THREE QUALIFY FOR STATE IN CROSS COUNTRY

Although Archbishop O'Hara High School was unable to field a complete team in cross country, three runners were among the top fifteen in Class 2 District 8 at Swope Park and qualify to compete in State. _____ Jennifer Gustin was 4th and Claire Becker just made it with 15th place in the girls' competition while Andy Meyers was 9th in his race. _____ Andy Meyers' time was 18:17 and the top runner came in at 16:23. ______ Jennifer Gustin was timed at 21:04 and Claire Becker had 21:55. ______ Teamwise Saint Pius won the boys and Lawson won the girls.

O'Hara Reaches Final Four Again in Volleyball

The defending State Champion O'Hara Celtics won their first round of Sectionals 25-9 & 25-12 over the Cameron Dragons on October 30 at Archbishop O'Hara High School. ______ Then after the Saint Pius X Warriors won 25-20 & 25-15 over the Odessa Bulldogs to advance to play O'Hara, the Celtics won the Sectionals with scores of 25-12 and 25-18. _____ The State Championship games are scheduled for November 5th and 6th. _____ The other three schools making up the Final Four are Logan-Rogersville, Saint Francis Borgia, and Notre Dame Cape Girardeau.

O'HARA WINS FOOTBALL DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIP

The Archbishop O'Hara Celtics won the Class 3 District 13 Championship on October 28th by a score of 50-8 over the Central Blue Eagles. _____ After taking a six point lead in the first quarter on a 32 yard run by Raphael Spencer, the Celtics exploded for 32 points in the second quarter. _____ On the very first play of the second quarter, Jake Fortin completed a pass to Brandon Dennis for a 65 yard touchdown. ______ Raphael Spencer ran for a two-point conversion to make the score 14-0. _____ O'Hara surprised Central with an onside kick and Tony Darling recovered for O'Hara to set up a scoring drive. _____ Taking eleven plays, the Celtics upped the score to 22-0 on a 9 yard catch by Jimmy Clark and a two-point conversion catch by Raphael Spencer. _____ The Eagles drove down to the O'Hara 4 yard line before yielding the ball on owns. _____ Two long passes resulted in O'Hara's next TD, Jake Fortin completed a pass for 62 yards to Jimmy Clark and a 34 yard touchdown pass to Brandon Dennis. ____ Tanner Hull ran in a two-pointer to make the score 28-0. _____ The Celtic defense backed the Eagles from their 21 yard line to the 8 yard line to develop a punting situation. _____ However, the punt never materialized when a bad snap resulted in a two point safety, the ball going out of the endzone. _____ Before the quarter came to an end, both teams suffered fumbles, but with time running out for the first half, Jake Fortin again completed a pass to Brandon Dennis and this one covered 77 yards for O'Hara's 38th point of the game. _____ _____ The second half of the game was played with a running clock since the margin of the score was over 35. _____ Raphael Spencer broke away for a 26 yard touchdown run to end the third quarter at 44-0. _____ Both teams scored fourth quarter touchdowns, O'Hara getting theirs on a 13 yard run by Brett Coatney and Central getting eight points on a 72 yard pass play from Antonio Canaday to Trey Jensen with Richard Smith running for the two-point conversion. _____ O'Hara had 465 net yards to Central's 149. _____ Raphael Spencer gained 129 yards rushing and Brandon Dennis gained 192 yards on four pass receptions. _____ Jake Fortin completed half of his fourteen pass attempts for 262 yards and moved into the top ten O'Hara passers for a single season to 8th place with a total of 902 yards, accomplishing this feat in just nine games since the Westport game was cancelled. _____ Brandon Dennis reached a three-way tie for 11th place among the top ten pass receivers in a single season with 21 receptions. _____ In addition, with 194 yards, he surpassed the school record of 174 yards by a pass receiver in a single game set by Matt Morrison and tied the school record of scoring three touchdowns as a pass receiver in a single game. _____ Jake Fortin also tied the school record set by T. J. White for throwing four TD passes in a single game._____ The Celtics enter the post season with a 3-6 record and will host Lincoln Prep in the first game of the Sectionals on Wednesday, November 3rd. _____ In District 14, Lincoln Prep won a 36-6 game with East on Thursday.

Four Celtics to Play in Mo-Kan Volleyball Classic

Four O'Hara volleyball players have been invited to be among the twelve Missouri seniors in the November 14th annual MO-KAN game scheduled to be played at Avila University. _____ They are Tori Hurtt, Lindsey Hanaway, Michala Boehm, and Janell Jordan.

