Both O'Hara Basketball Teams are District Runners-Up

In Missouri Class 4 District 13, the Archbishop O'Hara High School basketball teams took second place, the girls by a 35-30 score to the Notre Dame de Sion Storm and the boys by a 64-50 score to the Hickman Mills Cougars on Friday evening, February 27th. In the girls contest, it came down to free throws. With the score 30-30 with 1:30 remaining in the game, the Celtics missed on four free throws while the Storm cashed in on their first four without a miss and then added 1 out of 2 to finalize the scoring. The Storm did not take the lead in the game until the last 40 seconds of the first quarter when they went up by two and held on until the first quarter ended. But the Celtics regained the lead in the second quater by conseutive three-pointers by Ashley Clark and Alex Smith. O'Hara maintained the advantage all the way into the third quarter when the Storm finally caught up. By the end of that quarter, the Celtics were down by two. In the fourth quarter neither team could get more than a two-point edge until Hailey Houser's free throw knotted the score at 30-30. The only time either team led by five points was at the last successful free throw. Houser led the O'Hara attack with 10 points while Alex Smith and Ashley Clark had 5 each in the low scoring contest. Only Teresa Turner got 10 points for the winners and no one else on their team reached 5 points. In the boys contest, O'Hara played very well into the fourth quarter without the services of their top two scorers of their season and one of their better three-point threats. In fact they did not let the Cougars take the lead until the start of the second period. Sophomore guard JeVon Lyle scored 9 of his 17 total points in the first quarter and the Celtics jumped ahead 13-9. The O'Hara team had a cold second quarter but still were only down by 5 at the half. Four three-point shots by the Cougars in the first half made an uphill road for the Celtics. In the third quarter, the Cougars added three more treys, when at last, DJ Jackson and Jevon Lyle answered with three pointers to bring the margin to four points at 39-35 entering the final quarter. Hickman Mills pulled ahead in the final quarter by as much as 11 points, but the Celtics didn't quit When Jevon Lyle hit a three-point basket with less than two minutes left to the game, the score became 56-50. However the rest of the points were scored by the Cougars, mostly on free throws and an uncontested final layup by Jon Williams just before the buzzer. Besides Lyle, O'Hara's Dominique Fields scored in double figures with 13 points. For the Cougars, Joseph Dennis had three three-point baskets, Earl Peterson had two, and Michael Albiter had two. The O'Hara boys will be graduating two players, Joe Pepple and Trevor Krasowsky, and will have most of their team back for another go next season.

BOYS DISTRICT BASKETBALL

The Archbishop O'Hara High School boys basketball team won their semi-final District 13 game with Center by a score of 62-50. They go on to play Hickman Mills for the Championship. Both Center and Hickman Mills were ranked teams in Class 4 while O'Hara will be waiting for the next rankings. Hickman Mill held the #4 spot and Center was at #6. In the game with the Yellowjackets, the Celtics led nearly the entire game but didn't break away until the second quarter with a 21-12 performance. DJ Jackson was the sparkplug for the first half, but his fourth foul limited his second half efforts. Mark Braden took over and ended up the game's leading scorer with 17 points. Jackson had 15 and Dominique Fields who played a great defensive game had 11. Only one Center player reached double figures with 12 points.

GIRLS DISTRICT BASKETBALL

The Archbishop O'Hara High School girls basketball team won their semifinal District 13 game with Hickman Mills by a score of 43-41 in overtime. They face Notre Dame de Sion for the District Championship on Friday, February 27th. Off to a great start in the first quarter against the ranked Cougars, the Celtics pulled ahead by 11 points and maintained that lead until halftime. At one time the Celtics led by as much as 15 points. However the second half did not fare very well when the team was held to a total of eight points for the two quarters while the Cougars inched their way up to a 36-36 tie game. In the overtime period, O'Hara scored first with Hailey Houser's layup. A three-point shot by Alex Smith was a real help, and both players each hit a free throw while Hickman Mills was held to just five points. Alex Smith was the game's leader in total points with 12 and Hailey Houser had 11. ----------------------------- In the first round of the District play, the Celtics had an easy time with Ruskin winning 56-23with the game ending with a running clock. O'Hara pulled ahead by ten in the first quarter and increased the lead in each of the following quarters. The scoring was spread over all the Celtic players with Cameron Randle emerging as the game's top producer with a dozen tallies.

How O'Hara Did In STATE Wrestling

Two wrestlers represented O'Hara at the State Tournament in Class 2. At 125 lb, Travis Peter lost a close 7-5 decision in the first round to Mike King from Central Park Hills. Zach Taylor at 160 lb got past Alex Eddings from Hancock with and injury default decision to advance to the quarterfinals. Taylor avoided losing on a pin against Daniel Scherer from Saint Mary Institute/Country Day but lost in a technical fall 17-0. O'Hara as a team had four points in the State to tie them with Marshall for 39th place among the 46 schools involved.

