O'HARA IS SECOND IN THE WILLIAM JEWELL HOLIDAY CLASSIC

In the Cardinal Division of the 31st annual BANK MIDWEST/WILLIAM JEWELL HOLIDAY BASKETBALL CLASSIC, on December 30th, the Archbishop O'Hara High School Celtics won the second place trophy to the Kickapoo Chiefs 71-64. _______ The Chiefs are without a loss in eleven games while the Celtics moved to 8-1 for the season. _____ Except for a run of ten unanswered points by the Chiefs at the start of the third quarter, the two teams matched quite well. ______ Two O'Hara players made the All Tournament Team: DJ Jackson and Jevon Lyle. ______ For the victorious Chiefs, Ryan Rippee was named the most valuable player and Tyler Hall made the All Tournament Team. _____ O'Hara had a four point lead within the first quarter of play but Kickapoo moved to within one point by the end of the period when the score was 18-17. _____ The second quarter wasn't much different ending in a 32-32 tie. _____ In the deciding third quarter, the Chiefs outscored the Celtics 18-11 after which both teams poured in 21 points apiece in the fourth quarter. ______ With 18 seconds remaining in the game, O'Hara was down by five 69-62 but couldn't come up with a miraculous finish. _____ Four Celtics reached double figures. _______ DJ Jackson had 26, Daniel Hurtt had 13, and both Jevon Lyle and Josh Rupprecht had 10. _______ ________ ________ _______ On December 29, the Celtics won their semifinal game 47-46 with the Park Hill South Panthers taking the loss. ______ Daniel Hurtt got the winning basket with ten seconds on the clock. _____ Just before the deciding two-pointer, Jevon Lyle made a steal and layup to bring O'Hara to within one point. _____ Christain Hildebrandt who led all scorers with 16, attempted a shot from three point range for the Panthers but was unable to score. _____ The only other double figures player for the Panthers was Rocky Benson who had 13. _____ At the end of each quarter of the game the two teams either were tied or had only two points of separation. ______ In the first quarter, the Celtics led by five at 7-2 until the Panthers caught up to tie it at 11-11. _____ Again in the second quarter O'Hara went up by five at 19-14 only to have the Panthers rally to within two for 23-21 at halftime. _____ In the third quarter, the Celtics owned a seven point advantage at 26-21 and the Panthers clawed back to tie the game at 35-35. _____ Near the end of the contest the Panthers finally managed to go ahead 44-43 and then increase the score to 46-43 after which Lyle and Hurtt stepped up to win the game. _____ The Panthers never had more than a three point lead in the entire game. _____ Daniel Hurtt and DJ Jackson led the O'Hara scorers with 13 apiece in the low scoring game while Jevon Lyle added ten points. _____ ______ ______ ______ On December 28, the Celtics handed the Kearney Bulldogs a 61-49 set back to advance to the semifinals. _____ The Celtics built up a six point lead in the first quarter with Jevon Lyle pouring in a dozen points, nine of which were three-pointers. _____ He led the O'Hara attack for the evening with a total of 16 points. _____ DJ Jackson finished the day with 15 points; all but two points came in the second half of the game. _____ Josh Rupprecht added 14 points, eight of which materialized in the third quarter.

Raphael Spencer All-Metro Honors

With the Archbishop O'Hara football team reaching the quarterfinals in State competition, running back Raphael Spencer made the All-Metro Offensive Second Team for 2010. ______ With 372 career points, he is O'Hara's all time top scorer! _____ He scored 180 points in each of his senior and junior years which are also school records for individual seasons. _____ His 3,642 yards gained placed him second in total career yards. ____ In 2010 he gained 2001 yards for second place for a single season and in 2009 he had 2454 yards for sixth place. _____ As a versitle player, he also stepped in as a quarterback, kickoff returner, defensive back, and pass receiver when the occasions arose.