O'HARA WINS VOLLEYBALL DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIP

The Archbishop O'Hara High School Celtics volleyball team won the Class 3A District 13 Championship by outscoring the Pembroke Hill Raiders 25-13 and 25-18 on Octbober 27th at Center High. _____ Impressive kills by Tori Hurtt, Janell Jordan , and Michala Boehm along with precise setups by Lindsey Hanaway were more than the Raiders could handle. ______ Saving digs by Annie Mahlberg, Tricia Wankum, and Madison Clark added to Pembroke Hill's frustration. _____ In the first game, the Raiders looked confident when they pulled ahead 4-1 but that did not last long. ______ The Celtics tied the score at 5-5 and never again were behind the rest of the evening. _____ Although the Celtics led throughout the second game, the Raiders did have a glimmer of hope when they were only down by four at 21-17, but that was as close as they were to get. ______ O'Hara's 25th point was an ace served by Lindsey Hanaway. _____ Selected to the All-District First Team were Madison Clark, Michala Boehm, Lindsey Hanaway, and Tori Hurtt. _____ Making the Second Team All-District were Tricia Wankum, Janell Jordan, and Annie Mahlberg. _____ O'Hara is hosting the Sectional Tournament on Saturday, October 30th and will play Cameron at 3:00 PM. ______ The Sectional Finals is scheduled for 5:30 PM.

O'HARA SQUEAKS BY CENTER IN SOCCER GAME

In a rather long but dramatic soccer game, the O'Hara Celtics got by Center with the result coming from Anthony Scasseletti's penalty goal after the two teams had tied 1-1 following two 40 minute halves and two 10 minute overtimes. _____ In the shootout, both teams matched kicks for a 7-7 standoff until Scasseletti's decider. _____ The Celtics ended their regular season 4-13-1 going into their first District game on November 2nd against Kansas City Lutheran at Barstow. ____ Julian Gidley had O'Hara's lone goal in regulation time.

O'Hara in District Volleyball

The Archbishop O'Hara High School defending State Champions in 3-A Missouri volleyball plays Pembroke Hill on October 27 for the District 13 Championship at the Center High gym at 5:30 PM. _____ O'Hara advanced to the finals with a 25-0 and 25-3 win over Cristo Rey while Pembroke Hill reached the finals by downing Lincoln Prep 25-8 and 25-5. _____ Prior to these contests, Cristo Rey had eliminated Center 22-25, 25-16, and 25-13 and Lincoln Prep was victorious over Central 25-10 and 25-17.

YOUNG CELTICS ARE SPEECH WINNERS

In the Park Hill South Novice Speech/Debate Tournament, every participating Celtic advanced to semifinals or finals! _____ There were 22 schools in the event. _____ In Duet Acting, Beth Vernon and Andy Vernon reached Third Place. _____ Fourth Place in the same event was earned by the team of Hailey Jordan and Kierra Jackson. _____ Beth Vernon also took a Fifth Place in Poetry Interpretation. _____ Semifinals were reached by Hailey Jordan in Poetry Interpretation and by Cynthia Ononye in Prose Interpretation. _____ Taking a Quarter Finals Trophy were the public forum debate team of Cydnee Reese and Jayla Smith who won all four of their preliminary rounds.

Cross Country: Six Celtics Win Medals

On October 23rd, six cross country runners from Archbishop O'Hara competed in the Saint Mary's Invitional and all six finished high enough to earn medals in their races. _____ Jennifer Gustin and Claire Becker led the way with medals for first and second places; the two runners' times were within one second of each other. _____ Andy Meyer was the best of the O'Hara runners in the boys competition with a fourth place. _____ Although well down the competitive line, medals were given for 21st place to Mackenzie Shelton, 27th place to Dakota Defreece, and 35th place to Alex Wagner. ______ Eight schools were represented with Holden winning both the boys and girls. ______Fifty-nine boys competed while thirty-six girls were in the running.

CELTICS SEEDED #1 IN DISTRICT 13 VOLLEYBALL

The defending State Champions in Class 3 Missouri volleyball, the Celtics of O'Hara, were seeded Number 1 in District 13 and had a bye for the first round. ______ Pembroke Hill, seeded Number 2, also started with a bye. ______ On October 25, Center (seeded 4) lost to Cristo Rey (seeded 5) so Cristo Rey plays O'Hara on October 26 at 5 PM. ______ Meanwhile in the other bracket Lincoln Prep (seeded 3) beat Central (seeded 6) and will face Prembroke Hill. _____ The District Championship is scheduled for 5:30 PM on October 27 at the Center High School gym.