O'HARA BOYS ARE CO-CHAMPS IN WCC

The Center Yellowjackets won the basketball game on February 20th with the O'Hara Celtics 67-54 to share in the West Central Conference Championship. In their first game, O'Hara was the victor 80-75, but this time the Celtics got off to a slow start and did not show their usual spark until the fourth quarter when they outpointed the Yellowjackets 24-15. For O'Hara, TJ White did score15 and JeVon Lyle had 11, but the rest of the team were kept from double figures. As for the Yellowjackets, the trio of Anthony Rule, Christian Williams, and Cortez Barrett combined for a total of 56 points, each scoring over 15 points each. The Co-Champs haven't seen the last of each other inasmuch as they are pitted against each other in the first round of the District 13 competition meeting on February 24th which is scheduled to be played at Center.

Lady Celtics Win WCC Championship

FOUR SENIOR LADY CELTICS HONORED AT O'HARA-SAINT PIUS GAME Seniors Patrice Jackson, Jasmyn Franks, Jackie Kruger, and Paulina Pengelley were given special attention at the basketball game between O'Hara and Saint Pius X on February 20th in which the Celtics beat the Warriors 64-28. It was their last home game. The game completed O'Hara's undefeated quest for the West Central Conference Championship and was never much in doubt. Two of the seniors made double figures with ten points apiece: Jackson and Franks. Kruger pitched in 4 and Pengelley had 2. O'Hara's top point producer was Hailey Houser with 12. The 22-6 first quarter indicated how unmatched the two teams were and the game ended with the running clock. However, one of the evening's exciting 0ccurrences was the come-from-behind win by the junior varsity. Trailing most of the entire game, the young ladies rallied in the end in grand fashion. In the fourth quarter, the Celtics were down 46-38 and then scored the next 13 points while holding the Warriors scoreless! Pressure on defense combined with steals, turnovers, and fast breaks made the difference. Top scorers for O'Hara were freshmen Kayla McGee (13) and Julia Runser (9).

12 THREE-POINTERS NOT ENOUGH TO BEAT CELTICS

The O'Hara boys basketball team defeated the Smith-Cotton Tigers 77-64 in a make-up game on February 19th but had to overcome twelve three-pointers, nine of which were scored in the first half of the game. The first 12 points scored by Smith-Cotton were on four of the three-pointers and the Celtics didn't take the lead until Joe Pepple scored to make the score 21-20 before the first quarter ended. By the end of the period, O'Hara led 27-23. Then 12 of the Tigers' next 14 points were on three-pointers boosting them to a six point advantage. Leading 39-33 going into the last two minutes of play before halftime, the Tigers saw their bubble burst. The Celtics behind the fast breaks and layups of DJ Jackson and TJ White along with a pair of Aaron Stubblefiled free throws scored the last nine points of the second period, and O'Hara was able to go into the second half ahead 42-39. The first seven points of the third quarter were O'Hara's, provided by Mark Braden and Dominique Fields. The Tigers did not handle the pressure in this quarter and managed only three buckets for 6 points while the Celtics poured in 21 points. Eventually O'Hara built up a 20 point lead when they reached 65-45. The Tigers attempted an unlikely comeback in the fourth quarter and were helped by three more three-point shots. Bryce Roher shot five treys for the Tigers while both Andrew Byrd and Evan Schnicker had three. TJ White led the Celtic in scoring with 25 points. Dominique Fields had 16 and Mark Breden had 13. This was the final home game for seniors Trevor Krasowsky and Joe Pepple. Pepple scored 9 points on a three-point shot, a layup, and four free throws.

Celtics Pull Away in Third Quarter to Beat Rams 83-62

On February 17th, The O'Hara Celtics won 83-62 in a game with the Hogan Rams. Scoring 11 of his game-high 26 points in the third quarter, Mark Braden led the O'Hara team against a talented Hogan team. At the start, the Rams looked very good getting 18 points from the sharp shooting of Dawon Cummings in the first half putting the visitors ahead by five at the half. But in the third quarter, O'Hara trailed by one point at 37-36 when Braden hit a three-pointer. Then the Celtics went on a fast-paced 9-2 splurge and stayed ahead until the end. A full court press by O'Hara was very effective with the Celtics coming up with a 24-12 third quarter and a 29-15 fourth quarter when the Rams took a variety of ill-advised shots. Giving Braden some scoring support, Aaron Stubblefield added 14 points, TJ White chipped in 10 points , and Dominique Fields had 10. DJ Jackson was 8 for 8 from the free throw line.

