JV Football- Grant Saylor, Staff Writer
As the season comes to an end, JV football ends their season with a record of 1-6. The team faced adversity toward the end of the season with starting freshman quarterback Kyler Hamlin and star player Moses Amobi both out with injuries.
The team faced Walter Johnson in their final game. Sophomore Erich Mayne got the opportunity start at quarterback. Mayne is normally tight end but due to Hamlin’s injury he stepped up to the task.
The game started off slow with a scoreless first 10 minutes. WJ had a late interception in the first quarter, which shifted the momentum of the game. WJ scored another quick touchdown to put them up 14-0. The game was over at that point. WJ was scoring at will. Everything seemed to work for them and they ended up shutting out the Patriots 26-0.
The immediate backup was supposed to be Moses but due to an injury during practice he was unable to play.”I was really upset when they told me I couldn’t play, I love playing in the games they’re so fun no matter what position I play,” Amobi said.
One of the team’s best players, freshman Matty Koplan, was out half of the season with a back injury but came back on varsity the night before and then caught action on JV. “Playing varsity was one of the coolest feelings. JV is a lot of fun though because I know all of the players rather than half on varsity,” Koplan said.
Some of the varsity players began to notice the lack of starters playing. “I noticed that the team didn’t look as sharp as they were before, it seemed like everyone was in a different page rather than being in sync,” senior Jake Rosenblatt said.
Head coach Aaron Krotman sees hope in the team.”I think the team was much better than our record. The injuries began to pile up and the already smaller team was depleted. The boys gave it all they had and as a coach there is nothing more I can ask for,”Krotman said.
This is Krotman’s first season as the JV head coach.”I learned a lot this year and I hope next year I can use those experiences as a learning lesson as a coach,” he said
JV is a special time for a lot of the players. “The times I’ve shared with some of these guys are experiences I‘ll never forget. Listening to music in the locker room before the games is one of my favorite things about the team,” freshman Keon Gary said.
The team’s future appears bright as many of the JV players hope to stay and progress on JV next year.
JV Ice Hockey- Jonnie Voyta, News Editor
After coming off an undefeated regular season last year and losing in the state finals to Blair, the team hopes to be more successful than last season.
Their new team is made up of mostly freshmen after losing stars to varsity. With the loss of their star goalie Seamus Graham and their leading goal scorer Eric Quam who are each now juniors, new players have to step up and fill their roles. Freshman goalies Riley Jordan and Sean Raynor hope to follow in the footsteps of Graham and lead their team to back to the state finals. “This year I want to make it back and win states,” sophomore Graham Blondes said.
On Oct. 25 the JV hockey team headed to the Rockville Ice Arena to face off against the Whitman Vikings. The game started off quickly with a shot by Whitman that looked like they might start off with their first goal of the season, but then a great save was made by Raynor, who trapped the puck with his glove. The game went back and forth first in the period with shots flying but nothing was going by these goalies. Then, with six minutes left in the first period, freshman forward Brett Strauss had the first goal of their season to start off with a 1-0 lead against Whitman. “It was a great feeling to get my first goal and start our season off right,” Strauss said.
Two minutes later and only with four minutes left in the first period, Blondes took a slap shot that hit the top right to give them a 2-0 lead. With plenty of time left, Whitman put up a fight in the second period shooting every time the puck made their way. A great performance by Raynor and the defense made sure that no shots were allowed in. To seal the victory, freshman Jack Miller scored a goal in the middle of the third period to put them up 3-0 against Whitman and clinch his team their first win on the season. “Everyone had a lot of energy as they knew we just got our first win of the season”, Miller said.
