By Henry W.
The Chapel Field Lions beat the Family Falcons 55-33 in Section IX playoffs, held at The Family Foundation School on March 3, 2009.
Both teams played short on players due to suspensions. The Falcons lost five players in the two weeks prior to the game and the Lions lost two of their starters for the game. The Falcons played the game with six players, leaving almost no time to rest.
Even so, the game was tied at 13 all after the first quarter. Then the Lions broke free, racing to a 33-18 lead over the tiring Falcons at the half.
At the end of the third quarter, the Lions, backed by guard Danny Menendez with nine points, extended their lead to 49-24.
The Falcons continued to fight hard despite the score, and despite their obvious fatigue. Falcons’ guard John A. was the leading scorer of the night. John had seven points in the fourth quarter and led his team with 13 for the night.
“I was disappointed with the loss, but the game showed that we could play together,” stated John. “It didn’t matter whether we won or we lost. We learned how to be committed to a team, gain friendships, and apply principles to the game of basketball.”
The season ended for the Falcons that night, they lost eight players throughout the season, most of whom started at one point or another during their 20 regular season games.
Though there was a sense of letdown, Falcons’ guard Pat C. expressed “I feel it was a good season, it was up and down, but by the end of the season it showed who was really committed to playing on the team.”