WRESTLING NEWS

TRAVIS PETER IS RUNNER-UP IN DISTRICT At the Class 2 District 4 wrestling tournament held at Excelsior Springs on Saturday, February 14th in which thirteen schools competed, junior Travis Peter from Archbishop O’Hara High School won the silver medal for second place in the 125 lb weight division. He advances to the State Meet on Thursday February 19th in Columbia. In his match with Caleb Titus from Oak Grove for the District Title, he avoided being pinned by going the distance, and barely avoided a technical fall by one point but lost by a majority decision 14-0. Last year he was the runner-up in the State Meet in a lighter weight class. O'Hara's Zach Taylor also qualified for State by taking 3rd place in the District Tournament. Zach also recorded the 100th victory of his career. The top four in each weight class advance to State competition. As a team, the O’Hara wrestlers were tenth with 67 team points beating out Ruskin, Saint Pius X, and Pembroke Hill. Oak Grove won the District Meet with 195.5 points and was followed by Platte County with 189 points.

Warrensburg No Match for Conference Leading Celtics

The Warrensburg Tigers were not able to keep pace with the Celtics on Friday the 13th. O'Hara won 63-31. The Celtics are undefeated in the West Central Conference and are guaranteed a share in the Conference title. Center with one Conference loss (to the Celtics) could share the title if they were to win when they host O'Hara February 20th. Never trailing in the entire game, the Celtics led by five after one quarter and increased their lead by halftime to 31-20. It was the third quarter that removed any doubt. While scoring 23-6 in the quarter, the Celtics had one run of 21 consecutive points. So evenly was the O'Hara scoring that no individual scored as many as a dozen points. The top six point-producers were Mark Braden (11), Domique Fields (10), DJ Jackson (9), TJ White (8), Aaron Stubblefield (8), and JeVon Lyle (7). With a running fourth quarter clock, O'Hara went with their bench and still outpointed the Tigers 9-5; five of the O'Hara tallies were by Trevor Krasowsky. The junior varsity team won their game too, downing the Tigers 71-46. The four who scored the most for the Celtics were Josh Rupprecht (20), Tyler Houser (10), Keenan Wilkens-Hemphill (9), and Emanuel Moore (9)

STORMS SIGNS LETTER OF INTENT TO MU

On February 4, 2009 Max Storms signed a letter of intent with the University of Missouri (Columbia) to run distance. He will join the Tiger cross country and track teams. He plans to study civil engineering at MU. He was the Missouri State Champion in Class 2 his junior year at Archbishop O'Hara High School and was 7th in Class 3 his senior year.

Lady Celtics Continue to Roll in WCC

On February 12th, the O'Hara Celtics Girls basketball team won easily 63-34 over the Tigers from Warrensburg. In the West Central Conference they are undefeated. In the initial quarter of this game, seven Celtics got into the scoring wherein they produced 18 points, six of which were on breakaway layups by Ashley Clark. They built up a 35-17 halftime score and were never seriously challenged the rest of the game. Ashley Clark, Hailey Houser, and Alex Smith reached double figures. The final score in the game played on February 10th with Notre Dame de Sion was similar, but in the visitors' favor 63-46. Anyone watching the first half when the score margin was just one point, wouldn't have expected the outcome as the O'Hara Lady Celtics lost . In the third quarter Sion stretched the lead to 46-30. Both teams scored 16 in the final quarter.

100th WIN FOR TRAVIS PETER

At the recent Lee's Summit West Wrestling Tournament, Travis Peter won his 100th victory for Archbishop O'Hara High School. Although he took second place with a 3-1 record for the day, losing the championship match in the 125 lb weight class by a 9-8 decision, he reached the 100 mark in his second bout with a pin. Zach Taylor was O'Hara's only first place winner in the Tournament winning his final match with a decision in the 160 weight class. Freshman Jake Fortin lost a decision in the 112 weight class and had to settle for a second place. Chase Scott won a decision in his last match in the 119 weight class in wrestling for third place. Trevor Gudde was sixth in his weight class with ten schools in competition.