O'Hara To Play Central for District Football Championship

The Archbishop O'Hara High School Celtic football team will play the Central Blue Eagles on a Thursday Evening game October 28th. _____ Having already won a 48-28 game with the Pembroke Hill Raiders and with Westport dropped from competition, the Celtics' game with Central will likely end with O'Hara on top in their District. _____ Pembroke Hill was the victor of a shutout over Central on Friday, October 22.

O'HARA UNDEFEATED IN WCC VOLLEYBALL

October 21st was senior night for the Archbishop O'Hara High School volleyball team as the Celtics completed their West Central Conference games undefeated, downing the Clinton Cardinals 25-7 and 25-10. _____ Five seniors playing in their season's final home game who were honored with the their parents were Tori Hurtt, Michala Boehm, Lindsey Hanaway, Janell Jordan, and Emily Tyler. _____ In the first game, the Celtics built up a 9-0 lead and coasted to an easy win. _____ After an early 3-3 tie, they widened the margin of the second game at a leisurely pace. ______ District games are scheduled for October 26 and 27 to be played at Center High School.

Two O'Hara Cross Country Runners Selected to All-Conference Team

By placing 6th and 8th in the West Central Conference Championship on October 19th, Jennifer Gustin and Claire Becker were named to the Second Team All-Conference. _____ Three runners on the boys varsity team registered their best running times: Andy Meyer (17:48, 12th place), Dakota Defreece (19:54, 26th place) and Alex Wagner (20:38, 28th place). _____ Also competing in the Meet were Amy Gaston (23rd) and Mackenzie Shelton (27th).

TWO MEDAL WINNERS IN SPEECH

At the Lee's Summit Varsity Speech Tournament on October 16th with seventeen schools competing, the Archbishop O'Hara High School Speech/Forensics Team had two medalists. _____ Johanna Kelly was 4th in Original Oratory and Brianna Wright was 5th in Storytelling. _____ Beth Vernon came close advancing to the semifinals in Poetry. _____ Also receiving some superior ballots were Kierra Jackson and Cynthia Ononye in their individual competitions.

O'Hara Wins First District Football Game 48-28

Six touchdowns (one for 53 yards in the fourth quarter) by Raphael Spencer was too much for Pembroke Hill as they lost to the O'Hara Celtics 48-28 on October 15th in the first round of District football games. _____ O'Hara's next District opponent was to be Westport but the game was cancelled after the school closed its doors this past summer. _____ The Celtics play on the following Thursday against Central. _____ _____A pass from Jake Fortin to Brandon Dennis for a 6 yard TD in the first quarter gave O'Hara an early lead; the Celtics covered 68 yards in ten plays for the only points scored in the first period. _____ A 32 yard pass from Jacob Gershon to David Kipke four minutes into the second quarter put the Raiders on the board, but David Kipke's extra point kick failed and the Celtics had a slim 7-6 lead. _____ Julian Gidley's extra point kick made the difference and he would continue to be successful in all but one of the remaining extra points of the game. _____ Two touchdowns were scored on runs of 15 yards and 8 yards by Raphael Spencer before halftime at which time the score became 21-6. _____ The Raiders were able to tie up the score at 21-21 at the beginning of the third quarter with two TD's, one was a 7 yard run by Marquelle Smith and the other a 3 yard pass from Gershon to Kipke. _____ Following this first touchdown Marquelle Smith ran in a two-point conversion and Kipke kicked the extra point after the second one. ______ Spencer went back to work to break the tie scoring on a 47 yard run before the third quarter was over, and adding an 18 yard TD run at the start of the fourth quarter. _____ Pembroke Hill narrowed the margin to 35-28 on a short 4 yard touchdown run by Dylen Sen, but that wes the end of the Raiders' scoring. _____ Spencer was in the endzone twice more on runs of 53 yards and 4 yards beore the game came to an end. _____ _____ Spencer was again among the area's rushing leaders with 294 yards to go with his six touchdowns. _____ O'HARA SCHOOL TOP TEN: Raphael Spencer has a career total of 2938 yards and is now in second place to Matt Patterson who hold the school record of 5396 yard. ______ Spencer is also second in career scoring with 301 with Patterson holding the #1 spot with 346. _____ Junior Julian Gidley is now tied with Shawn Geraghty for 6th place in most career extra points made with a total of 48.

TWO VOLLEYBALL WINS FOR CELTICS

On October 12th, the Archbishop O'Hara High School volleyball team were victorious when they hosted and won over the Shawnee Mission East Lancers 25-15 and 25-18. _____ On the following day, after taking the first match 25-6 with Center, the Celtics shut out the Yellowjackets 25-0 with Michala Boehm serving for all the O'Hara points.