VICTORIA HURTT ALL-METRO FIRST TEAM VOLLEYBALL

Tory Hurtt who played on the Archbishop O'Hara State Champion volleyball team for the past four years was selected to the FIRST TEAM ALL-METRO. _____ Her 129 blocks and 488 kills as a middle hitter this season gave her a .455 hitting efficiency. _____ Teammates Lindsey Hanaway and Michala Boehm were given Honorable Mention recognition for All-Metro. ______ Victoria plans to attend Iowa State next year.

O'Hara Celtics 75 Warrensburg Tigers 62

On December 21 The O'Hara boys won 75-62 and the O'Hara girls won 42-34 at Warrensburg. _____ In the boys varsity game,three Celtics scored 20 points apiece, Kyle Baker, Josh Ruprecht, and DJ Jackson. _____ With uncanny accuracy six of Baker's shots were three-pointers. _____ The Tigers owned a brief one point lead in the first quarter 9-8 which but it was immediately followed by a 12-2 run by the Celtics. _____ The height advantage of the Celtics was evident inasmuch as nearly half of the Tigers' points materialized from ten three-point shots. _____ O'Hara stretched their lead to 42-26 at the half pouring in 26 points in the second quarter. _____ Daniel Hurtt added 12 points, all in the first half. ______ For Warrensburg, Dakota Jones finished the day with 13 points followed by Clint Smith with 12. _____ _____In the girls varsity game, the Celtics built up a 39-24 advantage in three quarters and then let up in the fourth.______ O'Hara's Lindsey Hanaway pumped in four three-pointers and led in the scoring with a total of 16 points. _____ Cydnee Reese was the only other player in the game in double figures with 12 for the Celtics.

O'HARA ACADEMIC KNOWLEDGE BOWL VARSITY

Invited to represent Archbishop O'Hara High School in the Academic Knowledge Bowl for the West Central Conference varsity squad are the members from last year's District Team which tied for third place. _____ They are Josh Bonello, Andy Meyer, Kierra Jackson, and Jake Fortin._______ Bonello, Meyer, and Jackson were also three players who were on the West Central Conference Championship Team in March 2010. _____ The fourth member of the Cenference Championship team was Mike Berney who graduated in the Spring. ______ Fortin was a member of the Second Place JV team last year. _____ For this year's JV competition seven students are being invited to try out. _____ They are in alphabetical order Claire Banderas, Jeff Best, James Bradish, James Campo, Maddie Champion, Alex Coutree, and Tony Darling. ______ A freshman team will evolve after January 4th. _____ The O'Hara freshman teams have not been defeated in the last nine years in the West Central Conference even though each year a new squad has to be formed. _____ The last O'Hara freshman team that did not reach first place was in 2001 when Kearney (then a member of the Conference)won first place with Warrensburg second, O'Hara third, and Smith-Cotton fourth. _____ On the varsity level, in addition to last year, O'Hara won the Conference in 2008 and in 2005. ______ This schoolyear the West Central Conference competition will either be on March 12th as orginally schedul3d or possibly moved up a week to March 5th to avoid a conflict with Spring breaks.

Celtics get Past Cardinals by Twenty 91-71

In a game that had been postponed from an earlier date when the weather threatened, the Archbishop O'Hara High School basketball team was a 91-71 winner over the Clinton Cardinals on December 20th. _____ For the victorious Celtics, DJ Jackson poured in 39 points, 17 in the first quarter and 16 in the third quarter. _______ The Cardinals trailed throughout the contest coming only as close as five points early in the third frame at 44-39, but the Celtics put in the next dozen points and remained in command the remainder of the game. _____ Josh Ruprecht helped the O'Hara cause with nine points in the first quarter and completed the day with 21 points. _____ Daniel Hurtt was the only other O'Hara player in double figures with 11.

CHASE SCOTT TAKES FIFTH PLACE IN WRESTLING TOURNAMENT

Four wrestlers from O'Hara competed at the 16 team Raytown South Tournament with Chase Scott reaching fifth place in his weight class. _____ He hade five wins in the two day competition, four with pins and one by a technical fall. _______ Two wrestlers won single matches with pins: Danijo Adams and Jeremy Ambrose. ______ Miles Womack also won a match on a decision.

