BB Lady Celtics Split

LADY CELTICS SPLIT WITH LAFAYETTE AND HICKMAN MILLS The O'Hara girls basketball team beat Lafayette 38-49 but lost a close 42-41 game to Hickman Mills during the last week of 2008. Lafayette held the Celtics to five points in the first quarter and had a three point lead as the two teams struggled to produce much offense. O'Hara applied defensive pressure and it paid off as the Celtics built up a 19-16 halftime score. Alex Smith and Hailey Houser combined for 23 of O'Hara's points. The heartbreaker at Hickman Mills was a see-saw game that left the Lady Celtics just short. Ashley Clark was O'Hara's top point producer with 11 and she was backed up by Hailey Houser's 8 but it wasn't enough. O'Hara outscored their opponents in every quarter except the second in which the Celtics were outdone by 12-5. Hickman Mills benefitted from 13 free throws while O'Hara had only 7.

BASKETBALL AT WM JEWELL

WHITE AND BRADEN LEAD CELTICS IN WIN FOR THIRD PLACE At the Bank Midwest Holiday Basketball Classic played at William Jewell College, the O’Hara Celtics defeated the Kearney Bulldogs 55-46 for the Third Place trophy. TJ White was the top scorer in the game with 26 points and was followed by Mark Braden who had 16. Except for a lull at the end of the second quarter and the start of the second half, the fast and aggressive O’Hara team coped well with the Bulldogs’ inside game. Making the most of 6’9” Dillon Starsl, the Bulldogs were able to tie the game three times at 28-28, 30-30, and 40-40, but the Celtics never trailed after TJ White put them ahead midway through the first quarter. When the scored reached 27-18 just before the halftime, it appeared the game would be a runaway, but the game slowed down and the Bulldogs eventually was able to tie it up but never able to pull ahead. The O’Hara defense held Kearney to only two baskets in the second quarter, but free throws assisted the Bulldogs in whittling away at the lead. Kearney was helped by three consecutive three-pointers during the brief time the Bulldogs held the lead. The Celtics pumped in 21 fourth quarter points, 12 of which were by Mark Braden.O’HARA MAKES FINAL FOUR AT WILLIAM JEWELL BUT LOSES TO ROCK BRIDGE IN SEMIFINALS On Saturday, December 29th, the O’Hara boys basketball team joined Kearney, Rock Bridge, and Liberty in the winners’ bracket of the Nelson Division of the William Jewell Holiday Classic. Rock Bridge and O'Hara met on Monday with the Celtics at the short end of a 69-44 score. The O’Hara Celtics defeated the Truman Patriots 70-55 in the opening round while Rock Bridge had an easy time with Staley 75-40 to bring the two teams together for the semifinal game in their bracket. In the first game, the Celtics were held at bay throughout the first quarter when the Patriots used a 2-3 zone defense. But midway through the second quarter, Joe Pepple connected on a three-pointer to give the Celtics a 25-24 lead, and thanks to five unanswered points by JeVon Lyle, O’Hara went ahead and remained in the lead until the end of the game. The Patriots were able to bring the score to within one point by halftime 30-29, but the Celtics took charge early in the third quarter with a 10-4 spurt and built up a nine point advantage by the time the fourth quarter got under way. Mark Braden scored seven of his game high 15 points during the third quarter. JeVon Lyle scored 13 points in the game with Dominique Fields adding 10. The Patriots couldn’t keep pace with the fast breaking Celtics. On the following day, the Bruins from Columbia led all the way, outscoring the Celtics by 3 in the first quarter and then by 6 in the second quarter. O'Hara couldn't get things going in the third quarter and the game got out of reach when Rock Bridge poured in 19 points to O'Hara's 9. Mark Braden scored half of O'Hara's 16 fourth quarter points and ended up with 17 for the day. Dominique Fields was the only other O'Hara player to score more than six points and he got all seven of his in the second half.

Cross Country All-Metro: Max Storms

O'HARA'S MAX STORMS IS ALL-METRO IN CROSS COUNTRY Max Storms, Archbishop O'Hara High School's outstanding cross country runner for the past two years, was one of seven named to the All-Metro First Team. Having won the State Title in Class 2 during his junior year, he was challenged to compete in Class 3 for his senior year. In preparing for the State title, he succeeded in taking first places in seven meets among which were the West Central Conference Meet, the District Meet, the Helias Invitational, and two Invitationals sponsored by Saint Mary's. Competing with the larger schools in the Class 3 State run he came in seventh with a time of 16:32. He was coached by Mike Martin at O'Hara.