Four Celtics Names to All-Conference Softball Team

Andi Davis and Kellie Bachkora were name to the First Team All West Central Conference as infielders. _____ Named to the Second Team were Allison Seck as a utility player and Natalie Berigan as an outfielder.

TWO CELTICS EARN SPEECH MEDALS

Archbishop O'Hara High School competed with eighteen schools at the Blue Springs High School Varsity Speech Tournament and had two medalists. _____ In Original Oratory Speaking Johanna Kelly took 6th place and in Storytelling Kayla McDowell also placed 6th. _____ Paige Bush did win some superior ballots while Cynthia Ononye and Beth Vernon just missed advancing to the semifinals.

Cross Country Results at Clinton

Coach Mike Martin reported the following five cross country runners and their places in the races they were in: Jennifer Gustin 4th, Blake Hudon 14th, Andy Meyer 15th, Amy Gaston 26th, and Alex Wagner 54th. For Wagner, his time was his personal best. The competition was at Artesian Park in Clinton.

CENTER TOPS O'HARA 49-32 IN HOMECOMING FOOTBALL CONTEST

In a wild scoring game between the O'Hara Celtics and the Center Yellowjackets, Center won 49-32. _____ It was Center's Homecoming game and insured a Co-Championship in the West Central Conference with Warrensburg, both teams with 4-1 records. _____ The Yellowjackets scored on a 12 yard pass play from Harold Mabin to Oren Lee. ______ After the Celtics moved the ball to midfield where they had to punt, the Yellowjackets moved the score to 14-0 on a 65 yard pass by Mabin and Lee. ______ For the remainder of the game, this margin of two touchdowns was maintained as each team would score five apiece. ______ On O'Hara's next possession, Ronnie Jackson punted to Center's 11 yard line. _____ However a penalty against O'Hara called for a rekick and instead of punting again, the Celtics sprung Raphael Spencer free around left end for a 36 yard TD run. _____ Before the first quarter ended, Alexander Taylor ran for a 35 yard TD to start the second quarter 21-7. _____ O'Hara mounted a drive from their own 26 yard line to eventually score on an 8 yard run by Raphael Spencer. _____ In the drive Jake Fortin completed passes to Brandon Dennis for 9 yards, to D. J. Griffin for 15 yards, and to Jimmy Clark for 9 yards; Fortin also scrambled for 14 yards to keep the drive alive. _____ A 40 yard touchdown pass from Mabin to Evan Hancock increased the Yellowjackets' lead to 28-14, and during the Celtics' next drive, a fumble recovery by Ronnie Hill set up another Center score. _____ Again it was Mabin to Lee, this time covering 36 yards and providing the Homecoming team with a 35-14 halftime advantage. _____ In the third quarter, Center was on the board first with a Mabin to Lee 15 yard pass and a large 42-14 score. _____ O'Hara got some points back when Jake Fortin completed a pass to Brandon Dennis in a TD play that consumed 41 yards. _____ Before the third quarter came to a close, the Celtics stopped the Yellowjackets at midfield where the ball was given up on downs. _____ The Celtics marched down for a touchdown at the first part of the fourth quarter with Raphael Spencer taking it in from 16 yards out to bring the score to 42-26. _____ Center's final touchdown was after a 15 yard run by Hector Arrebota brought the ball to the goal line and fumbled and recovered by Jay Carter in the end zone. _____ With five minues remaining in the game, O'Hara scored its final touchdown on a 10 yard run by Raphael Spencer. _____ Kilvert Martinez was successful on all seven of his extra points for the Yellowjackets while Julian Gidley made two, had two blocked, and the Celtics failed in their two-point attempt. _____ Center built up a 35-14 halftime score, but the Celtics outpointed the Yellowjackets 18-14 during the second half of the game. ______ Both teams had over 425 total net yards but O'Hara had 22 first downs to Center's 18. _____ Raphael Spencer gained 186 yards on 22 carries for an 8.5 yard average per run. _____ Jake Fortin completed half of his 16 pass attempts for 215 yards. _____D. J. Griffin caught six passes for 68 yards and Brandon Dennis caught four for 65 yards. _____ Raphael Spencer's four touchdowns boosted his total for the year to eleven and he has scored 74 of O'Hara's total 146 points this season. _____ He is third in O'Hara's school record in career rushing with 2,644 yards (J. R. Brown 1980-1982 is presently in second place with 2,805 yards). _____ Julian Gidley's two extra point conversions places him in 9th place with 42 (John Cosentino 1981-1983 is presently in 8th place with 43).