Lady Celtics Unable to Catch Up In Hy-Vee Play

For three of the four quarters that the O'Hara Lady Celtics played against Miege in the Hy-Vee Shootout, the squad was able to keep pace in O'Hara loss 49-30. ______ However those quarters came after the young squad fell well behind 15-4 in the first quarter. _____ Senior Lindsey Hanaway had three three-pointers for her nine points and freshman Amanda Hull led the Celtics in scoring with ten points.

O'HARA SEEDED THIRD IN HOLIDAY CLASSIC

Participating in the Cardinal Bracket of the Bank Midwest Holiday Basketball Classic at William Jewell, the O'Hara Celtics will face the Kearney Bulldogs on December 28th at 9 PM. _____ O'Hara is seeded #3. _____ The winner between the Park Hill South Panthers (seeded #2) and the Central Blue Eagles will play the winner of the O'Hara-Kearney game on the 29th at 1:30 PM. _____ The Championship game is scheduled for the 30th at 7:30 PM with the surviver of the four teams of the other bracket. _____ Those teams are the Kickapoo Chiefs (seeded #1), the Blue Springs South Jaguars (seeded #4), the Saint Joseph Central Indians, and the Pleasant Hill Roosters.

Celtics Rally over Saints for 62-53 Win

At the Hy-Vee Shootout on December 16th, the Archbishop O'Hara High School boys varsity basketball team came from behind to win by nine points playing the Saint Thomas Aquinas Saints 62-53. _____ The win kept the O'Hara team undefeated but for the first time this season they trailed for three quarters before surging ahead with a 24-11 fourth quarter. _____ Three O'Hara athletes reached double figures accounting for all but nine of the Celtics' points. _____ DJ Jackson scored 19 while both Daniel Hurtt and Jevon Lyle had 17 apiece. ______ O'Hara was behind by two points going into the second quarter of play and found themselves down by five halfway through the game. ______ At one time the Saints led by eight when the score was 38-30. ______ During the fourth quarter when the Celtics finally took the lead, the Saints had two technical fouls called that helped spread the point advantage at a critical time of the contest.

LADY CELTICS WIN A CONFERENCE BASKETBALL GAME

The Archbishop O'Hara High School Lady Celtics won 58-36 in their West Central Conference game with the Clinton Cardinals on December 15th. ______ Using a strong defense in the initial quarter, the Celtics jumped to a 22-6 advantage and coasted to a victory in which nine O'Hara players added to the total score. ______ Top point producers were Amanda Hull who had 15 and Lindsey Hanaway with 11.

O'Hara is Too Fast for Smith-Cotton

The O'Hara High School boys varsity basketball team used their speed and skillful ballhandling to register a 68-35 win on December 13th against the Sedalia Smith-Cotton Tigers. _____ The Celtics led the entire game although a three-pointer at the buzzer ending the first quarter by Spencer White kept the game close at that time 16-13. _____ Jevon Lyle scored seven of his 23 game points in that period. ______ DJ Jackson added ten points in the second quarter as the Celtics took a halftime advantage at 32-23. ______ The third quarter left no doubt about the direction the game was heading as the Tigers were outscored 25-11. _____ Jevon Lyle poured in fourteen more points as the Celtics capitalized on steals and layups. ______ In addition to Lyle's and Jackson's dominance in the O'Hara scoring, Daniel Hurtt had eleven points most of which was under the basket. _____ The Celtic defense was so strong during the fourth quarter with the running clock that the Tigers were held to just one free throw during that period!