W R E S T L I N G

THREE CELTICS DO WELL IN WRESTLING TOURNAMENT IN SAINT JOSEPH Travis Peter, Louis Golden, and Zach Taylor won their final matches at the 10-team Wrestling Tournament held on Saturday in Saint Joseph, Missouri. Peter wrestling at the 125 weight class won all five of his matches for first place and Golden and Taylor won 3 and dropped 2 for third places at 189 lb and 152 lb.

VY-VEE Basketball

On Saturday December 20, O'Hara was in the Hy-Vee Shootout and played against the Miege Stags. O'Hara lost 72-66. but the game was closer than that indicates. Mark Braden had one of his best performances and put in 24 points. The Celtics held a four point lead after the first quarter and outscored the Stags in the fourth quarter, but had a bad second period that made the difference in the game.

200th Blood Donation

ON DECEMBER 20, 2008, BROTHER RICHARD MADE HIS 200TH BLOOD DONATION THAT BE BEGAN BACK IN 1956.

BASKETBALL

RAY-PEC AND SAINT PIUS FALL TO SPEEDY CELTICS Having two basketball games postponed due to weather conditions with Smith-Cotton and Center, the O’Hara boys varsity team won handily against Raymore-Peculiar 55-51 and Saint Pius 72-49 last week. The Ray-Pec Panthers scored only three points in the first quarter of their game while the Celtics poured in 20 leading by halftime by the score of 36-11. The Celtics with such a large advantage eased up in the second half but it was much too big of a margin for the Panthers who eventually came as close as four points. None of the Celtics scored in double figures, but it wasn’t necessary with the score so one-sided for most of the game. The Saint Pius Warriors fared well for one quarter, behind by a single point, before the Celtics executed a 23-11 second period to put that game out of range. Four O’Hara players made double figures with TJ White and DJ Jackson each contributing 12 points. Dominique Fields and Mark Braden also had at least ten points. O’HARA GIRLS WIN THREE GAMES BY LARGE MARGINS The O’Hara girls varsity won three games against three West Central Conference opponents last week, all by convincing scores. Center fell to the Lady Celtics 63-33, Smith-Cotton followed suit with an identical score, and Clinton was overwhelmed 83-25. Patrice Jackson paced the Celtics in the Center game with 15 points while Hailey Houser tagged on 10 more. After the Celtics were up by a 22-9 score in the first period, the tempo slowed down a bit but the Yellowjackets were unable to score more than nine points in any of the quarters. The Smith-Cotton Tigers played a closer game for three quarters, but in the fourth period the Lady Celtics put together a 23-5 quarter to complete the romp. Hailey Hauser and Ashley Clark led O’Hara with a combination of 26 points and Paulina Pengelley was good for 9 more. The Clinton Cardinals were completely outmatched in the next game. The 43-14 halftime score made that overly obvious. Not only did five Celtics emerge in double figures, the team as a whole only missed on two of their free throws. Players that could boast of double figures were Cameron Randle, Alex Smith, Paulina Pengelley, Tori Hurtt, and Hailey Houser.

Volleyball All-Metro

THREE O’HARA SOPHOMORES CONSIDERED FOR ALL-METRO VOLLEYBALL Archbishop O’Hara High School, the Missouri Class 3 State Champions in volleyball, was honored by the recognition of three sophomores in the All-Metro Team for 2008. Making the First Team was Tori Hurtt who led the scoring for the Celtics as a middle hitter. She had a.441 kill efficiency as a middle hitter, recording 498 kills along with 135 blocks. Hurtt had already been selected as First Team All Conference, All-District, All-Region, and All-State. Two other members of the team were given All-Metro Honorable Mentions. The setter for the team, Lindsey Hanaway, daughter of the Head Volleyball Coach Lori Hanaway at O’Hara, and Michala Boehm, another middle hitter with commendable stats were both hoping for Second Team recognition but will wait until next year to try again. In bringing the championship to O’Hara for the second year in a row, these two Honorable Mention players contributed in a very meaningful way. As a setter, Hanaway ran the offense and had many assists for the kills by Hurtt and Boehm. Having two middle hitters of such a caliber paid off as opponents to the Celtics could not focus in on just one offensive standout.

