Flag Football Making Their Way to a State Title

Track the highs and lows of Flag Football’s 2023 season.

By JADYN GRAYES, FUN COORDINATOR

This season is going well for the knights, so far they’ve held an impressive seven wins in a row and an overall record of 13-2. With the season at it’s mid-point, let’s review the highs and lows that the team has undergone and what to expect in the second half.

The Knights’ biggest goal this season is making it to state finals for their eleventh consecutive year. They’re working hard on and off the field, focusing their game prep and practice tactics around this.

“With states being the goal in mind we have prepared ourselves by practicing and watching film against our opponents... this means focusing on the fundamentals such as every pass, catch, and flag pull and improving on the little details,”captain Julia Guillermo (‘23) said.

By far, the most shocking game this season so far, has been their game against Lennard where Robinson was defeated for the first time at a home game in 11 years. The game was a close one that ended with a final score of 14-13.

While this was a disappointing game for the Knights, a great team is characterized by their ability to bounce back. Since their loss, the team has been undefeated three games in a row.

“I think the loss reminded us that the teams that play us have the same goal as we do and use us as a way to determine if they could win the state championship because we have set the example of what it means to be the best team in the state. Lennard played an amazing game, and we took losing that game as an opportunity to prepare for those higher intensity games for states,” Tammy Jerson (‘24) said.

Nevertheless, this season has been filled with monumental wins, one of the best games being against our hometown rivals the Plant Panthers. The Knights came out on top and closed out the game with a final score of 51-0.

“The Plant v. Robinson game was by far one of the better games we’ve played this season. There was a lot of excitement and energy going into that game, which contributed to our successful performance. I believe we focused on the little things offensively and defensively, which resulted in another great win against our rivals,” Guillermo said.

While focusing on improving tactical skills like pulling flags and catching, the team has also been improving their mindset and fellowship.

“I think our learning process has gotten better. The way we take criticism from our coaches and try to apply them the minute we get it has improved and is still improving as the season continues,” Jerson said.

“I think that we’re doing okay. You know the wins and losses are not where any of us would prefer them,” Head Coach Alexander Barron said. “But I feel the work that we’re putting in with the team that we have now. We’re giving ourselves a chance to be as strong as possible with this group by the end of the season.”

During practices, the team runs drills often so everyone gets a chance to improve in certain areas they need to. Lately, they have been working the most on their consistency on the mound, defensive plays and batting.

“Overall we’re not playing to our full potential because I mean we have the talent, we have the pitching staff and for the most part, we have the defense we just got to work on finishing our games,” first baseman Alex DeLise (‘23) said. “Just making sure, we can hold off the other team from taking back the lead that we have.”

Although it hasn’t been off to the best start, this season isn’t over just yet. The players are continuously improving and have the drive to close out this season with at least a couple more wins.

“Just trying to make sure that we’re always loose, laughing, and having fun,” Barron said. “And a big challenge for me this year has been making sure that translates to games so these guys can stay loose and play to the best of their abilities.”

Boys’ Lacrosse Team Remain Positive Through a Tough Season

Knights maintain a positive mindset while bettering their skill as the season comes to a close.

By YESSENIA ROSARIO, STAFF WRITER

After a rough season, the boys’ lacrosse players are still trudging toward the end on a positive note despite their losses.

Currently being 0-15 isn’t the best position to be in, but captains, Christian Noriega (‘24), Dominic DeMicco (‘24) and Liam Doyle (‘23) are very persistent and maintain a positive mindset whilst being in this position this season.

“I think our team is playing well despite our 0-12 record,” Doyle said. “We have shown tremendous growth since the beginning of the season that will translate to a much better record next season.”

To help them better their skill for the rest of the season and the future, they do drills that help them better their skills overall. A leadership favorite is the ground ball to shooting which DeMicco believes helps for an overall better game. This drill consists of picking up a ground ball on the run with a shot to finish. This helps improve both your speed and stick skills and your shot placement in a game-like scenario.

“A team favorite drill would have to be oneon-one ground ball battles,” DeMicco said. “This is kind of lacrosse’s version of an Oklahoma drill, and it truly allows us to compete against each other, play physical yet still drill fundamentals.”

Chemistry with teammates is very important for a good game and losing 21 seniors while having a 25-man roster, in the span of two years may cause some difficulty with that. Most of the team is either new to the sport, a freshman or sophomore.

“Collaboration is still not perfect, but we have good overall team chemistry,” DeMicco said.“Once we iron out some kinks and get these new guys more experience, we’ll be a completely different team.”

While staying hopeful the boys understand there’s a lot of work to be done to perfect their game and believe they can end this season off on a win as both their defense and offense have improved.

“As a whole, we aren’t perfect, we definitely have to improve on collaboration and skill,” Noriega said. “But we’ve improved significantly since we’ve started, especially the offense.”

Tennis Wraps Up An Impressive Season

By VIKRAM SAMBASIVAN, NEWS & FEATURES EDITOR

With the school year coming to an end, the tennis post season has begun. Just last week on April 10, both boys and girls tennis teams took place in a two-day tournament beginning their postseason by competing and advancing past the district level competition.

“We set our team goal at the beginning of the season to advance out of districts. I am excited to say we met that goal,” Girl’s Tennis Coach Michelle Verdasco said.

So far, this tennis season has been one full of great success, far exceeding initial expectations...