04, 2007

It Had to Happen Some Time

Winning streaks never end on a happy note. In fact, when they end, the pain of the loss is usually amplified exponentially by the duration of the streak. When a 58 game winning streak comes to an end...IT HURTS!

Southridge girls fell to Jesuit 61-48 on their own home court, ending a 4 year, 58 game winning streak against Metro League opponents. As the girls quickly left the court towards the private solitude of the locker room, the pain could be seen in their faces. This loss will stand out in the team's minds for quite a while...the pain will likely subside fairly quickly as the Skyhawks focus their attention on another streak that they would like to keep ongoing. This streak stands at only two wins...but they are big ones...two OSAA State Championships. As Oregon's form of March Madness unfolds next month, time will tell if the Skyhawks championship streak will continue. The girls do not want to experience a similar feeling again this season.