O'HARA STUDENTS IN DISCUSSION

Students from three Kansas City schools recently joined to discuss the Hickman Mills community. The students were from Hickman Mills High School, Ruskin High School and Archbishop O’Hara High School. They joined community organizations such as Carter Broadcasting Group, Campfire U.S.A., the Jackson County prosecutor’s office and Kansas City Spartans for a two-day retreat. During the retreat, the groups and students brainstormed ways to make Hickman Mills a better place in which to live. The following students participated in the retreat. From O’Hara: Bria Anderson, Keenan Wilkins and Alexandria Moran.

FORENSIC TEAM UPDATE

The Archbishop O'Hara High School Forensic Team competed at the Raytown South Varsity Speech Tournament in which twenty schools participated. Terray Doakes won a 4th place medal in Prose Interpretation. Not bad inasmuch as there were 55 entries! Gabby Williams advanced to the semi-finals in Poetry Interpretation. She is a novice member competing on the varsity level. Among the 45 entries, she placed 11th. Some excellent ballets were also earned by Alec Robb, Rocky Chael, and Tim Barris. The competition was on December 13th.

Wrestling at Camdenton

FIVE CELTIC WRESTLERS COMPETE The O'Hara wrestling team competed on December 13th with ten schools, fielding only five athletes. Winning all four of his matches, Zach Taylor took the championship in his weight class. With a 4-1 record, Travis Peter won a second place and Trevor Gudde at 3-2 had to settle for a third place. The other two wrestlers were Louis Golden 3-2 taking 5th place and Jake Fortin 2-2 coming in seventh. The JV team meanwhile competed in Warrensburg with Sam Janet and Chase Scott coming in second. Danijo Adams and Matt McInerny earned third place medals.

Missouri Football Coaches Association Class 3 All-State

Danny Hernandez was named to the Missouri All-State SECOND TEAM DEFENSE as a returner and THIRD TEAM OFFENSE wide receiver. On offense this season, he had 34 receptions for 746 yards and averaged 21.9 yards per catch, scoring six of O'Hara's TD's. For his career stats at O'Hara he has 972 yards on 47 catches and is second on the Celtics' all-time top ten receivers.

Grain Valley Wrestling Tournament

O'HARA WRESTLERS ARE FIFTH AT GRAIN VALLEY TOURNAMENT At 125 lb Travis Peter won first place with a 4-0 record and at 160 lb Zach Taylor took first place with a 4-1 record to pasace the O'Hara Celtics wrestling team to a fifth place team finish among ten teams. Mexico was the overall champs. Both Peter and Taylor won two of their matches with pins. Jake Fortin wrestling at 112 lb and Louis Golden at 189 lb won second places. Fortin had a 4-1 record in his runner-up spot, all won on pins. Golden's record was 3-2 with his three wins with pins. Trevor Gudde at 171 lb and Chase Scott at 119 lb both came in third. Gudde had three pins along the way. HERE IS A SUMMARY OF THE DAY: Wrestling at the Grain Valley Tournament: 112 lb: Jake Fortin (Frosh) 2nd place with 4-1 record and 4 pins 119 lb Chase Scott (Frosh) 3rd place with 3-2 record 125 lb Travis Peter (Jr) 1st place with 4-0 record and 2 pins 135 lb Matt McInerny (Soph) with 1-4 record and 1 pin 160 lb Zach Taylor (Sr) 1st place with 4-1 record and 2 pins 171 lb Trevor Gudde (Sr) 3rd place with a 3-1 record and 3 pins 189 lb Louis Golden (Jr) 2nd place with a 3-2 record and 3 pins

FOOTBALL BANQUET

SEVEN SENIORS HONORED The Celtics bid farewell to seven seniors at the football banquet on December 7th in the O'Hara Commons. After Head Coach Jim DeMarea acknowledged all who contributed to the 8-3 season making the playoffs and the Runner-Up 4-1 team in the West Central Conference, he singled out the seniors and thanked them for their leadership. Three of the honorees have career records among O'Hara's top ten: kicker Bryce Scovall and pass receivers Joe Pepple and Danny Hernandez. Also recognized was running back Don Criswell, punter Larry Liggett, and defensive players Alex Rogers and Joey Tucker.