O'Hara Plays Top Ranked Team in Nation

The Archbishop O'Hara High School Celtics volleyball team were matched with Saint James ranked tops in the Nation on October5th. ______ Saint James won 25-15 and 25-18 in the competitive contest.

GUSTON WINS IN ST PAUL CC INVITATIONAL

Coach Mike Martin extended his congratulations to freshman Jennifer Gustin on winning her cross country race at the Saint Paul Invitational at the beginning of October. _____ Other medalists at the meet included Claire Becker, Amy Gaston, and McKenzie Shelton. _____ In the boys division, Blake Hudon had a third place finish. _____ Others who won medals were Dakota Defreece, Ronald Clark, and Alex Wagner.

Celtics Football Undefeated in October

Winning for the first time in six games of the 2010 football season 42-30 on October 1st, the Archbishop O'Hara High School football team started off the month on a good note. _____ Here are some impressive items. _____ In the game with University Academy, the Celtics had to rally from a two touchdown deficit when they were held scoreless throughout the entire first quarter. ______ Only the spectacular 90 yard run by Raphael Spencer contributed to the scoring in the second quarter. ______ The Griffins led through the entire first half of the game. _____ O'Hara's 42 points in the game was the most the Celtics scored in any of their games; the previous high was 26 against Grandview which was an overtime game. _____ O'Hara had 425 total yards to UA's 270. _____ O'Hara had 16 first downs to UA's 18. _____ O'Hara had only one completed pass in four attempts, but it was a TD pass. _____ Three of O'Hara's five quarterback sacks came via Raphael Spencer ( the other two were by Ronnie Jackson & the duo of Jorge Belcher with Jake Chichuk). _____ O'Hara punted once in the game and it was a short 14 yarder. _____ O'Hara had one interception and it was by D, J. Griffin who returned the ball 23 yards. _____ Boosted by their 21 third quarter points, the Celtics have outpointed their opponents 37-12; it is the only quarter in which O'Hara bested their opposition. _____ Raphael Spencer has scored 8 touchdowns for the Celtics along with a two-point conversion to lead in the individual scoring with 50 points; four of his touchdowns came in the game with University Academy. _____ CAREER SCHOOL RECORDS: Raphael Spencer is 3rd in rushing with 2,458 yards and is 2nd in total points scored with 241. _____ Julian Gidley is 9th in most extra points made by kicking with 40. _____ WEST CENTRAL CONFERECNCE : Tied for first place with 3-1 records are Center, Saint Pius X, and Warrensburg. _____ Smith-Cotton (3-2) and Clinton (1-4) have completed their Conference games. _____ The only remaining Conference games are Center vs O'Hara and Warrensburg vs Saint Pius X. _____ If Center wins their game, they will be Co-Champs with the winner of the other game. ______ If Center loses to O'Hara, the winner of the Warrensburg-Saint Pius game will be Champs.

O'HARA WINS HOMECOMING FOOTBALL GAME 42-30

A 90 yard touchdown run from scrimmage highlighted the O'Hara Homecoming victory 42-30 on October 1st. _____ And the run was by Raphael Spencer who, at halftime, was announced as the Homecoming King along with Homecoming Queen Alex Moran. _____ The first quarter belonged to the University Academy Griffins as the Celtics were shut out 12-0. _____ Quarterback Dimonic McKinzy scrambled for a 10 yard TD and D'montai Clarkson ran for a 5 yard score while the Celtics waited for the second quarter to score their first points. _____ Raphael's 90 yarder was the only touchdown scored within the second quarter. _____ Julian Gidley's first of six conversions made the score 12-7 at the half. _____ The Celtics' offense woke up to three third quarter touchdowns while yielding one to the Griffins. _____ Jake Fortin passed 44 yards to Brandon Dennis to put O'Hara ahead for the first time 14-12. _____ Raphael Spencer scored on a 30 yard run to extend the Celtic lead to 21-12. _____ Dimonic McKinzy's 29 yard pass to Brandon Bowden narrowed the score to 21-18, but Raphael Spencer answered with a 3 yard TD run to bring the end of the third quarter to a ten point margin 28-18. ______ Both squads scored twice in the fourth quarter, but as in the earlier scoring, O'Hara was successful on all of their kicked extra points while the Griffins failed in each of their attempts. _____ The Griffins got their two TD's of the fourth quarter on passes, first to Bryson Winfrey for 10 yards and then to Kalib Gilmore for a lengthy 58 yard gain. _____ The Celtics' scores of the final quarter were on a 38 yard run by Brett Coatney and a 13 yard run by Raphael Spencer. _____ The win for O'Hara was their first of the season. _____ Raphael Spencer gained over 240 yards rushing in the game which was among the top five reported in the Kansas City area.