JAYEL GANT TAKES FIRST PLACE IN SPEECH

O'Hara freshman Jayel Gant won FIRST PLACE in Poetry Interpretation at the Raytown High School Speech Tournament on Saturday, December 11th. ______ The competition at the tournament was from twenty participating schools with over 500 contestants. _____ O'Hara students earning some excellent ballots were Austin Stockard, Kierra Jackson, Nalley Saavedra, Hailey Jordan, and Cynthia Ononye. _____ Among the debate teams, the team of Austin Yancy & Natalie Berigan won three rounds, and the team of Payton Hannahs & James Campo won one round.

Lady Celtics in Kickapoo Invitational

The Archbishop O'Hara High School girls varsity basketball team took on the Kickapoo Chiefs in the Kickapoo Invitational with a round robin game losing 67-34 on December 9th. ______ Top scorers for the Lady Celtics were Cydnee Reese and Amanda Hull, both of whom missed double figures by two points. _____ On Friday O'Hara lost to the Rogers Mounties 61-27 and Kickapoo beat the Purdy Eagles 49-42. _____ Rogers went on to win the tournament by defeating Kickapoo 59-54. _____ On Saturday O'Hara got 6 points by Cydnee Reese, 5 points from both MaKenzie Magwire and Madison Clark, and 4 points from Amanda Hull and Alex Fennessy losing 61-24 to the Purdy Eagles.

CLINTON JV TEAMS NO MATCH FOR CELTICS

On December 8th, the girls and boys junior varsity teams from Clinton and O'Hara played in the Celtic gym and the Celtics were winners 49-24 in the girls' contest and 74-28 in the boys' game. _____ After pulling ahead 32-16 in three quarters the Lady Celtics outpointed the Lady Cardinals 17-8 in the final quarter. _____ In the boys' conflict, O'Hara sped to a 20-2 lead and reached 27-6 by the end of the quarter. _____ The Celtics had 50 points by the half holding the Cardinals to just 10 points. _____ Ray McDonald, one of O'Hara's shorter ballplayers, scored constantly, often on layups, and was the game's top scorer with 26 points. _____ Amere Taylor and Brandon Dennis also were in double figures and the entire O'Hara bench had a lot of playing time.

Celtics Top Raiders 93-61

Led by Josh Ruprect's 30 points, the Archbishop O'Hara High School boys basketball team dealt the Pembroke Hill Raiders a 93-61 loss on December 7th at O'Hara. _____ The Celtics jumped to a 15-6 first quarter advantage but the Raiders caught fire scoring the next ten points to emerge ahead 16-15 heading into the second period. _____ Ruprecht dominated the scoring in the following two quarters putting in 12 in the second and 9 in the third as O'Hara took control the remainder of the way. _____ In the second quarter alone, the Celtics poured in 34 points and then added 30 more in the third quarter. ______ The Celtics could have reached the century mark but the game ended with a running clock holding the fourth quarter scoring down. _____ While Charley Doering with 17 points and Ben Keeton with 13 points led the Raiders, the Celtics got 16 from DJ Jackson and 14 from sophomore Kyle Baker. _____Baker connected on four three-pointers in the game. _____ Daniel Hurtt had 10 points and Jevon Lyle had 8 wherein Hurtt contributed under the basket while Lyle dazzled the crowd with layups. _____ Prior to the varsity game, the fast-paced JV team from O'Hara won an 81-49 game that also ended with a running clock.

FRESHMEN BASKETBALL EDGED BY SMITHVILLE

The O'Hara freshman boys basketball team lost a close game to Smithville 45-42 after a magnificent first quarter wherein the Celtics led by nine 15-6 and at the half by six 31-25. _____ The team began the fourth quarter three points ahead until finally the Warriors inched into the lead. _____ O'Hara had four three-pointers in the first quarter and three in the second ending the day with a total of eight. _____ Alex Wagner connected on four of them and Alex Higinbotham had two. _____ Michael Words and Montel Caruthers had the remaining two. _____ A three-point attempt was made at the final buzzer by Montel Caruthers to try to tie the game but it missed. ______ Prior to the game, the O'Hara freshman girls basketball team with only eight players lost by ten 42-32.