Letter of Intent

STANDOUT SOFTBALL PLAYER SIGNS LETTER OF INTENT TO UMKC Linsey Davis, an outstanding four-year softball player for the Archbishop O'Hara High School Celtics, signed a letter of intent to UMKC on December 5th. A candidate for the Scholar-Athlete Award later in the year, Lindsey was one of O'Hara's most proficient batters in the O'Hara lineup. "She rarely ever struck out," Head Coach George Peter told the crowd on hand to witness the signing. On the field, her most played position was second base, but when it became necessary, she did an excellent job taking over the catching in her senior year, and occasionally over the years performed well as a pitcher.

BASKETBALL OPENS SEASON

CELTICS ROLL OVER RAIDERS Led by TJ White’s 20 points scored within the first and third quarters, the Archbishop O’Hara High School basketball team crushed the Pembroke Hill Raiders 81-45 on December 5th to open the new season. The Celtics never trailed in the game picking up six quick points by TJ White before the Raiders got on the scoreboard. After that, the closest the Raiders came was 10-9 when freshman Michael Vaughn scored a basket and free throw. The fast paced O’Hara team then took off to lead 18-12 by the time the first quarter ended and outscored their opponents 23-14 in the second quarter for a 15 point halftime advantage. Tyler Houser and Josh Rupprecht scored the bulk of the second period points. Had there been any doubt whether the Raiders would turn the game around in the third quarter, it was soon put to rest as the Celtics came roaring forth with a 17-4 burst, and eventually outpointed the Raiders 34-13 in the third quarter alone. With a running clock, both teams cooled down throughout the final quarter content with just six points apiece. In all, thirteen players from O’Hara scored. With such a spread of scoring, it was not surprising that in addition to TJ White’s output, only DJ Jackson reached double figures for O’Hara. For the Raiders, Emmo Jenkins was the only player in double figures with 11 points. FRESHMAN CELTICS WIN EASILY TOO Not to be outdone by the fast paced varsity, the freshman team trounced the Raiders 55-31 with a dominating quickness of their own. 19 first period points were scored by the young Celtic squad while the Raiders were held to two baskets and two free throws for only 6 points. In this game, Ryan McDowell displayed great stealing and scoring ability and ended up as the game’s top scorer with 14 points. Like the varsity team, twelve different members of the team made the scoreboard with Curtis McClintock and Ryan Wald combining for 13 points. The Raiders were outscored in each of the four quarters.

SOCCER ALL-CONFERENCE

FOUR O’HARA SOCCER PLAYERS NAMED TO ALL-CONFERENCE Three O’Hara Seniors and a junior were selected to the All West Central Conference Soccer Team. Patrick Hogan and Bryce Scovill, both seniors, were selected to the First Team as forwards although Scovill also was the team’s goalkeeper for some of the games. Senior midfielder Andy Parks made the Second Team and junior defender Jack Parres was included in the Second Team listings. In addition to Archbishop O’Hara High School, the Conference is made up of teams from Clinton, Warrensburg, Saint Pius, Center, and Smith-Cotton.

O'HARA WRESTLING

CLINTON EDGES O’HARA IN WRESTLING O’Hara opened the wrestling season with a close 36-42 loss to Clinton on December 4th at O’Hara. Of the Celtics’ 36 points, half came from open weights and half from winning pins. Zach Taylor won by pinning Casey Mothernaugh in the first period, Louis Golden had a second period win by pin of Dillion Humphreys, and Trevor Gudde accomplished his pin well into the third period against Sam Glasscock. Clinton did not have wrestlers for the weight classes involving Jake Fortin, Chase Scott, and Miles Womack. The only match not decided by a pin was an overtime contest between O’Hara’s Travis Peter and Andy Skaggs. Off to an early start, Peter picked up five points on two near falls before yielding two points on a reversal. Skaggs tied up the score at 8-8 in the second period when he gained points from a reversal, a take down, and a near fall. His take down in the overtime decided the outcome: a 10-8 decision.