O'HARA SCORES 102 POINTS

On February 6th, the O'Hara Celtics downed the Clinton Cardinals 102-44. In their previous meeting the score was 74-41 with Mark Braden putting in 27 points and TJ White accounting for 10 and Trevor Krasowsky hitting for 9. This time TJ White had 25 and Mark Braden had 23 with a balanced scoring from Dominique Fields, Trevor Krasowsky, DJ Jackson, Tyler Houser, and Aaron Stubblefield. Just beyond midway through the first quarter when O'Hara was up by five at 16-11, the Celtics ran up 20 unanswered points and the game became a runaway. Later in the game in the second half of the third period, the Cardinals were victims of another run of 17 unanswered points. Having reached 85 points within the first three quarters, O'Hara realized they could reach the century mark. But it would have to be done with the efforts of the bench (some of whom had just finished an 87-43 victory in the JV game) plus the handicap of a running clock due to the large point margin. And they came through with 17 points. The 100th point was reached on a basket by freshman Daniel Hurtt. Trevor Krasowski and Tyler Houser contributed several three-pointers. The final two points that went over the 100 mark were from free throws by Trevor Krasowsky and Larkin Garrison.

Both basketball teams win Conference Games

On Wednesday, February 4th, the O'Hara boys won a make-up game with Smith-Cotton 66-51 and the Lady Celtics won 52-20 over Center. In the game at Sedalia, O'Hara moved ahead by five points entering the second quarter but saw their lead dwindle to two points at the half, 35-33. Then the Celtics held the Tigers to less than ten points for each of the next two quarters as their fast brand of play was too much for the Tigers. The trio of O'Hara players that dominated in the Celtic scoring were TJ White (24), Mark Braden (20), and JeVon Lyle (16). The defense for O'Hara only allowed one Tiger to reach double figures. In the girls' game against the Center Yellowjackets, Ashley Clark was the only player on the floor to score more than ten points. The game had a slow beginning with the teams knotted at 9-9 until the Celtics pulled way ahead in the second period. Indeed, the Center squad only scored an additional 11 points the rest of the way! O'Hara had 24 points in the second quarter alone, more than the Center team had in the entire game. Alex Smith, Cameron Randle, and Ashley Clark all had three-pointers.

TRAVIS PETER WINS SEVEN BOUTS IN TAKING FIRST PLACE

Travis Peter at the Blue Springs South Tournament on January 30-31 took 1st Place with 5 decisions and 2 pins. His wins were against opponents from the following schools: Marquette: 11-4 decision, Rockhurst via Pin, Blue Springs South via Pin, Blue Valley Northwest: 4-1 decision, Platte County: 10-3 decision, Marquette again: 9-2 decision, and Holt: 5-4 decision.

St. Teresa's Falls To Celtics 63-49

O'Hara's Lady Celtics continue to win with a convincing 63-49 encounter with Saint Teresa's on Monday, February 2nd. Leading throughout the game, the Celtics were up by twelve at the half and by twenty-two by the time the fourth quarter came around. Four O'Hara players were in double figures. They were Alex Smith, Hailey Houser, Paulina Pengelley, and Jasmyn Franks.

O'HARA 80 CENTER 75

O’HARA TAKES OVER FIRST PLACE IN WCC WITH 80-75 VICTORY In a make-up game played on February 2nd, the O’Hara Celtics basketball team won a hard fought 80-75 game with the Center Yellowjackets. Both teams were vying for first place in the West Central Conference. The game was closer than the score indicates. At first the Celtics had the upper hand never trailing throughout the first quarter and ahead with a 25-19 score. 13 of O’Hara’s points in the quarter were scored by TJ White who completed the game with a total of 29 points. In the first half of the second quarter, the Celtics went up by 10 when the score reached 38-28. The apparent comfortable lead was then wiped out as the Yellowjackets rallied for the next 11 points and took a one point lead. But by halftime, the Celtics were back on top but only by 44-41. Partway into the third quarter the Yellowjackets were down 52-46 when they made another unanswered run, this time of 13 points along with their second lead of the contest. Their largest lead was eight points when they had a 62-54 advantage. When the fourth quarter began, the visitors were ahead 62-59 O’Hara began to whittle away on this score until Mark Braden’s two free throws tied up the game at 66-66 with four minutes of playing time to go. Anthony Rule, the Yellowjackets’ tall center, left the game on fouls with just over three and a half minutes remaining, and Eric Austin had to take over the inside baskets for Center. Just under three minutes, the Celtics pulled ahead 71-70 on Mark Braden’s basket, and although the game remained close to the end, the Celtics did not relinquish the slim lead. The next basket for O’Hara was scored by TJ White for a three point lead. Finally, with the clock showing 26 seconds and O’Hara on top 76-75, Greg Cason had a one-and-one opportunity but missed. Dominique Fields and TJ White on a basket and two free throws completed the evening’s scoring. Only five O’Hara players scored in the game. In addition to TJ White’s 29 points, Mark Braden had 22, Dominique Fields had 15, sophomore JeVon Lyle had 11, and Joe Pepple had 3. In the JV game preceding the varsity game, the Celtics held on to win by an even closer margin 60-58.